A shot-on-video (SOV) film, also known as a shot-on-VHS film or a camcorder film, is a film shot using camcorders and consumer-grade equipment, as opposed to film stock or high-end digital movie cameras.
History The first theatrically-released films shot on videotape pre-date the invention of the camcorder and related consumer video technology, starting with the Electronovision process developed by film producer and entrepreneur H. William "Bill" Sargent, Jr. around 1964. Electronovision used conventional analog Image Orthicon-based studio video cameras (RCA TK-60 cameras in Electronovision's case), recording video from them to an Ampex high-band 2" Quadraplex-format video tape recorder (VTR), all configured to use the black-and-white 819-line interlaced 25 frame per second (FPS) video standard, used in France for TV broadcasting at the time. The videotaped 819-line footage was then edited, with the final cut being transferred from tape to film stock via a kinescope process. The 819-line video standard was chosen by Electronovision over the regular 525-line 30 FPS video standard in use in the US at the time, due to its higher resolution and closer frame rate to motion picture film's 24 FPS, making it a better fit for transfer to film.
A few films were shot and released using the Electronovision process, such as The TAMI Show, (1964), Hamlet (1964),The Warner Bros. Story by Clive Hirschorn (Crown Publishers, 1979) p. 363 and Harlow (1965).
Around 1969, The Vidtronics Company, a division of Technicolor, had also developed a process for transferring color videotape to film, this time using standard 525-line NTSC color video gear. To demonstrate the potential of their process, they produced The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler (1971). The picture was shot by the crew from the TV series Death Valley Days, transferred and processed by Technicolor, and distributed by a Technicolor subsidiary, Gold Key Entertainment. It was not successful in theatres, but was frequently shown in TV syndication and 16mm rentals.
Other films using Vidtronics' tape-to-film process were Why? (1971), and 200 Motels (1971), the latter being shot using the 625-line PAL color video standard at Pinewood Studios in the UK.
In 1973, Hollywood actor/producer Ed Platt, made famous by his role as "The Chief" in the NBC-TV series Get Smart, raised the money to produce Santee, starring Glenn Ford. Platt saw the advantages of using videotape over film, and used the facilities of Burbank's Compact Video Systems to shoot the western on location in the California and Nevada deserts. The motion picture was shot with Norelco PCP-70 portable plumbicon NTSC cameras and portable Ampex VR-3000 2" VTRs, then transferred to film at Consolidated Film Industries in Hollywood. The film was not commercially successful.
Feminist filmmaker JoAnn Elam weaved together kinescoped video interviews of three women (each passing the handheld camera to one another) with 16mm film imagery on her 1975 experimental documentary Rape.Rape : Film : Chicago Film ArchivesThe JoAnn Elam Collection at Chicago Film Archives
Examples Shot-on-video films became more common in the wake of the release of Sony's professional-grade Betacam and consumer-grade Betamovie camcorders in 1983.The Evolution of Shot-On-Video Movies - MovieWeb Many shot-on-video films were low-budget 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). A non-horror example of SOV cinema includes the meditative video art of Bill Viola who was one of the first to enthusiastically experimented with the then-new format.Smarthistory – Bill Viola, The Crossing
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).
The 1994 documentary film Hoop DreamsHoop Dreams: The Real Thing|Current|The Criterion Collection was one of the first shot-on-video documentaries to receive a wide theatrical release. The 1999 film The Blair Witch Project was shot on both 16 mm film and the consumer-grade Hi8 video format,The 20 Best Movies on Digital Formats – Page 3 – Taste of Cinema which was transferred to film for its national theatrical release. An international example is Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier's minimalist film The Idiots (1998; aka Dogme #2).
