Found footage (film technique)

Not to be confused with Found footage (appropriation).

Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were film or video recordings recorded by characters in the story, and later "found" and presented to the audience. 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 added realism, 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, such as The Blair Witch Project, Cannibal Holocaust, Paranormal Activity, Diary of the Dead, REC, Cloverfield, Trollhunter, V/H/S, and Incantation, in which 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 science fiction (e.g., Chronicle, District 9, Project Almanac, Europa Report), drama (e.g., Zero Day, Exhibit A), comedy (e.g., Project X), mystery (e.g., Searching), family (e.g., Earth to Echo), experimental arthouse (e.g., The Connection, The Outwaters) and war (e.g. 84C MoPic) films.

Although found footage was originally the name of an entirely different genre, it is now frequently used to describe pseudo-documentaries crafted with this narrative technique (e.g. Lake Mungo, Noroi: The Curse) and screenlife films (e.g. Unfriended, Searching). The film magazine Variety has, for example, used the term "faux found-footage film" to describe some titles. Film scholar David Bordwell criticizes this recent usage, arguing that it sows confusion, and instead prefers the term "discovered footage" for the narrative gimmick.

Characteristics

Found-footage films typically employ one or more of six cinematic techniques—first-person perspective, pseudo-documentary, mockumentary, news footage, surveillance footage, or screenlife —according to an analysis of 500 found-footage films conducted by Found Footage Critic.

History

As a storytelling technique, found footage 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.

Italian director Ruggero Deodato revolutionized the found footage style of narrative filmmaking with Cannibal Holocaust (1980), the first horror film using this technique.

In filmmaking, the 1980 cult horror feature Cannibal Holocaust is often claimed to be the first example of found footage. However, Shirley Clarke's arthouse film The Connection (1961) and the Orson Welles directed The Other Side of the Wind, a found footage movie shot in the early 1970s but released in 2018, predate Cannibal Holocaust. America's Deadliest Home Video (1991), remains a potent use of the format as well as an unsung groundbreaker in the found-footage field - an ahead-of-its-time application of the vérité-video form to the horror/crime genre. The device was popularised by The Blair Witch Project (1999). Found footage has since been used in other commercially successful films, including Paranormal Activity (2007), REC (2007), Cloverfield (2008) and Chronicle (2012). Reviewing V/H/S for The A.V. Club, Scott Tobia notes that the genre "has since become to the '00s and '10s what slasher movies were to the '80s."

The genre appeals to film producers because of its lower cost, as it is believed the illusion of amateur documentary style allows lower production values than would be accepted on a conventional film.

Writer-director Christopher B. Landon, who has made several found footage horror films, posits that the genre is likely to extend in the future outside horror.

Examples

Films

For a more comprehensive list, see Category:Found footage films.

The following entries are notable films in the found footage genre, though some were only partially made in that style.

