videolab

I originally intended to read the spontaneous human combustion story aloud in a video. But - as you’ll see - I got exasperated by how long speaking takes. Text is a much more efficient way to deliver dense information.

To make my initial footage useful, I thought I’d show you a feature in Captions.ai (one of the alternatives to CapCut I’m still exploring). They have AI-generated templates to make videos dynamic. I applied one here, without further alteration.

Personally, I don’t like it at all for my video. There’s too much whooshing and colorful distraction. It gives me oversaturated YouTube tutorial vibes. But I can see how a template like this could be useful and convenient for a different type of video.

In the comments, I’ll also share the plain video with simple captions only for comparison. Let me know if you want to see more of these feature explorations in apps.

The original with simple captions for comparison. Much better than the AI-generated edits, in my opinion.

Building a little space at /thenextwave and watching everything on /videolab.

I’m glad the contrast was helpful to see. It’s been a very new experience for me speaking on video like this. But seems like a good skill to have in these times. I find it easier to speak to people directly because I can see their expressions for feedback, versus just staring at my phone.

I watched the first video and I felt "wow, this is so cool. I love this edit."

Then I watch this second one and I think I'm going to have to agree with you this is better 😅
I love the simplicity of it.

Also, I talk slowly too cos I tend to speak gibberish whenever I'm too excited over talking about something. I love hearing you speak though, you sound like "I'm really cool, you should listen to me."

Commanding attention without putting a force behind it.

Fortean Times

SPONTANEOUS HUMAN COMBUSTION (by popular request)

The following is one of many stories of spontaneous combustion in my strange book of mysteries. This one stood out to me for its relative recency and mention of contemporary organizations like the FBI. Warning: It gets pretty gory starting from "The firemen arrived..."

The individual was a real person with surviving family. I will strive on my end to keep comments respectful, and ask others to do the same.

That we still have so-called “paranormal” deaths simply reveals to me certain limits of our understanding. Before telescopes, we couldn’t understand the stars as we do now. Hopefully someday, we’ll have better tools to make sense of fatalities like hers.

>

The 1951 death of Mrs. Mary Reeser of St. Petersburg, Florida, who was found reduced to ashes in a practically undamaged apartment, was a landmark case of spontaneous combustion because it was the first instance where every possible tool of modern scientific investigation was used to determine the cause of this mysterious phenomenon. Yet despite the efforts of the FBI, fire officials, arson experts, and pathologists, a year after the incident Detective Cass Burgess of the St. Petersburg police commented as follows:

“Our investigation has turned up nothing that could be singled out as proving, beyond a doubt, what actually happened. The case is still open. We are still as far from establishing any logical cause for the death as we were when we first entered Mrs. Reeser’s apartment.”

Police Chief J.R. Reichert added:

“As far as logical explanations go, this is one of those things that just couldn’t have happened, but it did. The case is not closed and may never be to the satisfaction of all concerned.”

And Dr. Wilton M. Krogman, a physical anthropologist at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine and a world-renowned expert on the effects of fire on the human body, finally gave up trying to understand what had happened. Dr. Krogman said:

“I regard it as the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. As I review it, the short hairs on my neck bristle with vague fear. Were I living in the Middle Ages, I’d mutter something about black magic.”

Here are the details of the case: Mrs. Mary Hardy Reeser, an agreeable, motherly widow of 67, was living in St. Petersburg, Florida, to be near her son, Dr. Richard Reeser. On the evening of July 1, 1951, she had remained in her son’s home with one of her grandchildren while the rest of the family went to the beach. When they returned, they found that Mrs. Reeser had already left for her own apartment. The younger Mrs. Reeser drove to her mother-in-law’s to see if everything was all right.

According to her testimony, there was nothing in Mrs. Mary Reeser’s appearance or demeanor to cause any alarm. Dr. Reeser visited his mother later that evening. She was mildly depressed over the fact that she had not heard from two friends who were supposed to rent an apartment for her in anticipation of a return trip to Columbia, Pennsylvania, formerly her hometown. His mother told him that she wished to retire early and would take two sleeping pills to ensure a good night’s rest. Dr. Reeser left at about 8:30 p.m. and returned to his home.

The last person to see Mrs. Reeser alive was her landlady, Mrs. Pansy M. Carpenter, who lived in another apartment in the four-unit building (the two units between them were unoccupied). Mrs. Carpenter saw Mrs. Reeser briefly at about 9 p.m. She was wearing her nightgown, a housecoat, and black satin slippers and was lounging in a comfortable chair smoking a cigarette. The bed covers had been turned back. Mrs. Reeser’s last night was a typical summer night in Florida: the sky was overcast with occasional flashes of heat lightning in the distance.

