Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were film or video recordings recorded by characters in the story, and later "found" and presented to the audience. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time , off-camera commentary . For added realism , the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were " raw " and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.
89-644: Grave Encounters is a 2011 Canadian found footage supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by the Vicious Brothers . It stars Sean Rogerson , Ashleigh Gryzko, Merwin Mondesir , Mackenzie Gray , and Juan Riedinger as the crew of a paranormal reality television program who lock themselves in a supposedly haunted psychiatric hospital in search of evidence of paranormal activity, as they shoot what ends up becoming their final episode. Grave Encounters premiered on April 22, 2011, at
178-620: A terracotta seal with the American Express Eagle. In 1890–91 the company constructed a new ten-story building by Edward H. Kendall on the site of its former headquarters on Hudson Street . By 1903, the company had assets of some $ 28 million, second only to the National City Bank of New York among financial institutions in the city. To reflect this, the company purchased the Broadway buildings and site. At
267-592: A 4.61% worldwide market share by payment volume in 2022, compared to 38.73% for Visa and 24% for Mastercard. While American Express credit cards are accepted at 99% of US merchants that accept credit cards ( Costco being a notable exception), they are much less accepted in Europe and Asia. American Express offers various types of cards including travel and dining cards, everyday spending points cards, and cash back cards. Each category has several card options with different benefits and reward structures. High-profile cards like
356-672: A better solution than the letter of credit. Berry introduced the American Express Traveler's Cheque which was launched in 1891 in denominations of $ 10, $ 20, $ 50, and $ 100. Traveler's cheques established American Express as a truly international company. In 1914, at the onset of World War I , American Express in Europe was among the few companies to honor the letters of credit (issued by various banks) held by Americans in Europe, because other financial institutions refused to assist these stranded travelers. The British government appointed American Express its official agent at
445-693: A character is thrown across a room, was initially filmed as a practical effect using a stunt performer . Upon reviewing the footage of the stunt performer being "thrown", Minihan and Ortiz were dissatisfied with the result; they then asked the performer to run, jump, and fall to the ground several times, and completed the final effect in post-production . A teaser trailer for the film was first uploaded to YouTube in December 2010. The trailer went viral , garnering over 1.5 million views in three months. The film's distribution rights were acquired by Tribeca Film . Grave Encounters premiered on April 22, 2011, at
534-516: A dead horse." Mike Hale, also writing for The New York Times , felt that the film's "claustrophobic, infrared images, supposedly taken from the tapes of a TV crew that spent the night in a mental hospital, offer some real scares, though the movie starts to feel long and repetitious before its 92 minutes are over." Nick Schager of Slant Magazine gave the film a score of one-and-a-half out of four stars, writing that it "can't even pretend to be anything other than hopelessly derivative." Aaron Hillis , in
623-724: A financial services holding company and made several acquisitions, creating an investment banking arm. In mid-1981 it purchased Sanford I. Weill 's Shearson Loeb Rhoades , the second-largest securities firm in the United States to form Shearson/American Express . Shearson Loeb Rhoades itself was the culmination of several mergers in the 1970s as Weill's Hayden, Stone & Co. merged with Shearson, Hammill & Co. in 1974, to form Shearson Hayden Stone . Shearson Hayden Stone then merged with Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co. (formerly Loeb, Rhoades & Co. ) to form Shearson Loeb Rhoades in 1979. With capital totaling $ 250 million at
712-457: A fire escape is on the roof, and they head off to find a stairwell with rooftop access. They are successful but find that the stairs are blocked off by a randomly built wall blocking their escape. They decide to backtrack, and while looking at a map on the wall, the arrows on their compass spin in random directions suggesting the spirits inside have trapped them in an alternate reality. The group hears what sounds like Matt screaming and runs through
801-534: A local bank card clearing business license in China. In a court case Ohio v. American Express Co. (2018), merchants filed a class action lawsuit against American Express and claimed that charging high fees to merchants is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act . According to the lawsuit, American Express charges significantly higher fees than other credit card providers. In January 2017,
890-506: A negative review of the film for The Village Voice , concluded: "Windows quietly open, wheelchairs roll, faces contort into cheesy CGI ghouls, and ' digital artifacts ' cover up the low-budget seams. But true terror needs at least some authenticity. That's perhaps too much to ask of a faked movie about a faked reality show that still can't scare up a fresh idea." Conversely, Jon Reiss of the New York Press called Grave Encounters
