How the Internet Changed Found Footage Horror

[@TheRJB0]

This was incredible. You built everything toward your conclusion so that it wasn't a twist or an "aha" it was an "of course. This is where we were meant to find ourselves." Gorgeously written and performed.

[@pimscrypt]

Such high praise, thank you so much! I had my doubts about how the ending was going to land. This comment filled me with a lot of confidence. Again, thank you!

[@lunarmagpie619]

Bit of a strange connection, but this essay outlines exactly the kind of swirling, murky spiral of obsession that capital-A Academia encourages, right down to the desperation and shitty wages. I can’t wait to disappear.

[@SingularityOrbit]

If there's one thing civilization has gotten very good at, it's exploiting the core human need to be recognized as a valuable part the group. Employee of the Month plaques exist because they're cheaper than actually giving those employees raises, and those are for jobs that result in clear, tangible benefits such as making goods or making more sales. It's no surprise that academia, where the "goods" are simply information and the betterment of minds in ways that aren't easily calculated, has refined this methodology.

[@SingularityOrbit]

Don't be so quick to dismiss casual, "watch me play a game" KZbinrs and Twitch folks. For every prestigious TV drama there's a farm report, or a weather report, or a "how to paint" show. Not every moment in life is right for profound thought. Sometimes people just need to feel like they have some company, and nobody else is around. I wasn't in the mood for horror content today, but something in my head told me to watch this video. I'm glad I did; I'm in a better, calmer state of mind for it. Thanks for giving me a message like this, the way you did. And thanks to TB Skyen for recommending Pim's Crypt or else, KZbin being what it is, I might never have seen it.

[@pimscrypt]

It not my intention to completely dismiss those types of videos, so I apologize if I worded it like that. There's obviously joy to be found in just having made something. Let's plays, no matter how large the audience is that will see them, are also just a good excuse to play a game while airing your thoughts about it out loud, which is similar to how I myself tend to just walk around my apartment talking to myself to try to find the write way to writer specific parts of my scripts. I'm glad you liked the video! I felt very honored to have gotten a shoutout from TBSkyen. I don't take it for granted that people will be sharing my stuff, so when it happens it really warms my heart.

[@SingularityOrbit]

@@pimscrypt Whoops, sorry! I didn't intend to sound confrontational. I intended that in more of a "wagging a finger playfully while smiling" way. It was just a note that stuck in the back of my head during the video, a comment as opposed to a criticism. I try to comment to battle the algorithm, and this time I didn't quite parse how it would feel for someone else to read it.

[@EggBastion]

always the most value I get is where least expect it metrics aren't by themselves rubbish - they simply represent how something _can_ be scored or measured. I underestimated this video at it's title, I'm glad I gave it a second thought

[@redblack9618]

As a disabled, immunocompromised person, it drives me so fucking crazy when people refer to covid as over and talk about how isolating it "felt".

[@pimscrypt]

I genuinely want to apologize. While WHO declared that it’s not a global crisis anymore, my intention was not to undermine the issues that are still occurring related to Covid. I should’ve clarified that I wonder about how people will look back on Host in the long run, but I realize that doesn’t really come across in the way I phrased it.

[@anmanarrative]

Damn Pim, wasn't expecting this to pull at my heartstrings so hard. Seriously this one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking videos I've seen from anyone. It's an interesting topic to begin with, I haven't really given much thought to these kind of films before (only one I've heard of is Unfriended and the trailers for that didn't really appeal when I first saw them), but seeing your breakdown of them and how the format is utilised to create intimacy and make it more real is fascinating. But the connection to lockdown and the thought of people online disappearing (thinking of the websites I used to use all the time that I've since 'disappeared' from, it's so weird to look back at now) made this a much more intense yet still beautiful watch. Incredible video, possibly one of your best ever.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much!! 💜 I’m so happy you feel this way about the video! If just one says this is some of my best work, I feel like it was all worth it.

[@HenryKathman]

As a fellow smaller creator, this hits pretty hard. The idea of disappearing is something I find kind of scary, but it is something that I know I will make peace with. Here’s to making the most of creating before we all eventually disappear

[@pimscrypt]

Cheers to that!

[@SocraTetris]

The term that i have heard and used is "Blue Media" referencing stories told through modern communications technology because of the whole blue-light thing.

[@pimscrypt]

I have to admit I read this and immediately thought "like... bisexual lighting?", and now I kinda want that to be named its own official genre.

[@completeregret3513]

I'm only a little over halfway through this video, and I've already subscribed. This is just so *chef's kiss*

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! Glad you liked it so far!

[@lunabellsprout]

yooo babe wake up, new Pim just dropped!! lets go!! ❤❤

[@carsonalbrecht3215]

Genuinely thought-provoking and beautiful. Thank you!

