I actually got an idea about how the "Put down the camera and help" thing could be turned into a character arc. The camera operator would be obsessed with filming every moment of his family's life. He was obsessed enough that he watched a man he didn't like get killed by a zombie. He's chewed out by his girlfriend and later when he sees his girlfriend getting attacked by a zombie, he has a moment of hesitation, but then goes to save her. He promptly apologizes for ever putting his ego above saving others.

Sean you're a genius... Hollywood needs to hire you as the Common Sense Technician in all of their movies 😂

We all know that in movies the Cameraman never gets hurt. We have the Unstoppable Force, the Immovable Object but he is the Untouchable One.

Like the style of the episode! You should definitely do more episodes exploring different genres of film.

You should do more of these types of videos where you take a genre and go over what works and what doesn't.

also, in found footage i think acting is even more important than regular movie. They have to feel authentic, so it's easier to notice weird nosense stuff that no human would do.

I actually liked the phone camera shots he did in his car, they actually look good! I'm genuinely surprised by this, plus it's something DIFFERENT!! I would LOVE to see more videos on topics like this from him.

How did they get the Apollo 18 footage? Apollo 19, of course!

Overall, Jon Bailey AKA EpicVoiceGuy summarized this genre best: "Someone strapped a GoPro to a meth head".

Sean, for whatever it's worth, I liked the format you tried out with this video. As for the person still recording rather than helping, I've seen someone do just that in real life! Granted, it must be far too common in these types of films, given the number of times I've heard people comment on it.

Please do more of these in-depth look at different genres. I really liked this. Maybe next could be horror or the mostly extinct erotic thriller genre.

One of my all time favorite movies is a found footage horror mockumentary called The Trollhunter. It is a Norwegian movie, so you probably have to watch with subtitles, but it still very fun to watch even if you do not understand all the culturally internal jokes. I think they really nailed the found footage aspect in that movie just as in the blair witch project. They manage to avoid all of the above mentioned problems with the found footage genre. Half way into the movie they even switch to a different cameraman/woman who is much more professional than the previous and you immediately see the quality of filming greatly improved. Lot's of these small very nice details in this movie. Really, really recommend it!

Nuclear war? Constitutional crisis? I sleep. Sean uploads a review? REAL SHIT.

For me it's more than just "put down the camera and help" moments. It's simply 'Why the fuck are you filming this?" moments? You kinda touched on that. Movies like the Paranormal Activity, Unfriended, Megan is Missing, etc., have people filming stuff NO ONE FILMS, like eating dinner, or being verbally abused by a classmate. There needs to be a reason the camera is on. It can't just be "something unexpected happens in this moment" because the characters had no way of knowing that it would happen. They were filming their dinner, and suddenly the table levitates or some shit. But WHY WERE THEY FILMING THEIR DINNER!? I've seen some online videos that claim to be "piecing footage together" and they frequently do things like have text or voice saying "I don't know what happened that night, and I likely never will, but here's what happened after, and this makes me suspect X happened that night." Why can't big budget movies do that? As far as I know, BWP is yet again the only film to really explain why characters keep filming despite all that's going on. Heather, who defines herself as a filmmaker, shouts when challenged "It's all I have left right now!" or something like that, when Josh berates her for filming despite their situation.

Honestly, I don't have a problem with this as a filmmaking tool. Problem is so many films use it as a crutch to avoid having to be, y'know, *good.*

Blair Witch Project had such a genius marketing campaign. It was just such a creepy slow burn and is still one of my fave found footage films.

I was going to my bed. But, who needs to sleep when Cinemmatic Excrement uploads a new video?

"Hello, all you happy people." Droopy, that plastic surgery is doing wonders!

A Christmas movie that might be starring Adam Sandler... It’s gotta be Eight Crazy Nights.

I like to see you do more of these editorials. It's good to hear about movie making.

i like how you did this video. it doesn't always have to be just one movie. this deals with cinematic excrement as well. and as well.

There's an excellent found-footage genre film from Japan called "Noroi". I recommend it, as that's also an example of found-footage done right, even in the technical aspects (sound design is important in some of that film's plot points).

A combination mockumentary, FF, movie that does not get nearly enough attention is "Lake Mungo" (2009). It is one of the best, and creepiest, ghost stories I've ever seen.

Also another problem that comes along with found footage is also Battery Life and Storage as well can get ignored. Like how in Paranormal Activity 4 has laptops recording non-stop. Or there is this Horror film I saw (don't recall the name) where a 1 eye man makes a Camera Eye.. for some reason... using a Cell Phone camera and being powered by a watch battery, and besides the fact that he is able to record HD quality and sound (though he never put a microphone in the Camera Eye), but he is somehow able to record all of the stuff for hours on end without needing to recharge and/or empty out the storage.

