GREAT NORTH - IMAX FILM BIGFOOT?

In February, 1979, a young man took part in a student exchange program. He spent two weeks living with an Inuit family in Ivajiuik, the northernmost Inuit village in Quebec. This is where he began to dream of bringing his northern experience to life on a big screen so others could see the wonder of what he experienced. Martin Jose Dignard finally realized his dreams in May, 2001.

The IMAX film, The Great North, was eventually released to DVD in 2002 and then Blue Ray in 2008. And this documentary being viewed, not on an IMAX super large screen, but on a tv set with a much smaller screen, generated a new frenzy. A viewer posted on the internet that he saw a bigfoot apparently chasing/hunting caribou.

A person posting wrote : "I'm the one that brought this to the attention of other bigfooters, and it does look like a bigfoot because it has long swinging arms." 

Opinions flew back and forth. Breakdowns and analysis followed. The frenzy was on. And intensified with the release of the Blue Ray with better digital clarity.

". . . can be interpreted as a 'BF shape'. . . "

"I saw the swinging arms too."

It was a film crew member or a bear.

It was a person with a backpack on a mountain bike riding down the mountain who ended up in the middle of a caribou herd.

It was a female carrying an infant on her back. It was not a backpack.

It's just another caribou.

"The only Caribou near the Giant Bipedal Creature is the dead one it flips onto its shoulder."

"It shows in detail a female bigfoot with a smaller one crawling up its back."

"I see the backpack too. Probably a member of the crew. Possibly to keep the caribou moving in the right direction."

"The climate and landscape is not enough to hide or support a creature that large."

"I think they radioed to him that he was in their shot so he went down and that's why you don't see him come back up."

Bigfoot Lunch Club was one of the early analysts who conjectured that the figure was a caribou. This was based on watching the DVD. They felt the shape looked the same as the other dark shapes of caribou running in the foreground. To them it appeared to be moving in the same galloping rhythm as the surrounding four-legged animals. Their statement continued with the statement that the figure made a 90 degree turn to its left to go up the hill with the rest of the herd. A claim was made that they could see the head and horns.

Then the Blue Ray was released. Upon further consideration after viewing the segment, they decided to go with the more popular consensus that the figure was now a camera crew member with a backpack on.

Matt Moneymaker first endorsed this footage, writing an article for the BFRO website. In it he listed the sasquatch like traits of the figure.

Uniform in color; dark brown with rusty-brown tints; not a silhouetted figure but with adequate lighting so as  not to make it appear darker than it is; should see contours of clothing if a person; looks like it is covered in fur like a bear; not "puffy" like from a ghillie suit; figure appears large for human form compared to the caribou; behavior is "squatch-like; herding the caribou into an ambush.

Here is a video of the Moneymaker/Wally Hersom analysis :

https://youtu.be/tNgIH6KO_fA

One of the people responsible for the filming of the footage stated in an interview that the figure was not a crew member or a bear. The person was not named, but it is supposed that it was William Reeve who was listed as Director of Photography. Reeve died May 23, 2018. Some other quotes attributed to him :

"I was the cameraman and Co-Director of the movie. I can verify that no human with back pack, bicycle, black suits, or a black bear, was within 200 miles of this Caribou migration; the idea of a human chasing a herd that is running that fast is absurd. For non-believers, go there and try to get within 200 yards of a caribou on foot; their survival instinct is more intelligent than us humans."

"My theory : Is that Big Foot are Omnivore. In close proximity to a caribou, Big Foot could possibly outrun a Caribou in a short sprint and strong enough to take weaker ones down. The Big Foot in foreground has cut out a small group of caribou and they are being run up the hill to slow them down. The herd is obviously stressed usually by predators look at the confusion and panic in the water. The second Big Foot in mid right background (black sport that raises and lowers itself) is waiting for the small herd to get closer and a chance to strike. The third Big Foot off to the left (black spot getting very slightly taller and then shrinking middle upper frame background) is waiting for a second chance to catch one from the same small herd in case the second one to the right misses the chance. We filmed biologists netting caribou from helicopter with net guns to test for pregnancy and carefully fly them to a compound for research. The ones that were not pregnant were let go. Caribou lying down are vulnerable because of their long legs. To stand up is an awkward deed for them so one that is down on its side by a predator would be an easy kill. An eight foot high Big Foot could possibly be tall and strong enough to overcome even a young female in this footage why else would we humans filming, a) be trying to steer a small herd away from the camera and main herd; b) have person in contrasty black suit, running at the speed of a Caribou; and c) for what logical filmic reason?"

There is also a 1st Assistant Cameraman, Filipe Telxera, who was interviewed, who seemed unaware at the time that people were seeing this figure in the middle of the caribou herd. He agreed with the person interviewing him that if there was a figure in the film among the herds, it was probably a crew member.

This seems an unfair person to rely on for opinions, as he had no idea that a controversy was rising and to which scene in the film the interviewer was referring to. 

Someone named White also is supposed to have made the claim that in certain scenes of the film, some crew members were "discreetly positioned" to direct herds where they needed them to go. This was apparently done in the segments filmed in Sweden regarding the reindeer. These animals are herded by farmers and therefore can be made to travel in the direction the men want them to go.

It can also be argued that if the film crew had decided to perpetrate a hoax, why did they wait 9 years before arranging for the figure to be noticed? Wouldn't more money been made if this were brought out while the film was making it's way around the IMAX theaters?

This was filmed as a serious documentary, funded by Hydro-Quebec, supported by the Swedish Museum of Natural History, among other scientific and nature organizations.

This was also a remote location. Not an easy one to get the crew and equipment into. And while it has been argued that this is a "popular" place for mountain bike enthusiasts where they can ride up and down the mountain slopes, I find it hard to believe that someone would choose to ride directly into the middle of a herd of running caribou.

Now, if we suppose that the figure is that of a cameraman attempting to get into a better position for a good angle of the herd, where is the camera? Also, remember that this film was being shot with the special IMAX camera which is larger and heavier than a regular movie camera. It would be difficult for one man to move that equipment and also foolish to risk damaging the equipment.

To further develop the theory of the figure being a crew member who is now down there attempting to direct the herd in a particular direction. Again, you would have to consider the foolishness of being in the middle of a herd of large running mammals. And if he were trying to direct them, he is doing a bad job of it as the caribou are now running away from the camera and out of the close shot.

The director stated that the team tried hard not to spook the herd. When frightened, caribou have a tendency to stampede which would result in a very dangerous situation for any crew members in the close vicinity.

And then we have those who have declared that the figure is someone on a mountain bike riding through the herd of caribou. Once you read that statement, it is hard to watch the video without thinking that it is someone on a bike. 

The segment was shot with a telescopic lens. On the standard DVD version, the figure looks more bigfoot-like and less human-like. When viewed on the Blue Ray the images are sharper and the figure looks more human.

Anyhow, listed below are several breakdowns of the video footage. Enjoy.


Nancy

"I'll spark the thought; what you do with it is up to you."

TriDiver analysis :

https://youtu.be/OZ66DJNAFeQ

Bigfoot Tony Breakdown :

https://youtu.be/mLhYAq6eyH8


Thinker Thunker interview with film maker :

https://youtu.be/3obq0Q6OU3Y