totheark uploads: Season One

A quick reference guide to all the details and decoded messages from the totheark video uploads posted in conjunction with the content on the main Marble Hornets channel. Most of the work decoding videos was done by the broader fandom, copied here from sites such as the Marble Hornets wikidot; other details and descriptions were written by me. The content on this page is split into two parts: a basic decoded description of every video on the front, with elaborations and personal interpretations hidden behind a Read More button, that way you can follow along with the series with the code-solutions alone and be free to come to your own conclusions before having to read mine. The content behind the Read More sections will include spoilers for the series as a whole because I interpret them with the wider series in mind; only click on them if you are finished with the series or willing to have content spoiled.

regards

Regards was uploaded by totheark on July 22, 2009 as a video response to Entry 9.

Its description is "////////", and is tagged with "ark" "marble" "hornets".

The video is made up of distorted audio that is impossible to understand. The video is made up a series of rectangles made of slashes that flash repeatedly, and later, the word "CLOSELY".

The number of slashes along the side of the squares translates into "LOK", by counting the corresponding number of letters into the alphabet. L is the 12th letter, 0 is the 15th and K is the 11th. Therefore, read in conjunction with "CLOSELY", the message of the video can be interpreted to mean "LOOK CLOSELY".

The very first of totheark's video responses to Jay's channel, and one that very rarely gets a lot of attention from the wider fandom. Although the code has been successfully broken and the decoded message has been soundly agreed upon, there doesn't seem to be a lot of attention paid to what specifically totheark was attempting to get Jay to take a closer look at. One thing I think could be significant is the way Jay opened Entry #9 with a title card saying "I have never seen Alex act the way he does in the following raw footage from Marble Hornets", referring to his overtly irritated and harsh attitude. Although Jay seems taken aback by it in the present, none of the other actors featured on set in the video - Tim, Sarah, or Seth - seem surprised by the way Alex is talking, as if they're long used to putting up with it.

At the end of the video, Jay notes that the stress of being stalked must have been affecting Alex's mood and personality, which we do know to be true. In later entries, we get further footage of Alex from before things got bad that shows he was an open and kind of excitable guy who seemed genuinely eager to work on the project and help accommodate the crew. What could be significant, though, is the fact that Jay seems to lack any memory of Alex's downward spiral. Jay has said that he and Alex weren't really friends in college, but even if their relationship was strictly professional, it's obvious that Alex wasn't successfully hiding his outbursts from any of the cast or the crew, so Jay should have more context for this attitude than he seems to. It's possible that totheark was trying to alert Jay to the fact that Alex's emotional shift was long established - telling Jay to either take a closer look at his own memories to see what else he might be missing, or just a way of saying that he shouldn't be so taken aback by the outbursts in the footage because they're going to be a recurring trend.

Operator

Operator was uploaded on July 31, 2009, as a video reply to Entry 10.

Its description is "\\\yes\\\", and is tagged with "marble" "hornets".

The audio is heavily distorted and appears to be from something outdoors. The video is a sequence of appearances of text. They appear and disappear on different parts of the screen, reading:

Lakes
In Stillnesss will
Take
Every
life
of the
Night

The capital letters in the text spell the word LISTEN.

The LISTEN message is a direct reference to the audio of the video. 'Operator' was a video response to Entry #10, which had had its audio removed from the tape, either intentionally or simply via some kind of corruption, as Jay denotes in the video's description. The audio track that accompanied 'Operator' is the missing audio from Entry #10 - all but confirmed through Jay's twitter (Troy, one of the creators of the series, would often use Jay's twitter as a way of nudging the audience in a certain direction).

Functionally, this is a clue to who totheark is and what they want. The fact that totheark was able to obtain and upload a missing audio track from a tape that Jay has in his possesion is an overt sign that they have their own footage of these events - possibly to the point of having their own Copies of tapes that Jay owns. This becomes especially significant with later entries. We know that Alex did intentionally tamper with certain tapes - some were altered by genuine corruption, but others were not - and totheark having their own tapes free from any intentional alterations is important to iron out the genuine details of events and to highlight when and why Alex was lying.

Deluge

Deluge was uploaded on August 11, 2009 as a video reply to Entry 11.

Its description is "///", and is tagged with "marble" "hornets".

The audio is a distorted bass noise. Included in the mix is a slow voice repeating what sounds like "Alex" backwards on the left channel.

The video ends with the text "WATCHING YOU" - you is in bold, and spelled using the letter O rather than a zero.

