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UFO Film Maker Paul Kimball Interviewed |
 This is the first of a number of Book of THoTH interviews with the speakers at the Symposium Conference 2006 . The first being the organiser of the conference Mr Paul Kimball. Questions by THoTH and Oddthings.
We will be interviewing Stanton Friedman, Robert Zimmerman, Mac Tonnies and Greg Bishop so far. If you've not read the details of the Symposium, it is strongly recommended that you do. This is not an event to be missed, so many good speakers talking about things that effect all of us.
BoT=Book of THoTH PK=Paul Kimball
BoT: Welcome to the interview Mr. Kimball
PK: Hello to all the BoT members!
BoT:Can you tell us what was it that began your interest in UFOs? i.e. your first influences and why that got you interested?
PK: It’s interesting, because I always get asked that question, but I don’t really have an answer, at least in the sense of there being "one thing". Stan Friedman is my uncle, so that certainly had an impact, I guess. So too did the era I grew up in - the 1970s, when space exploration was still a going concern (as it’s becoming again now), and Star Trek and Star Wars were huge cultural influences. The subject interests me as an historian, and as a lawyer, in the sense that I was trained to look at and weigh evidence, particularly witness testimony. Finally, it’s a mystery, and for some reason I like mysteries. It’s just part of my who I am.
BoT: When did you start your writing/documentaries and research?
PK: Well, my background is pretty varied. I didn’t get into the film and television industry until the late 1990s, after my music career ended, and I decided that I had no desire to go and practice law. I worked for the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation - that’s the Crown agency that provides funding to the film and television industry in the Province of Nova Scotia - in 1997 - 1998, and then left to start my own production company.
I produced my first documentary in 1999, along with a drama special for Bravo. I moved into the director’s seat in 2001 with Stanton T. Friedman is Real, which we did for Space, the Canadian equivalent of the Sci-Fi Channel. Since that time I’ve done a number of documentaries on a variety of subjects for different networks, as well as two seasons of a classical music series for Bravo. Not all of my work is in the paranormal field.
BoT: What makes you want to write or speak about these things?
PK: If you mean the UFO phenomenon, personal curiosity. I suppose that applies to any film I make, or any research I conduct.
BoT: Do you find your writing/research easy or not?
PK: Yeah, I always have. I mean, it’s work, no doubt about it, but it’s work that I’ve always enjoyed, whether as a history major, or in law school, or now with films and television, and documentaries, or with the UFO phenomenon. I actually enjoy hanging out in archives, roaming through the stacks in a library, looking for information that perhaps no-one else has looked for yet. As I said, I like mysteries, and I also like treasure hunts - I view research as a bit of both.
BoT: What’s the easiest thing about your writing or research?
PK: The research is the easiest, because I enjoy it, and I’m good at it. It just comes naturally.
BoT: What’s the hardest?
PK: Trying to get the story line right in a film is probably the hardest part. It’s like sculpting - you have a ton of footage, and from that you have to shape a film that’s usually forty-eight minutes long (the standard length for television). So I chip away at it. By the time I’m done, I’ve usually got over 100 different versions, which are all still on the computer - I save them each time I make a major change.
It doesn’t help that I’m a perfectionist, either. I’ve never made an original deadline for delivery of a film to a network - I always have to ask for extensions, because I’m never quite happy with things, so I keep tinkering. Eventually I get it as good as I’m going to, but I’m never completely satisfied with a film, even though I’m proud of all of them.
BoT: You explore UFOs in great depth, for instance, having worked on "Stanton T. Friedman is Real." Could you tell us the main concepts behind your views? What IS real, in your mind, I guess is how I’ll put it?
PK: The UFO phenomenon is an objective reality. It exists. However, there is no proven explanation for what UFOs - a better term is UAP, or unidentified aerial phenomena - represent. Are they aliens? Extradimensional beings? Time travelers? Or relatively mundane things, like atmospheric phenomena (which we may or may not understand or even know about yet), coupled with misidentifications, secret aircraft, etc.? We simply can’t say. What we can say is that it’s a mystery that science, the media, historians, etc., should look into, because there might be something that they can learn from a serious study.
BoT: Who are your favourite researchers/writers?
PK: The late Karl Pflock was a friend of mine, and I admired his work and outlook. Brad Sparks is the best researcher of the UFO phenomenon over the past 25 years, hands down. He’s talked to more people, and dug out more material, than anyone else. Robert Todd was also an excellent researcher, although he ticked people off within ufology because he had an abrasive personality.
