A Conversation with Chuck Clark Regarding the ‘1995’ Video
In the course of working to confirm a piece of information regarding Bob Lazar, I recently had occasion to speak with James Fox. Fox suggested that I call Chuck Clark, as he recollected the object in the 1995 video that Clark had shown him appeared similar to Lazar’s “Sport Model.” [According to Clark’s recollection, the earliest the video could have been recorded is April 19, 1996.]
I spoke with Chuck Clark on May 8 2023. Given the public interest in the video and its origins, I am publishing portions of the transcript.
The most detailed description of the video, and the source for the image at the top of this article, is a Twitter thread by Royce Meyers (@UfoWatchdog).
Additional details of the 1995 video:
Author: You’ve had this video for 25 years now, is that right? Or about that?
Chuck Clark: It’s been right around almost 25 years. 24 I think it is. I got it in ‘94, ‘95, I think it was ‘95.
When it was given to me. Basically they wanted me to go through it and see if I could find any fault with it.
Author: And you didn’t get it directly from whoever filmed it?
Clark: No, no. It was an acquaintance of the person that gave me the copy.
Author: Okay. Is there a reason why you’ve declined to publish it or put it out there?
Clark: I gave my word to the person that gave it to me that I wouldn’t disseminate it. And he was in the media out of Hollywood, Burbank, basically, [redacted for privacy — a major network news organization].
Author: I’m assuming that person’s still around?
Clark: No. No, he passed. I’m not exactly sure of the date, but he passed away. I know that.
Author: Okay. And that didn’t change your feeling on — it wasn’t the sort of thing where you feel like after he had passed, he might be okay with it?
Clark: Well, it wasn’t his video. He’d made a copy from a couple guys that took the video that he was acquainted with, at least one of them. And I don’t know if the guy worked at the studio out there in Burbank or if he was just an acquaintance elsewhere that he knew from the neighborhood. But the guys that took the video were, in my opinion, thoroughly freaked at what they were seeing. They thought they were going to die.
Author: Yeah. Does it give you pause that there is at least some connection to Hollywood and I mean, I guess a proximity to computer graphics?
Clark: Well, you’ve got to consider the time. The video is a typical tourist video. They hit all the tourist spots in that video, the junction of Highway 318 and 375 over in Crystal Springs with the sign, the ET highway sign. And that was about 5:40 PM that had the time log on that little section. And then from there they went out to Groom Lake Road to the boundary and filmed the guards up on the hill. And then they went up to little Ale-inn, it was after sunset at that point. Well, they got there right about sunset because they took a picture of the ET highway sign in Rachel with the sun was behind the sign so that you really couldn’t, I mean, I know what sign they were filming, but you couldn’t read it because of the exposure. And then there was a short bit of footage of the Little Ale-inn itself. So I’m guessing that they probably went in and had dinner and and then took that footage as they were getting ready to leave the Ale-inn.
That would sync up time-wise. And then the next thing in the video was the object out there. And they were in the area of the black mailbox. And I was able to identify the exact site that they were at by a couple pieces of brush that were in the video actually. And so I know that it was right in the area of the black mailbox, and I’m not sure if it was to the south side of the highway toward Area 51, a short distance, or if it was on the north side of the highway. It could have been either, but it was not directly overhead, but damn close. And some of the lighting effects within the vehicle. The thing was almost directly over ’em at some point by the shadows and stuff that was going on in the vehicle. It was actually casting a light on the dash and stuff.
Author: And when you say consider the timing, I assume you’re referencing the state of computer generated graphics at that point in time?
Clark: Yeah, I mean, basically not after mid ‘95. Cause that’s when I came into possession of the video. So it was prior to that. And they just didn’t have the technology to fake that. They could have done it, a Hollywood crew could have done it, but I mean, I could think of a way to fake some of the stuff, but they didn’t have the CGI and all of the computer generated stuff back then. That would’ve taken a major mainframe and a lot of time to fake at that point in time.
Author: I know you lived in Rachel for a time. Are you still out in the area?
Clark: No, I left Rachel in 2006.
As soon as they basically acknowledged that area 51 was there, that was all I was trying to get them to do is take a little bit of responsibility and not sit there and lie to our face about it when we can see the damn place.