The “stroll on the moon one day” part absolutely killed me.

Keep the cat. Keep it.

Noroi the Curse is really well made too. It establishes that the documentary crew is professional, the cameraman is a character and the footage is found because its mostly already out on video.

I liked all the parts where Sean was in his car with his camera phone, that was something different and it was weird but really cool!

I was 22 when this came out, and went to see it with some friends. None of us had heard anything about the movie and only saw it because it was playing. We left the theatre seriously shook. We'd never seen anything like it before and we didn't know what to think. Now that it's been done so much, the style has largely lost its magic.

13:33-14:00 Saddest thing about this commentary is that there are idiot cameramen like that in the real world. If some guy gets hurt while doing a really dangerous and stupid stunt, the cameraman is more concerned that he got the footage on film rather than seeing if that poor moron is hurt badly or on the verge of dying.

Always great. Thanks for the vid and your hard work.

Great video as always - thank you!

Your warning led me to a false sense of security. I died right at that second.

One film in the sub genre worth checking out is Man Bites Dog. A black and white Belgian film about a camera crew who follows a serial killer around as he does his crimes. It's disturbing, raw and really captivating and actually uses it's format into order to draw the viewer into it's horror.

Welcome Back, Sean. Well done as per usual :)

Great analysis! Very fun to watch

Just as I'm watching an old Cinematic Excrement episode a new one pops up

This was a very interesting analysis video. I hope you can do another like this again sometime.

Awesome format. Great episode. Well written. Keep it up!

REC came before Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity, in late 2007.

Want to say first, I'm recent subscriber, but watched through your Cinema Excrement videos, and they do make me laugh, so thank you. Also, never seen Apollo 18, but maybe Superman found the camera. 😉😂 Anyways, want to close this comment up with saying, funny the next review will be a Christmas movie. Very first Cinema Excrement I watched was your Star Wars Holiday Special. 😉👍

Aliens that sent the rock monster found the footage of Apollo 18 and watching it. You are actually viewing the movie through the alien's eyes.

"Probably starring Adam Sandler" I think he's going to review Eight Crazy Nights

This is fantastic! Great research giving the facts to a well-founded discussion. It was really interesting and pointed out a lot of truths that unfortunately filmmakers aren't noticing for themselves.

Blair Witch Project actually had a really cool backstory to how the footage was found. It was found under the foundations of the ruined house... as if it had been left there decades earlier.

Sean is right - when ever I walk around the neighbourhood with a prosumer grade video camera, not a single zombie tries to attack me. They're so scared of the camera, they don't even come near enough to be seen. It works! Unfortunately this method has a downside. The camera seems to attract very angry moms and police cars instead... I'm not sure what that is all about...?

You're going to review the Christmas Tree are you? If you do... please let me know that you still have your soul.

I had completely missed this episode… and honestly, I wouldn’t mind if there were more like that. I know Sean likes to stick to his formula, but some slight deviations like this one are pretty refreshing.

I liked the handheld moment in this vid. Be cool to see some more of that. Also great video topic, would be cool to have a 3rd variant in your vids if you had time.

Loved the video! Keep the good work man!

I wonder what the Smeghead will do for his 100th episode. :D

Excellent job on critiquing the found footage genre, Sean. I haven’t seen a lot of them, but from what I’ve seen, it does seem like one of those genres if it is a genre that needs to be done just right.

if you do this type of video again can you cover anime/video game adaptations they sure as hell need some guidance

I enjoyed this video! I've never really been a movie buff, but it was interesting to learn about the Found Footage style of film. I'd enjoy more videos like this, I suggest you tackle (shitty) action or horror movies!

Were three episodes away from CM's 100th episode, should we start taking bets as to which movie he'll cover? My money is on Troll 2.

The Apollo 18 problem reminds me of a failed creepypasta on a website full of them where it involved a message log style documenting a mission to the moon where everyone either went missing or died, and the last sentence was "This message was never found." I'm sad to say that the site has since purged most of the messages for its failed creepypastas, because the comment section for that one in particular was a riot.

I mean, I like to casually stroll on the moon to find found footage of rock monsters

One of my many issues with Found Footage films is that...well they are found. Which means more often than not every character dies, so for me I can't get invested in the characters because I know they'll die straight away.

REC is my favorite found footage movie. Like you said, it's got a credible reason for good-quality shots with the professional cameraman, the guy actually helped when necessary, and there's a plausible explanation for the footage being found.

The cat on your hood was hilarious!

A new Cinematic Excrement Episode? Yay!!!!!

Not found footage, but of a similar idea, one movie that disappointed me was The Truman Show. Wasn't that it was bad, but in-universe they stated the show was recorded entirely with hidden cameras, but very few shots looked like they would have been recorded by such. Would love to have seen them actually try. The harder part to explain would have been the audio quality, but shouldn't be too hard to believe they could have had tiny microphones hidden on his clothing, especially if his "wife" is doing all the laundry.