[@BathroomTile]

I'm only at the start of the video, but nice Piotr Jabłoński desktop wallpaper

[@pimscrypt]

I've been switching between a bunch of his artworks this year. Love every single one.

[@applescats]

this is an excellent video!! really got me to think about some of the creators i've seen just disappear over the years, and the communities and aliases i've disappeared from. thank you!!

[@whiteshadow091]

As a person who just stumbled upon one of your videos, the moment you talked about exactly this topic and the feelings around it was eerily accurate! I am used to putting youtube videos as a background noise while I do stuff around the house, but you actually made me stop what I was doing, sit down and watch the whole thing with my full attention. Thank you for this amazing, thought provoking, bittersweet and yet somehow comforting video.

[@pimscrypt]

That is some very high praise! Thank you so much!

[@cepsep4929]

was expecting to end this video with a sinking anxiety that accompanies me every time i consume horror media. but, there is something special about your videos. those last few lines filled me with an insurmountable joy

[@alexismcadams3176]

Excellent video, it makes me feel so thoughtful

[@Lyrisrin]

This was absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much

[@miraprime474]

Absolutely amazing work, Pim! 💜 Your script was already great, and your delivery nailed it!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you Mira!! 💜 But, as always, you always improve my work!

[@nichtschwert3307]

This has me internally staring at the rain outside my window. But in a good way.

[@pimscrypt]

Boy do we all need a good rain staring session once in a while.

[@elilass8410]

didn't see this video when it came out, but it's genuinely wonderful. thank you for your work.

[@hallehuckleberry]

another banger!!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you!

[@FrokenKeke]

Dang, pulled no punches on that ending!

[@pimscrypt]

Just felt right.

[@amehlee]

such a good video essay

[@LordfizzwigitIII]

Amazing work, Pim. Hoping that you blow up soon, the editing is awesome and the research you put into this shows.

[@nerdpiggy]

I still use zoom pretty often. Some of my classes are still online and most outside-of-class meetings with teachers will take place remotely through zoom.

[@pimscrypt]

Guess it makes sense that it would still be used in a school environment.

[@augustblade6167]

This is your best work so far, Pim. It left an impression on me that likely won't go away. I'll always remember you, the way your videos made me feel, think. Yeah, when you stop making videos, I'll have that wonder of how you're doing, if your life is going well. Thank you for all your hard work, and I won't forget you when you're gone from KZbin. Hopefully you'll be making more videos though, I'll be sure to watch them all.

[@Broeckchen]

That moment when you showed us the world behind your screen for the first time in the video - what an incredible part! Just... hit me so heavily! You really know how to make an impact with your editing. I also love the detail in the desktop. Gettin pretty toasty over there, huh? 🤭 I hope even when you disappear, sometimes I'll still get to send you some adorable kittypics just because.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! I usually don't enjoy the editing process very much at all, but this time it was very creatively fulfilling to figure out who the video was gonna be. I'm happy about the result, and that it seems to have had an impact on several people already (also FINALLY someone pointed out that little easter egg haha!) I will always accept and appreciate your cat pictures!!

[@ThePrimordialChronicles]

Pretty neat video I must say.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you!

[@MrRaivokasMagma]

All the ZOOM talk reminded me of how future of university studies are probably going to be in smaller cities. While I feel studying through web is more for me in my current health situation, it's still sad to see how the campus buildings are so empty now. Even if number of students is bigger on paper.

[@TTramonta]

oh my god THANK YOU for not spoiling spree but at the same time analyzing it enough to make your point, it blew my mind how much Joe Keery is an amazing actor

[@pimscrypt]

I wish he’ll eventually get more weird roles like this in the future, because he’s really damn good when he’s allowed to let loose!

[@breadeater1194]

Thanks for introducing me to one of my favorite films ever, in We're All Going to the World's Fair. Excellent essay that I am glad I was able to re-find.

[@pimscrypt]

I’m so glad you found that film through this video! World’s Fair is one of my absolute favorite films of the decade so far!

[@iamnoimpact]

great video, man. not only the formatting you employed (which was really well done!) but also one of my favorite videos that you've done because of how astute and seriously you addressed the subject matter. it's not that in the past it feels like you DON'T address things with a similar sense of focus, but this one had a lot of the humor and silliness that you usually bring to the table left off to the side, and i really appreciate that i was able to sink into your thoughts a little bit more clearly and take note of what you meant in a far more clear way than most of your videos. awesome message, awesome recommendations, awesome observations!

