Here’s another batch of production stills from the Guidestones web series shoot in Savannah, GA. Check out candid and in-action photos of lead actors Dan Fox and Supinder Wraich, as well as director Jay Ferguson shooting with the Canon 7D camera. All photos taken by Thom Smalley.
We’ve just received the second teaser trailer for the Guidestones web series, inviting you to decode this international conspiracy. Who is Harold? What is he implying about the Georgia Guidestones? Does this point to a larger conspiracy? Is Harold somehow related to the mysterious R.C. Christian, who created the GA Guidestones? Start theorizing now; who knows what clues lie in store for our uniquely interactive, transmedia mystery.
The answer to the question “Who created the Georgia Guidestones?” – like many aspects of the monument – is both answered and not answered by the Guidestones themselves. “Author: R.C. Christian” is engraved on the structure and yet there is also included the qualification that the name is a pseudonym. What is known about R.C. Christian? Let’s start with the official story provided by the Elberton Granite Finishing Company’s 1981 booklet.
The official story offers a number of facts about the Christian figure. There are quotations supposedly from the man himself along with comments from Joe H. Fendley, Sr. and Wyatt C. Martin – the only two people who have met R.C. Christian, while Martin is the only person who knows for sure his identity due to his position as the intermediary who handled the financing. Christian apparently stated, “I only use that name because I am a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ,” while the description of the group – unattributed as the belief of the author or information given by Christian and/or his group – assures they are “small group of perhaps half-a-dozen people who believe in God and country” and for whom Christian is merely the “visible spokesman”. Apart from his religious belief, Christian is described as having “served in World War II and described himself as ‘a patriotic American in every sense of the word.'” Obviously a man of great wealth, he also “appears to be a well traveled and intelligent man” whose travels in Europe “impressed [him] with the many monuments throughout the countries” that naturally includes Stonehenge. Not to be confused with being too highfalutin, we also learn his “great-grandmother was originally from Georgia” and “he said he once was a concrete worker”. If it hasn’t become apparent in my writing, this description could not possibly be any more carefully constructed – a balance that keeps the monument and the R.C. Christian as above board as possible with the local crowd, for whom the entire message may seem to be – and does become seen as – an-anti Christian, anti-American promotion of a New World Order. To some extent this can be understood as a valuable position for whomever created the monument and why the Christian pseudonym was taken, but also as much serving the interests of the Elberton Granite Finishing Company. It is otherwise irrelevant, whether the information is true or false.
Christian is described as elegantly dressed, grey-haired and approximately middle-aged. He delivered the monument’s specifications in meters and was not deterred by the high estimate for the cost of creating the Guidestones. When the monument was built, despite supposedly standing in for a small group of concerned citizens, he is given credit as the author of the ‘text’. Because this is a pseudonym, it does provoke the spectator to investigate the question of who created the structure, but it is also somewhat self-centred. This is confirmed by the creation of Common Sense Renewed, a book written over five years after the monument was erected and for which R.C. Christian is again the author. In the book he takes full responsibility as “the originator of the Georgia Guidestones and the sole author of its inscriptions.” In fact, one function of the monument was to “inspire” other enterprising individuals to build twelve further Guidestones, but this has yet to occur. It would seem this particular venture is the passion of but one person, or perhaps he is the only one seeking to advertise this belief.
In Randall Sullivan’s well-circulated article on the Georgia Guidestones for Wired, it is revealed that Christian kept in regular contact with Martin: regular letters and occasional meetings in Athens, GA. The last point of contact was close to the events of 9/11 and Martin assumes, based on age, that Christian might now be deceased. In their meetings, Christian never discussed the books and the well kept contact with the only person that knows his identity indicates a desire to perform the role of Christian to the only person for whom he could. They appear to be the actions of a man performing for himself.
However, there is still reason to believe there is some form of network behind him, specifically due to the message on the Guidestones and the writings in Common Sense Renewed. Van Smith, writing in 2010, offers a great run-down of the book, from which a few highlights presented here are sourced. The general thrust of the book, like the Guidestones, is to promote a “rational world order” that rules the globe by reason. Like many faiths, there is a belief that “each human being has a purpose,” but that it takes a single governing body to be blunt about which humans are more equal than others. This involves difficult positions on eugenics, controlling the amount of births, extreme Darwinism with regard to those who are ill or without money, voting restricted to those who earn more, etc. This is beyond the general concept of respecting nature when it comes to the question of population control, but rather a kind of individualism that comes from someone for whom success, health and privilege have always been known. Do these beliefs synch up with any of the concepts outlined in the official story? Christianity? American identity? Being a former concrete working member of the proletariat? Not particularly.
The message of these writings link up with the beliefs of Alice A. Bailey and her New Age movement, where Christ is worshipped along with other deities; the ‘Common Sense’ writings of Thomas Paine; and the secret truths of nature, man and social order associated with the Rosicrucians. Each of these offer a potential network that may represent the group for which Christian is the visible spokesman. The claim for sole ownership of the ideas in the book may simply be a smokescreen for when he later distributed his book to “several thousand political officials and shapers of public opinion throughout the world” – including all members of the United States Congress – in order to not seem like there is a specific organization’s programme at work, diluting the message.
