Shot-on-video film

A shot-on-video (SOV) film,^[1]^[2] also known as a shot-on-VHS film^[3]^[4] or a camcorder film,^[2] is a film shot using camcorders and consumer-grade equipment, as opposed to film stock or high-end digital movie cameras.

Examples

Shot-on-video films emerged in the wake of the release of Sony's professional-grade Betacam and consumer-grade Betamovie camcorders in 1983.^[5]^[6] Many shot-on-video films were low-budget^[7] and belong to the horror genre. Filmmaker siblings the Polonia brothers were known for their shot-on-video horror films, such as Splatter Farm (1987) and Feeders (1996).^[2]^[6]

Theatrically released examples

The scenes in Bill Gunn's 1980 film Personal Problems were shot using a videocassette recorder which was a new technology at the time (as most previous films were shot using film stock).^[8]

The 1994 documentary film Hoop Dreams^[9] was one of the first shot-on-video documentaries to receive a wide theatrical release.^[10] The 1999 film The Blair Witch Project was shot on both 16 mm film and the consumer-grade Hi8 video format, which was transferred to film for its national theatrical release.^[10] An international example is Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier's minimalist film The Idiots (1998; aka Dogme #2).^[6]

List of other notable shot-on-video films

200 Motels (1971)^[11]
Mayday Raw 1971 (1971)^[12]
Adland (1974)^[13]
Lord of the Universe (1974)^[14]
The Police Tapes (1977)^[15]
Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979)^[16]
The Reflecting Pool (1979)^[17]
Possibly in Michigan (1981)^[18]
Boardinghouse (1982)^[19]^[20]
Sledgehammer (1983)^[1]^[2]^[21]
The Emmy Award-winning Special Bulletin (1983)^[22]
Suffer Little Children (1983)^[23]
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1984)^[24]
Blood Cult (1985)^[2]^[19]^[20]
The Ripper (1985)^[25]^[26]
Cards of Death (1986)^[27]^[20]
Tales from the QuadeaD Zone (1987)^[28]^[1]
Video Violence (1987)^[1]^[2]^[29]^[19]
555 (1988)^[1]^[2]
Rob Nilsson's Sundance-winning Heat and Sunlight (1988)^[30]^[31]
Tongues Untied (1988)^[32]
Woodchipper Massacre (1988)^[1]^[2]
Citizen Tania (1989)^[33]^[34]
The McPherson Tape (1989)^[2]^[35]
Sir Drone (1989)^[36]
Things (1989)^[37]^[6]
Bossy Burger (1991)^[38]^[39]
The controversial 1992 BBC One TV movie Ghostwatch^[35]
Heidi, Midlife Crisis Trauma Center and Negative Media-Engram Abreaction Zone (1992)^[40]^[41]
Ozone (1993)^[42]
Conrad Brooks vs. the Werewolf (1994)^[1]
Without Warning (1994)^[43]
Polymorph (1996)^[42]
Bloodletting (1997)^[42]^[44]
Ernest Borgnine on the Bus (1997)^[45]
Premutos (1997)^[21]
Rollergator (1997)^[46]
Jan-Gel: The Beast from the East (1999)^[1]
The Academy Award nominated Genghis Blues (1999)^[47]
August Underground (2001)^[35]
Gozu (2003)^[20]
The Columbine-inspired video diary Zero Day (2003)^[35]
Each Time I Kill (2007)^[1]
Harmony Korine's Trash Humpers (2009)^[1]^[6]

Legacy

Both Tongues Untied and Hoop Dreams are inducted into the National Film Registry.^[48]

Possibly in Michigan first gained notoriety on social media in 2015, and has gained popularity among Gen Z teens.^[49]^[50]