979-468: A normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 33 out of 100, based on four reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". In her review of the film for The New York Times , Jeannette Catsoulis wrote: "Following in the stampeding footsteps of The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity franchise , the filmmakers seem unaware that they're beating
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#17328017716381068-518: A perfect thing because obviously if it's a TV crew that's trying to capture ghost-like activity that's actually happening, they're gonna want to keep rolling and keep shooting even when things can get kinda bad. So it's just a perfect concept." – Stuart Ortiz on using a paranormal reality show as a basis for a found-footage horror film The film was written and directed by the Vicious Brothers, Colin Minihan and Stuart Ortiz. The pair sought to create
1157-475: A positive review of the film for Bloody Disgusting , wrote that "the filmmakers toss subtlety out the window in favor of fun, in your face chills that stick their landing." Felicity Burton of Scream magazine wrote that, had the film "kept to the subtle scares, and dumped the CGI ghosts, it would have been a lot better", but concluded: "If you still haven't had your fill of found footage films, it's definitely worth
1246-403: A project in the horror genre, and in order to maintain a low budget, decided to utilise "the mockumentary format" at a time when found-footage horror films such as 2007's Paranormal Activity were achieving commercial success. According to Minihan, he and Ortiz wondered, "why has no one made a fucking found-footage film out of these ghost-hunting shows ?" Minihan and Ortiz wrote a script for
1335-540: A result of antitrust litigation brought by the United States Department of Justice . In January 2004, American Express reached a deal to have its cards issued by MBNA . Initially decried by Mastercard executives as nothing but an "experiment", the cards were issued beginning in October 2004. An agreement was reached regarding the acquisition of MBNA by Bank of America whereby Bank of America owned
1424-483: A room, and several hands protrude through the ceiling and walls when they wake up. The group flees into a room full of bathtubs and finds Matt staring down at a bathtub full of blood. T.C. attempts to pull Matt away from the tub, but a figure emerges from the blood and drags T.C. into it. T.C.'s exact fate is uncertain. Sasha and Lance tip the tub over, with T.C. nowhere to be found, which causes Sasha and Matt to become hysterical. Lance finds an elevator but struggles to pull
1513-414: A tightly controlled, single-use card number. In March 2008, Standard Chartered Bank acquired American Express Bank Ltd, the international banking subsidiary of American Express for $ 823 million. On November 10, 2008, during the 2007–2008 financial crisis , the company received Federal Reserve System approval to convert to a bank holding company , making it eligible for government assistance under
1602-427: A watch." A sequel titled Grave Encounters 2 , written by the Vicious Brothers and directed by John Poliquin , was released on October 2, 2012. In May 2015, the Vicious Brothers announced plans for a third installment, entitled Grave Encounters 3: The Beginning , but was quickly cancelled following the second film's failure to generate public interest. Found footage (film technique) The most common use of
1691-668: Is one of the largest US banks , and is ranked 77th on the Fortune 500 and 28th on the list of the most valuable brands by Forbes . In 2023, it was ranked 63rd in the Forbes Global 2000 . Amex also owns a direct bank . Founded in 1850 as a freight forwarding company, Amex introduced financial and travel services during the early 1900s. It developed its first paper charge card in 1958, gold card in 1966, green card in 1969, platinum card in 1984, and Centurion Card in 1999. The "Don't Leave Home Without It" advertising campaign
1780-414: Is abducted by a mist and disappears. Lance, now all by himself, wanders the tunnels for several hours terrified and alone. An increasingly unstable Lance kills and eats a rat to survive. Lance passes out and, after waking up, finds a door leading into Friedkin's operating room, which contains evidence of occult rituals and graphic photos of his operations. He sees apparitions of Friedkin and several nurses and
1869-537: Is dragged away from his camera. A lobotomized Lance records himself proclaiming that he is cured and allowed to leave. The footage then ends with Lance weakly saying "For Grave Encounters...Lance Preston...signing off.". Grave Encounters was produced in collaboration with American Express , Digital Interference, Twin Engine Films and Darclight. "[...] it's always a question with a found-footage movie of 'why are they filming to begin with?' And it just seemed like
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#17328017716381958-426: Is invited to examine the abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital, where unexplained phenomena have been reported for years. Kenny, the hospital's caretaker, takes the crew on a day tour and informs them of the hospital's history, particularly of a doctor named Arthur Friedkin, who performed unethical experiments and lobotomies on the hospital's patients before being killed by them. The crew locked themselves inside