Combining the audio with the text on screen leaves the message: "ALEX WATCHING YOU".

This is an important upload that really begins to play into the Medium through which Marble Hornets is presented. Because Marble Hornets is an Unfiction series, the events uploaded to YouTube are understood to be 'real' and taking place 'alongside reality' -- ie; because the Marble Hornets videos are uploaded to YouTube, it's understood that other Characters within Marble Hornets have access to the website and the same videos. Beyond the back-and-forth interactions that totheark has with Jay via these video replies, the Deluge upload is a warning that totheark isn't the Only one viewing these videos that Jay is making.

The "Alex Watching You" warning isn't generic paranoia, nor an implication that Alex was literally at the house when Jay was there, rather it's a warning letting Jay know that Alex knows about the Marble Hornets channel and is keeping tabs on Jay using it. Later in Season Two, Alex will admit to this directly and make fun of Jay for making it so easy to know where he is and what he's doing -- although Jay primarily seems to be using this channel out of his own paranoia over losing memories, he's also making it very easy for the same people he's running from to find him themselves.

Impurity

Impurity was uploaded on September 01, 2009 as a video reply to Entry 12.

Its description is "000000000", and is tagged with "marble", "hornets", & "ark".

In the first section of the video, there is no audio track, and the only visual is a blinking "begin".

In the second section, a series of zeroes is presented, where the main message seems to be:

00000000000000000000000000
00000
000000000000000000
000000000000000

In the third section, some tree tops are filmed in the rain during a thunder storm. The audio appears to be of that storm - including rain and thunder sounds - along with a frequency of 1046 Hz. Right before the cut to the fourth section, the word "operator" appears in the plant.

In the fourth section, a heavily distorted audio clip is played and the screen is filled with zeroes. Among the zeroes are the letters "T H E R E W A S M R E."

T H E R E W A S M R E, combined with an O that is hidden in the field of 0s (hidden because, like the other totheark videos, the O is likely replaced by a 0) say "There Was More." Counting the zeroes leads to the message "26 5 18 15" - translating that into letters gives "z e r o"

Exit was uploaded on September 15, 2009 as a video reply to Entry 13.

Its description is "remember me", and is tagged with "marble" "hornets" "ark"

The video starts with quick flashes of the words "Rat" "He" "Ore" and "Top" - an anagram for "the operator". Buzzing can be heard during this segment.

Footage from a handheld camcorder flickers, then steadies and zooms in on a white convertible. Jay walks around the back of the car and enters in through the driver's side - Jay confirmed later via twitter that he was looking for batteries for Alex's camera. This places the footage directly after Jay's exit from Entry 13. He runs back to where he started - the camera follows his movements, then runs after him. A beep is heard, and the video cuts.

The text "WHEREIS THEARK" is displayed on the very last frame of the clip.

This video works as further confirmation that the owner of the totheark channel is someone who was closely involved in the Marble Hornets film project during the college years. Not only do they have tapes that Alex filmed during that era, they also have their own unique footage from the same time. The "remember me" in the description is also an indication that it's someone Jay knew directly -- not someone who could have stumbled into the footage after the fact.

After knowing the identity of the Masked Man primarily in charge of the channel, it's also significant that this footage seems to have been filmed relatively early on in the project's timeline -- indicating a level of paranoia/suspicion was already present before the actions that Alex would later take, supplementing/giving additional light to his chronic absenteeism during the filming. Essentially a confirmation that the effects of The Operator are not constrained to those having direct contact with the Ark; there was a spread of contamination occuring before Alex decided to take steps to corral it.

Program

Program was uploaded on September 26, 2009 as a video reply to Entry 14.

Its description is "000", and is tagged with "marble", "hornets", & "ark".

The video starts with two seconds of a slightly distorted color correction test screen, then cuts to red-tinted video footage. It appears to be the outside of a house, filmed during a heavy rainstorm. The audio appears to be a ticking sound (like a movie projector) mixed in with a repeating music loop. An undulating hand-drawn "S" occupies the lower-left hand corner of the screen.

The following code flashes over the door of the building, repeating three times:

00
0-
-0
0-

00
00
00
0-

00
00
0-
--

00
00
00
0-

Finally, the video ends with the message:

ble
ed
mo
re

The flashing code translates through binary and ciphers to: EM, SOH, CR, SOH.

