VHS Filmmaking: How it Defined a Generation

[@robertcioata]

Watching an episode of film riot is like getting a hug from an old friend. Thank you guys for everything you do. I started watching you guys in 2013 and cannot express how much you guys have given me over the years. Thank you!

[@AdrianCespedes34]

The ad part!!! My God, is pure gold of random stuff!!

[@alessandro.favero]

On a side note, can we have Josh and Justin laughing presenters on VHS in every video? I laughed out loud every single time they appeared

[@emircanlas]

One day, I tell the story of how FILM RIOT sparked the love of filmmaking in my dna

[@filmriot]

This may be the most amazing comment we've ever received.

[@emircanlas]

@@filmriot because that’s the truth! And i love the fact that from watching you guys during my high school days, now i have my own production company and i love the show just as much.

[@NovianLeVanMusic]

Hey, Ryan! I just wanna say I haven't watched you in a while, but I came back and love that you're still doing what you love and providing knowledge to your viewers! I still have the signed 5-year anniversary Film Riot poster, as well as the Write, Shoot, Edit, Repeat shirt and wristband from nearly a decade ago!

[@filmriot]

That’s incredible! Blows my mind that the 5 year anniversary was 9 years ago! 😳

[@bogomir]

That Lickd Commercial is the funniest piece of KZbin I‘ve seen this year. VHS at it‘s best. Pure love ❤

[@TimothyWesdock]

Agreed

[@BigKarl519]

This episode of Film Riot has like a million dollars of commercial music in it. Thanks Lickd.

[@CodyStoner20]

The timing of this episode is crazy! We're in the middle of digitizing about 120 hours of VHS tapes for a documentary right now. Recording them all in real time is taking FOREVER!

[@drewsandoval]

Are you using Topaz to uprez? Any tips? My friends and I are doing a VHS project right now also.

[@melankolikfilms]

Started with VHS, and still making films! That Lickd commercial was solid GOLD and made me literally LOL. This episode was an amazing slice of nostalgia for me, and came at the right time as I have a music video with that wobbly VHS look. Love you guys!

[@christopherjolly]

I’m a wedding videographer and recently had a couple who had a movie themed wedding. Not only did I get to film parts of their day with Super 8, but I also delivered their finished films on a VHS tape as well as digitally 😄 There’s defiantly something nostalgic about VHS, especially the sounds of opening and closing the case, and removing the tape 📼

[@CodenameStudios]

Josh and Justin at the end......OK, I totally lost it. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....I'm wildly uncomfortable....HAHAHAHA LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.

[@VemodalenPN]

This episode might be my all time favorite!!! ABout 4 years ago I started obsessing and collecting SOV films and this speaks to my heart!!

[@JillStrange]

Watching this video at 480p for the full vhs experience 🙌🏻📹🙌🏻

[@TheFPSChannel]

Having lived & worked through Moviolas, Steenbecks, trim bins, 8mm, 16mm, 35mm, VHS, Beta, S-Video, Hi8, VHS-C, Laserdisc, DV, Beta, D-Beta, HDV, DVDs and more I can honestly say I neither miss nor am I nostalgic about any of it. But holy 80s Batman, did I love your Lickd mock music commercial melange. So, so well done. Lady in Red was the perfect cherry on top (still love that song) Keep being awesome.

[@JonathanWymer]

This is FANTASTIC. This is what makes me believe I need to work @ Film Riot. I'd make the move in a heartbeat. I shot my first short films at 14 years old on a JVC camcorder up on my shoulder, with headphones attached to the on-camera microphone to add music to my scenes haha

[@ryanworkman3032]

I started making movies with a super-8 camera at 10 years old and my dad bought me my 1st vhs camcorder for my 14th birthday after watching me spend my allowance renting a vhs camera/ recorder deck where each component was separate connected by a cable. By the time I was a jr& senior in high school I was lucky to go to a school that had a vocational broadcasting program and I got to work with professional gear.

[@michaelsacco4212]

You should try and make a short film with just a VHS camera, a cheap mic, and some lighting. I would love to see what you guys come up.

[@raymotionworks]

The sneak peek of your back story adds more impact to the episode, in fact, I don't think this is just an episode, this is YOUR story. Keep inspiring other people.