Title	Release year	Director(s)	Production company	Ref(s)
The Connection	1961	Shirley Clarke	The Connection Company
Coming Apart	1969	Milton Moses Ginsberg	Kaleidoscope Films
Cannibal Holocaust	1980	Ruggero Deodato	F.D. Cinematografica
Special Bulletin	1983	Edward Zwick	Ohlmeyer Communications Company
Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment	1985	Satoru Ogura	Sai Enterprise
UFO Abduction	1989	Dean Alioto	IndieSyndicate Productions
84C MoPic	1989	Patrick Sheane Duncan	New Century Vista Film Company
America's Deadliest Home Video	1991	Jack Perez	Randum Film Group
Man Bites Dog	1993	Rémy Belvaux André Bonzel Benoît Poelvoorde	Les Artistes Anonymes
Forgotten Silver	1995	Peter Jackson	WingNut Films
Little Sister	1995	Robert Jan Westdijk	Grote Broer Filmwerken CV
Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County	1998	Dean Alioto	Dick Clark Productions
The Last Broadcast	1998	Stefan Avalos Lance Weiler	FFM Productions
The Blair Witch Project	1999	Daniel Myrick Eduardo Sánchez	Haxan Films
The St. Francisville Experiment	2000	Ted Nicolaou	The Kushner-Locke Company
Gang Tapes	2001	Adam Ripp	Lionsgate
August Underground	2001	Fred Vogel	Absu Films Toetag Pictures
The Collingswood Story	2002	Mike Costanza	Cinerebel Media
August Underground's Mordum	2003	Fred Vogel Killjoy Cristie Whiles Jerami Cruise Michael T. Schneider	Toetag Pictures
The Great American Snuff Film	2003	Sean Tretta	Ominous Productions
The Last Horror Movie	2003	Julian Richards	Prolific Films Snakehair Productions
Zero Day	2003	Ben Coccio	Professor Bright Films
Incident at Loch Ness	2004	Zak Penn	Eden Rock Media
September Tapes	2004	Christian Johnston	Complex Films Raz Productions Raz Entertainment Persistent Entertainment
Noroi: The Curse	2005	Kōji Shiraishi	Xanadeux Company
Alone with Her	2006	Eric Nicholas	Pin Hole Productions LLC The Weinstein Company
The Zombie Diaries	2006	Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett	Off World Films Bleeding Edge Films
State's Evidence	2006	Benjamin Louis	Terra Entertainment
The Hunt	2007	Fritz Kiersch	Graymark Productions Azisa Pictures
Welcome to the Jungle	2007	Jonathan Hensleigh	Steelbridge Film Works Bauer Martinez Studios Valhalla Motion Pictures
The Poughkeepsie Tapes	2007	John Erick Dowdle	Brothers Dowdle Productions Poughkeepsie Films
August Underground's Penance	2007	Fred Vogel	Toetag Pictures
Redacted	2007	Brian De Palma	Magnolia Pictures
Long Pigs	2007	Chris Power	Clowns After Midnight Productions Jordan Entertainment Chris Bridges Effects Studio
Head Case	2007	Anthony Spadaccini	Fleet Street Films B.P.A. Productions Group, Inc.
Exhibit A	2007	Dom Rotheroe	Warp Films
Paranormal Activity	2007	Oren Peli	Blumhouse Productions
Death of a Ghost Hunter	2007	Sean Tretta	Ominous Productions
Live!	2007	Bill Guttentag	Atlas Entertainment
Rec	2007	Jaume Balagueró Paco Plaza	Castelao Producciones Filmax
Look	2007	Adam Rifkin	Captured Films
Monster	2008	Erik Estenberg	The Asylum
Cloverfield	2008	Matt Reeves	Bad Robot
Diary of the Dead	2008	George A. Romero	Artfire Films Romero-Grunwald Productions
Lake Mungo	2008	Joel Anderson	Screen Australia
Home Movie	2008	Christopher Denham	Modernciné
Bryan Loves You	2008	Seth Landau	Seth Landau
Quarantine	2008	John Erick Dowdle	Vertigo Entertainment Andale Pictures Filmax Entertainment
No Through Road	2009	Steven Chamberlain
Occult	2009	Kōji Shiraishi	Image Rings Creative Axa Company Ltd.
Evil Things	2009	Dominic Perez	Go Show Media
District 9	2009	Neill Blomkamp	QED International WingNut Films
The Ritual	2009	Anthony Spadaccini	Fleet Street Films B.P.A. Productions Group, Inc.
Trash Humpers	2009	Harmony Korine	Alcove Entertainment Warp Films O' Salvation
Rec 2	2009	Jaume Balagueró Paco Plaza	Castelao Producciones Filmax
Murder Collection V.1	2009	Fred Vogel	Toetag Pictures
Paranormal Entity	2009	Shane Van Dyke	The Asylum
Bachiatari Bōryoku Ningen	2010	Kōji Shiraishi	Creative AXA
Lunopolis	2010	Matthew Avant	Media Savant
Love Sex aur Dhokha	2010	Dibakar Banerjee	Freshwater Films
Eyes in the Dark	2010	Bjorn Anderson	Emerald City Pictures
Hotel Hollywood	2010	Param Gill	G S Productions
Shirome	2010	Kōji Shiraishi	Stardust Promotion Shirome Project Partners
The Last Exorcism	2010	Daniel Stamm	Strike Entertainment StudioCanal Arcade Pictures
Undocumented	2010	Chris Peckover	Sheperd Glen Productions
The Virginity Hit	2010	Huck Botko & Andrew Gurland	Gary Sanchez Productions
8213: Gacy House	2010	Anthony Fankhauser	The Asylum
Atrocious	2010	Fernando Barreda Luna	Nabu Films Silencio Rodamos Programa Ibermedia
Paranormal Activity 2	2010	Tod Williams	Blumhouse Productions
Trollhunter	2010	André Øvredal	Filmkameratene A/S Film Fund FUZZ
