Found footage (film technique)
Found footage is a subgenre in films in which all or a substantial part of a fictional film is presented as if it were discovered film or video recordings. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time off-camera commentary. For verisimilitude, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete, or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.
The most common use of the technique is in horror films (e.g., Cannibal Holocaust, The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, Diary of the Dead), where the footage is purported to be the only surviving record of the events, with the participants now missing or dead. It has also been used in comedy (e.g., Babysitting, Project X), science-fiction (e.g., Chronicle, Project Almanac, Europa Report), and drama (e.g., Exhibit A, Zero Day).
Found footage is originally the name of an entirely different genre, but has sometimes been used to describe pseudo-documentaries with this narrative technique. The film magazine Variety has for example used the term "faux found-footage film" to describe the 2012 film Grave Encounters 2. The film scholar David Bordwell has criticized this recent use because of the confusion it creates, and instead prefers the term "discovered footage" for the narrative gimmick.[1]
Found footage films typically employ one or more of the following four cinematic techniques: first person perspective, pseudo-documentary or mockumentary, news footage, and surveillance footage. These four footage sources were determined to be the most prevalent in an analysis of 500 found footage films conducted by the Found Footage Critic website.[2]
History
The technique has precedents in literature, particularly in the epistolary novel, which typically consists of either correspondence or diary entries, purportedly written by a character central to the events. Like found footage, the epistolary technique has often been employed in horror fiction: both Dracula and Frankenstein are epistolary novels, as is The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Ruggero_Deodato_2008.jpg/170px-Ruggero_Deodato_2008.jpg)
In filmmaking, it dates back at least as far as 1980 with Cannibal Holocaust but was popularised by The Blair Witch Project (1999), [3] Reviewing V/H/S for The AV Club Scott Tobia noted that the genre "has since become to the ’00s and ’10s what slasher movies were to the ’80s" [4] The format has been subsequently used in well-known films such as Paranormal Activity (2007), REC (2007), and Chronicle (2012).[5]
The genre has appeal to producers because of its lower cost, with the feeling of an amateur documentary allowing lower production values and filming quality than would be accepted on a conventional film.
Writer-director Christopher Landon, who has made several found footage horror films, has argued that the genre is likely to extend in future outside horror: "Inevitably, because of the flexibility of our crew and our schedule and how we operate in general, because we're so quick and lightweight and easy and functional that way, we tend to shoot a lot of stuff... I don't think found footage is in danger of running out. I think it's in that process now where I think we're going to obviously start to see more and more movies that are tackling different genres through that lens. I think you're going to see more comedies. I think we're going to see a lot of sci-fi movies... sometimes it reminds me of when reality TV first really hit and was growing. There was a lot of pushback and people saying, 'Oh, it's going to go away, it's going to go away.' But it didn't go away. It just changed a lot... YouTube has completely changed the way that we experience movies because people are out there making stuff all the time and capturing moments, so there's a certain language that I think we've adopted. So I think that the found footage format connects to that. I think it's very relatable to people."[6]
Over the past few years, the genre has been popularized in mainstream film-making, owing to the critical and commercial success of films like Cloverfield, District 9, and Paranormal Activity.
Examples
Films
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2013) |
The following films are in the found footage category, though some were only partially made in that style. Also listed are the films' directors, production company and release date.
