Found footage (appropriation)

In filmmaking, found footage is the use of footage as a found object, appropriated for use in collage films, documentary films, mockumentary films and other works.

Use in commercial film

Historical found footage is often used in documentary films as a source of primary information, giving the viewer a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Director and cinematographer Ken Burns used archival footage in his films. Baseball (1994), his documentary television series for PBS, incorporates historical footage accompanied by original music or actors reading relevant written documents.

Often, fictional films imitate this style in order to increase their authenticity, especially the mockumentary genre. In the dramatized and embellished pseudo-documentary film F for Fake (1973), director Orson Welles borrows all shots of main subject Elmyr de Hory from a BBC documentary,{{cite web |last=Null |first=Christopher |title=F for Fake |publisher=filmcritic.com |date=12 February 2005 |access-date=23 March 2011 |url=http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/1976/f-for-fake/?OpenDocument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121155132/http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/1976/f-for-fake/?OpenDocument |archive-date=21 November 2011 |url-status=dead }} rather than fabricating the footage himself.

Stuart Cooper's Overlord uses stock footage of the landing on Normandy during World War II to increase realism. The footage was obtained from the Imperial War Museum in the UK.[http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=382 The Criterion Collection: Overlord by Stuart Cooper] Other parts of the film were shot by Cooper; however, he used old World War II-era film stock with World War II-era lenses.

Music video and VJing

A certain style of music video makes extensive use of found footage, mostly found on TV, like news, documentaries, old (and odd) films etc. The forefather of found footage music videos was artist Bruce Conner who screened Cosmic Ray in 1961.{{Cite web|title=Before There Was MTV, There Was Bruce Conner {{!}} The Village Voice|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2010/11/10/before-there-was-mtv-there-was-bruce-conner/|access-date=2020-06-02|website=www.villagevoice.com|date=10 November 2010 }} Prominent examples are videos of bands such as Public Enemy and Coldcut. The latter also project video material during their stage show, which includes live mixing of video footage. Artists such as Vicki Bennett, also known as People Like Us, or the video artist Kasumi with the film Shockwaves, use Creative Commons archives such as the Prelinger Archives.Maggie Shiels, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/new_media/2062364.stm Unlocking the copyright culture], BBC News website, June 24, 2002. Accessed June 24, 2008.

Practitioners

Anti-Banality Union{{cite magazine |last=Petrossiants |first=Andreas |date=February 2022 |title=Anti-Banality Union with Andreas Petrossiants |url=https://brooklynrail.org/2022/02/film/Anti-Banality-Union-with-Andreas-Petrossiants |magazine=The Brooklyn Rail |access-date=May 17, 2022}}
Martin Arnold[https://expcinema.org/site/en/releases/found-footage-magazine Found Footage Magazine-Experimental Cinema]
Craig Baldwin[https://bampfa.org/event/recent-found-footage-films Recent Found-Footage Films-BAMPFA]
Dara Birnbaum
Abigail Child[https://expcinema.org/site/en/events/early-monthly-segments-98-abigail-child-julie-murray Early Monthly Segments #98: Abigail Child & Julie Murray-Experimental Cinema]
Bruce Conner[https://bampfa.org/event/found-footage-films-bruce-conner Found-Footage Films of Bruce Conner-BAMPFA]
Joseph Cornell[https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/551 Joseph Cornell and Ken Jacobs: Footage Lost and Found-MoMA]
Guy Debord
William Farley
Federica Foglia[https://foundfootagemagazine.com/issues/issue-8/ ISSUE #8-FOUND FOOTAGE MAGAZINE]
Péter Forgács
Barbara Hammer[http://foundfootagemagazine.com/en/issue-2/ ISSUE #2-FOUND FOOTAGE MAGAZINE]
Ken Jacobs[https://theseventhart.org/ken-jacobs-perfect-film-a-literal-found-footage-short-concerning-the-assassination-of-malcolm-x/ Ken Jacobs’ PERFECT FILM, a literal found footage short concerning the assassination of Malcolm X-The Seventh Art][https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/551 Joseph Cornell and Ken Jacobs: Footage Lost and Found-MoMA]
Brett Morgen[https://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/news/how-jane-evolved-found-footage-inspiring-documentary-636416 How 'Jane' Evolved from Found Footage to Inspiring Documentary - Creative Planet Network]
Matthias Müller
Dennis Nyback
Vivian Ostrovsky
Paul Pfeiffer
Rick PrelingerMaggie Shiels, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/new_media/2062364.stm Unlocking the copyright culture], BBC News website, June 24, 2002. Accessed June 24, 2008.
Luther Price[https://whitney.org/WatchAndListen/789 Luther Price (films)-Whitney Museum of American Art]
Phil Solomon[https://bampfa.org/event/recent-found-footage-films Recent Found-Footage Films-BAMPFA]
Chick Strand[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/features/divining-spirits-chick-strand Divining spirits: Chick Strand-Sight & Sound-BFI]
System D-128
Peter Tscherkassky[https://expcinema.org/site/en/releases/found-footage-magazine Found Footage Magazine-Experimental Cinema]
René Viénet

References

External links

[http://recycledcinema.blogspot.com/ The Recycled Cinema] – "A Research Site Devoted to the Past and Future of Found Footage Film and Video"
[http://www.foundfootagemagazine.com/ Found Footage Magazine] – a semi-annual publication with theoretical, analytical and informative contents related to found footage filmmaking

Category:Cinematic techniques

Category:Experimental film

Category:Found object

Category:Collage

Category:Contemporary art