Unaware	2010	Sean Bardin Robert Cooley	Cooley Productions
Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night	2010	Toshikazu Nagae	Presidio Corporation
Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes	2011	Jude Gerard Prest	The Asylum
Doc. 33	2011	Giacomo Gabrielli	Filmart Pictures Giacomo Gabrielli Films
The Tunnel	2011	Carlo Ledesma	DLSHS Film Distracted Media Zapruder's Other Films
Megan Is Missing	2011	Michael Goi	Trio Pictures
Grave Encounters	2011	The Vicious Brothers	Twin Engine Films
World of the Dead: The Zombie Diaries	2011	Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett	Off World Films Bleeding Edge Films Straightwire Films
Hollow	2011	Michael Axelgaard	Hollow Pictures Tribeca Film
Untitled	2011	Shaun Troke	Shaunywa Films
Apollo 18	2011	Gonzalo López-Gallego	Bazelevs
The Tapes	2011	Scott Bates Lee Alliston	Darkside Pictures Pure Film Productions
Paranormal Activity 3	2011	Henry Joost Ariel Schulman	Blumhouse
The Amityville Haunting	2011	Geoff Meed	The Asylum Taut Productions
Chō Akunin	2011	Kōji Shiraishi	Tokyo Raiders
The Devil Inside	2012	William Brent Bell	Insurge Pictures
V/H/S	2012	Ti West Joe Swanberg David Buckner Adam Wingard Glenn McQuaid	Radio Silence Productions The Collective Bloody Disgusting
Chronicle	2012	Josh Trank	Davis Entertainment
Project X	2012	Nima Nourizadeh	Silver Pictures Green Hat Films
Evidence	2012	Howie Askins	RynoRyder Productions
Hate Crime	2012	James Cullen Bressack	Psykik Junky Pictures
Apartment 143	2012	Carles Torrens	Werc Werk Works Kasdan Pictures Likely Story
100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck	2012	Martin Anderson	The Asylum
The Dinosaur Project	2012	Sid Bennett	Moonlighting Films
Shopping Tour	2012	Michael Brashinsky	Duty-Free Productions
A Night in the Woods	2012	Richard Parry	Vertigo Films
End of Watch	2012	David Ayer	StudioCanal
The Conspiracy	2012	Christopher MacBride	Resolute Films and Entertainment
Grave Encounters 2	2012	John Poliquin	Arclight Films
Paranormal Activity 4	2012	Henry Joost Ariel Schulman	Room 101
The Bay	2012	Barry Levinson	Lionsgate
A Haunted House	2013	Michael Tiddes	Open Road Films
The Upper Footage	2013	Justin Cole
Dabbe: Curse of the Jinn	2013	Hasan Karacadağ	Hasan Karacadağ
Devil's Pass	2013	Renny Harlin	Aldamisa Entertainment Non-Stop Productions Midnight Sun Pictures K. Jam Media
The Frankenstein Theory	2013	Andrew Weiner	Rocket Inner Station Therapy Content Arctic Film Group
Cult	2013	Kōji Shiraishi
Willow Creek	2013	Bobcat Goldthwait	Jerkschool Productions
V/H/S/2	2013	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
Europa Report	2013	Sebastián Cordero	Wayfare Entertainment Ventures
The Borderlands	2013	Elliot Goldner	Metrodome Distribution
The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill	2013	Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett	Second Sight Films
Head Cases: Serial Killers in the Delaware Valley	2013	Anthony Spadaccini	Fleet Street Films B.P.A. Productions Group, Inc.
The Dirties	2013	Matt Johnson	SModcast Pictures
Frankenstein's Army	2013	Richard Raaphorst	Dark Sky Films Pellicola XYZ Films
Sx Tape	2013	Bernard Rose	Aeroplano La.Lune Entertainment
Hooked Up	2013	Pablo Larcuen	Uncork'd Entertainment
WNUF Halloween Special	2013	Chris LaMartina James Branscome Shawn Jones Scott Maccubbin Lonnie Martin Matthew Menter Andy Schoeb	Midnight Crew Studios
Skinwalker Ranch	2013	Devin McGinn Steve Berg	DeepStudios
6-5=2	2013	KS Ashoka	Swarnalatha Production
Best Night Ever	2013	Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer	Magnet Releasing
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones	2014	Christopher Landon	Paramount Pictures
Devil's Due	2014	Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Tyler Gillett	Davis Entertainment Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Black Water Vampire	2014	Evan Tramel	BWV Productions Ruthless Pictures
Exists	2014	Eduardo Sánchez	Lionsgate Haxan Films Court Five
Open Windows	2014	Nacho Vigalondo	Antena 3 Films Apaches Entertainment Spiderwood Studios Wild Bunch SpectreVision
The Den	2014	Zachary Donohue	Cliffbrook Films Onset Films
Afflicted	2014	Derek Lee Clif Prowse	Automatik Entertainment Téléfilm Canada
Babysitting	2014	Nicolas Benamou Philippe Lacheau	Axel Films Madame Films Cinéfrance 1888 Good Lap Production
A Haunted House 2	2014	Michael Tiddes	IM Global Octane Wayans Bros. Entertainment Baby Way Productions
The Sacrament	2014	Ti West	Worldview Entertainment Arcade Pictures
Alien Abduction	2014	Matty Beckerman	Exclusive Media Group Big Picture Next Entertainment Lawrence Bender Productions Mob Scene Creative Productions
