Look! A post!

[sailorhathor]

I thought I'd post something since I haven't really had time all week. :) I've got to find me an ear, nose, and throat doctor pronto. The medicine the doctor gave me a couple weeks ago did diddlysquat - the day after I finished the antibiotics, my head filled up with congestion worse than before! I couldn't really miss a whole week of work, so I

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[sailorhathor]

The term "found footage" wasn't really coined until the last few years, because it didn't become popular until the success of Paranormal Activity. A found footage movie is one in which camera footage is found after a tragedy, such as a death or disappearance, that explains what happened to the dead or missing people. Usually the footage was taken with cheap home video cameras (in the narrative of the story, anyway) by the people who are killed or missing, and often, the footage was also missing for some time and then found in some mysterious place. Other times, the footage is found right off on the scene of the killings.

The first movie that I know of that was identified as part of this trend is The Last Broadcast, about a group of guys who go in search of the Jersey Devil. The makers of The Blair Witch Project saw this film at a festival and then made their own found footage movie, which was much more successful as you may know. But the trend didn't really take off until Paranormal Activity. Now there are tons of found footage movies. :) They remind me of my teenage years when I used to make similar movies with my dad's video camera and a group of friends. (And they're also cool!)

[reapertownusa]

Ah, I get it! So the 'found footage' is found in the canon of the movie. For some reason I was imagining that this was found footage like independent movies that were partially shot and then abandoned or footage that was shot for movies but never used...I have no idea. But I know that kind of movie.

The Blair Witch-y ones make me nauseous on a big screen, but I'm uber sensitive to motion and such. From a story stand point, though, I really like that kind of narrative style. Good genre choice! I think I even saw Paranormal Activity and another one that took place in New York with a Godzilla type monster? That was good too. And does 'Ghostfacers' count? Well, if someone had found the video anyway... I love the format of that episode.

[sailorhathor]

A lot of the found footage movies have begin using cameramen for some of the filming, or using actors who have some camera experience, so they don't have as many shaky scenes as the Blair Witch did. They've realized that those scenes make some viewers get motion sickness, and they don't want to do that to the people who are spending money to see their movies. :D Like, with Atrocious, the young teen actress who played July often had a cameraman leaning over her shoulder holding the camera to help keep it steady and help her carry it (it was a little too heavy for her during long scenes). Some of the behind-the-scenes stuff was kinda funny because here would be this actress running with a cameraman pressed up against her back, helping her hold the camera and running with her. The guy from Paranormal Activity, Micah, has some camera experience too, which you can tell because his scenes behind the camera are much steadier than Katie's. There are scenes in the Blair Witch where I simply had to close my eyes until they were over; they were making me dizzy!

The one in New York with the Godzilla-like monster is Cloverfield, another favorite of mine from this genre. Very exciting, and the main guy behind the camera was funny (I think his name was Hud). The 'Ghostfacers' episode is very much like a found footage movie, too. I certainly haven't tired of the genre yet. :D