[@EllEmm1313]

I found this video through a friends tweet recommending it and I'm so glad i did

[@searchingfororion]

I'm late! *Shakes fist angrily at the platform* (Ironically, I was watching a channel that reviews horror movies when this must have dropped.) This was a lovely video and absolutely nothing that I was expecting - in the best way possible. Unrelated to the subject, but I've been thinking this since your last essay; "casual wear Pim" seems out of place in contrast to "Glitter eyebrows Technicolor Pim" - that's not a criticism, obviously express yourself however you please. I just find it amusing that in *my* head you having a look done to the nines is the default and "normie" clothes is the outlier. Also, clearly you no longer have issues with how to finish a video because you *nailed* this one. Keep being awesome, and I hope you get the recognition you deserve and life treats you well.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I unfortunately don't have the makeup help that I used to while making videos, so there will be a bit more casual wear from now on. I do try and plan to make some good looks on my own, and I've wanted to put some more time into learning how to do a bunch of cool makeup stuff, but we'll see when and how that turns out haha!

[@searchingfororion]

@@pimscrypt That's a shame (regarding losing your makeup artiste). A few tips from someone who has been doing make-up on amab folks literally so long it was in a previous century; Most tutorials on here are way too complex for the results and also call for an intense amount of product. (I've done a makeover with nothing but a single tube of lipstick and even that - adult - buddies pals *did not recognize him* he was amazed by this.) Lips are frustrating. Getting the shape and symmetry you want (especially with bold colors) is a massive pain. Even people who grew up with the expectation of doing it daily know this. The *easiest* way to get a nice bit of color/transformation is with eyeshadow. (No one needs artificial lashes, those are a nightmare - you also don't need to do eyeliner, though I find sometimes a lower liner in pencil has a huge effect, but I was also goth kid so take with that what you will.) Examples of low/easy maintenance with impact would be Mildred from Scardey Cats TV /Thought Slime. When not doing a look specifically for a theme or to drive a point home the very basic eyeshadow colors and blends he/she/they (pronouns are any/all I always try to include each that applies when addressing an individual) are relaxing into at that particular time. Caelan Conrad has looks that are similar to what you've done in the past but I don't think they're sharing any time soon. (Though they do have many casual "daywear" looks in more recent videos that are less avant-garde but still achieve that lovely blurring the edges of binary effect). --- Anywho, if you didn't want any of that make-up info I completely understand. Once again I just found it amusing that in *my* brain it says "sparkly flower crown Pim is real Pim. Person who looks like they could be walking down the street is Pim in disguise." Because social media is weird and it makes those of us who consume it perceive the individuals who create in interesting and bizarre ways. Oh and hey look we're at your thesis!

[@searchingfororion]

@@pimscrypt Upon further reflection, I felt that I should make it clear that (despite the bulk of my reply being makeup talk) I was sincere regarding my expressed empathy for you no longer "having the makeup help" and the underlying disclosure that was regarding your personal life. I *am* aware you are a complete human that doesn't exist purely to entertain us on YT (though you do it extremely well). I'm not being (or, at least knowingly) parasocial here; I'm doing what I would in any interaction - clarifying that if something I said previously focused heavily on one portion of a reply that I wasn't dismissive of the other. I know I write lengthy comments (my apologies for that, brevity is not my strong suit), and the reason for this one (and perhaps what some might consider odd wording) is a bit of an "occupational hazard" from my background in Psych and a tendency to speak like one if I think I may have expressed myself in a way that wasn't how I intended. TL:DR; I genuinely hope you're in a good place - by every meaning of that term - and I just wanted to express that if you weren't.

[@thefollowingisatest4579]

Anytime someone talks about We're All Going to the World's Fair I am happy, what a headcracker of a film. Also with Dr. Barry from Beyond the Black Rainbow playing a creep again! Also also I forgot Jacob was in Unfriended he's so young! I think another way the internet could be said to have altered found footage is the sense of authenticity, how the internet has increased a craving for it because it has so badly damaged our relationship to reality. ARGs, the internet child of found footage, are often successful based on how authentic they look. And that become something found footage is now held to as well, how likely does it feel that we are seeing this. With Blair Witch, there was the website and excellent fake documentary they made, which sadly few found footage movies have topped.

[@pimscrypt]

I watched Beyond the Black Rainbow for the first time not too long after I recorded the video and I was VERY pleasantly surprise! And yeah, in a way I think it’s a shame that few films have even attempted to replicate that aspect of Blair Witch, although it would probably be way harder to make it look convincingly real.

[@holocoffin]

So this is how I found out one of my favorite ASMR creators is in a Horror Movie.

[@pimscrypt]

I didn't actually know that was a real ASMR creator, that's neat!

[@blacktarheroine]

Incredible work ❤

[@lucyfrankenstein]

really phenomenal video!! glad to have stumbled across you

[@_xkikix_]

loved this video. informative, entertaining, soothing. i really am glad youtube knows what to show me sometimes.