Inner Demons	2014	Seth Grossman	Schorr Pictures
Earth to Echo	2014	Dave Green	Relativity Media
Into the Storm	2014	Steven Quale	New Line Cinema Village Roadshow Pictures
The Possession of Michael King	2014	David Jung	Gold Circle Films Quickfire Films
As Above, So Below	2014	John Erick Dowdle	Universal Pictures Legendary Pictures
The Hunted	2014	Josh Stewart	Fortress Features Allegheny Image Factory
Gore, Quebec	2014	Jean Benoit Lauzon	Green Lake Films
The Taking of Deborah Logan	2014	Adam Robitel	Eagle Films Millennium Entertainment
Hangar 10	2014	Daniel Simpson	Newscope Films
V/H/S: Viral	2014	Nacho Vigalondo Marcel Sarmiento Gregg Bishop Justin Benson Todd Lincoln	Bloody Disgusting The Collective Haxan Films
The Pyramid	2014	Grégory Levasseur	Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
The Atticus Institute	2015	Chris Sparling	SND Groupe M6
Project Almanac	2015	Dean Israelite	Insurge Pictures Platinum Dunes MTV Films
Creep	2015	Patrick Brice	Blumhouse Productions
Nightlight	2015	Scott Beck, Bryan Woods	Herrick Entertainment
The Final Project	2015	Taylor Ri'chard	Cavu Pictures
Unfriended	2015	Levan Gabriadze	Universal Studios Blumhouse Productions
Area 51	2015	Oren Peli	Paramount Pictures
The Phoenix Incident	2015	Keith Arem	PCB Productions
The Cutting Room	2015	Warren Dudley	Itchy Fish Film
The Gallows	2015	Travis Cluff, Chris Lofing	New Line Cinema Blumhouse Productions Management 360 Tremendum Pictures
JeruZalem	2015	Doron Paz Yoav Paz	Universal Pictures
The Visit	2015	M. Night Shyamalan	Blinding Edge Pictures Blumhouse Productions Universal Pictures
Hell House LLC	2015	Stephen Cognetti	Cognetti Films
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension	2015	Gregory Plotkin	Paramount Pictures
Unlisted Owner	2016	Jed Brian	Lawford County Productions
Aksbandh	2016	Emran Hussain	Cinematic Media
Population Zero	2016	Adam Levins	A71 Entertainment
Operation Avalanche	2016	Matt Johnson	Vice Films
Blair Witch	2016	Adam Wingard	Lionsgate Pictures
Be My Cat: A Film for Anne	2016	Adrian Țofei	Adrian Țofei
The Lost Case	2017	Chayan Itthijatuporn	Kantana Group
The Dark Tapes	2017	Michael McQuown	Epic Pictures Group
Phoenix Forgotten	2017	Justin Barber	Cinelou Films Scott Free Productions
#FromJennifer	2017	Frank Merle	Lone Morsel Productions
Found Footage 3D	2017	Steven DeGennaro	The Ubiquitous Studio 42
Creep 2	2017	Patrick Brice	Blumhouse Productions Netflix
One Cut of the Dead	2017	Shin'ichirō Ueda	Enbu Seminar
Unfriended: Dark Web	2018	Stephen Susco	BH Productions Universal Studios
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum	2018	Jung Bum-shik	Hive Mediacorp
The Devil's Doorway	2018	Aislinn Clarke	23ten
The Other Side of the Wind	2018	Orson Welles	Royal Road Entertainment
Searching	2018	Aneesh Chaganty	Bazelevs Company Screen Gems Stage 6 Films
Insanity	2020	Miska Kajanus	Piilo Productions Black Lion Pictures
Hacksaw	2020	Anthony Leone	Leone Films
Host	2020	Rob Savage	Shadowhouse Films Shudder
Spree	2020	Eugene Kotlyarenko	RLJE Films
Scary Stories: Dark Web	2020	Bryan Renaud	Random Acts
The Widow	2020	Ivan Minin	QS Films
The Medium	2021	Banjong Pisanthanakun	GDH 559 Showbox
Vazhiye	2021	Nirmal Baby Varghese	Casablanca Film Factory
Fresh Hell	2021	Ryan Imhoff Matt Neal	Purr Boy Productions
V/H/S/94	2021	Jennifer Reeder Chloe Okuno Simon Barrett Timo Tjahjanto Ryan Prows	Radio Silence Productions Bloody Disgusting Films Shudder Original Films Cinepocalypse Productions Studio71 Raven Banner Entertainment
Dwellers	2021	Drew Fortier	Ellefson Films
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin	2021	William Eubank	Paramount Pictures
Dashcam	2021	Rob Savage	Blumhouse Productions
Incantation	2022	Kevin Ko
The Outwaters	2022	Robbie Banfitch	5100 Films Fathom Film Company
LOLA	2022	Andrew Legge	Cowtown Pictures
Everybody Dies by the End	2022	Ian Tripp Ryan Schafer	Children of Celluoid
Deadstream	2022	Joseph Hunter	Winterspectre Entertainment Cook Filmworks Stonehaven Entertainment
V/H/S/99	2022	Johannes Roberts Vanessa & Joseph Winter Maggie Levin Tyler MacIntyre Flying Lotus	Bloody Disgusting Soapbox Films Cinepocalypse Productions Radio Silence Productions Studio71 Shudder Original Films
Blue Hour: The Disappearance of Nick Brandreth	2023	Dan Bowhers	Glass House Distribution
V/H/S/85	2023	David Bruckner Scott Derrickson Gigi Saul Guerrero Natasha Kermani Mike P. Nelson	Bloody Disgusting Cinepocalypse Productions Radio Silence Productions Studio71 Shudder Original Films
Invoking Yell	2023	Patricio Valladares	Welcome Villain
Missing	2023	Will Merrick Nick Johnson	Stage 6 Films Screen Gems Bazelevs Company Search Party Productions