[@johntnguyen1976]

I had tears going pretty much the whole time. Tears of nostalgia...tears of laughter. This episode was something special. 🤘

[@shaneneyome]

They nailed the feel of those old music sound track commercials that woke me up as a kid when I fell asleep with the TV on lol

[@FreshSqueezedLightning]

This vid just makes me happy. I started shooting stuff on VHS-C with my brother and best friend in 2003 when we were all about 12 and my brother was 6. My grandpa taught me how to program a VCR when I was a kid, so I got the idea to set up a 2nd VCR and feed the output from one VCR with the tape we just shot, and feed it into the inputs of the 2nd VCR with a blank tape, then as I play the master VHS tape, I would hit record and stop on the 2nd VCR to make an edit haha. VHS-C has a special place in my heart, along with Mini DV which we moved onto in 2006-2011 learning NLE’s to edit, and learning VFX in After Effects, then moved to a 1080 Camcorder, then DSLR, then BMPCC and beyond. Been working in the film industry for 6 years now as a 1st AC building a lot of Alexa/Venice/Red packages and I guess it’s just fun to be nostalgic in this comment from this vid to think about how much has changed since I first experimented 20 years ago. I rediscovered my love of making my own stuff again last year and just started making action/suspense comedy short films and started uploading again on this channel. Love you guys’ videos for 13 years and will continue to always watch, and have also bought tons of Triune products which I use in a lot of my stuff! Keep it up guys 💯

[@GraphicJ]

I know that feeling. 43 yrs old and I went through the same thing back in 1988. The VHS camera was my PS5 creative toy.

[@richardweeks]

the most epic sponsor commercial ever! that was gold! gold i tell ya! so awesome.

[@fireironandspice9000]

ok, Its been a while since I laughed that hard, but you guys got me good this time with the Lickd ad... You guys rock!

[@filmriot]

Thanks!

[@DatFunnyPerson]

I just came back here to rewatch the Lickd Ad. Best Ad I have ever seen in my entire life.

[@DatFunnyPerson]

this is such a well done, heart warming love letter. ive been following you guys since you just had 10.000 follower and i still fucking love you

[@AdamViklund]

Oh man, I love this video. And that commercial for Lickd may just be the greatest ad you guys have ever done! Love it!!!

[@KingKhanAbz]

One day when I'm an established actor and filmmaker, I can always say Film Riot was what got me started 🥺♥️

[@JeremyMichaelHull]

I LOVE this episode. So much nostalgia for me too. When I was little, we lived within walking distance to Blockbuster. I rented the first two Ninja Turtles movies so many times that the manager of that Blockbuster just gave them to me. I still have the tapes and they still work. I digitized them years ago so I could hold onto that classic VHS vibe if the tapes stopped functioning one day. So many incredible memories spark from this video and really has me wanting to go out and create something.

[@jerseywood]

That feeling of finding the last copy of a hot new release that EVERYONE wanted to see...

[@KnightmareFanFilm]

This brought back so many memories of late night, Final Cut Pro batch, capturing, hoping that your camera had enough battery to do the full 60 minute capture and praying that none of the footage was corrupt led because you shot over previous footage

[@jamisoncoetv]

As a guy who’s been here since the beginning, This is one of the best episodes of Film Riot ever made.

[@lipwood_music]

This HAS to be THE best sponsor bit EVER!!! thank you soo much

[@johnnybsportfolio6884]

That was the best sponsor ad I have seen in my life.

[@GrandGeneralKukov]

Love this video! Beautiful sentiment at the end there. The music video recreations (or were they from the originals, I can't tell) are outstanding.

[@Ranger7Studios]

How did I miss his one? Josh singing Richard Marx is now my most favorite thing in the world!!!

[@Brandunno]

I love the non-tutorial Episodes so much... You guys make 15min go by in a flash!

[@nitentv5142]

Once again, thank you Ryan and the whole Film Riot crew

[@ZacksZinema]

God I wont lie I use to watch you guys when I was a junior in high school I'm 27 now and didnt realize how much time has passed until checking you guys out again nearly 10 years later and you guys look like me now older lol love ya guys glad to see your still making content.

[@austinulen9274]

I have a resell shop that I sell VHS tapes, VCRs, toys, games, and video games from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. This spoke to my absolute soul.

[@filmriot]

How do we find it?

[@DRATproductions1]

What an AWESOME episode!! I'm from the era of super 8 and it was tough to try and add special effects with a needle (lasers). I grew up on Star Trek (1966) and tried my best to do the same effects (which were ok..LOL), I also have my first RCA and you are right, it reminds me of a news cameraman. I also still have my Panasonic (DVC tapes) but unfortunately do not have any of the cables, but they sit proudly on my shelf. I made many magical videos with them, and just like you said soooo many fond memories. I was able to get most of my super 8 and tape recordings into digital.