2047-515: Is often claimed to be the first example of found footage. However, Shirley Clarke 's arthouse film The Connection (1961) and the Orson Welles directed The Other Side of the Wind , a found footage movie shot in the early 1970s but released in 2018, predate Cannibal Holocaust . America's Deadliest Home Video (1991), remains a potent use of the format as well as an unsung groundbreaker in
2136-538: The American Bureau of Shipping , a maritime concern (1977–86), and later J.J. Kenny, and Standard & Poor's , the latter of which renamed the building for itself. American Express extended its reach nationwide by arranging affiliations with other express companies (including Wells Fargo – the replacement for the two former companies that merged to form American Express), railroads, and steamship companies. In 1857, American Express started its expansion in
2225-553: The American Railway Express Agency formed in July 1918. The new entity took custody of all the pooled equipment and property of existing express companies (the largest share of which, 40%, came from American Express, who had owned the rights to the express business over 71,280 miles (114,710 km) of railroad lines, and had 10,000 offices, with over 30,000 employees). American Express executives discussed
2314-468: The Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan . Amex is the fourth-largest card network globally based on purchase volume, behind China UnionPay , Visa , and Mastercard . 141.2 million Amex cards were in force worldwide as of December 31, 2023, with an average annual spend per card member of US$ 24,059. That year, Amex handled over $ 1.7 trillion in purchase volume on its network. Amex
2403-694: The Tribeca section of Manhattan. For years it enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the movement of express shipments (goods, securities, currency, etc.) throughout New York State. In 1874, American Express moved its headquarters to 65 Broadway in what was becoming the Financial District of Manhattan, a location it was to retain through two buildings. In 1854, the American Express Co. purchased a lot on Vesey Street in New York City as
2492-591: The Tribeca Film Festival . It had its Italian premiere on June 1, 2011, via distributor Eagle Pictures, under the title ESP Fenomeni Paranormali . The film was released in the United States on August 25, 2011 in select theaters using the Eventful Demand It and video on demand via Comcast . On Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 67% based on 15 reviews , with an average rating of 5.5/10. On Metacritic , which assigns
2581-417: The Tribeca Film Festival . Prior to its premiere, its trailer went viral online, generating over 30 million views. The film had a limited theatrical run in select theaters in the United States, and was released on video-on-demand on August 25, 2011. Two months prior, the film had its Italian premiere via distributor Eagle Pictures under the title ESP Fenomeni Paranormali . The film received mixed reviews,
2670-648: The Troubled Asset Relief Program . At that time, American Express had total consolidated assets of about $ 127 billion. In June 2009, $ 3.39 billion in TARP funds were repaid plus $ 74.4 million in dividend payments. In July 2009, the company ended its obligations under TARP by buying back $ 340 million in Treasury warrants. As part of the conversion, the company reduced or closed many business lines of credit. In 2009, American Express introduced
2759-425: The epistolary novel , which typically consists of either correspondence or diary entries, purportedly written by a character central to the events. Like found footage, the epistolary technique has often been employed in horror fiction : both Dracula and Frankenstein are epistolary novels, as is The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft . In filmmaking , the 1980 cult horror feature Cannibal Holocaust
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2848-417: The "scariest film since The Ring ." Dennis Harvey, in his review of the film for Variety , wrote that its "creepiness factor is sufficient to rate this a notch above genre average". Vox ' s Dylan Scott recommended the film, writing that it "effectively spoof[s] those ghost hunter shows that were briefly a hot trend, while still building toward a genuinely suspenseful second half." Meagan Navarro, in
2937-478: The $ 226 million credit card portfolio of Bank of Hawaii , then a division of Pacific Century Financial Corporation In January 2006, American Express sold its Bank of Hawaii card portfolio to Bank of America ( MBNA ). Until 2004, Visa and Mastercard rules prohibited issuers of their cards from issuing American Express cards in the United States. This meant, as a practical matter, that U.S. banks could not issue American Express cards. These rules were struck down as
3026-800: The 1980s, began accepting cards using the Visa and Mastercard payment networks. In 2011, Amex launched the Blue Cash Preferred Card credit card. In October 2012, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) required three American Express subsidiaries to refund an estimated $ 85 million to approximately 250,000 customers for illegal card practices between 2003 and 2012. Allegations included that American Express made misleading statements regarding signup bonuses, charged unlawful late fees, discriminated against applicants due to age, and failed to report consumer complaints to regulators. Also in October 2012, American Express and Walmart announced
3115-532: The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that American Express could block merchants that accept its cards from steering customers to other cards, like those offered by Visa and Mastercard. In June 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the 2nd Circuit's ruling. In 2018, the Gold Card was converted to a credit card for UK residents, but remains a charge card in