All photographs from the Guidestones booklet produced by the Elberton Granite Finishing Company in 1981.
Production stills from shooting the Guidestones web series throughout Georgia, USA. Director Jay Ferguson and crew work with a Canon 7D to decode this mysterious structure and the conspiracy that lies behind the granite.
Director Jay Ferguson setting up a shot.
Jay directing actors Dan Fox and Supinder Wraich.
Supinder Wraich in the process of acting.
Scott Brachmayer recording sound.
Thom Smalley manning the clapperboard.
Dan Fox acquainting himself with Georgian sculpture.
Check out the first teaser of the Guidestones web series, inviting you to decode this international conspiracy. What is the mysterious symbol? Does it pertain to secret societies? A new world order? Prepare for the uniquely interactive, transmedia mystery story – the ramifications are worldwide!
Enjoy this lighthearted look behind-the-scenes of the production of the Guidestones web series in India! The video was shot by our talented lead actress, Supinder Wraich.
What is the Georgia Guidestones? You may know of the granite structure as the “American Stonehenge”, located in Elbert County, Georgia, USA and carrying a message that has been interpreted as both a sensible warning against overpopulation, as well as the devious work of a secret society ushering in a secular, new world order. It was erected on March 22, 1980.
Before moving into interpretation, it’s worth considering just what exactly the Georgia Guidestones are – physically. The monument reaches 5.87 meters in height, made from six granite slabs that are 107,840 kg kg in weight. One slab stands in the centre of the structure, with four surrounding it in an astronomical alignment and a capstone positioned on top. The stones are engraved with one, ten-step message delivered in eight languages, while a less elaborate message in four ancient languages adorning the capstone at the top. At the centre of each tablet’s edge is a circle with a letter representing the compass direction it points towards. There is an informational stone tablet on the ground to the west of the structure. The modern languages used are Arabic, Chinese, English, Hebrew, Hindi, Russian, Spanish and Swahili, while the ancient language scripts are Babylonian, Classical Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Sanskrit.
The message in the modern languages is presented in ten commandments and is as follows:
1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
2. Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.
3. Unite humanity with a living new language.
4. Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.
5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
8. Balance personal rights with social duties.
9. Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.
10. Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.
The informational tablet is level with the ground and explains, to some degree, the Guidestones: their function (“Let these be guidestones to an Age of Reason”), the date it was created, who was responsible, facts about its physical features, the languages used on it, and even the astronomical features of the stones. The “channel through stone indicates celestial pole” (the north star), the “horizontal slot indicates the annual travel of sun” (solstices/equinoxes) and the “sunbeam through capstone marks noontime throughout the year”.
The tablet tantalizingly references one mystery: the presence of a time capsule. There should be dates explaining when the time capsule was buried and when it should be retrieved and opened, but they are absent. Instead, it simple reads: “Time Capsule / Placed six feet below this spot / On [empty space] / To Be Opened on [empty space]”. If this seemingly relevant and even necessary component of the concept is, in fact, missing, then perhaps the power of the stones and those in question has been made out to be much more than is actually true. On the other hand, perhaps this points to creating a curiosity and activeness in those who see the Guidestones – to pursue points of interest beyond what they immediately see and to fill in the metaphorical gaps in the information presented to them.
Who created the structure? This is a difficult question that we will consider at a later date, but the structure itself is signed by R.C. Christian, who commissioned Elberton Granite Finishing Company to create the Guidestones in June of 1979. Joe H. Friendly, Sr. lead the team and even recorded the entire event in a booklet sold to the public, which does not hide its shared sentiment, the foreword ending with this statement: “This publication about these unique stones will serve to help all inhabitants of this planet reflect more earnestly — hopefully in a ‘reasonable‘ fashion — about these “guides” to mankind’s ultimate survival.”
The stone itself says R.C. Christian is a pseudonym – or ‘pseudonyn’ as it is misspelled on the stone – which like the missing information for the time capsule conveys to the viewer that they do not hold all the information… to question what they initially read. Furthermore, the tablet reads that the stone is ‘sponsored’ by a “small group of Americans who seek the Age of Reason”. Whether this means the group is deliberately limited, as in a secret society, or simply small in the sense that they feel it is a cause not reaching as many people as it should – and hence the erection of the Guidestones – is deliberately left vague.
One thing worth emphasizing is that the bottom centre of the informational tablet instructs the viewer that “Additional information [is] available at Elberton Granite Museum & Exhibit, College Avenue, Elberton, Georgia”, which raises questions to the degree of complicity that exists with those who fabricated the stones and the county itself. Could the function of these stones be so radical if so many disparate branches are happy with the stones, or is the allure of an ‘attraction’ so strong that county and Elberton Granite Finishing Company are willing to turn a blind eye to their function.