I can tell you that a couple people that I showed the video to were NASA scientists that I knew from previous time when I lived over in California and they thought it was legit. One of them worked on the Moon Rocket program. He was an engineer on the Moon Rocket program and the other one was involved with NASA, the tracking and stuff. But they were both convinced that it was probably legit.
Author: Do you know how the person who gave it to you had gotten a hold of it?
Clark: Well, yeah, I mean, he told me it was an acquaintance of his, like I say, I don’t know if the guy worked at the studio or was just an acquaintance from the neighborhood, but out in the Burbank area, and they’d gone out to 51 and got this video and were freaked out by it, of course. And they gave him a copy of it, and he’d been out I think in ‘94, spent some time with me. They were doing a piece on Area 51. And so he contacted me and said, I want to send you this video and I want your opinion on it. And he asked me to promise him that I wouldn’t — could show it — but couldn’t give copies or anything to anybody. And I said, sure. And I viewed it a number of times and gave my opinion. And I also had mentioned that I showed it to a couple friends of mine from Southern California who were involved with NASA, and they both thought it looked legit
Author: Did he work for, you said it was [major network news organization], did he have a movie experience as well?
Clark: Well, I can tell you that he was a cameraman for [major network news organization].
He was cameraman on a piece that I did that was for [major network news organization] - Burbank about Area 51. Nothing about UFOs, just about a 51 in general.
Clark: There’s other cases I’ve read extensively for, let’s see here, about 50 years on the subject and other things that I have seen seem consistent with what was in this video. And I don’t want to go into detail, because it’s one of my methods of culling out the phonies right off. And also with CGI, I’d be terribly skeptical nowadays of anything. I mean, won’t even, probably won’t even ever look at anything that was supposedly done in the last few years now because of the CGI.
Author: Do you know when this video was originally filmed? Did it have a date on it?
Clark: It didn’t have a date. All I had was on the first scene in the video.
Author: You had said that there was a couple things in the video that you have ideas on of how they could have been faked. I guess I’d be curious to know what parts of the video you found particularly compelling and which parts you found, well, could maybe be something else.
Clark: Well, there’s about 45 seconds of a roughly three minute video that’s very compelling. And that’s when you’re looking at the object itself and activity from the interior of the car. That that’s the easiest way I can put it. And like I say, I don’t want to go into too much detail on that.
Author: Okay. And did the editing of the video, I mean, was it edited or was it like somebody just had a tape and it was just whatever they were filming at the time?
Clark: It appeared that the video that I had the copy of was basically a real time event video, a typical tourist video, with the exception of the object, which most tourists don’t get.
Author: Did you ever see the people who were filming on the video?
Clark: No. I hear their voice, but I never see them.
Clark: I got the impression that they weren’t very experienced operating the camera, which is a plus to me.
Author: What gave you that impression, if you remember?
Clark: Well, it just wasn’t clean cuts between scenes and it wasn’t clean focus. There was little bits of stuff earlier on that were out of focus. It was in and out. I got the idea they’d just gotten the camera or it was borrowed it from somebody and they really didn’t know how to use it yet. And they were kind of learning as they went.
Author: And you got it in VHS format?
Clark: Well, that’s what it was in, yeah.
On when the video was filmed:
Clark: I know it was in ’95 that they did the signs, or I’m pretty positive it was in ’95. I think it was in late spring, I’m guessing. I remember the ceremony. They had there at the A’Le’Inn and they put a time capsule outside the A’Le’Inn. As a matter of fact, see I don’t have a picture of that handy right now on my computer where I’d look at, it probably has a date on it. But the date that, if you find a picture of that time capsule, of the Independence Day time capsule is just outside the door of the A’Le’Inn.
It says ID4 on it. I think that’ll probably have a date and that’ll be the date that they have the ceremony. And those highway signs were fairly fresh within a few weeks of that happening because it was a big deal where the governor came up and transportation department had put up four signs, one at at Crystal Springs, one at the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 375, which is an area called One Springs and two or one on either end of the town of Rachel on the highway. So I have pictures of all four of those signs. There are three different designs. The two and Rachel were identical. The others at either end of the highway were different.
The Extraterrestial Highway signs Mr. Clark says appear in the video were erected in 1996.
