What Is Found Footage?

Found footage refers to audiovisual material that is presented as if it were discovered recordings. Found footage can be real or it can be faked but presented as real or “raw.” Found footage can be in the form of a home video recording or a professionally shot recording made for a different purpose.

There are a couple of common uses for found footage, namely documentaries and horror films. Some documentaries are made up completely of found footage and presented as educational materials to illustrate particular eras in history or explore well-established theories. Other documentaries mix archive footage with new materials, sometimes to present a new idea or perspective about a topic with some evidence-based backing.

Horror films often use faked found footage in which actors might be recording themselves on a handheld camera, seen on surveillance footage, or participating in a mock interview designed to look truthful, all to add a sense of realism that also helps create more fear and suspense in the storyline.

In filmmaking, the found footage technique was seen at least as far back as 1980 with Cannibal Holocaust but it was made popular with the success of The Blair Witch Project in 1999. Since then, the found footage format has been widely used in horror and mystery films.

If you are looking for professional camera operators to help you shoot shaky cam footage or camera systems to rent for use in creating found footage in the form of surveillance video, check out our online Nevada Production Directory to find experienced Nevada production crew or drop by our office and pick up a free printed directory!

If you offer production and film-related services in Nevada and are not yet listed in our Production Directory, you can learn more about how to sign up for the NPD here.

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