Our Standard Procedures
2. Research the proposed investigation date's weather conditions, geology, and possible electrical interferences, like power substations, which may affect equipment readings. (This has yet to be experimented with and tested in the field.)
3. Inventory all investigative equipment and check each piece to make sure it functions correctly.
Replace/recharge electronic equipment batteries.4. Take note of the area around the site of investigation.
Take count of current battery supply and plan a shopping trip accordingly.
Take count of glow sticks and plan accordingly.
For ease of finding the location.5. Have a brief meeting with the involved team members to discuss the investigation site, objectives, and acknowledge the "Code of Conduct", "Standard Procedures", etc.
For safety, know of the crime rates, drug areas, etc. and plan accordingly.
No, I'm not kidding. Nowadays we have to keep this in mind.
Any team member who has a concealed weapons permit is welcome to, and encouraged to, bring it along for safety of the group.
Others who do not may bring mace or any other form of protection if they feel they must do so.
6. If applicable, interview anyone who is willing to tell us about the investigation site in question. Do not forget to time and date the interview.
With his or her permission we will record the interview either on video or audio, and have it submitted with the rest of the footage for review and possible presentation.
Appoint one, at most two, person(s) to conduct the interview.7. If able, do a daytime walk-around of the site to get familiarized to the area and to plan on what experiments to do, where to set equipment, etc.
Limiting the number of people involved in this process will prevent preconceived events and evidence bias.First, go over general information like name, address, phone number, religious affiliation, do they live alone, etc.
If everyone knows what phenomena goes on and in which areas, then that is all the group will focus on.
Investigation experiences will be compared to interviewee experiences at the conclusion of the investigation during Post-Investigation procedure.
Do not ask "Leading" questions during the interview.
Allow, at the start of the interview process, for the client to tell you his or her full story without interruption.Determine if the client wants to get rid of the entity or not.
We ask questions to fill in the blanks and for information possibly left out.
This is actually an important distinction to make. Primarily, we are paranormal researchers and investigators, not exorcists.Remember to be professional.
We can only perform basic cleansings, unless someone in the group is experienced with such matters.
We should start getting to know clergy, etc.
8. If applicable, come up with/know your role(s) if extra orginization is required.
9. If need be, familiarize yourself with our equipment in regards to how to operate, the why and theory behind each piece, etc. Refer to "Our Paranormal Specific Equipment: The Why and How-to"
10. Double check the equipment, batteries/charge, investigation site, etc.
2. As a sign of respect we will introduce ourselves to the area and possible "Inhabitants" of the investigation site and state our intentions.
Usually I say something like: "Hello, we are (state each members name). We are here to document whoever may be here that wishes to reveal themselves to us. We are not here to vandalize the property or try to make you leave, unless that is something you want help with. We just want to show the world that you are here, and know that you are not forgotten. We apologize in advance for our possible intrusion here."3. Snap a few baseline pictures.
Number of baseline pictures is at the discretion of the photographer.4. Take and record baseline temperature.
Record either on video or in written notes.5. Take and record baseline EMF readings.
Try to take note of the time as well.
Record either on video or in written notes.6. If applicable, set up "Standing Cam(s)" and audio recorders as planned.
Try to take note of the time as well.
7. After all initial readings are done and recorded, and equipment set-up as planned, assign roles if there is a need for extra orginization.
8. Remember to equip a glow stick around your neck. Optional: Also included in the back pack inventory are 3 pairs of shoe heel lights for extra visibility/safety.
It is a safety measure to keep tabs on who is in the group just in case a random person does happen to wander in during the investigation.9. Only grab the necessary equipment
It also makes for easy ID of team members during IR video footage review to reduce the number of misidentifications between possible anomalous events and a team member barely visible in the background without such light precautions.
This will expedite the process of verifying where everyone is in case an "Unexplained" or "Interesting" event is marked during review. There are a few examples of why we are now going to do this in the "Memorial Day Weekend Investigation, 2019" recordings where we were unable to verify positioning, etc.
This will help keep up with the equipment and inventory, and reduce/prevent loss.10. Conduct the investigation.
Remember the "Code of Conduct".11. During the wrap-up of an investigation, or we find ourselves needing to leave:
Whenever you start a recording on any device, as soon as you hit the record button, announce that you have started by saying:
"Starting(audio/video) recording. This is (your name) at (investigation site) with (whoever is with you at that moment)."Whenever you are about to stop a recording, before you hit the button announce:
"This is (your name), ending (audio/video) recording"Only conduct one EVP session at any given time to prevent cross-contamination of another team member's footage.
When near/around someone who is conducting an audio session, do not move or speak unless it is important and/or are getting equipment readings that coincide with the current EVP session.When conducting an experiment with a non-recording piece of equipment, especially if "Unexplained" phenomena is occuring, try to make it a priority to get it recorded, especially on video.
This is now procedure because of a past blunder in the previously mentioned investigation. A team member and I contaminated a whole audio recording and everything on it had to be thrown out.
Think of it this way, as a third party listening to our tales skeptically: If it is not recorded and documented, it did not happen!Remember to record/re-record baselines for temperature, EMF, etc. every so often (approx. every 30-60 minutes).
Do a quick inventory of the equipment to make sure there are no losses.12. Again we show our respect. Address the area and its possible "Inhabitants" by thanking them for their hospitality, their time, explain what we are going to do with all of the footage, and say our final good-byes.
Record any personal experiences if applicable, either on audio, video, or at least written.
13. Appoint the lucky individual(s) who get to review the footage. I actually have no qualms in doing the review. If you read the "About Us and What We Do" page, then you will see my intentions with doing it myself. But as long as members are trustworthy and have a similar view, then I have no problem in giving up the responsibility. Actually, that would eliminate a little bit of "Evidence" bias.
Once the above is satisfied, either the reviewer(s) can edit and create the "Presentation" for the world to see (which is our goal, right?), or give it to me or one of the other team members to create. The reviewer should also hand-off the created "Report" to the "Presentation Creator" BECAUSE that "Report" is what the "Presentation" is based off of.2. The "Presentation" of reviewed footage is left at the creator's discretion.
Note: This whole process, as tedious and time-consuming as it is, serves a purpose. It makes sure that all of the footage is thoroughly looked at and listened to at least twice before the "Presentation" is ready to be made. Creating the "Presentation" gives everything a third chance to be reviewed. Hopefully this craziness in footage review will make sense to whomever reads this procedure.
Note: If background music is to be used in the presentation, it is to only serve as a kind of "Mood Setter" (we cannot forget to have a little fun with this, am I right?). Be sure to "FADE IN and FADE OUT" the music appropriately, and be sure to "CUT OUT" all music during display time of all of our collected VIDEO and AUDIO footage. Pictures can have music playing, of course.
Here is a "Presentation" I have created prior to writing this "Standard Procedures" document, prior to creating this website, and above all else prior to creating this orginization to get an idea of what I just said for example/reference: You will probably notice a lot of errors in procedure due to the fact that I had not created them yet when I made this presentation. I don't expect anyone to watch an hour long, 3 day presentation, just to look at the music examples and such.
3. At the time of writing this page, I have created our "Orginization's" Email and YouTube channel to which we shall upload "Presentations", as well as possibly "Theory and Research" content, "Equipment Tutorials", etc. The skies the limit.
We are REALLY trying to create something special here.4. Once all of the "Post-Investigation" conditions are satisfied, I (Chris) would like to obtain copies of all the files, unedited footage, the "Presentation", and a copy of the report to store them on a SSD for quick access and reference so I can make notes for our organization, and for future investigations!