Film | Genre | Director(s) | Production company | Release date (YY-MM-DD) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cannibal Holocaust | Adventure, Horror | Ruggero Deodato | F.D. Cinematografica | 1980-02-07 |
Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood | Horror | Hideshi Hino | Sai Enterprise | 1985-11-30 |
UFO Abduction | Horror, Science fiction | Dean Alioto | IndieSyndicate Productions | 1989–??-?? |
84C MoPic | Drama, War | Patrick Sheane Duncan | New Century Vista Film Company | 1989-04-07 |
Man Bites Dog | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller | Rémy Belvaux André Bonzel Benoît Poelvoorde |
Les Artistes Anonymes | 1993-01-15 |
Forgotten Silver | Comedy | Peter Jackson | WingNut Films | 1995-10-28 |
Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County | Drama, Horror, Science fiction | Dean Alioto | Dick Clark Productions | 1998-01-20 |
The Last Broadcast | Horror, Mystery | Stefan Avalos Lance Weiler |
FFM Productions | 1998-10-23 |
The Blair Witch Project | Horror, Mystery | Daniel Myrick Eduardo Sánchez |
Haxan Films | 1999-07-30 |
The St. Francisville Experiment | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | Ted Nicolaou | The Kushner-Locke Company | 2000-04-15 |
August Underground | Horror | Fred Vogel | Absu Films Toetag Pictures |
2001–??-?? |
The Collingswood Story | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | Mike Costanza | Cinerebel Media | 2002-10-20 |
August Underground's Mordum | Horror | Fred Vogel Killjoy Cristie Whiles Jerami Cruise Michael T. Schneider |
Toetag Pictures | 2003–??-?? |
The Great American Snuff Film | Horror | Sean Tretta | Ominous Productions | 2003–??-?? |
Zero Day | Drama | Ben Coccio | Professor Bright Films | 2003-09-03 |
Incident at Loch Ness | Adventure | Zak Penn | Eden Rock Media | 2004-09-17 |
September Tapes | Drama | Christian Johnston | Complex Films Raz Productions Raz Entertainment Persistent Entertainment |
2004-09-24 |
The Last Horror Movie | Horror | Julian Richards | Prolific Films Snakehair Productions |
2005-05-13 |
The Curse | Horror | Kôji Shiraishi | Xanadeux Company | 2005-08-20 |
The Zombie Diaries | Horror | Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett |
Off World Films Bleeding Edge Films |
2006-10-29 |
The Hunt | Science fiction, Horror, Thriller | Fritz Kiersch | Graymark Productions Azisa Pictures |
2006-12-11 |
Alone with Her | Crime, Drama, Thriller | Eric Nicholas | Pin Hole Productions LLC The Weinstein Company |
2007-01-17 |
Welcome to the Jungle | Horror | Jonathan Hensleigh | Steelbridge Film Works Bauer Martinez Studios Valhalla Motion Pictures |
2007-04-19 |
The Poughkeepsie Tapes | Horror | John Erick Dowdle | Brothers Dowdle Productions Poughkeepsie Films |
2007-04-27 |
August Underground's Penance | Horror | Fred Vogel | Toetag Pictures | 2007-04-30 |
Long Pigs | Horror | Chris Power | Clowns After Midnight Productions Jordan Entertainment Chris Bridges Effects Studio |
2007-09-6 |
Head Case | Horror | Anthony Spadaccini | Fleet Street Films B.P.A. Productions Group, Inc. |
2007-09-8 |
Exhibit A | Drama, Thriller | Dom Rotheroe | Warp Films | 2007-10-1 |
Paranormal Activity | Supernatural horror | Oren Peli | Blumhouse Productions | 2007-10-14 |
Death of a Ghost Hunter | Horror | Sean Tretta | Ominous Productions | 2007-10-28 |
Live! | Drama | Bill Guttentag | Atlas Entertainment | 2007-11-1 |
REC | Horror | Jaume Balagueró Paco Plaza |
Castelao Producciones Filmax |
2007-11-23 |
Look | Adam Rifkin | Captured Films | 2007-12-14 | |
Monster | Action, Thriller | Erik Estenberg | The Asylum | 2008-01-15 |
Cloverfield | Science fiction, Monster film | Matt Reeves | Bad Robot Productions | 2008-01-18 |
Diary of the Dead | Horror | George A. Romero | Artfire Films Romero-Grunwald Productions |
2008-02-15 |
Home Movie | Horror | Christopher Denham | Modernciné | 2008-07-10 |
Quarantine | Science fiction, Horror | John Erick Dowdle | Vertigo Entertainment Andale Pictures Filmax Entertainment |
2008-10-10 |
Lunopolis | Science fiction | Matthew Avant | Media Savant | 2009–??-?? |
Occult | Horror | Kôji Shiraishi | Image Rings Creative Axa Company Ltd. |
2009-02-28 |
