Menage au Talk
Jeff Belanger, Part Four

Melanie: What did you think of "White Noise" and what's your theory on EVPs in general?

Jeff: I saw White Noise opening weekend with my wife. First, I'm thrilled that Universal Pictures has raised a lot of awareness about this supernatural phenomena. They spent most of their marketing time and money explaining what Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is as opposed to trying to hook the viewer into the plot of the movie. This film has started a lot of discussions on the subject -- which of course begs the even bigger question about life after death and spirit communication. Daytime talk shows, newscasts, and radio programs were suddenly talking about EVP. I'm all for anything that can spark these discussions on a larger scale.

The movie was a little inaccurate in that it blurred the line between EVP and a larger subject called ITC or Instrumental TransCommunication. In White Noise, Michael Keaton's character was recording the snowy static of the television directly through a VCR. I've never heard of this practice. I have heard of connecting a video recorder to a television so the screen displays what the camera sees and then filming the actual screen so it creates a feedback loop. Within that visual feedback people have claimed to see recognizable images materialize. I've also heard of using audio equipment to record the audio static from a television and then discovering voices during the playback. It's fair to say this movie is a work of fiction and they are allowed to take such liberties. As for my review... I think they tried to make a thriller, decided half-way through to go for a horror, and wound up missing both targets.

I think EVP offers some of the most compelling material for a person to ponder. If you're in a room by yourself and you record the dead air around you, then hear a voice during the playback -- that will make a quick believer out of you -- especially if the voice intelligently responds to a question or statement you made while trying to make spirit contact. There are many things we still don't understand about EVP. Some believe the voices are being projected onto the recorder by the living person's thoughts (which is incredible in and of itself), others think that some of the myriad of radio, cellular, television, short wave, citizen band, and many other radio waves that are floating around us all of the time are being manipulated by spirits and projected onto the recorder (again... wow), or the more skeptical person feels that you picked up some floating radio signal (which may explain why all of my EVP keep saying "Baba Booey"). I think it's important to keep exploring -- if one is curious about EVP, pick up a recorder and try it. Keep asking questions!

Part One of Menage au Talk, with Jeff Belanger
Part Two of Menage au Talk, with Jeff Belanger
Part Three of Menage au Talk, with Jeff Belanger