EM="End of Medium"

SOH="Start of Header"

CR="Carriage Return"

SOH="Start of Header"

In conjunction with Entry#14, this appears to be a message about the way Alex's footage was filmed. Alex finished one tape, put a new one in the camera to film, then rewound that tape to the beginning, and began filming over it - effectively erasing what had been initially recording in favor of the footage of him bleeding from the head. The "BLEED MORE" is seemingly a message to Alex from tta.

Another double-sidedly useful upload by totheark. Not only significant for the revelation that Alex has been tampering with tapes -- making it clear that the footage Jay is combing through is not an unbiased account of the events that occurred. In this tape in particular, he's deleted footage of something important in favor of something less so -- it's not coincidental footage corruption, it's a deliberate obfuscation of events.

On the other side, it's important that totheark Recognizes this. Unlike Jay, who has no real concrete memories regarding what happened in college, totheark is very cognizant of the events that occurred -- enough to recognize that Alex is lying and hiding important information. This is an attempt to let Jay know that there's more going on beneath the surface, that Alex isn't necessarily an innocent bystander worthy of Jay's blatant concern, but someone with a more active hand in the events than is initially obvious. This is the mostly likely reason for totheark's animosity directed towards Alex with the BLEED MORE sign off.

Advocate

Advocate was uploaded on October 12, 2009 as a video reply to Entry 15.

Its description is "00110111", and is tagged with "marble", "hornets", & "ark".

The video begins with a black screen with the words "tick tock" written upside down on it.

At 00:02, video of Brian starts. It is from the same set as Entry 7, but the footage does not seem to match up with anything actually in Entry #7. The same S symbol from Program is in the upper right corner - presumably the greek symbol 'Sigma'. The video is accompanied by distorted audio, including a section that sounds like reversed and slowed speech. Over the video is a binary clock counting down from 1 to 10. The footage of Brian pans from him to look out the back window.

The combination of the title, countdown, and Brian's image suggests this might be a sign that Brian (the Hooded man) is in some kind of danger and may be a plea for help on his behalf. Where some of the disparities in video editing of earlier entries may possibly have been chosen to imply there is more than one person running the totheark channel (later confirmed more explicitly when Jay comments on Twitter about the use of 'We' in the 'Attention' upload), this video is a little bit more concrete (albeit 'concrete' in a roundabout sense, given that the reveal of Brian's full role in the events of the series does not come until much later lol)

Given that ^ caveat, it's also possible that this countdown is less of a plea for help on Brian's behalf, and more of a warning that something is going to happen at Brian's house, where Jay has been frequently breaking into up until now. Since the identity of totheark's members had not come, the theory that one could be asking for help on behalf of another when Jay wouldn't be able to identify either isn't perfect. So the notion that it's meant to invoke Brian's house rather than the man himself might be more solid.

However, either Could work. It's after this upload that Jay returns to the house and discovers the spent bullet casing and dried blood in the sink - footage he uploads as Entry #16 -- that implies that someone (ostensibly Brian) has been shot at and probably wounded. Given the lack of the Hooded Man in this first season -- stark in comparison to subsequent seasons where he is very active -- it's possible that Brian was significantly wounded in the time between the 'Advocate' upload and Jay's 'Entry #16', leaving the Masked Man as the only one hale enough to run around acting as the hands and face of the totheark channel while he recuperated.

Addition

Addition was uploaded on October 21, 2009 as a video reply to Entry 16.

Its description is "//eyes\\", and is tagged with "marble", "hornets", & "ark".

The video is grainy footage of Jay during his coughing fit in Entry 16, while slowed down audio of Jay calling "Alex? Brian?" from the same entry plays in the background. At 00:13 a black screen with fuzzy text reads:
SEE
YOU

Signal was uploaded on November 4, 2009 as a video reply to Entry 17.

Its description is "again".

Stock footage and audio from an old movie - "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" is played. The video has a strange red-blue effect on it and the audio is slightly distorted. The voice of a narrator speaks through the video, saying, "Just wait 'til we're alone together, and I will tell you something new, something cold, something sleepy, something obscene, a piece in the long bright curve of space. Banish them, refuse to speak. Leave them. Go upstairs to your room. I will be waiting for you. I will surround your bed. Close the windows, so that none will ever again be able to enter. I will be waiting for you."

When the stock footage stops, a black screen with blurry white text reading "COME BACK" appears. The single final frame of the video reads "find me".

Messages was uploaded on November 21, 2009, as a video reply to Entry 18.

Its description is ".".