[@chrisnelson6663]

Fucking brilliant video and my first one of yours. Easy subscribe. Wasn’t the algorithm that brought me, but a random shoutout I. The comments section of another video. Keep bringing awareness to your favorite creators, people!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much!

[@thisguyfromtherenaissance934]

Thanks man! Coz of that video I just watched We're All Going to the World's Fair and it was pretty good movie even if the majority of the audience didn't get it judging from the reception. For some reason it reminded me of the polish movie Suicide Room (2011) wich similarly depicted relations of how internet distorted relations between generations. Sadly, it is remembered as pretty fucking bad. I recommend it to you because I think it has scenes that kinda relate to points you where making in this essay even as a dark reflection of the "genre"

[@-K_J-]

The thing about "we're just the most exposed" is exact something I felt when watching Freak Kitchen's Freak of the Week music video. Then animation is repeatedly cut with vintage footage of people doing crazy stunts and such, and that's what sells it home for me.

[@davidhatred7275]

i call "found footage" movies "camera aware" where most, or at least one of the films players are aware of the presence of the camera and it's recording. it manages to cover most of the outliers in the genre too.

[@necrobata1]

Amazing as always Pim.

[@buberbuster3365]

It's basically a shower thought. Someday, all of us, a comment, a video, our faces. It'll be the last time we'll be seen. Someday, time itself won't remember us, and the internet's just given us more faces that'll eventually never surface in front of our eyes ever again. Amazing video.

[@20000dino]

Came here because of Jessie Gender :)

[@pimscrypt]

Jessie is the best!!

[@BlackCover95]

Me too.

[@readyforclarity]

Freaking mosquitos 🦟🦟🦟🦟🦟

[@DavetheTurnip]

What an ending. I also had no idea this sub-genre existed. Great video. I’ll keep enjoying them until you disappear. 😁

[@tippusmaximus]

The point at the end ("we are all David Holzman") makes me think of the "experiment" where someone put a big mirror on a road through an African wildlife preserve and filmed as different wild animals found it. Multiple species were fascinated and seemed to recognize themselves, especially the elephants, and it's crazy to think about how they were seeing themselves for the first time. There's something really fundamental I think about a preoccupation with seeing yourself from the outside, since it's inherently unnatural in a sense. If elephants had cameras, they'd probably be just as likely to become self-obsessed as they tried to capture some true reflection of their own self on screen.

[@readyforclarity]

I came back to like all the comments to keep the algorithm whatever whatever

[@ladybugd0ts]

found this video while scrolling the we’re all going to worlds fair tag on tumblr, and this was so awesome!!!

[@pimscrypt]

That’s awesome, thank you so much! Glad people are finding my videos over there as well!

[@BobLogical]

Held off watching for a couple days, and I'm really glad I did, since this hits way harder after having to put down a minor audience revolt caused by me and my work not living up to the parasocial expectations some people had for us.

[@TerrinX]

This video is critically underrated Algorithm, do somethin plz

[@skyllalafey]

As much as I love your content, I do now wish that you may disappear from this site at an appropriate moment for yourself in the future, before it grinds you down. It is good to hear the freeing acknowledgement that you realize you are are not obligated to stay here when the day comes that you're putting in more than you're getting out of this.

[@pimscrypt]

I fortunately have a bunch of videos planed for the future which I'm very passionate about, so I'm not going anywhere any time soon, I think. But making this video was very cathartic, because it will be my reminder that I can actually just stop whenever, that I don't have to force any more energy out of myself than I have.

[@searchingfororion]

​@@pimscryptthat really is good to know because I've seen far too many content creators clearly keep pushing themselves after they clearly no longer want to keep either doing the content that their base is made from or any content in general due to the feeling of obligation to their subscribers and everyone suffers. While some people *think* they want a video a week from somebody, realizing that allowing that person to breathe is more conducive to a *much* better product (or also remembering that another human does not exist purely to entertain you), creator burnout happens far too often and frequently for the wrong reasons.

[@naomistarlight6178]

the real horror is those mosquitoes

[@pimscrypt]

There were SO many of them!! Whole summer went by with not even a single mosquito bite. Went into the forest for 15 minutes in September and THAT happened!

[@jamesstone1959]

IN REVERSE

[@vincentbatten4686]

What was the title of that game you mentioned earlier? I've been trying to find it. I think you said Sybil?

[@pimscrypt]

It’s called Cibele! Highly recommend checking it out!

[@Furore2323]

No, thank YOU.

[@borealmarinda4337]

Hot innit?

[@slevemcdichael4481]

oh christ this video got depressing fast. the REAL horror along the way was the algorithim

[@pimscrypt]

Sorry that you feel that way. I think the message I wanted to get across is very liberating actually!

[@TroyTheCatFish]

Amazing Video! :) 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 ❤❤ 💖💖