Some SOV films like Feeders, Things (later to be known as one of the worst movies of all time) and Rollergator were spoofed by RiffTrax, consisting of former Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumni Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett and Michael J. Nelson.^[51]^[52]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Ziemba, Joseph A.; Choi, Annie (January 2, 2022). "Bleeding Skull 50: The Best Shot-on-Video Films". Bleeding Skull. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Albright 2012, p. 10.
^ Albright 2012, p. 50.
^ Piepenburg, Erik; Carlson, Zack (October 26, 2011). "Big Hair and Bad Blood: VHS-Era Horror Obscurities From A to Z". The New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
^ Albright 2012, pp. 9–10.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e The Evolution of Shot-On-Video Movies - MovieWeb
^ Bishop, Kyle William (2010). American Zombie Gothic: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Walking Dead in Popular Culture. Contributions to Zombie Studies. McFarland & Company. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-7864-4806-7.
^ Defore, John. "Personal Problems" Film Review".
^ Hoop Dreams: The Real Thing|Current|The Criterion Collection
^ ^a ^b Hurbis-Cherrier, Mick (2007). Voice and Vision: A Creative Approach to Narrative Film and DV Production. Focal Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-0240807737.
^ World Radio History - Studio Sound (page 23)
^ MAYDAY RAW 1971 – Spectacle Theater
^ The Prime Time Survey · PRESERVING GUERRILLA TELEVISION - BAMPFA
^ Electronic Arts Intermix: TVTV : Biography
^ O'Connor, John J. (January 2, 1977). "Documentary on Police Strips Away Any Glamour". The New York Times. p. 73.
^ Schreger, Charles (July 21, 1979). "Shelved TV Satire to Get Theater Release". Los Angeles Times. Part II, p. 6.
^ The Reflecting Pool, 1977-79|Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
^ CECELIA CONDIT: EARLY VIDEO WORKS VHS - Lunchmeat
^ ^a ^b ^c VIDEO VIOLENCE - 13 Days of Shot on Video! (#13)|Camera Viscera
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cards of Death (1986) - B&S About Movies
^ ^a ^b Shot On Video – Moviejawn
^ Special Bulletin - DVD Talk
^ The Right Place: Martyrs and Monsters in 'Suffer Little Children' - Split Tooth Media
^ Scott, Jay (August 18, 1983). "PBS, Canadian firm co-produce film". The Globe and Mail. p. 19 – via ProQuest.
^ Albright 2012, p. 284.
^ Szpunar, John (2013). Xerox Ferox: The Wild World of the Horror Film Fanzine. Headpress. ISBN 978-1909394100.
^ CARDS OF DEATH (Bleeding Skull! Video Promo Trailer) on official YouTube channel
^ Ziemba, Joseph A. (June 1, 2005). "From Betacam to Big Box: Shot-on-Video Trash in the 1980s (Part II)". Bleeding Skull. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
^ Tinnin, Drew (June 2, 2022). "Homemade Horror: 5 Gross Out Shot-On-Video Shockers". Dread Central. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
^ Heat and Sunlight (1987) - Turner Classic Movies
^ First 80s indie film fest shows that paved the way for the indie boom|Film|The Guardian
^ Queer & Now & Then: 1991 - Film Comment
^ THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING: As Told By Raymond Pettibon - Spectacle Theater
^ Electronic Arts Intermix: Raymond Bittibon
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Six Shot-on-VHS Horror Movies to Watch After 'Frogman' - Bloody Disgusting
^ History Lesson - Part III: This Bland Could Be Your Life - Journal - Metrograph
^ Turek, Ryan (June 23, 2011). "DVD: "Canuxploitation" Flick Things on the Way". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
^ Projects 51: Paul McCarthy|MoMA
^ Laughing His Way Into Character - Art21
^ Paul McCarthy with Dan Cameron - The Brooklyn Rail
^ “Paul McCarthy and Mike Kelley: Heidi, Midlife Crisis Trauma Center and Negative Media-Engram Abreaction Zone”|Time Out New York
^ ^a ^b ^c Gingold, Michael (December 20, 2018). "Exclusive Comments, Plus Trailer and Posters: SOV Veteran Turns Director with "Her Name Was Christa"". Rue Morgue. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
^ Without Warning - Variety
^ Bowen, John W. (September–October 2001). "The Three Ms of Serial Murder" (PDF). Rue Morgue. No. 23. p. 44. ISSN 1481-1103.
^ QUIT YOUR DAY JOB: THE WORLD OF JEFF KRULIK - Spectacle Theater
^ Rollergator|RiffTrax
^ Lewis, Anne S. (October 10, 2003). "Finding Their Tuva". The Austin Chronicle.
^ Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles|Library of Congress
^ Chiaverina, John (6 November 2019). "How This 71-Year-Old Video Art Pioneer Became a TikTok Star". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
^ Gat, Orit (26 July 2019). "How Cecelia Condit's Video Art Became a Viral Curse for Teens on TikTok". Frieze. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
^ Nelson, Mike J.; Murphy, Kevin; Corbett, Bill (March 4, 2022). "Things". Rifftrax. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
^ SOV HORROR: Review - Feeders (1996)

Bibliography

Albright, Brian (2012). Regional Horror Films, 1958–1990: A State-by-State Guide with Interviews. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786472277.