This video uses external footage of a ship sinking. The audio is a reversed and slowed down version of a song played by a full band/orchestra. White text is imposed on the external images. This text reads:

Tell us
You have been keeping
secrets.
Smile for the camera

Beginning at 00:21 while the text reads "Smile for the camera" a picture of the bottom half of Tim's face is layered over the image of the sinking ship.

Return was uploaded on December 2nd, 2009, as a video reply to Entry 19.

Its description is "91".

The video begins with a close up of Jay with very dark marks or circles under his eyes sitting on the floor in a hallway against a door. The look on his face is of a stupor or trance. The video then cuts to a long shot of the hallway with Jay in the same position as before at the bottom of the frame. To the right is an L bend in the hallway. At the 0:04 second mark what appears to be The Operator emerges from the hall and proceeds towards the camera. The video then cuts to black with the following text centered on screen:

fou
nd
you

The final frame of the video reads "forever".

The description (91) being an inverse of the entry this video is responding to (19) where Jay shows footage of himself disappearing for hours from his home security cameras indicates this is tta showing off that they are both watching Jay (as they stress in 'Addition') but that they also know where Jay was during those missing hours.

Version was uploaded on December 16, 2009, as a video reply to Entry 20.

Its description is "s".

It begins with chroma-keyed upside-down footage of the Entry 5 Tower and then cuts to a block of zeros with the following words flashing across in front of them:

poison
random
endings
centered
excludes
death
encountering
stale
truth
receives
endangering
every
section

It ends with the text "waiting for you" with each word stacked vertically atop the next. Followed by a single frame of a red X.

The first letters of the flashing text spell out "PRECEEDS TREES", which is an anagram of "DEEPER SECRETS". The audio is augmented morse code that translates to OPERATOR.

This reply is seemingly a confirmation of Jay's suspicion that the pages left in Brian's house with the note 'AT THE TOWER' written behind an operator symbol is referring to the Red Tower featured in entry#5. TTA telling Jay that he's not only correct about where to do, but that the location Will reveal further clues for Jay's investigation.

Attention was uploaded on January 10, 2010.

Its description was "."

Stock footage of people riding bicycles through a crowd and an image of a sailor going to throw something out, then footage being reversed so that he pulls back instead. Accompanied by cryptic messages telling Jay to "return to us", "wake up". The final text screen reads "aiatiwnguoryrarialv" (Anagram for Awaiting your arrival), and the final shot is of the Red Tower with an operator symbol scratched into its side - once again, implying Jay should go there.

On Twitter Jay comments on this video saying "I don't like the fact that it says "us" in the video."

Admission was uploaded on January 15, 2010, as a video reply to Entry #16.

Its description is "+".

Grainy, distorted footage appears to show a figure moving across a window with slatted blinds, and then shows a half-door in a hallway opening, and then slamming shut again. The video ends with the text "there are doors unopened".

This video seems to have been filmed inside of Brian's house - telling Jay that there are still things inside the house that could help him in his investigation.

Warning was uploaded on February 3rd, 2010, after Entry #23

The description reads “failure nigh”

This video is largely made up of grainy distorted black and white footage of the Masked Man, a little wooden mannequin, and a white board with varying drawings. The video is introduced with text on the board reading "The following are raw footage excerpts from ALex Kralie" - possibly poking fun at the Introduction video to the Marble Hornets channel Jay made, rather than a genuine source for the footage. Other messages in the video state “EYES OPen.” (The “O” has an x through it, causing it to resemble the Operator Symbol.), "Stay Home", "Be Alone", "Smile for the Camera", "Regards", and "Smile for Death".

Entry ###### was uploaded on March 05, 2010 on the original Marble Hornets channel.

The description reads ""

The video is once again made up of distorted footage of the Masked Man and interspersed with more ambiguous images. Voice over throughout the video says, "We will wait for you no more. Control is being taken away from you. From the start this has been a game to us. Not anymore. I'm coming for you, and you will lead me to the ark."

Jay says on Twitter that he did not upload this video, and that he suspects the account was hacked prior to its upload. It's one of the more overt threats totheark has made towards Jay, and he takes it as such, leaving his apartment and opting to stay in an unspecified hotel. Worth noting that this was likely totheark's intented goal - in a subsequent video, Jay uploads newsreel footage relaying that his apartment was burned down (with Alex's later attempt to burn Tim's house down, it's implied this was done by him rather than any members of totheark), but that he's safe because he wasn't staying there.

Go to Season Two