[@SirSeabass]

Im a few years younger, I was born in '89. The first camera I remember my parents had was a mini DV camera and we didn't have extra media for me to record on, but I remember just walking around with it just looking through the view finder.

[@TJA86]

ahhh so good. I have pretty much that same JVC VHS-C camera, and while incredibly beat up, it actually still works. This makes me want to go film some stuff on it. Thanks!

[@AustinRink]

Awesome tribute and comparison, guys, that nostalgia hits hard!

[@arielshpitzer]

BEST SPONSER SEGMENT EVER SEEN ON KZbin !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@BrooksdigitalMedia]

Love this so much. I relate to this completely. Recently I've been going through my old stuff to and planning on launching a retro channel for fun. I've been in business for 20 years but made my first video when I was a kid back in the 80's with my dad's VHS camcorder.

[@NetdoseZ]

been there!❤

[@indrabhatt5997]

My first camera was a Ricoh YF10 (1997) 35mm POS camera, but the first time in 2012, I filmed with a camera called Nikon Coolpix L120.

[@EricLefebvrePhotography]

You guys should send that VCR to Lighting Fast VCR Repair. They even do home repairs!

[@Lalambz]

the most 2000’s ad ever! gotta love it!

[@TheTitanGen]

Just imagining the future generation getting nostalgia for dvd the way we get nostalgia for VHS really makes me feel old.

[@Flash007b]

0:21- That was the camera I had growing up!

[@EricDarrell]

Love this video so much. We can definately relate, our whole channel is based on the movies we shot in the 80s and 90s. Although we didn't use VHS, we used 8mm video tape. Would love to see your old videos though, ever thought of starting a new channel with your old stuff?

[@filmriot]

Definitely going to check that out!

[@artemeriksson]

​@filmriot could you please tell the model of the Sony vcr you are using in this video?

[@sbsheep]

Those news segments are epic!

[@8lec_R]

The issue with VHS is unlike film, the way VHS looks is very different depending on what it was shot on. While film too has it's differences, generally you can use a single film stock for grain and just use a 3d lut to emulate colours of other film stocks and get pretty close. Obviously something like filmconvert is better but not necessarily required to feel authentic. For VHS i think you'd need a similar plugin that calculates everything like chromatic aberration, scratches, dr, vhs damage etc etc. Since for VHS the differences can be pretty massive. Also if they are applied to raw footage it's gonna be much more believable as compared to a compressed h265 file that might come out of an iphone

[@DyenamicFilms]

I was a "shoot on film only" snob in the late 80's-early 90's when I officially started. Video SCREAMED soap operas, news and broadcast, so it was Super 8 or 16mm for me. The dream was to work my way up to shooting in 35mm widescreen anamorphic Panavision someday which I still never have, though I STILL hang onto that dream. I did start to appreciate shot on SVHS movies that were being made by JR Bookwalter by the mid 90's, but I could never bring myself to actually shoot something on that format, though I came close. The film industry just didn't take you seriously if you shot on "video". They barely took you seriously if you shot on Super 8 and even 16mm in those days. I finally converted to the digital "darkside" in 2008 once "video" started to actually look good. I was very impressed with the Sony EX3 which I was lucky enough to be able to purchase by then (since upgraded to the FX9). To me, the biggest revolution in filmmaking isn't in the cameras though, but in NLE postproduction. Postproduction was the biggest and most expensive hurdle back in the 90's for me. I could get stuff shot on film, but I could never edit as it was just too expensive (and I was poor).

[@harryhoffman3000]

Beautifully made

[@NateSheppard]

It's videos like this that make me feel seen. I just premiered a feature documentary about my childhood that was defined by the Hi8 video camera my dad bought when I was 5. I wholeheartedly agree on the power of that VHS nostalgia. I even composed 80s synth music for the film cuz it just felt right. Thanks for sharing your story for those of us who spent our childhoods on both sides of a video camera.

[@njuenjagi4983]

Wow wow, this was nostalgic especially if you were a VHS kid like me, who ended up shooting on VHS cameras in the early 2000s.

[@JasonFisk]

The first films I ever made with a friend were edited VCR to VCR. Knowing how long it would take to actually start recording after pressing the record button, then hitting play on the other one. My family went without a VCR for awhile. And I can not confirm or deny the copying of rented tapes with the help of a piece of tap. Ah, the 80's.

[@sadidatantray6621]

😊

[@yairfunnygaming9476]

Great video!, but I'm still waiting for the flash effects

[@topicruben]

😂 man, this was very enjoyable! Nostalgia, man! That lady in red was amazing 😭😂 and yes, blockbuster was the shit! Thanks Ryan for making all those effects. Cheers

[@DiceDragondnd]

you guys never disappoint! another great video!