Good video, you certainly pointed out a lot of the common conflicts and inconsistencies of found footage films. But I do suggest you check out Trollhunter (2010) since it is both entertaining and done right.

Bruh do more genre examinations and editorials like this fuckin goddamn 11/10 best episode in forever

Of all the found footage movies that could've had sequels, the only one worthwhile didn't get any. How many of us would've liked to have seen Chronicle's story progress? More people being affected? Newer technology being affected and government reactions? Heck, this was inspired by Akira and that had so much more to give that Chronicle could've used in later sequels. It just figures that the one story juicy enough to produce material would have a director and writer busy enough to not get an opportunity to make more!

The next one’s gonna be Eight Crazy Nights, isn’t it? And Adam Sandler’s gonna take it down, isn’t he?

This was an interesting side project. Nice job, Sean.

I really love Chronicle, it has some issues with the "found footage" rules here and there, but I think the finale holds up. Since what happens is not unexplained stuff to a bunch of kids isolated from the world but massive mayhem in a crowded city, I think rather than found footage we can talk about "carefully selected footage"

I would love to see Sean do more of these Film Genre Critiques.

Actually there's a German found footage movie from 1970 named "Die Delegation - eine utopische Reportage" in which a reporter does a report on some UFO maniacs, but decides to actually research on it some more to give a more well rounded report. So he goes to the USA and does some more research, but then he suddenly dies. The movie shows a faux TV programme in which they follow that last part of his life by his notes and his material which include more and more hints that extraterrestrials have actually come here.

There is one problem you didn’t mention here. When making a found footage movie I assume the idea is that it’s raw unedited footage. So with that in mind why would you add sound effects that would completely dismiss the fact that it’s unedited. For example, lost tapes was notorious for this, they had a bear lake monster episode that claims to depict an actual encounter with the beast. Yet at some point if you listen closely you can hear a Jurassic park velociraptor sound effect. How do they expect us to believe it’s unedited if they use a well known movie sound effect?

14:08 Yeah exactly! In the first one, the main couple was told "You need to stop trying to film the monster, you're pissing it off!" And they STILL filmed it!!!

You would love how the footage is discovered in THE LAST BROADCAST. It's a head slapping moment.

I don't mind found footage, but they need a better reason to keep the camera on the action the entire time.

Have you seen Frankenstein's Army? It is a FF movie set in the 1940's, but shot with a modern day camera.

Great video, Sean! Just wondering, if you're interested, could you do another episode on how certain genres and styles can be done badly and how to do it right?

Please do more episodes like this

11:23 "Does this look anywhere near as good as that shot from Into the Storm?" Maybe not, but at least that's a nice-looking neighborhood we're seeing.

This was a very interesting video. Truly, I didn't even think about how the footage was found. One thing that did try to answer these issues is the Doctor Who episode Sleep No More. It was cheesy with using sentient dust as cameras and had little time to flesh out the characters but it tried more than some hollywood directors.

I guess as to why found footage films are often bad is that I get the feeling that the makers behind these movies probably thought that since it's found footage they don't to try as hard

i love your videos carry on ! thumbs up

Best post credits scene ever. Make that cat a recurring character! XD

You forgot to mention that the Director of Cannibal Holocaust made the cast sign contracts to never appear in movies for 1 year, this fed the idea that they were actually dead!

Found footage is the literary equivalent of Lovecraft and I say that as a fan of both. Lovecraft just had a huge hard-on/limitation for framing his stories with the protagonist recounting events directly to the reader as found diaries, letters etc that ended with lines like, "I hear the creeping darkness coming up the stairs. It is coming to get me. Oh god awwwwwwwww......"It is a great idea to have the audience live so vicariously through the found documents/video but you got to stick the landing with a little more finesse.

Found Footage seems like the kind of movie that only really works on Direct to Video. If you really want to get immersed in those stories, a movie theater is the worst thing to use. Especially since it’s supposed to be footage that was found (either on videotape or on a USB stick).

Alright, that was a lot less painful than I anticipated. Found footage is my favorite genre of horror and I was braced for this to suck. All your points are perfectly valid and I completely agree with them, especially the "put down the camera and help, asshole" bit. That always confused me.

As a response to the Apollo 18 'found footage' argument: One of the interesting constraints that 'found footage' forces on a movie is to limit the perspective to that of the recording device(s) available in the scene. It doesn't necessarily need to be 'found footage' persay, but that the audience is seeing the scene from a second-person perspective (of a sort). Kind of a blend of traditional cinematography, where the audience gets whatever framing the director wants, instead here the audience is basically taking the role over a non-character in the film.

With a name like Found Footage it has to be good

The Apollo 18 footage was found by Superman while he was fighting Nuclear Man.

