A Video Oddity

This is the transcript of the item referred to as "Documentary 23".

Researcher’s note: Documentary 23 is a series of eight DVD-Rs containing a bootleg nature documentary. Picture and sound quality on the disks is substandard, as is to be expected, and jump cuts are common throughout. The disks will play on any standard DVD player, and an effort to copy and archive the material is underway.

While Documentary 23 is contained within the Foundation, it has been denied SCP status. No anomalous effects have been recorded regarding the disks themselves or the act of watching them, making the probability of an elaborate hoax high.

Documentary 23 was recovered from █████ ███████ on July 16, 20██. Previous owner did not know the origins of the disks, claiming to have received them through an anonymous seller on the internet. Currently, Documentary 23 is in the possession of Dr. ██████, and is open to study by any interested Foundation staff.

Time stamps will be given as minutes: seconds.

Disk 1

• 00:00 – Disk starts. The scene shown is a typical example of African savannah. A large group of wildebeests, gazelles, zebras, and other savannah wildlife are shown around a watering hole.
• 00:12 – The voices of the filmmakers are heard for the first time. Three distinct voices are heard, one female, two male. (Subjects 1, 2, and 3, respectively.) Of note is the fact that their language is unknown, and has not yet been identified or decoded. The Subjects seem to be making a standard description of the water hole scene, as the camera focuses on the drinking animals. This narration continues throughout most other segments of Documentary-23.
• 05:15 – Subjects 1 and 3 appear on camera. Both are wearing similar outfits: utilitarian clothing in various shades of brown with backpacks for carrying equipment and supplies. For unknown reasons, the Subjects’ faces have been blotted out. Documentary shifts focus to a nearby termite mound.

The next 34:06 of tape contains no anomalous or otherwise notable content.

• 39:21 – First anomalous content seen. At this point in the documentary, focus is set upon a small bird, which on closer inspection is clearly a blue jay. The bird is ordinary in every other way, besides being native to North America, not Africa.
• 40:05 – Blue jay flies away. During the filming, the Subjects did not seem to find the presence of a non-native bird confusing or remarkable.

The next 19:55 of tape contains no anomalous or otherwise notable content. All animals featured show no unusual characteristics or behaviors.

• 60:00 – Disk ends.

Disk 2

• 00:00 – Disk starts. Scene shows a series of rocky foothills at the base of a mountain chain to the west. Scrub vegetation is common, though trees are sparse.
• 00:10 – Camera focuses on a snake in the brush. (Researcher’s note: Identified as a diamondback rattlesnake) Subject 3, grabs the snake by the tail and uses a stick to handle it for the camera as Subject 1 narrates. At 01:01, the snake is released.
• 01:01 – Jump cut. Next shot is the middle of a segment on a rather large ant colony. Ants are seen to be a light shade of blue.
• 01:15 - Camera focuses on a group of roughly fifty soldier ants attacking a small lizard. Ants are tearing away chunks of flesh with their pincher-like jaws. The lizard survives for nearly a minute before one of the ants cuts the lizard’s jugular vein.
• 02:12 – Jump cut. Scene is now focusing on a pack of vultures feeding on the carcass of a large Bactrian camel.
• 05:36 – Jump cut.

For the next 10:45 of tape, there is no video, only sound, specifically in the form of at least five individual narrations. No anomalous or notable content is contained within these.

• 16:21 – Jump cut. Camera focuses on what appears to be a red panda, drinking from a shallow stream. The creature is not only far outside its native habitat of the Himalayas, but is estimated to be roughly the size of a Kodiak bear.
• 17:00 – Red panda leaves the shot, but not before defecating on the stream’s edge. Subject 1 makes a comment, followed by laughter from Subjects 2 and 3.
• 17:06 – Disk ends.

Disk 3

• 00:00 – Disk starts. Scene opens with Subject 2 in mid-sentence, pointing the camera at a snowy cliffside roughly 100-150m tall. Subjects are seen wearing mountain climbing gear, and appear to be discussing the best way to ascend the cliff face and going over their equipment.
• 02:20 – Subjects begin ascending the cliffside.
• 02:43 – Jump cut. Following footage is a shot of the horizon from two-thirds up the cliffside. The savannah featured in Disk 1 can be seen in the distance.
• 02:56 – Subject 2 is startled by the sudden appearance of a large bat before him and nearly drops the camera. Subject 3 scolds him while Subject 1 laughs.
• 03:00 – Jump cut. Subjects are at the top of the cliff, looking out over the edge. Judging by the shadows cast by the mountain, it is nearing mid-afternoon.
• 03:15 – Jump cut. Scene takes –place later in the day, near sundown. Subjects are walking up a winding dirt path. A small village can be seen ahead of them.
• 05:23 – Subjects arrive in the village. Buildings are small and stone, with wooden roofs. There are no signs of habitation: many of the buildings are in states of disrepair, and much of the village is covered in deep snow drifts. Subjects walk through the village for the next 03:40, conversing sporadically. No other life is seen.
• 09:03 – Jump cut. Subjects are now approaching a larger building, a good section of which has collapsed and filled with snow. Subjects 1 and 3 step inside first, Subject 2 follows with the camera four seconds later.
• 09:07 – Jump cut. Subjects are apparently standing on top of a fallen chunk of ceiling. A large swarm of black pillbugs (Researcher’s note: Creatures now known to be some variation of ancient trilobite), each at least .3m in length, swarms around beneath them. Subject 3 opens his backpack, taking out a plastic box. Checking its contents once, he throws it across the hall. The swarm scuttles over and begins consuming it. The camera lingers on the bugs as the subjects escape.
• 09:56 – Jump cut. Subjects are inside another building, and it is now night. The house’s fire pit has been cleared out and a fire has been set up. Subject 1 is feeding a black-furred chinchilla some of her rations, while Subject 3 narrates.
• 10:28 – Disk ends.