When Mrs. Carpenter woke up Monday morning at 5 a.m., she noticed a slight odor of smoke but was not alarmed, since she attributed the smell to a water pump in the garage that had been overheating lately. She got up, turned off the pump, and settled back into bed. When she got up an hour later to collect her newspaper outside, she no longer smelled any smoke.

At 8 a.m., a telegram arrived for Mrs. Reeser. Mrs. Carpenter signed the receipt and went to her tenant’s apartment to bring her the telegram. The doorknob, when she placed her hand on it, was hot. Alarmed, she stepped back and shouted for help. Two painters working across the street ran over. One of them opened the door; as he entered, he felt a blast of hot air. Thinking of rescuing Mrs. Reeser, he frantically looked around but saw no signs of her. The bed was empty. There was some smoke, but the only fire was a small flame on a wooden beam over a partition separating the living room and kitchenette.

The firemen arrived, put out the small flame with a hand pump, and tore away part of the partition. When Assistant Fire Chief S.O. Griffith began his inspection of the premises, he could not believe his eyes. In the middle of the floor there was a charred area roughly four feet in diameter, inside which he found a number of blackened chair springs and the ghastly remains of a human body, consisting of a charred liver attached to a piece of the spine, a shrunken skull, one foot still wearing a black satin slipper, and a small pile of ashes.

Coroner Edward T. Silk arrived to examine the body and survey the apartment. Although deeply puzzled, he decided that the death was accidental and authorized the removal of the remains. The scooped-up ashes, the tiny shrunken head, and the slipper-encased foot were taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

The ensuing investigation included police and fire officials as well as arson experts. The facts that confronted them seemed inexplicable considering the great heat necessary to account for Mrs. Reeser’s incineration, and the lack of damage to surrounding furniture. The chair and body were completely destroyed, but the end table next to it was only scorched. The apartment had suffered some peculiar effects:

- The ceiling, draperies, and walls, from a point exactly four feet above the floor, were coated with smelly, oily soot. Below this four-foot mark, there was none.

- The wall paint adjacent to the chair was faintly browned, but the carpet where the chair had rested was not even burned through.

- A wall mirror 10 feet away had cracked, probably from heat.

- On a dressing table 12 feet away, two pink wax candles had puddled, but their wicks lay undamaged in their holders.

- Plastic wall outlets above the four-foot heat mark were melted, but the fuses were not blown and the current was on.

- An electric clock plugged into one of the fused fixtures had stopped at precisely 4:20 a.m. but ran perfectly when plugged into a different outlet.

- Newspapers on a nearby table and draperies and linens on the bed—all flammable—were untouched.

- No one saw smoke or burning during the early morning hours, and there were no embers or flames when they opened the door.

Faced with such a mystery, the St. Petersburg authorities called in the FBI. Laboratory findings showed that Mrs. Reeser’s estimated weight of 175 pounds had been reduced to less than 10 pounds, including the foot and shrunken head. The final report concluded that no known chemical agents or accelerants had been involved in starting the fire and ended by stating that the case was “unusual and improbable.”

A top arson specialist of the National Board of Underwriters was also stumped. “I can only say,” he admitted, “the victim died from fire…”

Finally, the aforementioned Dr. Krogman, an authority on different kinds of burns, was asked to help clarify the mystery. After checking the findings of the other authorities, he began eliminating possibilities. He considered lightning as a cause, but an engineer who specialized in the effects of lightning on the human body flatly dismissed such a conjecture. Besides, lightning was not reported in the immediate neighborhood at the time of the accident.

Another possibility was that the sedatives taken by Mrs. Reeser had made her so drowsy that she did not notice a fire set to her nightgown or chair by the cigarette she was smoking. However, neither the gown nor the chair was particularly flammable, and there was no physical evidence that these items had caused the blaze.

Dr. Krogman had burned cadavers with gasoline, oil, and all kinds of other agents. He has examined bones encased in flesh or stripped, both in outdoor pyres and modern crematorium equipment. He has demonstrated conclusively that it takes enormous heat to consume a body—and only over 3,000°F would bone become volatile enough to lose its shape and leave only ash.

“These are very great heats,” he said, “that would scar, char, scorch or otherwise mar or affect everything within a considerable radius… The remaining slippered left foot was a case in itself. It was established that Mrs. Reeser was in the habit of stretching out her left leg because of physical discomfort in that limb. The foot was left unburned, apparently because it was outside the mysterious four-foot radius of incineration.

Eventually, Dr. Krogman admitted defeat. He reported to Chief Reichert:

“I have posed the problem to myself again and again of why Mrs. Reeser could have been so thoroughly destroyed, even to the bones, and yet leave nearby objects materially unaffected. I always end up rejecting it in theory but facing it in apparent fact.”