3204-571: The American Express Travelers Cheque Card, a stored-value card that serves the same purposes as a traveler's cheque, but can be used in stores like a credit card. Amex discontinued the card in October 2007. On September 30, 2005, American Express completed the corporate spin-off of its American Express Financial Advisors unit, Ameriprise Financial , to its shareholders and RSM McGladrey acquired American Express Tax & Business Services (TBS). In 2006,
3293-618: The American Express network. American Express was, at the time, known for cutting its interchange fee to merchants and restaurants if they accepted only American Express and no other credit or charge cards. This prompted competitors such as Visa and Mastercard to file complaints as the tactics gave Amex exclusivity at restaurants. Capitalizing on this elitist image, American Express frequently mentioned such exclusive partnerships in its advertising. Aside from some holdouts including Neiman Marcus , which continued exclusivity until 2011,
3382-526: The Costco card accounts was significant; in the first quarter without Costco cards, company profit dropped 10% and revenue dropped 5% compared to the previous year. On March 1, 2017, ANZ announced that it was no longer issuing American Express cards, with them phased out entirely by August 5, 2017. In October 2017, American Express established a joint venture company, LianTong ( 连通 ), in China to operate its payment card brand locally. In June 2020, it obtained
3471-460: The Fee Party's legal bills, and Discover Card was able to increase their acceptance among Boston restaurants by 375%. Kenneth Chenault , then head of Travel Related Services prior to becoming American Express CEO, cut fees to bring these restaurants back into the fold. American Express then shifted its focus from exclusivity to broadening acceptance, adding mainstream merchants like Walmart to
3560-499: The First World War, the 21-story neo-classical American Express Co. Building was constructed in 1916–17 to the design of James L. Aspinwall, of the firm of Renwick, Aspinwall & Tucker, the successor to the architectural practice of James Renwick Jr. The building consolidated the two lots of the former buildings with a single address: 65 Broadway . This building was part of the "Express Row" section of lower Broadway at
3649-575: The Green, Gold, and Platinum cards cater to frequent travelers and diners with perks tailored to these activities. In 1850, American Express was started as a freight forwarding company in Buffalo, New York . It was founded as a joint-stock corporation by the merger of the cash-in-transit companies owned by Henry Wells (Wells & Company), William G. Fargo (Livingston, Fargo & Company), and John Warren Butterfield (Wells, Butterfield & Company,
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3738-551: The ICC was drawn to its strict control of the railroad express business. However, the solution did not come immediately to hand. The solution to this problem came as a coincidence to other problems during World War I. During the winter of 1917, the United States suffered a severe coal shortage and on December 26 President Woodrow Wilson commandeered the railroads on behalf of the United States government to move federal troops, their supplies, and coal. Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo
3827-458: The Shearson family, creating Shearson Lehman/American Express. Lehman CEO and former trader Lewis Glucksman became CEO of Shearson Lehman/American Express. In 1984, Shearson/American Express acquired Investors Diversified Services (IDS), bringing with it a fleet of financial advisors and investment products. In 1988, Shearson Lehman acquired the E.F. Hutton & Co. , a brokerage firm that
3916-889: The UK division of American Express joined the Product Red coalition and issued a Red Card, donating with each purchase through The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to help African women and children with HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. In late 2007, the company announced the Plum Card for small business owners. In March 2008, American Express acquired the Corporate Payment Services business of General Electric , which primarily focused on providing purchasing card solutions for large global clients, for $ 1.1 billion in cash. The transaction added V-Payment to its product portfolio. V-Payment enables
4005-644: The United States, and in 2015 in Canada, Costco ended its relationship with Amex that had provided co-branded Costco membership cards since 2004. The cards issued by Costco in the United States were an extension of an exclusive deal between Costco and American Express dating from 1999. Costco was the last major US merchant that accepted American Express cards exclusively. Costco's Canadian stores ended its exclusive deal with American Express in January 2015, in favor of one with Capital One and Mastercard. Citigroup became
4094-625: The ZYNC charge card, a white card targeting young adults. The card was later discontinued. In November 2010, the UK division of American Express was cautioned by the Office of Fair Trading for the use of controversial charging orders against those in debt. The company was one of four companies who were allegedly encouraging customers to turn their unsecured credit card debts into a form of secured debt. In November 2011, Neiman Marcus , which gave general-purpose card exclusivity to American Express since
