How to Write a Found Footage Script: Part Four
Welcome to our last piece in the How to Write a Found Footage Script series! In part three we discussed a 3-act structure formula you can refer to when writing a found footage script, and in part four, we’re giving you one more example of how we see this formula play out in completed films.
In today’s example, we’ll be using the film They’re Watching, which you can watch on FOUND. By analyzing an existing film and breaking down its key beats step-by-step, this example will help you understand how to apply the formula to your own found footage script. It will also serve as a reminder of the proper pacing of your story and the emotional highs and lows you want to create for your characters.
Let's break it all down!
They’re Watching
Act 1:
Opening Setup
Introduction to the Format:
The film begins with a reality TV crew filming for a home renovation show called Home Hunters Global. The premise of the show is to follow Americans as they buy homes in foreign countries. In this episode, the crew is returning to Moldova to revisit a house they helped a woman named Becky purchase six months earlier, showcasing the renovations she’s made.
The camera crew, led by Greg, Alex, and Sarah, establish their professional roles and reasons for filming. They explain that they will document Becky’s new life in her remodeled home in a remote village in Moldova.
Character Introduction:
Greg, Alex, and Sarah: the crew
Kate: the bossy and negative producer
Becky: The artist who moved from the U.S. to Moldova to renovate the house
Goran: Becky’s boyfriend
Vladimir: Becky’s eccentric real estate agent
Initial Setting:
The remote Moldovan village is presented as quaint and old-fashioned. The setting is beautiful but isolated. With Becky’s house surrounded by forests, it feels cut off from modern civilization.
Inciting Incident
First Unsettling Discovery:
Upon arriving in the village, the crew enters a church, where they unknowingly attend a children's funeral. It’s eerie, and something feels wrong about it. The villagers realize the crew is filming and try to fight them outside the church.
Rising Curiosity
Exploration:
The crew begins exploring the village, but the villagers don't seem to be very welcoming to these newcomers.
The crew documents Becky’s story. They film some shots in the house, which is filled with Becky’s artwork, and they explore the surrounding woods.
Foreshadowing:
There are subtle hints of danger, such as an ominous older woman who tries to bless Sarah when she leaves the hotel and tells her to go home. A warning? The crew dismisses Sarah’s experience.
Commitment to Filming
Decision Point:
The crew continues to remind each other to document everything they do for the TV show footage.
Act 2: Descent
Escalation of Events
Increased Anomalies:
The crew dines at a restaurant where Vladimir shares a 100-year-old legend about a powerful witch who once lived in the village.
A sense of hostility from the local villagers. They receive cold stares and notice that the villagers seem unsettled by their being in the restaurant.
The next morning, Sarah sees the woman from the previous night standing outside their window, silently watching them.
Tension Among Characters:
While filming more footage at Becky’s house, tension rises among the crew. Kate snaps at Sarah for speaking during the shoots, pulling her aside multiple times to reprimand her.
Midpoint Revelation
Major Discovery:
Kate removes Sarah from the shoot, frustrated with her, and Sarah wanders off outside Becky’s home. She discovers a charred stake—could this place be tied to the witch from Vladimir’s legend?
Heightened Stakes:
The old woman, who seems to be stalking the crew, appears in the woods. More villagers soon emerge, leaving them with a growing sense of unease.
Descent into Chaos
Unraveling:
At the restaurant, the men from the church appear angry again, but after the crew buys them drinks, the mood lightens. They embrace the camera, and everyone dances together in celebration.
When Sarah mentions the word “witch,” the villagers become visibly upset, forcing the crew to flee the scene.
The following morning, they arrive at Becky’s to find a group of villagers standing across the street, ominously watching the house and the crew.
Survival Instincts:
While the crew shoots inside Becky’s home, the villagers vandalize the crew’s car, and no one’s cell phones are working to call for help. Becky doesn’t have a landline, so Vladimir offers to walk back to the village to seek assistance while the rest of the crew stays behind.
Moment of Desperation
Critical Setback:
The crew suffers a major setback when Vladimir is found in the shed, hanging dead.
Last Stand:
Kate is found dead, and the crew has raised suspicion—did Becky have something to do with this?
Act 3: Aftermath
Climactic Confrontation
Final Confrontation:
The crew is trapped in the basement with Becky, who unveils a painting depicting the entire crew. The witch from the legend is Becky.
Becky reveals she wants them there to document the events as they unfold. She drinks from a pool of her dead boyfriend’s blood, unnerving everyone.
Greg attempts to intervene, but Becky reveals she has special powers and uses them to turn him into dust. Sarah and Alex manage to escape the house and flee into the woods.
In the chaotic final confrontation, Sarah and Alex face off against both Becky and the villagers. Becky, now fully revealing her supernatural nature, unleashes her powers while the villagers, intent on stopping her, launch an assault on her house.
Sarah is killed by one of the villagers, and Alex continues filming as Becky methodically slaughters the villagers one by one using her powers. He tries to capture the chilling footage of Becky’s supernatural wrath and the violent deaths around him.
Resolution or Escape:
Alex is eventually dragged off by the villagers, but the camera mysteriously floats towards Becky, controlled by her powers. She sends it back to Alex, wanting him to keep recording everything.
Aftermath Footage
Post-Climax:
Alex realizes that there’s no escaping Becky or the supernatural forces. He tries to flee but is overwhelmed by Becky’s powers and the villagers’ wrath.
Unanswered Questions:
Becky instructs Alex to show the world the footage of her, and then she vanishes without a trace.
Final Image
Closing Scene:
Alex questions how he’s going to explain this to his boss.
That’s it!
That’s the end of this series about how to write a found footage script. We hope it inspired some ideas and will support you as you tackle your next found footage project!
