Standards

Standards

Reason of Place makes documentaries about why real places are the way they are. These are the rules every film and every page follows.

Every number has a source

Each film has a page with its sources, numbered and linked to the original document or dataset wherever one is available. A number we calculated ourselves says so, with its uncertainty.

Every image says what it is

Figures carry one of three labels: Measured data (an observation or a chart of measured values), Data-based reconstruction (a 3D or redrawn view built from real data) and Simulation (the output of a model). A simulation is never presented as a forecast.

Every simulation is checked

When a film runs a “what if” on the real terrain, the model is first checked against what actually happened: river gauges, satellite images, official records. The film page says how close it came, and what the model leaves out.

Mistakes are corrected in public

If we get something wrong, the correction goes on the film’s page with the date, and in the pinned comment on YouTube. Write to hello@reasonofplace.com.

Tools

We use software tools, including AI-assisted ones, in production. When YouTube’s rules call for an AI disclosure on a film, we make it on YouTube and on the film’s page.

Last updated 3 November 2026