Disk 4

• 00:00 – Disk starts. Subjects are walking through a thick forest made up of what appear to be oversized fungi. By the slope of the ground, it is presumed that they are descending the foothills on the opposite side of the mountain, and the light indicates that it is mid-morning.
• 00:15 – Movement is spotted to the right. Camera focuses on a dark shape moving deeper into the forest and out of sight. Further analysis shows that the creature is a quagga, a relative of the zebra which has been extinct since 1883. One frame seems to show the creature unfurling wings, but this cannot be confirmed.
• 00:45 – Jump cut. Scene now shows a stone pillar, which has been partially eroded by the encroachment of hyphae. The pillar is clearly a marker of some sort, and Subject 1 attempts to decode the symbols that are etched into it.
• 01:30 – Subject 1 now steps away from the pillar. Judging by her tone of voice, she was incapable of translating any of the glyphs. Subjects move onward through the forest.
• 02:41 – There is a heavy seismic disturbance. The camera becomes unsteady as Subject 2 stumbles. The fungal ‘trees’ can be seen to sway in uniform motion.
• 02:44 - The next ten seconds are blank. Analysis has shown an ultrasonic note within the blank segment. As it does not vary in frequency, it is hypothesized to be artificial in origin.
• 02:54 – Jump cut. Subject 1 is now observing a large black beetle. Every few seconds she prods it with a twig. After she does this several times, the beetle flares its carapace outward, showing the brilliant orange-yellow coloration underneath.
• 03:40 – The beetle sprays a yellow-green fluid from its abdomen at Subject 1, who doesn’t step away quick enough to avoid the acid. She shouts in pain and attempts to wipe it off. Subject 3 steps in to help her.
• 04:02 – Jump cut. Scene now shows a shallow gully, populated by no less than fifteen cup-shaped fungi, the smallest being a meter across. Subject 2 sets the camera on a tripod and walks away. The camera rolls for the next 14:12 without any activity.
• 18:14 – A young Javanese rhinoceros walks into the gully, sniffing the air. It makes a beeline towards one of the larger cup fungi and walks inside. The cup closes over it, and sounds of distress are heard from within after a few seconds. The silhouette of the rhinoceros inside the fungus can be seen as it struggles to free itself.
• 19:20 – Disk ends.

Disk 5

• 00:00 – Disk starts. Scene shows Subjects on the shores of a lake. Local geography resembles the American southwest, with thick scrub vegetation and several pockets of dwarf redwoods on the lakeshore. Subject 3 appears to be filling a canteen from the lake.
• 00:30 – Subject 3 points out a disturbance behind the camera. Subject 2 turns to see a group of about fifteen lemur-like creatures emerging from the brush, roughly twenty meters away. Camera zooms in to show that they are walking on their hind legs and are carrying sharpened sticks. The “tribe” ignores the presence of the Subjects.
• 00:54 – The tribe begins to drink from the lake. Subject 1 makes a short narrative comment, showing some surprise at the event, but only enough to suggest that this is a rare find. She continues with the narration as usual.
• 02:03 – The tribe’s lookout makes a startled yelp. The other lemurs take notice.
• 02:04 – Large reptilian creature leaps out of the brush: It is a raptor dinosaur of considerable size, (Researcher’s Note: Believed to be an adult Utahraptor). Subjects begin to back away quickly as the raptor begins to attack upon the tribe. Three lemurs are killed instantly, and through the wobbling camera some others can be seen to leap on the dinosaur’s back and begin to stab it with their primitive spears.
• 02:25 – Attack is over. Lemurs have now either run away or been killed. The Utahraptor begins feeding on the dead.
• 03:13 – Jump cut. Scene now shows the dinosaur dead on the ground, with numerous bullet holes in its head and chest area. Subject 1 is heard scolding Subject 3, who is seen disassembling a long-barreled rifle.
• 03:20 – Jump cut. Subjects have walked down the eastern shore of the lake. There are some unusual disturbances in the water. This continues for the next 01:36.
• 04:04 – A Megalotherium (Giant ground sloth), which is seen to have six limbs instead of four, approaches the lake shore from the brush. After looking around the area, it bends down to drink.
• 04:56 – Disturbances in the water increase as a large creature emerges from the lake. As only the upper portion is visible, identification is difficult. The film shows a membranous dome, lined by numerous frills of skin and cartilage. The skin is semi-transparent, showing a bulbous structure underneath. Also above water are the creature’s five triple-jointed arms, which have noticeable hair and hands with two opposable thumbs each.
• 04:59 – Lake creature lashes its arms at the sloth. Its target is actually a pack of raptors much like the one before, which were preparing to launch an attack on the sloth.
• 05:12 – Lake creature grabs a raptor in one of its hands and throws towards the Subjects, who it misses by no less than a meter. Camera moves to look at the body: the spine has been snapped on impact.
• 05:17 – Jump cut. Subjects have left the lake behind, and are now climbing over a short ridge. Animal noises can be heard from the other side.
• 05:18 – Disk ends.