[@codycarlsonsfilms]

THE MUSIC ON THIS EPISODE!!! SO GOOD 🙌

[@Mysaviourify]

Oh man. You guys are just the best. Can't wait for your videos.

[@filmriot]

Thank you!

[@foundvhs]

That’s where it all started for me with the family VHS cam. Recruiting the neighborhood kids to be in my movies. About to shoot my 5TH feature film.

[@WhySteve]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that doesn't fall onto the "film" band wagon. I got an old minolta film camera, used it as an adult for the first time and shot one reel of film, which took like a year to finish and I still haven't had it processed. Honestly, I'm not really a fan. I grew up playing with my parents VHS Camcorder and when I was a little older, videos on my Sony Ericsson W800. Always making little "shortfilms" about monsters and dressing up and roleplaying. Good times!

[@bigbubbahall]

I wish I could've grown up with a camcorder in our house. My family didn't have that kind of money. I didn't get to play with one until I bought my HV40 in my twenties. I know this was huge for alot of folks though. Really cool to see your "vintage" stuff.

[@xlnyc77]

funny how creators today have an arms race on who has the BEST camera only to grunge it up with VHS overlays

[@filmriot]

Zero race for "best cam" here -- but there is a love for technology and the flexibility a solid cam gives you to go in any stylistic direction you can imagine. :)

[@dallasdandigitalproduction393]

Watching everyone doing 1980s MTV- style karaoke sparked joy in me😆💕

[@DylanPlayzz87]

seeing the ad in this video legit brough me back to the day of watching some weird random commercial on tv and them selling a "colored version" of some old school show or movie lmao

[@F0rtuneLT]

Its really interesting to me how much VHS and just the entire style of those types of cameras has stuck to the modern day, not even just the vibe itself but even like the fonts. like there's not a person on the internet who hasn't seen VCR Mono used in SOME capacity. even if they don't know its name theyve seen it before

[@QCS_AdamCole]

My first POS short was shot on a vhs camcorder. And editing consisted of 2 vcr's & as close to precise timing on the play/record buttons... Thank the gods for DSLR & AE/Premiere!

[@HitfilmUniversity]

Man, my first camera was a Beta - one of the REALLY old ones where the camera and deck were seperate units connected by plex cable. Had knobs for temperature and phase! Then a cat peed in the deck. Good thing I loved that cat so much. A buddy had VHS-C. We did a series about a hitman getting vengeance, but we didn't call it "John Wick," we called it "You Killed my Dog." Ah, editing between two decks with a pause button. First time we landed a cut in the middle of a spin kick felt good. Then there was going down one more generation with the VHS audio, three tape decks and a Casio SK 1 or SK 4 fed into a Radio Shack mixer do add the music and sound FX. From there, High-8. Has the Canon with eye focus. Then DV. Now, varied digital cameras from a GoPro to Canon 5d MkIV, Qoocam 8k, and BMPCC 6k Pro... Obviously in 2023 the digital workflow is faster, easier and gives better results, but I've known for near 20 years it wasn't as much FUN as figuring out the janky-ass analog workflow. We felt so smart the first time we used a TV for rear projection.

[@dancedj2k2]

This was a great trip to nostalgia for me.

[@JamesGWall]

Ahhh man I still have my VHS cam-corder, it's so big, you put an actual VHS tape in it. I might have to bust it out and have a play. I also worked at a Blockbuster haha

[@KnapfordMaster98]

Don't wanna deal with old cameras? Want your beautiful 4K and lenses? Just film everything normally, they OUTPUT it to a VCR and record it on tape, then capture that back in. Boom. Authentic VHS look with modern cameras.

[@SonicSinema]

The lickd ad was phenomenal

[@lonestaraerials6771]

The advertisement had me 💀😂😂

[@AfricanFilmmaker]

Seeing all those VHS I loved back in the days, all the Godfather movies I watched on VHS, and tomorrow me going to an International film festival to watch my film all this make my hart goes faster and it feels unreal. 💓💓 Thanks for the amazing Episode!

[@kasperstenbom]

I’M LOVING THIS 🥲

[@tadhgbrady]

Greatest. Sponsor Ad Segment . Ever.

[@birdonfiremedia]

lol, watching the XLH1 + P&S technic adaptor in your TELL bts is like a time capsule

[@dslynx]

We couldn't afford a VHS camcorder, but I rented one (through parents consent because I wasn't old enough to rent it myself) from the local movie rental store and recorded my friends riding ramps and doing tricks on their freestyle bikes.