One implicit message, which seems to go without much mention, is that Elberton is the self-advertised ‘Granite Capital of the World’ where more monuments are produced than any other place in the world. Granite is, of course, a natural by-product, while the monuments and their messages are the product of man – usually to honour man, rather than nature. At the very least, the monument can be seen as a true intersection of man and nature, the message one that simply acknowledges this relationship and honours it.
All photos taken by Thom Smalley.
Here’s a taste of some of the production photos from the Guidestones location shooting at the Georgia Guidestones. As you might expect for a web series of this nature, the production itself was adventurous, dynamic and just a little bit unsettling…
The Guidestones naturally lit by car headlights for a particularly suspenseful scene… and shoot.
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Welcome to the official site and blog for the 3 O’Clock TV/iThentic web series, Guidestones. As we gear up for the launch of the series, I have been asked to use this blog as a means of giving some context for the Georgia Guidestones, a mysterious structure in Elbert County, Georgia, USA. However, the story of this series goes far deeper, as my preliminary interview with the director of the series, Jay Ferguson, has revealed to me. Below is a discussion of the rather unsettling reality behind this series.
Chris: Tell me how you first became interested in the Georgia Guidestones?
Jay: In May of 2009 I read Randall Sullivan’s article in Wired and was of course fascinated with the story. My background is both in fiction and documentary and I felt this would be a good mix of the two, but I had no idea where it would lead me. Having read the article, I decided to do a little snooping at various forums pertaining to conspiracies – you know, things that would not necessarily be easily placed into an article in a major publication.
C: That must have been difficult. I can’t imagine a community like that would easily be accepting of strangers.
J: Absolutely. I was just looking for more information on the Guidestones, which I wasn’t expecting much to be offered, but I think because I had a link to my previous work that explains what followed. A person who called herself Sandy – certainly not her real name – made contact with me and seemed to have interesting insights. We kept in touch loosely for a few months – I was naturally skeptical – but she kept coming back to me, asking me about my research, other work, etc. It was a bit strange.
C: I would guess so.
J: Suddenly she asked me to meet with her in person. We met in a local – very busy – coffee shop. She was a very together and strong woman, which I admit I wasn’t expecting. We chatted about my work, which she confirmed that she had found and seen. Something about having met in person maybe allowed her to finally tell me why she was so interested.
C: Is this where the series began?
J: Exactly. She started to tell me stories about how she came to Toronto as an exchange student to study journalism. I won’t give away too much of the story, but at some point she took interest in a death that she believed had been covered up. She and one of her classmates started investigating it on their spare time and slowly were wrapped up in a legitimate murder mystery. She told me of how they were partially led by information carefully left on the internet – some kind of ‘deepthroat’ figure – that helped pushed them along further and further.
C: How was she when all of this was happening.
J: She was very intense and serious, but careful. Both because of those around us in the coffee shop, but also because you could imagine her experiences have lead her to be suspicious, despite the understandable desire to have this story be told.
C: Did you immediately believe it?
J: You know what? I wasn’t expecting to, but I did. At least to a reasonable degree. But I left it for a bit as I was busy with a few other projects. Eventually I had time to do a little searching and I actually found some of the things she had told me about, some of the evidence they had found, and I was able to find it as well. It was just enough for me to invest in hiring a part time researcher for general information on the Guidestones, which was when we brought you on board.
C: Yes, my work was not as dangerous as Sandy’s exactly…
J: [laughs] Not at all, but we needed to get a scope for this story I was becoming more interested in pursuing. I would contact Sandy to clarify certain things and she would often fill in some important gaps, but she would only talk to me and we never met in the same place twice. You never met her and, importantly, not even I have learned her real name.
C: Did you ever want this to be a bona fide documentary?
J: The story was so captivating that I definitely wanted to do a documentary. Sandy would have nothing to do with it and most of the other principals were either dead or impossible to find. It didn’t look promising. I was sorry she would not go on record, which also required the story to be put aside for a while.
C: How did you settle upon a fictionalized web series format?
J: On the side I had been nurturing my company 3oclock.tv, which I started in order to create online content. Both fiction and documentary. One day after not talking to Sandy for a few weeks it suddenly dawned on me that I could fictionalize the story and make if very inexpensively and put it out on the internet.
C: Which would also fit in nicely with the role the internet played in the story itself.
J: It would be a perfect hybrid of the fiction and doc work I have been doing all along and allows me to kind of replicate the hunt that Sandy went on. We took Sandy’s story and tried to remain as true to the spirit of the thing, but of course took many creative liberties and changed all the names. I think that what we have created is as close as you can come to retelling an event while still keeping the principals involved safe and have it be an entertaining story – there’s a lot more downtime in real life.
C: And it’s turned out well?
J: We’re really excited over how it’s come out. Our tagline reads, “You are one click away form the truth.” I did not write that. That is from Sandy’s mouth to me. She told me it was the phrase that ran through her head at one point during the ordeal, when it occurred to her how important it was to find the information she had. Given everything that was happening, the knowledge that this information could reach the right people was what kept her sane.