Evil Things | Horror | Dominic Perez | Go Show Media | 2009-08-13 |
District 9 | Action, Science fiction | Neill Blomkamp | QED International WingNut Films |
2009-08-13 |
The Ritual | Drama | Anthony Spadaccini | Fleet Street Films B.P.A. Productions Group, Inc. |
2009-08-15 |
REC 2 | Horror | Jaume Balagueró Paco Plaza |
Castelao Producciones Filmax |
2009-10-02 |
Murder Collection V.1[7] | Horror | Fred Vogel | Toetag Pictures | 2009-05-1 |
Paranormal Entity | Supernatural horror | Shane Van Dyke | The Asylum | 2009-12-22 |
Bachiatari Bōryoku Ningen | Black Comedy | Kōji Shiraishi | Creative AXA | 2012–??-?? |
Love Sex aur Dhokha | Comedy, Drama | Dibakar Banerjee | Freshwater Films | 2010-03-19 |
Lake Mungo | Horror | Joel Anderson | Screen Australia | 2010-03-23 |
Eyes in the Dark | Horror | Bjorn Anderson | Emerald City Pictures | 2010-04-25 |
A Serbian Film[8] | Thriller, Exploitation | Srdjan Spasojevic | Contrafilm | 2010-6-16 |
Hotel Hollywood | Comedy, Horror | Param Gill | G S Productions | 2010-07-23 |
Shirome | Horror | Kôji Shiraishi | Stardust Promotion Shirome Project Partners |
2010-08-13 |
The Last Exorcism | Horror | Daniel Stamm | Strike Entertainment StudioCanal Arcade Pictures |
2010-08-27 |
Undocumented | Horror | Chris Peckover | Sheperd Glen Productions | 2010-09-?? |
The Virginity Hit | Comedy | Huck Botko & Andrew Gurland | Gary Sanchez Productions | 2010-09-10 |
8213: Gacy House | Horror | Anthony Fankhauser | The Asylum | 2010-09-28 |
Atrocious | Horror | Fernando Barreda Luna | Nabu Films Silencio Rodamos Programa Ibermedia |
2010-10-15 |
Paranormal Activity 2 | Supernatural horror | Tod Williams | Blumhouse Productions | 2010-10-22 |
Trollhunter | Fantasy, Monster film | André Øvredal | Filmkameratene A/S Film Fund FUZZ |
2010-10-29 |
Unaware | Science fiction, Horror | Sean Bardin Robert Cooley |
Cooley Productions | 2010-11-13 |
Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night | Supernatural horror | Toshikazu Nagae | Presidio Corporation | 2010-11-20 |
Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes | Horror | Jude Gerard Prest | The Asylum | 2011-03-01 |
Ragini MMS | Drama, Horror | Pawan Kripalani | Balaji Telefilms | 2011-03-13 |
The Tunnel | Horror | Carlo Ledesma | DLSHS Film Distracted Media Zapruder's Other Films |
2011-05-18 |
Megan Is Missing | Drama, Horror | Michael Goi | Trio Pictures | 2011-05-?? |
Grave Encounters | Horror | The Vicious Brothers | Twin Engine Films | 2011-06-01 |
World of the Dead: The Zombie Diaries | Horror | Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett |
Off World Films Bleeding Edge Films Straightwire Films |
2011-06-24 |
Hollow | Horror | Michael Axelgaard | Hollow Pictures Tribeca Film |
2011-07-31 |
Untitled | Drama, Horror | Shaun Troke | Shaunywa Films | 2011-09 -?? |
Apollo 18 | Science fiction, Horror | Gonzalo López-Gallego | Bazelevs | 2011-09-02 |
The Tapes | Horror | Scott Bates Lee Alliston |
Darkside Pictures Pure Film Productions |
2011-09-23 |
Paranormal Activity 3 | Supernatural horror | Henry Joost Ariel Schulman |
Blumhouse | 2011-10-21 |
The Amityville Haunting | Horror | Geoff Meed | The Asylum Taut Productions |
2011-12-?? |
Chō Akunin | Drama | Kōji Shiraishi | Tokyo Raiders | 2011–??-?? |
The Devil Inside | Supernatural horror | William Brent Bell | Insurge Pictures | 2012-01-06 |
V/H/S | Horror | Ti West Joe Swanberg David Buckner Adam Wingard Glenn McQuaid Radio Silence Productions |
The Collective Bloody Disgusting |
2012-01-22 |
Chronicle | Science fiction, Superhero, Thriller | Josh Trank | Davis Entertainment | 2012-02-01 |
Project X | Comedy | Nima Nourizadeh | Silver Pictures Green Hat Films |
2012-03-02 |
Evidence | Horror | Howie Askins | RynoRyder Productions | 2012-03-12 |
Hate Crime | Horror | James Cullen Bressack | Psykik Junky Pictures | 2013–??-?? |
REC 3: Genesis | Horror | Paco Plaza | Filmax | 2012-03-30 |
Apartment 143 | Horror | Carles Torrens | Werc Werk Works Kasdan Pictures Likely Story |
2012-05-04 |
100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck | Horror | Martin Anderson | The Asylum | 2012-7-24 |
The Dinosaur Project | Adventure | Sid Bennett | Moonlighting Films | 2012-08-10 |
