Alien Invasion: Meet Marc D’Antonio
I obtained a degree in Astronomy because I always felt we were not alone. Knew at age 9 I would be an astronomer. Never wavered. Best thing I ever did. Then MUFON asked me to be Chief Photo and Video Analyst in 2008 because I was able to figure out that a sighting event was actually a hoax.
Tell me about Alien Invasion: Hudson Valley.
This story is a long one … Hudson valley has had its share of odd events…. in fact its had MORE odd events occur there than anywhere else in the world. It has earned the nickname UFO Capitol of the World. But its the people of the region that have been hard hit. Suffering traumatic visitations and abductions that they relay, these people quietly endure. It is the New England way for sure, but they also need help to understand what has been happening for YEARS.
What made you decide to get involved in the special?
I am very careful about what I participate in because it really is a reflection on who you are and if the producers paint you in a different light than you wish, then its problematic. But to their incredible credit, they painted all of us, Ben, Melissa and myself in the lights that we had hoped. We were given the opportunity to utilize scientific methods and equipment to do the research. Who could turn down the chance to do something that wasnt too formula driven as we see in the UFO show arena. The show breaks the mold and after seeing how they were going to treat the people and ourselves, I agreed to participate…
What are some of the challenges of working on it?
The main challenge to this kind of show is that we do not know the agenda of whatever may be out there. Will it respond to us? Will it be tempted in by our experimental attempts to make it known to us. Many questions. Well it DID respond and it DID affect us in a variety of ways. Primarily though whatever may be causing this phenomenon is on its OWN time schedule and getting it to respond was like trying to get a two year old to eat. Play airplane and fly a spoonful in… nope… Open the tarin tunnel! Nahhh.. So we kept trying and… well… we appear to have succeeded.
Before filming even started Ben and I chased a tornado that struck the hotel we were in… Cant forget that! We were like two little kids but with cool technology to track it. After filming began, with my science background being brought to bear in all cases, I found that my science was not enough to explain some of the things that I participated in and that I personally observed. Those were the special and amazing moments and they were all captured in the special.
I am currently working on another series The Proof is Out There on A&E, and on various other shows appearing across Netflix and elsewhere. When not doing that I operate to remote observatories that I built up from scratch, one in Connecticut and one in Arizona’s Sonoran desert far from any lights. I take people on clear night tours of the Universe via the SkyTour LiveStream channel on YouTube.
Fun fact: Well for ME its kind of cool… I have been a magician since age 12 and my exposure to misdirection, and people trying to deceive has made me particularly sensitive to those trying to pull a fast one on me either via a hoax ufo event or anything else. Another fun fact is that the observatories are completely remote meaning I operate then entirely from elsewhere. The AZ scope for instance is operated from 2500 miles away in CT. The fun part is that to do that, I am using entirely FREE software. Ok maybe not fun for you, but for me that is cool… The MOST fun fact is that I turned my most enjoyable pasttimes into my career. It is humbling and wonderful.
trick question!? haha… I watch many UFO documentaries and find myself yelling at the screen saying things like “oh come on! How can you NOT see that this is a hoax!”… When its a hoax… Oh and Dr Who… Now that is a cool british show…
I started and run a visual effects company called FX Models here in CT and also do special projects for the US Navy and defense contractors. I also work directly with Douglas Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Blade Runner etc) and create 3D movies wit him using a new technique developed at the studio called MAGI. 4k, 120 frames per second in 3D. The results make you feel as if you experiencing live action.