Kevin Randle does good work, and has for years - he keeps an open mind, which is important. David Clarke and Andy Roberts in the United Kingdom have done excellent work over there in digging material out. Mac Tonnies is a bright young guy with a lot of interesting ideas, and a flair for writing. Nick Redfern and Greg Bishop. Stan Friedman for his sheer persistence, although I think he’s gotten some big things wrong over the years, particularly MJ-12. And, last but not least, Jim Moseley, because he’s always seen the humour in it all.
BoT: The Book of THoTH is about bringing a greater resource of wisdom for those who want to explore further, what would be your message to those who are just beginning in their quest?
PK: The most important thing to remember is that you should always try to do your own research, and stay objective. Don’t let your need or desire to believe drive your conclusions, and, should you be of a more skeptical bent, remember to always keep an open mind. There’s lots of things in this world we don’t know very much, or anything, about yet.
BoT: Are there any skeptics in your area of writing or research, and what would you say to them?
PK: I’m a skeptic. I think it’s the only way to approach things, particularly about UFOs, because we simply don’t know what UFOs represent.
BoT: Where do you see yourself in, say, 5 years time, and what will you have achieved?
PK: Still making films, about a wide range of subjects, hopefully with another television series, perhaps about the paranormal. As for what I hope to achieve, it’s simple - good work that challenges and engages the viewer, regardless of the subject.
BoT: Have you any advice for people wanting to follow in your footsteps?
PK: It’s seems cliche, but the best advice is to keep an open mind, do your homework, think logically and objectively, and draw your own conclusions based on the evidence. That applies to anything in life, not just the UFO phenomenon - except perhaps dating!
BoT: What are the best resources that people can use to learn more about your area of interest/research?
PK: A good first place to start when looking at the UFO phenomenon are some of the best books, and some of the studies. These would include The UFO Evidence, by Richard Hall, the UFO Encyclopedia, by Jerry Clark, and The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry, by J. Allen Hynek. Passport to Magonia, by Jacques Vallee, is a good one as well (as are some of Vallee’s other books).
The important thing is to look at both sides - with Roswell, for example, look at the books by Stan Friedman and Kevin Randle, but also read Karl Pflock’s Roswell: Inconvenient Facts and the Will to Believe. If you’re interested in abductions, sure, look at Budd Hopkins and David Jacobs, but then read The Abduction Enigma by Kevin Randle, Russ Estes, and William Cone.
Once you’ve read a few of the seminal books on the subject, take a look at the scientific studies, like the Sturrock Panel, the COMETA report, the Condon study, and the Project Blue Book Materials at the Project Blue Book Archive. These are all available on the Internet, except perhaps the COMETA report.
Then look for the best of the particular case studies. Start with the RB-47H case (1957), and go from there.
BoT: Are there any projects that you’re currently working on? Other than the symposium, of course! I’m sure that’s keeping you busy, but what are you going to do after it’s over?
PK: I just finished Fields of Fear, a documentary for Space here in Canada, about cattle mutilations and Canadian investigator Fern Belzil. Now I turn my attention to Best Evidence: Top 10 UFO Cases, a doc I’ve been working on for Space and TV New Zealand, that will be ready in December. I’m also working on a classical music doc for Bravo, and producing a documentary about the Israeli - Palestinian conflict for the CBC.
BoT: How’d you come to be involved with the New Frontiers Symposium? Is it your idea? How did it come to fruition, and how did all these amazing speakers get involved?
PK: Yeah, my idea all the way, and it’s my money that’s fronting it, so I’m sticking my neck out there for something that I think matters. As for the speakers, they’re all friends of mine with whom I’ve worked, and who I respect (even when I might not agree with them), except for Bob Zimmerman, who I didn’t know until I contacted him, but I love his book, Leaving Earth, and I heard him on Coast to Coast back in May, and he was great, so I asked him to come, and he said yes. I’m really looking forward to meeting him, and hearing his talk - there’s nothing more exciting, in my opinion, than the exploration of space.
BoT: What’s your talk at the symposium going to be about?
PK: Basically, the concept of evidence where the UFO phenomenon is concerned, and a quick synopsis of four of the "best evidence" cases that you’ve probably never heard of.
BoT: Any final message for the members of The Book of THoTH and the rest of the world?
PK: Sure - come to the Symposium, and save me from bankruptcy! :-) Seriously, if you can get to Halifax on the 14th, it’s the best line-up of serious speakers you’re going to get a chance to see this year, and if we can make a go of it this year then I intend to expand it for a second year.
BoT: Thank you for the interview, and I hope to chat with you a little more after the symposium to find out how it all went. Thanks for your time.
PK: No problem - thanks for the publicity and support!
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