Frost | Horror | Reynir Lyngdal | 2012-09-07 | |
A Night in the Woods | Horror | Richard Parry | Richard Parry | 2012-09-07 |
End of Watch | Thriller, Police Procedural | David Ayer | StudioCanal | 2012-09-08 |
The Conspiracy | Horror | Christopher MacBride | Resolute Films and Entertainment | 2012-09-20 |
Grave Encounters 2 | Horror | John Poliquin | Arclight Films | 2012-10-02 |
Paranormal Activity 4 | Supernatural horror | Henry Joost Ariel Schulman |
Room 101 | 2012-10-19 |
The Bay | Science fiction, Horror | Barry Levinson | Lionsgate | 2012-11-02 |
A Haunted House | Comedy | Michael Tiddes | Open Road Films | 2013-01-11 |
The Upper Footage | Crime, Drama, Thriller | Justin Cole | 2013-01-31 | |
Devil's Pass | Horror | Renny Harlin | Aldamisa Entertainment Alexander Rodnyansky Non-Stop Productions Midnight Sun Pictures K. Jam Media |
2013-02-28 |
The Frankenstein Theory | Horror | Andrew Weiner | Rocket Inner Station Therapy Content Arctic Film Group |
2013-03-01 |
Cult | Horror | Kôji Shiraishi | 2013-04-04 | |
Willow Creek | Horror | Bobcat Goldthwait | Jerkschool Productions | 2013-04-29 |
V/H/S/2 | Horror | Simon Barrett Jason Eisener Gareth Evans Gregg Hale Eduardo Sánchez Timo Tjahjanto Adam Wingard |
The Collective Bloody Disgusting 8383 Productions Snoot Entertainment Haxan Films Yer Dead Productions |
2013-06-06 |
Europa Report | Science fiction | Sebastián Cordero | Wayfare Entertainment Ventures | 2013-08-02 |
The Borderlands | Horror | Elliot Goldner | Metrodome Distribution | 2013-08-24 |
Head Cases: Serial Killers in the Delaware Valley | Horror | Anthony Spadaccini | Fleet Street Films B.P.A. Productions Group, Inc. |
2013-09-28 |
Sx_Tape | Horror | Bernard Rose | Aeroplano La.Lune Entertainment |
2013-10-10 |
6-5=2 | Horror | KS Ashoka | Swarnalatha Production[9] | 2013-11-29 |
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones | Supernatural horror | Christopher Landon | Paramount Pictures | 2014-01-03 |
Devil's Due | Supernatural horror | Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Tyler Gillett |
Davis Entertainment Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
2014-01-17 |
Exists | Horror | Eduardo Sánchez | Lionsgate Haxan Films Court Five |
2014-03-07 |
The Den | Horror | Zachary Donohue | Cliffbrook Films Onset Films |
2014-03-14 |
Afflicted | Horror | Derek Lee Clif Prowse |
Automatik Entertainment Téléfilm Canada |
2014-04-04 |
Babysitting | Comedy | Nicolas Benamou Philippe Lacheau |
Axel Films Madame Films Cinéfrance 1888 Good Lap Production |
2014-04-16 |
A Haunted House 2 | Horror comedy | Michael Tiddes | IM Global Octane Wayans Bros. Entertainment Baby Way Productions |
2014-04-18 |
The Sacrament | Horror | Ti West | Worldview Entertainment Arcade Pictures |
2014-05-01 |
Alien Abduction | Horror | Matty Beckerman | Exclusive Media Group Big Picture Next Entertainment Lawrence Bender Productions Mob Scene Creative Productions |
2014-05-04 |
Inner Demons | Horror | Seth Grossman | Schorr Pictures | 2014-06-14 |
Earth to Echo | Science fiction, Family | Dave Green | Relativity Media | 2014-07-02 |
Into the Storm | Disaster film | Steven Quale | New Line Cinema Village Roadshow Pictures |
2014-08-08 |
The Possession of Michael King | Horror | David Jung | Gold Circle Films Quickfire Films |
2014-08-22 |
As Above, So Below | Horror, Thriller | John Erick Dowdle | Universal Pictures Legendary Pictures |
2014-08-29 |
Wer | Horror | William Brent Bell | FilmDistrict | 2014-09-23 |
Gore, Quebec[10] | Horror | Jean Benoit Lauzon | Green Lake Films | 2014-10-14 |
The Taking of Deborah Logan | Horror | Adam Robitel | Eagle Films Millenium Entertainment |
2014-10-21 |
Hangar 10 | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Daniel Simpson | Newscope Films | 2014-10-22 |
REC 4: Apocalypse | Horror | Jaume Balagueró | Canal+ España | 2014-10-31 |
V/H/S: Viral | Horror | Nacho Vigalondo Marcel Sarmiento Gregg Bishop Justin Benson Todd Lincoln |
Bloody Disgusting The Collective Haxan Films |
2014-11-21 |
The Pyramid | Supernatural horror | Grégory Levasseur | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | 2014-12-05 |
The Atticus Institute | Horror | Chris Sparling | SND Groupe M6 | 2015-01-23 |