[@Dancing_Alone_wRentals]

This is a super well done and super interesting video........I need to rewind it and watch it again.

[@Uhfgood]

The thing that always puzzles me is how much people rely on artifacts and defects of deteriorated media to give it a "vhs" look -- Most don't try to replicate the look of professional video on professional hardware -- that is, you have a brand new movie, on a new vhs tape, in a top shape running condition player. There's also a difference between professional and consumer camcorders. So your home movie would never look as good on vhs as a professionally made Hollywood production back in the day. I have to admit the vhs-c looks the best.

[@resurrectionist1]

Man VHS really was something special...not taking anything away from modern cameras but now I feel they've kind of captured something a little too close to the cinema feel...Super 8 and VHS even at their peak never replicated what we were seeing in theatres at the time and as a result they had their own personality...

[@TwistedFilm]

Wow wow wow wow wow! I didn’t realize until this very moment watching this video that I was part of the rise and fall history of VHS mom and pop shops, and then blockbuster videos. I mean we were the first ones to ever film on a VHS tape Batman versus Superman versus Spider-Man, wow you brought back memories.

[@davidwilder285]

In your little history of VCR’s - Beta always was the better picture, but Sony also wanted a cut on sales to license the format, not just on the machines, but on tapes as well. VHS and Panasonic virtually open sourced their format- and it still wasn’t winning. The key, supposedly, was when VHS got to 3 hours per tape and could record an entire NFL game that it was game over for Betamax. Beta countered with “SuperBeta” but by then, VHS had 70% of the market. Technically- you also skipped over U-Matic, the 3/4” cassette which is where I got my start with HS AV club back in the seventies. Those rigs were even bigger, with tethered cameras and were the beginning of Electronic News Gathering cameras- ENG.

[@cynicalrabbit915]

Unfortunately I was on the losing end of the format wars. While stationed on Okinawa Japan I bought a used Betamax VCR, because the format was popular and the video rental club on base always had copies of movies for Betamax. My real problem was I was a fan of Sony as in highschool we acquired a Sony video camera and tape deck not Betamax but a video reel to reel tape recorder/play back deck using 1/2 inch tape. We used it to record basketball and football games and I was the camera man. Too bad it was Black and White.

[@ImaginationFolder]

When Josh's song appeared, I wept ❤

[@diazfilms]

Best sponsor time ever!!

[@Keep_Creating_Art]

This was an amazing video guys! I shot my first family tree doc as a 9 year old on my dads VHS camcorder

[@aLeftLayman]

Best ad in the history of time, cause its all about family 💪🏽

[@JRBEditor]

the mini dvc tapes were my childhood tho I was born in the year 2000 so that kinda quickly changed past being 6

[@BillZebubproductions]

I have been uploading old skits from both VHS and the later digital camcorders, which make me wish that I had even a $400 GoPro back then, if only to preserve some detail from people as they were back then. Of course, the older days also show my lack of training, but at least I know that I was always weird; I didn't have to be taught to be weird. Over the years, people asked permission to offer my movies on VHS, and I vehemently say no. I am always trying to improve. Why would I degrade the quality. It's a gimmick. Then again, I wish that I didn't say no to many offers in the past. I'm older now and have medical issues, ha ha. It would be nice to pay for medical care.

[@JoshTisdale]

filming the tv like that was how they created the original doctor who titles in 1963

[@jrobfilms1]

"I am wildly uncomfortable."

[@DethronerX]

I grew up in the early 90s too, was in early teens and used VHS. The only time I used film was for still pictures, because those were the only two things available. We didn't have the super8 or 8mm culture at all and I thought at that time, those cameras were only for movies. It's only recently that I shot super8 and it was fun and I have to say, I enjoy the idea of using different mediums for their looks. Ive always tried to add effects, but they never satisfied me. VHS is beautiful. The home video thing almost killed cinema, but then Anamorphics saved the day. Today, I think every medium has it's own thing and it's the most fun when you know all the good and bad about the results, to build your ideas based on that medium and somehow incorporate them into the story. Then comes cartoons and stop motion, where you have the choices to photograph them in many formats. I think the more formats come, the more choices people have, instead of thinking, "this new thing is the future" only. VR, Holograms or even building a machine to send our 3D maps into our dreams or whatever formats that come, it will always be fun using them all, as long as they are possible in that time, instead of worrying about getting perfection out of each, we could use them for what they bring.

[@NinoDelPadre]

Hey bro I started in 1991 on SVHS and related and enjoyed what you had to say