found footage

Found footage is a filmmaking style that presents fictional events as if they were recorded by characters within the story, typically using handheld cameras, surveillance footage, or other in-world recording devices.

The technique creates an illusion of authenticity and immediacy, often employed in horror films like *The Blair Witch Project* where the "discovery" of the footage implies something terrible happened to whoever was holding the camera.

The found footage genre dominated horror movies in the 2000s.