These are a lot of fun to see the results, but can also be a very boring practice if you’re not willing to sit for hours on end staring at a static camera. I personally love them, it was one of the first things I learnt in this field, to watch an inanimate object move by its own accord. Now, I am not talking about marbles and balls…… something round will have too many other factors that can cause movement, like a slight breeze, slanting floor, slight tremors that you might not feel but will cause movement. I like objects that unless they are physically touched cannot possibly move.
My personal favourite is a drinking glass on some flour, this is also good if you do not have a camera watching it. You need a decent sized base, if the glass does move it will leave drag marks in the flour as long as it is in a controlled environment.
Another one is dice, square but light, take note of where and who they are facing buy the numbers shown. Also set some marker points with some tape so you can work out which way the object moved and look for other factors within the premises that might have caused movement. Small toys are a good one, but avoid cars and teddy bears, 9 times out of 10 anything with wheels will role and soft toys will usually get top heavy and fall over. Armed with your pen and paper, draw a line on the paper and set the pen next to it, then lock the room and walk away and see if it moves or leaves any marks on the paper.
When I do use a camera on a trigger object I like to have an EMF meter next to it, so if the item does move you can record any fluctuations that you may get. It just gives you another bit of evidence to take back to the client. If you are willing to sit there and watch, you never know what you might find. There are a multitude of different ways of using different types of objects from jewellery, stationary, chairs, etc. but just remember to take a before and after photograph and make sure you can account for anything that may have caused your trigger object to take on a life of it’s own.
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- Glass placed directly on flour
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- Glass after movement