Disk 6

• 00:00 – Disk starts. Video shows that the Subjects are traversing a featureless salt plain on foot. Sky is overcast and dark. No life can be seen anywhere.
• 00:07 – Subject 3 begins to speak. The conversation is casual and continues for the next twelve minutes without notable material.
• 12:07 – Jump cut occurs. Conversation is still ongoing, though Subject 1’s tone has become increasingly worried.
• 12:55 – Argument between Subjects 1 and 3 breaks out. Subject 2 steps in, attempting to break it up.
• 13:12 – Jump cut. Conversation has died off. Subjects appear weary. Distant thunder is heard in the background. The camera pans to show two gigantic creatures on the southern horizon. From the distance, they appear to be masses of cartilage and gas sacks at least five stories tall. Subject 1 speaks, but is interrupted by a low roar in the distance. The three subjects look to the east, then at each other. Subject 3 speaks, and they resume walking.
• 14:04 –Disk ends

Disk 7
Data lost. The disk has been overwritten with several episodes of the anime [DATA EXPUNGED]. Closer inspection has shown a few one-frame fragments of the original video that remain.

• 09:33 – A forest of crooked, leafless trees. Part of a bleached skeleton can be seen in the corner of the frame.
• 26:01 – Shot was taken within a small clearing containing six boulder-sized pearls which provide ambient light through unknown means. The clearing appears to be within a dense formation of jagged limestone towers, known as tsingy.
• 27:50 – Two frames of what appears to be a bloated, wormlike creature with no less than three flexible proboscises covered in feathered tufts.
• 44:27 – A dark blue screen filled with numerous mathematical formulae appearing in white Arabic numerals.
• 54:14 – The final segment lasts for approximately three seconds. The soundless footage is too shaky for any conclusive analysis, but it would appear that Subject 2 is running up a steep incline at substantial speed with the camera rolling.
• 55:02 – Static. Faint screams and gunfire can be heard beneath the white noise. A voice identified as Subject 2 can be heard shouting several curses before being drowned out.
• 55:46 – Disk ends.

Disk 8

• 00:00 – Disk starts. Scene shows Subjects slowly descending a rocky slope towards the bottom of a small valley. Ground is brown and lifeless, and the sky is filled with red-brown clouds. There appears to be a substantial amount of smog and dust in the air.
• 00:04 – Camera focuses on the bottom of the valley, observing a large slum-type settlement. Shacks are constructed primarily of corrugated sheet metal and are built several layers thick. Some figures can be seen milling around.
• 00:09 – Jump cut. Subjects have reached the bottom of the incline and are standing roughly 10 meters from the edge of the slum. At this distance the deplorable conditions are easily seen. The narrow spaces between shacks are lined with sewage and large patches of grey mold, as well as several decomposing bodies. Roughly twenty inhabitants can be seen, though they pay no attention to the Subjects. The inhabitants are human, and their appearance is consistent with the living conditions around them: they are filthy, dressed in rags, malnourished, and many sport deformities. They walk without any seeming purpose, noticing little, if any, of their surroundings.
• 00:12 – Subjects start walking slowly towards the slum’s edge. Inhabitants still show no signs of notice.
• 00:15 – One of the slum inhabitants, a misshapen, hunch-backed male, sharply turns his head to face the camera.
• 00:16 – Inhabitant begins running towards Subjects.
• 00:19 – Inhabitant begins attacking Subjects, screaming “Let us go! Let us go, you sick [EXPLETIVE REDACTED]!”
• 00:23 – A mob of slumdwellers has formed around the Subjects, who attempt to fight them off.
• 00:25 – Camera is knocked out of Subject 2’s hand, and records the mob’s feet for seven seconds afterwards. Screams can be heard off-screen.
• 00:32 – Disk ends.