List of other notable shot-on-video films
200 Motels (1971)World Radio History - Studio Sound (page 23)266. 200 Motels (1971)|366 Weird Movies Mayday Raw 1971 (1971)MAYDAY RAW 1971 – Spectacle Theater Adland (1974)The Prime Time Survey · PRESERVING GUERRILLA TELEVISION - BAMPFA The Amputee (1974)The Short Films of David Lynch – IFC Center Lord of the Universe (1974)Electronic Arts Intermix: TVTV : Biography Julia Reichert's Academy Award-nominated Union Maids (1976)“Iron Man,” Marvel, Rocket Into the 2022 National Film Registry|Timeless The Police Tapes (1977) Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1979)Schreger, Charles (July 21, 1979). "Shelved TV Satire to Get Theater Release". Los Angeles Times. Part II, p. 6. The Reflecting Pool (1979)The Reflecting Pool, 1977-79|Guggenheim Museum Bilbao50 Great Works of Video Art That You Can Watch Online - Flavorwire Boardinghouse (1982) Possibly in Michigan (1983)CECELIA CONDIT: EARLY VIDEO WORKS VHS - LunchmeatPlastic Masks: Possibly in Michigan as Urban Legend - Art & Trash Sledgehammer (1983) The Emmy Award-winning Special Bulletin (1983)Special Bulletin - DVD Talk Suffer Little Children (1983)The Right Place: Martyrs and Monsters in 'Suffer Little Children' - Split Tooth Media Black Devil Doll from Hell (1984)Phantoms in the Family: Chester Novell Turner's Tales from the QuadeaD Zone - Art & Trash Blonde Death (1984) Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1984) Rock My Religion (1984)Dan Graham. Rock My Religion. 1983-1984|MoMA Screambook (1984)SPECTACLE X CDFF PRESENTS JOE ZASO'S SCREAMBOOK I + II on Vimeo Blood Cult (1985) The Ripper (1985)The AGFA Horror Trailer Show (2020) – B&S About Movies Cards of Death (1986)CARDS OF DEATH (Bleeding Skull! Video Promo Trailer) on official YouTube channelCards of Death (1986) - B&S About Movies Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986)Heavy Metal Parking Lot by John Heyn and John Krulik|Short of the WeekRevisiting Cult Film 'Heavy Metal Parking Lot' - Ultimate Classic Rock Redneck Zombies (1987)Redneck Zombies (1987)|Mass After Midnight Tales from the QuadeaD Zone (1987) Video Violence (1987)VIDEO VIOLENCE - 13 Days of Shot on Video! (#13)|Camera Viscera We, the Normal (1987) 555 (1988) Rob Nilsson's Sundance-winning Heat and Sunlight (1988)Heat and Sunlight (1987) - Turner Classic MoviesFirst 80s indie film fest shows that paved the way for the indie boom|Film|The Guardian Tongues Untied (1988)Queer & Now & Then: 1991 - Film Comment Twisted Issues (1988)Twisted Issues (1988)|Swampflix Woodchipper Massacre (1988) Citizen Tania (1989)THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING: As Told By Raymond Pettibon - Spectacle TheaterElectronic Arts Intermix: Raymond Bittibon Houseboat Horror (1989) The McPherson Tape (1989) Sir Drone (1989)History Lesson - Part III: This Bland Could Be Your Life - Journal - Metrograph It's Only a Movie! (1990)STRICTLY FOR CONSUMERS OF LOW CAMP — Two SOV Genrebenders from Joe Zaso – Spectacle Theater Bossy Burger (1991)Projects 51: Paul McCarthy|MoMALaughing His Way Into Character - Art21 Wax or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees (1991)270. WAX, OR THE DISCOVERY OF TELEVISION AMONG THE BEES (1991)|366 Weird Movies The controversial 1992 BBC One TV movie GhostwatchSix Shot-on-VHS Horror Movies to Watch After 'Frogman' - Bloody DisgustingGhostwatch – Cinema – Queensland Art Gallery|Gallery of Modern Art Heidi, Midlife Crisis Trauma Center and Negative Media-Engram Abreaction Zone (1992)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 Ozone (1993) Traces of Death (1993)Traces of Death (1993)|Mass After Midnight Conrad Brooks vs. the Werewolf (1994) Without Warning (1994)Without Warning - Variety Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (1995)Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (1995)|Mass After Midnight Spin (1995)Spin|Video Data BankCRITIC'S CHOICE/VIDEO; Festival of an Art for Life's Dirtier Nooks – The New York Times Polymorph (1996) Bloodletting (1997) Ernest Borgnine on the Bus (1997)QUIT YOUR DAY JOB: THE WORLD OF JEFF KRULIK - Spectacle Theater Premutos (1997)Shot On Video – Moviejawn Rollergator (1997)Rollergator|RiffTrax Waco: The Rules of Engagement (1997)Waco: The Rules of Engagement – DVD Talk Jan-Gel: The Beast from the East (1999) Genghis Blues (1999) Praise You (1999)The Music Video Is Dead, Long Live The Music Video – Patrick (H) Willems on YouTube In the Dark (2000)'In the Dark' (2000): Temptation and the Willing Victim – Split Tooth Media I Never Left The White Room (2000)366 UNDERGROUND FROM THE READER-SUGGESTED QUEUE: I NEVER LEFT THE WHITE ROOM (2000)|366 Weird Movies August Underground (2001) Gozu (2003) The Columbine-inspired video diary Zero Day (2003) Each Time I Kill (2007) Harmony Korine's Trash Humpers (2009)
Legacy Union Maids, Tongues Untied and Hoop Dreams are each inducted into the National Film Registry.Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles|Library of Congress
Possibly in Michigan first gained notoriety on social media in 2015, and has gained popularity among Gen Z teens.
Some SOV films like Feeders and Rollergator were spoofed by RiffTrax, consisting of former Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumni Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett and Michael J. Nelson.SOV HORROR: Review - Feeders (1996)
Heavy Metal Parking Lot was positioned at #67 by Rolling Stone on their list of 70 greatest music documentaries.70 Greatest Music Documentaries - Rolling Stone
Trailers for some SOV titles like Death Nurse (1987) and Cannibal Campout (1988) were featured on the 2021 compilation film The AGFA Horror Trailer Show: Videorage.
See also 480i, the video mode used for standard-definition digital video Analog horror Found footage film Cinéma vérité Snuff film Mockumentary Postmodernist film Video art Vulgar auteurism Video essay
References
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Further reading
External links Shot-on-video titles at Mass After Midnight