Nor could he understand the shrunken condition of Mrs. Reeser’s skull:

“…the head is not left complete in ordinary burning cases. Certainly it does not shrivel or symmetrically reduce to a much smaller size. In presence of heat sufficient to destroy soft tissues, the skull would literally explode in many pieces… I have never known any exception to this rule. Never have I seen a skull so shrunken or a body so completely consumed by heat.”

And the story (which I cast for a totally different channel), if you want to read it:

And the story (which I cast for a totally different channel), if you want to read it:

https://farcaster.xyz/patriciaxlee.eth/0x752976b9

🇻🇪​ Musician | Day Trader | I love working out and chilling at the beach 😎​🌴​🌊

https://linktr.ee/eliasvm

It doesn’t make any sense. Maybe they were very angry, there was an intense heat, the high degree of alcoholism. Idk. Still doesn’t make any sense, still find it very interesting (: I appreciate you’ve taken the time to actually share this with all of us here

In the earliest reported instances of spontaneous human combustion, many of the people were heavy alcohol drinkers. So it was thought to be related. Later, as more cases came up, alcohol didn't fully explain it.

Is there like ANYTHING these spontaneously combusted ppl shared in common?

blockspace babe. cultural attaché from ‘06 twitter. adjacent possible fanatic 🌐 UTC–4

It's likely because I consume most media on 2x. My output is not matching my preferred speed of input.

your feelings on your own talking speed are fascinating

Editing this for the third time. I am diñero. I love intelligent conversations

I 2x'd you. They made you sound like a chipmunk

GM patriciaxlee
I watch both videos, and the first with the Caption.ai is cool,
It kinda makes it more engaging, than the real video even though it's a bit distracting you said but to me, 
The design style stuff moving around in the video makes it seem like it's following what you were explaining somehow.
The caption.ai is cool to me

You said you are still exploring the app, I think there more to discover

Proactive Onchain Creator + Blockchain writer ~ elevate Onchain products | Community person & CM /pronouns

My pleasure!

You said you will be exploring more about the App, can't wait to watch

I used Caption.ai - trying out the Pro plan right now which is their first level above free!

Onchain mixologist based in /los-fomos. Building a portable fan graph, making the best spicy martinis in town

waiting for part 2 (￢‿￢ )
 also where did you add the colourful cuts to the vid?

I am currently trying out the Pro plan. It's possible the Max plan would enable less tacky editing. Really like the rejection against over-edited videos lately. But with all things, I'm sure these aesthetic trends are pendulums which we'll see swing back and forth in our lifetimes.

spreading the good word on good work in crypto @ 90 seconds to crypto | formerly: @chainsafe

exactly. tell the story that needs to be told and use what makes sense in support of telling that story. i don’t think over editing is bad especially if the moment calls for it.

very cool to x-compare. how much does it cost to use? def interesting for trialing out short format edits I couldn’t be bothered to create.

FYI there seems to be an evolving YT meta that favours less “whooshing” and more authentic talking heads that uses the zoom’s and whooshes extremely strategically.

crypto since '69 baby | on my @griv bullposting arc

not happening when there's an eminem standing in your way

Goal is to become the Busta Rhymes of Farcaster.

yes too much fancy things (like a brand promotion) but the imagination is sweet

for god's sake talk faster motherfucker

🌈|| reluctant med student, brilliant writer, mediocre comedian, full-time cat dad and wannabe stylist. being whimsical /writertopia

It’s like having a sassy and uninterested assistant edit your video for you lol. Funny what words it picks up on.

😆the random pictures absolutely sent me but will def be trying out the tool! thanks for sharing and your skin is amazing!!

building reframescience.org neuroscience phd, chaplain, healthtech strategy consultant. co-host of the /okbanger show and vibe imagineer for /christin.

It was very amusing to see the images the app auto generated based on my speech - like the rows of candles for “spontaneous human combustion” lol.🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

this is a lot of whooshing 😂 😂 😂  thx for trying it and saving me time!!

so wait in the end which app do u recommend for shortform video??

We need part 2!!! You have a wonderful voice. 🥰

CYBERSECURITY ANALYST, CHEMICAL ENGINEER, GADGET REVIEWER.

Let's do it then, like I said I love  creativity so I am all in,

I don’t have a course and probably won’t ever make one (though it’d be cool to see other creators here explore this). I’m sharing information openly here in /videolab so we can improve video quality across the network by experimenting together.

I have not checked in for a while on CapCut, if a video editor's policy could disturb then its bad

For the captions.ai is it on both phone and PC, would love it to work on the go and also in full screen

Canva what is that one feature that make it convinent for you.

I am currently exploring several different apps. My favorite ones to use so far are Captions.ai (which I used here) and Canva (which is more general purpose design but can handle videos). There is also CapCut of course (most popular it seems) but their user policies are too concerning for me.