Found Footage: Making Horror with What You Have

Display Schedule

Code Completion Credits Range Language Instruction Semester
311MFF credit 2 19 hours (45 min) of instruction per semester, 36 to 46 hours of self-study English winter

Subject guarantor

Name of lecturer(s)

Jitka HEJTMANOVÁ

Department

The subject provides FAMU International

Contents

This intensive lab explores the creative and technical demands of making horror with limited resources and tight constraints. Structured across two weekends, the workshop challenges teams to develop, shoot, and edit original short-form horror films using the found footage format as a starting point.

The definition of “found footage” is deliberately broad. Students may interpret it through handheld realism, mobile or desktop interfaces, mockumentary styles, security camera aesthetics, or hybrid approaches. The emphasis is on crafting tension, using point-of-view strategically, and making bold formal choices within practical limits.

Directors and cinematographers lead the conceptual and visual execution. Producers and editors are embedded in each team to support logistics, planning and post-production. Completed projects are screened and discussed as a group, with feedback focused on genre effectiveness, authorship, and cinematic design.

This horror cycle will not repeat in the spring semester. If future rounds of the workshop are

requested, the focus will shift to other genres or stylistic approaches, ensuring students encounter a wide range of narrative and visual challenges across the academic year.

Learning outcomes

Participants will:

• Gain a deeper understanding of the creative logic, flexibility, and production tactics behind the found footage subgenre

• Practice making genre work within extreme time, budget, and format constraints

• Shoot and edit an original short horror concept with clarity, tension, and intention

• Develop strategies for crafting horror through framing, pacing, sound, and suggestion

• Learn to conceptualise, iterate, and deliver under pressure

Prerequisites and other requirements

DAY 1: WHAT MAKES HORROR WORK?

10:00 – 11:30

Introduction + Genre Deconstruction.

• Group discussion: “What do we believe on tape?”

• Screening excerpts and breakdown of found footage tropes, history, and formal logic (e.g.,

Lake Mungo, REC, Noroi)

• Discussion around point-of-view, realism, and what makes horror believable vs gimmicky.

11:30 – 11:45 – Break

11:45 – 13:00

Genre Grammar & Psychological Realism

Presentation of sub-genre references and aesthetic directions: iPhone films, desktop horror,

surveillance footage, recovered tapes, livestream breakdowns. Key elements of found footage

horror:

• DiegeNc camera logic (why is it being filmed?)

• FragmentaNon, gaps, and suggesNon over spectacle

• First-person fear: disorientaNon, sound, performance

• Case study breakdowns: role of perspecNve, pacing, and post

13:00 – 14:00 – Lunch

14:00 – 16:00

Team FormaJon + Trigger Prompts

Teams of 3–4 form around interest and capacity.

• Each team receives a creaNve constraint or prompt—e.g., „you never see the monster,“ "the

footage is incomplete,„ “only one character survives, “filmed on livestream”, “archive tape”,

“body cam”

• Prompts are themaNc or formal, not narraNve.

• Feedback focuses on logic, fear setup, and whether the camera’s presence feels jusNfied

16:00 – 16:15 – Break

16:15 – 18:00

Initial Development & Mood Board Drafting

Teams start working out ideas, visual styles, and logistics. Producer roles begin to map real-world

limits. Each group prepares a loose pitch for the next day.

DAY 2: SATURDAY – FROM IDEA TO ACTION

09:00 – 12:00

Concept Pitch + Facilitator Feedback

Each team presents their developing project to the full group in a structured, timed format (5–7

minutes per team), followed by feedback from peers and the facilitator. Presentations are informal

but should clearly convey the creative vision and logistical grounding.

Teams are expected to cover:

• Logline – A one-sentence summary that captures the core hook and emotional spine

• Camera Format + Aesthetic Strategy – How does that format shape tension and visibility?

• Tension Beats or Horror Mechanism – What’s unsettling the characters (and the audience)?

Where does fear build, and how is it released or interrupted?

• Location + Logistics Plan – Where will the story be shot? Who’s involved? What production

challenges are already anticipated?

Feedback Approach:

Facilitator and peers will focus on:

• Whether the premise makes internal sense within its chosen format

• If the camera’s presence is justified and consistently motivated

• How clear the horror rhythm is (slow-burn, escalation, chaos, aftermath)

12:00 – 13:00 – Lunch

13:00 – 15:00

Pre-Production Sprint

With the clock ticking, each team is expected to turn their idea into a detailed, shoot-ready plan.

Facilitator check-ins will rotate between groups to support creative clarity, troubleshoot constraints,

and pressure-test logistics.

Key Deliverables:

• Shooting Locations Locked – Identify accessible spaces that align with the story's mood and

practicality.

• Shot Map or Storyboard (Optional but Encouraged)

• Visual Rules Defined – Teams must articulate the visual logic of their piece:

INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Sunday – Thursday - Teams shoot and edit their films on their own time.

• Optional online check-ins available with facilitator

• Length limit: 2–5 minutes

• No additional footage may be shot after Thursday

• All projects must be completed and submitted by Thursday at 23:00

FINAL SCREENING – FRIDAY (WEEK 2)

09:00 – 12:30

Screening + Feedback

Each team screens their completed film. Group discussion follows each screening, with feedback

focused on:

• Effectiveness of genre execution

• Camera logic and point-of-view consistency

• Use of sound to build tension or disorientation

• Emotional impact, pacing, and narrative economy

12:30 – 13:30 – Lunch

13:15 – 15:00

Debrief + Genre Reflection

This closing session invites students to step back from execution and reflect critically on process,

form, and authorship. Through guided discussion, participants consider how constraint-driven

filmmaking shaped their creative decisions—and what they learned from navigating those limits.

Discussion prompts include:

• What did the formal and logistical constraints make possible?

• Which stylistic or structural choices felt most effective in building fear and believability?

• What surprised you about working with POV and real-time logic?

• What techniques, instincts, or habits might carry into future genre or non-genre work?

Deliverables

• A completed 2–5 minute found footage horror film

• One-paragraph concept pitch + visual references

• Shooting plan (locations, schedule, gear list)

• Participation in peer screening and discussion

Literature

-

Evaluation methods and criteria

100% attendance

Note

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Schedule for winter semester 2025/2026:

Date Day Time Tutor Location Notes No. of paralel
15.11.2025 10:00–17:00 Jitka HEJTMANOVÁ Room No. 1
Lažanský palác		 lecture parallel1
16.11.2025 10:00–17:00 Jitka HEJTMANOVÁ Room No. 1
Lažanský palác		 lecture parallel1
28.11.2025 10:00–15:00 Jitka HEJTMANOVÁ Room No. 3
Lažanský palác		 lecture parallel1

Schedule for summer semester 2025/2026:

The schedule has not yet been prepared

The subject is a part of the following study plans