Multiple retakes, professional cameras, long hours of shooting in a desert landscape and $2,00,000 worth editing equipment may seem like paraphernalia associated with a film shoot, but these have now come to be used by the Islamic State as they churn out radical, gory videos.
Analysis of the gory 16-minute-long video of the executions of 22 Syrian soldiers published by the Islamic State last month has brought out startling details that indicate the professionalism and expenses the terror group puts into their videos.
The video, titled "Though the Unbelievers Despise It", is believed to have taken almost six hours to shoot at a cost of more than $2,00,000, according to experts from TRAC (Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium) and the UK-based think tank Quilliam, who analysed the footage.
The analysts pinpointed the change in the shadows and the lighting under the sun in a place identified as a desert road in the north-western Syrian town of Dabiq to show that the video was shot over several hours and not in one go.
The change in the positions of militants in the execution line hinted at multiple retakes as the jihadists filmed the video.
Taking into account the sophistication of the video, the team has purported that the editing equipment and the high-end multiple HD cameras may have cost the terror group close to $2,00,000.
According to TIME, the group is believed to have used Avid Technology, a state-of-the-art program, which is said to cost about $200,000.
But one of the more startling revelations from the study of the video is that the infamous 'Jihadi John' seen in the video was in fact a body double, according to Daily Mail.
Even as reports over the recent weeks suggested that the now well-known jihadist, who was behind the executions of American and British hostages, has been injured, analysts also pointed at a difference in height and weight of the man seen in the new video to doubt if he really was Jihadi John.
Experts also picked on a shooting glitch when they found that Jihadi John's distinctive mask was worn by another jihadist.
These findings have raised questions over the identity of Jihadi John and have also helped identify of other ISIS militants seen in the video – Maxime Hauchard and Michael Dos Santos –both French, and a Belgian believed to be one Abdelmajid Gharmaoui.