Project Almanac | Science fiction adventure | Dean Israelite | Insurge Pictures Platinum Dunes MTV Films |
2015-01-30 |
Demonic | Horror | Will Canon | Icon Entertainment International First Point Entertainment IM Global |
2015-02-12 |
Ghoul | Horror | Petr Jákl jr. | J.B.J Film | 2015-02-26 |
Be My Cat: A Film for Anne | Horror, Psychological Thriller | Adrian Țofei | Adrian Țofei | 2015-03-01 |
Creep | Horror comedy | Patrick Brice | Blumhouse Productions | 2015-03-08 |
Nightlight | Horror-thriller | Scott Beck, Bryan Woods | Herrick Entertainment | 2015-03-27[11] |
The Final Project | Supernatural horror | Taylor Ri'chard | Cavu Pictures | 2015-04-16[12] |
Unfriended | Supernatural Horror | Universal Studios Blumhouse Productions |
2015-04-17 | |
Area 51 | Science fiction horror | Oren Peli | Paramount Pictures | 2015-05-15 |
The Cutting Room | Horror | Warren Dudley | Itchy Fish Film | 2015-06-?? |
The Gallows | Supernatural Horror | Travis Cluff, Chris Lofing | New Line Cinema Blumhouse Productions Management 360 Tremendum Pictures |
2015-07-10 |
The Visit | Horror | M. Night Shyamalan | Blinding Edge Pictures Blumhouse Productions Universal Pictures |
2015-09-11 |
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension | Supernatural horror | Gregory Plotkin | Paramount Pictures | 2015-10-23 |
Aksbandh | Horror | Emran Hussain | Cinematic Media | 2016-04-20 |
Blair Witch | Horror | Adam Wingard | Lionsgate Pictures | 2016-09-16 |
Unfriended 2 | Supernatural horror | BH Productions Universal Studios |
2016–??-?? |
TV series and made-for-TV specials
- Alternative 3 (1977)
- Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?) (1995)
- Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998) – UPN aired a 60-minute version with more interviews
- Jeopardy (2002) (BBC series)
- The Comeback (2003) (series)
- Lost Tapes (2009) (series)
- Marble Hornets (2009–2014) (YouTube series, there are many more less prominent videos and channels using the technique. Some are hoaxes claiming to be real.)
- The River (2012) (series)
- Lassie Jerky, an episode of Psych was partially filmed as found footage (2013)
- Sleep No More, the ninth episode of Doctor Who Series 9 (2015)
- American Horror Story: Roanoke (2016) (FX series)
Music videos
- "I Need Your Love" by Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding (2012)
- "Run On Love" by Tove Lo ft. Lucas Nord (2013)
- "One Last Time" by Ariana Grande (2015)
- "Photograph" by Ed Sheeran (2015)
- "Run Away with Me" by Carly Rae Jepsen (2015)
See also
References
- ^ Bordwell, David (13 November 2012). "Return to Paranormalcy". davidbordwell.net. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ "Found Footage Film Genre – Found Footage Critic". Found Footage Critic. Found Footage Critic [Michael Steinberg]. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ^ Eggertsen, Chris. "From 'Blair Witch' to 'Project Almanac': A history of the found footage genre". Hitflix. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ Tobias, Scott. "V/H/S". AV Club. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ "Editorial: An Apologist's Rant: In Defense of Found Footage". Dread Central. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^ Topel, Fred. "Christopher Landon interview". Crave. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (2014). Found Footage Horror Films: Fear and the Appearance of Reality. McFarland & Company. p. 194. ISBN 9780786470778. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ Found footage horror films: fear and the appearance of reality, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2014]
- ^ 6-5=27.140 personen vinden dit leuk · 544 praten hierover. "6-5=2". Facebook. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Brownridge, William (13 November 2014). "Review: Gore, Quebec". thetfs.ca. Toronto Film Scene. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
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(help) - ^ found footage flick Nightlight
- ^ Fuelier, Herman (2015-04-15). "Church Point native directs horror film in local setting". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved 2016-02-20.