Found Footage
A storytelling technique that presents a film as recordings recovered from within the story.
Context
In found footage horror, the camera can belong to a character trying to document what’s happening. Security cameras, home movies, and handheld recordings each give the viewer a different reason for seeing only part of the action.
A filmmaker can build suspense out of those limits. A character might hear something beyond the frame, and the audience has to wait for them to turn the camera.
Examples
- Kane Parsons’s “The Backrooms (Found Footage)” frames a camera operator’s trip into the maze as recovered tape.
- The Blair Witch Project presents footage recorded by a group of student filmmakers searching for a local legend.