Maybe it didn't lead to a genre, but years before Blair Witch was Belgian crime caper Man Bites Dog. Since it had no supernatural or sci-fi pretenses, it was more convincing as found footage. And frankly a better moviegoing experience IMO. That was the first film of this kind I had seen, so I wondered if the events depicted were genuine (no Internet yet, per se; pretty shocking). But it mostly satisfied the same questions you've raised (why would the camera guy keep filming, not intervene? Could somebody get the camera angles, sound, as seen? Who discovered the "lost" film and how?).

I'm surprised you didn't mention one cliche that is almost always abused: amount of footage the cameras they are using can shoot, and battery life. I did like the recent Deadstream found footage movie. I would recommend that one.

The best review I ever got for TBWP was from a mate who furiously cycled down to my flat after watching it. "WAS IT REAL????" was his rather breathless gambit. Ahem. PS The Legend Of Boggy Breek "invented" FF cough. IMHO.

It's funny how generally the thing that popularizes a certain genre is always the best example of that certain genre.

I was never a fan of the Found Footage crap for a lot of reasons and many of the stuff that's being said here can fill in my list why I don't like the genre. While I can see the benefits and pros of the found footage style of filming, I was never able to suspend my disbelief enough to buy into everything that's being shown on the footage that's "supposedly" not a film made by a studio or a crew with some experience of movie making. Let alone why distributing companies would release home made videos in REAL movie theaters that REAL people use their REAL money to watch REAL movies. Sure, The found footage effect really worked back in the 80's and it was gripping and intense to see. But this is 2017. The time where almost everyone has a camera on their phones, the time where the internet has loads of reliable information sources to look up and the time when we have the technology and resources to find out if the footage that's being shown really happened and find the people easily. Let's be frank here. The found footage genre is dead. And all the new "found footage" movies that are being made are just beating up a dead corpse.

I'm glad you picked up on a little problem I've always had; that being, when a character in a found-footage film is being filmed apparently by nobody. What I mean by that is, you see that character A has the camera, and character B does not. Yet, somehow there is a shot of character A from character B's perspective, despite character B lacking the camera needed. You end up spending most of your time screaming 'WHO THE FUCK IS FILMING THIS GUY?' It's a glaring issue with the new Blair Witch. I actually enjoyed it, to be honest, as a whole, but that little problem really irritated me. That said, I love (Rec.) and As Above, So Below. For me personally they just worked on the basic level of being legitimately scary. Also, your Diary of The Dead argument doesn't really work, as you're omitting the fact that characters continuously called the camera-guy out for just standing there. Romero made it a part of the script, meaning it's not exactly a flaw. It's not a great film, in complete honesty, but that particular criticism is somewhat asinine.

You see the thing about “found footage” films (specifically horror ones), is that because of the amateuristic appearance and typically grounded nature of most found footage films allows it to tap into the psyche and extract the tiny bits of anxiety and fear people have left for fictitious things. We’re exposed to so much (infinitely more than generations past) that a lot of the things that instilled fear in the people of yesteryear come across as silly or hokey nowadays. So people aren’t scared of your Freddy, Jason’s, Michael Meyers. They’re obviously revered and their names carry a lot of weight... but not because people are scared of them. More-so because people look at them as the protagonists of their franchises. But very few people actually *FEAR* them. Horror is hard. Fear is far and by the most difficult feeling to give nowadays. And that’s what happens when reality is more frightening than anything someone could imagine. But found footage keeps one foot in our reality, and that allows people to immerse themselves in ways they couldn’t in any other type/style/genre or filmmaking... at least in terms of horror. When the OG BWP came out, the overwhelming majority of people *went into it* either thinking it was real, or having no idea what they were in store for as for the overwhelming majority of the world this was not just the first “found footage” film they ever saw, but it was the first time a movie attempted to pass itself off as something other than a movie... something more... something real. But that’s why TBWP caught on like it did, and that’s why (at last for a time, until it got over-saturated) found footage films were so damn popular after Paranormal Activity came along. Because rather than approaching things like a movie that’s designed to scare folks (something nearly impossible to do on-demand in these times), they learned that if something feels “real” people will ride with it... even if the actual ‘scares’ are pretty light.

Have you reviewed Eight Crazy Nights yet? If not that might be it for your next review ;)

The cat wants to know where his damn dinner is ...

Yeah, the only way that footage from Apollo 18 could’ve gotten back to earth is if Della Duck found it

Re: Apollo 18......Another important rule for found footage: DO NOT CAST KNOWN ACTORS!!! The lead of Apollo 18, Lloyd Owens was immediately recognizable to me for a show called Monarch of the Glen from the UK that was syndicated in the US. He was a major character for 3 years. He also played Henry Jones Sr in The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.