TV series, made-for-TV specials and TV episodes

• 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
• Godzilla: The Series, episode: "S.C.A.L.E." (2000). Though animated, the episode has no background music and alternates between footage from various security cameras.
• Jeopardy (2002) (BBC series)
• Ed, Edd n Eddy, episode: "An Ed is Born". In this episode where Eddy decides to make a home movie of himself to show his brother how 'grown up' he has become by using Ed's video camera. (2002)
• The Comeback (2003) (series)
• Flag (2006)
• Lost Tapes (2008–2010) (series)
• Marble Hornets (2009–2014) (YouTube series)
• The River (2012) (series)
• The Simpsons, episode: Treehouse of Horror XXIII (2012). The 2nd segment "Unnormal Activity" is a parody of the Paranormal Activity franchise.
• Ultimate Spider-Man, episode: "Exclusive" (2012)
• Lassie Jerky, an episode of Psych that 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)
• Steven Universe, episode: "The Big Show" (2018)
• Inside No. 9, episode: "Cold Comfort". A story about a call centre, told through the CCTV camera. (2018)
• Clarence, episode: "Clarence The Movie" (2018)
• Succession: Main title theme (2018–2023) (HBO series)

Music videos

• "Drag the Waters" by Pantera (1996)
• "Babalon A.D." by Cradle of Filth (2003)
• "Decency Defied" by Cannibal Corpse (2004)
• "Walk with Me in Hell" by Lamb of God (2006)
• "Dull Boy" by Mudvayne (2007)
• "Beauty and a Beat" by Justin Bieber ft. Nicki Minaj (2012)
• "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)
• "All Night" by The Vamps (2016)
• "All We Know" by The Chainsmokers ft. Phoebe Ryan (2016)
• "Galway Girl" by Ed Sheeran (2017)
• "What Lovers Do" (Lyric Video) by Maroon 5 ft. SZA (2017)
• "Christmas Tree Farm" by Taylor Swift (2019)
• "Nobody's Love" by Maroon 5 (2020)
• "Glimpse of Us" by Joji (2022)

Web series

• Backrooms (2022–present)
• Ben Drowned (2010–2012; 2020)
• Local 58 (2015–present)
• Petscop (2017–2019)
• No Through Road (2009–2012)
• Marble Hornets (2009–2014)
• The Mandela Catalogue (2021–present)
• Gemini Home Entertainment (2019–present)

See also

• Analog horror
• Cinéma vérité
• Epistolary novel
• Fictional book
• Hoax
• Mockumentary
• Pseudo-documentary
• Screenlife

External links

• Found Footage Critic – found footage film database