Unveiling road signs bearing “Speed Limit Warp 7,” Gov. Bob Miller declared the opening of the first intergalactic attraction in Nevada. (April 19, 1996 — The Las Vegas Sun)
Logan Paul’s involvement:
Author: I just want to confirm Logan Paul did come out and see the video, correct?
Clark: Yeah, he did come out with Royce Meyers.
Author: Royce Meyers. Okay. And when was that?
Clark: Let’s see, I’m guessing a year and a half ago or a little over.
Author: Okay. And you think it’s plausible that he recorded it?
Clark: I’ve been told that the word was that he had made a covert recording of it. It isn’t going to be a very good recording of it. I know that.
Author: Did you know how that would’ve been done? Was he wearing glasses or?
Clark: I was told it was probably via cell phone and I didn’t see his cell phone. Whether or not that’s true, I don’t know. I just, I was made aware of it not too long ago. Apparently he’s been out talking to some people.
Author: I could see him either recording it or just saying he had for attention.
Clark: Either one. Yeah. Well I’m thinking it’s probably an attention thing because I would think that he would’ve tried to, I mean James Fox would’ve offered him money for it, and I know that.
Author: Did he offer you, did Logan Paul offer you money?
Clark: I understand he had a couple hundred thousand dollars cash with him, but I don’t recall him offering me money for it. I made it pretty clear that it wasn’t for sale.
Author: But he didn’t tell you that he had the cash on him at the time?
Clark: No, no, but I was advised after that he had about $200,000 in cash with him.
Author: And did you watch it on a computer?
Clark: It was on a 32 inch flat screen.
Author: You didn’t see any apparent, to you, any way that he would’ve recorded it?
Clark: No. If he did, he couldn’t have had a real steady shot at it and he would’ve been, oh, probably 14, 13, 14 feet back from the TV screen. I know where he was sitting here, let me see here. Let me take a pace this off real fast. Yeah. About 13 feet.
Author: Logan Paul is maybe just seeking attention, maybe doesn’t have it recording at all.
Clark: No, if he does, it wouldn’t be a very good one for sure. I mean, cell phones get pretty good video nowadays, but not when you’re not obvious about doing it.
Author: You’d have to be you looking at the screen or focusing in on it or something like that, I’d imagine.
Clark: Well, yeah, you’d have to get it framed and then the camera would have to be steady and it would still be of limited value probably.
Author: And you would sue him if he were to release that is what you’re saying?
Clark: Well, that’s for him to find out, but I would have a real good case in court. Let’s put it like that.
Author: Did you have the rights to the video?
Clark: I’m not going to go into that exactly.
Author: Well, if there was a case then you would need to have the rights when it was given to you or at some point transferred to you from the rights holder, would be my understanding anyways.
Clark: Yeah, that would be in general how it works.
Author: And you feel like you would have that case you’re saying?
Clark: I’ve said all I’m going to say on that.
Current status of the video:
Author: Is there any point in time you you’d consider putting it out there? Or is it the sort of thing where it’s going to die with you?
Clark: Well, to tell you the truth, the video is not in my possession any longer.
Author: Oh, okay. I know that there’s been a lot of attention around it recently. And I think I saw somewhere that said that you had sold it to Logan Paul, is that right?
Clark: No. No. If he has a poor cell phone copy of it, that is pirated and he’ll wind up in court and a lot poorer if it is disseminated.
Author: How recently did you give it away?
Clark: I didn’t give it away. I just said it’s no longer in my possession.
Author: So you didn’t willingly hand it over?
Clark: No. Well, I didn’t hand it over to anybody,
Author: So you didn’t willingly give it to, you know, didn’t hand it to somebody for safekeeping, for example?
Clark: No.
Author: So it was taken from you.
Clark: I don’t want to go into its location.
Author: Do you know where it is?
Clark: Yes.
Author: Was it your intention to not have it in your possession?
Clark: Yes.
Author: But you didn’t give it away?
Clark: I didn’t give it away. That’s as close as you’re going to get.
Author: Is there anything you could tell me just to give me some understanding of how it got to where it is? Without giving identifying information or saying where it is, something like that?
Clark: I facilitated it going to its present location.
