Hey, we're C.L.A.S.S.-A...but what does that mean? Aside from being an abbreviation for Capturing Light And Sound Scientifically: Afterlife, and being a play on words for classy (which we surely are), it's also a nod to a "Class A" rated E.V.P.
Huh?
Electronic Voice Phenomenon (E.V.P.)
E.V.P.s are vocal-type sounds caught on recording technology (like recorders, parabolic mics, ghost boxes, radios, ets) that weren't heard with the naked ear at the time they were captured. Often these pieces of technology have very sensitive mics which will pick things up that we can't. Only later upon review, and sometimes with some amplification software, can we hear it. These 'voices' vary in quality and intrigue. They're typically classified in the ranges of Classes A-C (with any lower categories being too irrelevant and poor quality to bother with).
The Classes
The categorical ratings are divided based on certain criteria/rubrics that must be met to qualify for that grouping. Recorded findings are classed based on clarity, volume, syllables, diction, context/relevance, language, register, cadence, rhythm, etc. In the 1960s a fella named Konstantin Raudive, a renowned EVP specialist, first introduced the idea of these classes and their defining characteristics, however they've been tweaked and reimagined since then. Let's take a look at their trademark features!
Class A Rating
A captured sound falls under this category if it is very clear, distinct, and comprehensible. The message is undisputable and objectively sounds like a human voice. The message is understood by anyone within average hearing range that listens (and speaks the language), without suggestion of what they should expect to hear. Bonus points if the voice is saying something in the relevant language to the location and relevant context to a question.
The sound is universally considered to be compelling, separate from the living humans in the room, not contamination, and understood/heard with no direction or training. Often these messages can still be distinguished without headphones. These E.V.P.s are once-in-a-lifetime captures and play a key role in stacking enough compelling evidence to point towards proof of paranormal entities. The fun part is figuring out if the voice comes from an intelligent entity or a residual one.
Class B Rating
These captures are slightly less clear, though 9/10 will confirm they hear what it's saying after some suggestion/opinions. It can be subtly heard without headphones, contains a few syllables, and is still fairly distinct against the background noise. These types of E.V.P.s work best in conjunction with other evidence in order to corroborate an event.
Generally things classed under a 'C' rating aren't really regarded as credible. Any room for doubt can do an investigation team more harm than good. People want concrete evidence, not things that could be mistaken errors. Risk of contamination is a huge factor in creating doubt surrounding an E.V.P. finding.
Contamination
When we investigate, the goal is always to create a controlled environment, where variables are eliminated that could tamper with our evidence. Those factors include:
Gum/Mouth Sounds
Gum and any kind of mouth sounds (nail biting, whistling, heavy breathing, sighs, smacking, etc) are strongly discouraged to the best of our abilities. On sensitive microphones these sounds can often sound like tiny squeaks, whispers, and other things we could mistake as paranormal if not kept under control.
Stomach Sounds
On that same note, we try to watch what we eat on investigation days because the rumbling of tummies (which we may not notice out loud) can translate to some pretty terrifying gutteral sounds on E.V.P. recordings. To rule out gassy growls and squeals, we try to eat clean.
Whispering
Under no circumstances do we ever whisper or sigh while recording. Sometimes it feels instinctual in a dark quiet room to be quiet, but we make a point of exaggerating the sounds we make so they are unmistakably us on the recordings. These include talking, burping, farting, coughing, sneezing, etc). Better safe than sorry!
Water in Pipes
These subtle trickles tend to sound like whispering on audio recordings and we do our best to monitor when and where water may be running slowly through pipes. Rain can also play the same trick and must be accounted for; if we can avoid a stormy investigation, we will.
Open Windows
If we're at a location that sits along a street, we are extra careful to shut the windows. If anyone is yelling/talking, even far off in the distance, it may translate to a faint voice on our recordings. Car horns, thunder, tire squeals, and animals may also sound like vocals.
Bad Tech
Having a poor quality recorder will surely mean poor quality results. A lot of E.V.P.s never make it to Class A simply because they were caught on a scratchy, weak, and staticky device.
Other Tech Interference
E.V.P.s can evoke doubt when other tech is present with possible contamination effects. Things like walkie-talkies can often go off in pockets with subtle vocals and/or have vocal robotic automated sounds (a voice that announces a channel change for example), headphones can transfer subtle sounds into the mic, etc.
Not Enough Delay After Questions
The running theory is that spirits take a while to build up enough energy to give an audible response and that they may also speak on a different frequency level than us (making it slower like sound traveling under water). This means we need to lag between questions so that we don't contaminate our E.V.P. evidence with our own interrupting voices.
Not Tagging Diligently
Tagging is the most important aspect of audio investigation. It's the act of us marking something audibly on a recording so we aren't confused by it later.
For example, if a car horn sounds in the distance, despite our best efforts at sealing windows, we would verbally say (while recording), "that was a car horn outside". Later when we review we may hear a scream and get excited but 2 seconds later, an explanation clarifies that it isn't paranormal evidence. Helping future us to discern noise pollution from real findings is crucial. We practice obsessive tagging.
C.L.A.S.S.-A takes pride in all the work we do to create controlled, uncontaminated, and unbias environments, so it's fitting to call ourselves the best of the best. Quality work produces quality results.
Know someone who needs our help?
Who ya gonna call?
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