Using old vhs tapes in film

Anyone have tips on using old camcorder footage from the 90's? I wasn't planning on making many changes, however I'm concerned it might be annoying for the viewer watching the 4:3 aspect ratio. Are there any tips for zooming/cropping without looking too ugly?
 
There's not going to be any way to crop it without loss of quality. And I certainly wouldn't fill the pillarboxes for narrative, it'd be too distracting.

Is the whole film going to be comprised of VHS footage? Or is it going to be used in a 'flashback' type of scenario?
 
More of a flashback scenario, but not an actual flashback. Just some scenes I'm using to help introduce the story and give a certain feel. It seems like changing from the vhs scenes to normal footage would feel/look weird but I guess I'll have to play around with it more.

I would definitely shoot in HD and add effects after but these are actual vhs shots from the 90s, lol
 
Last edited:
What I might suggest is that you reduced the size of the image, so that there is a border surrounding it on all sides. Perhaps add some vignetting. Maybe even round the corners of the frame. The idea would be to make it look as though it were an image playing on a TV.
 
Back
Top