4183-434: The air by an unseen force. They return downstairs to pack in preparation for Kenny's return. Matt sets out alone to retrieve the static cameras. Before Matt can retrieve the last camera, a loud banging noise grabs Matt's attention, and he walks off to investigate it. When neither Matt nor Kenny returns, the crew opens the front doors but discovers it leads to another hallway. It is clear unlike most spirits, these entities want
4272-575: The area of financial services by launching a money order business to compete with the United States Post Office 's money orders. Sometime between 1888 and 1890, J. C. Fargo took a trip to Europe and returned frustrated and infuriated. Despite the fact that he was president of American Express and that he carried with him traditional letters of credit , he found it difficult to obtain cash anywhere except in major cities. Fargo went to Marcellus Flemming Berry and asked him to create
4361-586: The bank. Safra then opened a competing bank. In response, American Express launched an international smear campaign against Safra by inaccurately reporting to news and media outlets in that Safra was being investigated by the FBI for being involved in the Iran–Contra affair , along with drug trafficking and the mafia. All of the accusations were confirmed to be false and led to the resignation of Harry L. Freeman, public relations chief of American Express, after admitting to
4450-479: The beginning of World War I. They were to deliver letters, money, and relief parcels to British prisoners of war. Their employees went into camps to cash drafts for both British and French prisoners and arranged for them to receive money from home. By the end of the war they were delivering 150 tonnes of parcels per day to prisoners in six countries. In 1915, American Express established a travel division and soon established its first travel agency . Albert K. Dawson
4539-571: The budding Financial District and into rented offices in two five-story brownstone commercial buildings at 63 and 65 Broadway that were owned by the Harmony family. In 1880, American Express built a new warehouse behind the Broadway Building at 46 Trinity Place. The designer is unknown, but it has a façade of brick arches that are reminiscent of pre-skyscraper New York. American Express has long been out of this building, but it still bears
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#17328017716384628-439: The company. In 1979, American Express acquired 50% of the cable subsidiary of Warner Communications , forming Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment , for $ 175 million in cash and short-term notes. It owned two-thirds of MTV , Nickelodeon , and The Movie Channel . The venture was unprofitable, and, in 1985, Amex sold its 50% interest to Viacom for $ 450 million. In the 1980s, American Express embarked on an effort to become
4717-506: The customer loans and American Express processed the transactions. American Express dismissed Bank of America from its antitrust litigation against Visa, Mastercard, and other banks. The first card from the partnership, the Bank of America Rewards American Express card, was released on June 30, 2006. In June 2005, American Express introduced ExpressPay, a contactless payment system based on wireless RFID . In July 2005, American Express issued
4806-423: The doors open. He leaves Sasha and Matt behind to look for something to pry open the doors. Lance yanks a rod off of a hospital cart and notices a bloody severed tongue in the corner of the room. Lance then sees a ghostly figure huddled up in the corner of the ceiling, chasing after him. Lance returns to Sasha and Matt and successfully opens the elevator doors. He hears the figure reaching them, so Lance and Sasha keep
4895-468: The end of the Wells-Fargo reign in 1914, an aggressive new president, George Chadbourne Taylor (1868–1923), who had worked his way up through the company over the previous thirty years, decided to build a new headquarters. The old buildings, dubbed by The New York Times as "among the ancient landmarks" of lower Broadway, were inadequate for such a rapidly expanding concern. After some delays due to
4984-483: The entire scandal. In July 1989, American Express publicly apologized to Edmond Safra and donated $ 8 million to the charity of his choice. In 1990, American Express sold its Swiss banking operations to Compagnie de Banque et d'Investissements, which led to the creation of Union Bancaire Privée (UBP). In 1984, Amex launched the Platinum Card, billed as an "ultra-exclusive" credit card with a $ 250 annual fee. It
5073-424: The entity at bay by closing the door. While the two are busy, Matt leans forward and plunges several feet down the elevator shaft, killing himself. Lance and Sasha enter the tunnels beneath the building, searching for an exit. The spirits mentally torture the two by manipulating the tunnels around them to go on seemingly forever. Sasha falls ill and begins to cough up blood violently. The two stop to sleep, and Sasha
5162-429: The entity in fear, and Houston is separated from the other crew members. Houston wanders the halls in the darkness and is then lifted into the air and choked before a bright light bursts from the end of the hallway, which sends Houston flying and kills him. After hiding in a room for several hours, Lance, Sasha, and T.C. discover they have been fitted with hospital identification bracelets bearing their names. The trio roams
5251-536: The exclusive issuer of Costco's credit cards and Visa replaced American Express as the exclusive credit card accepted at Costco's stores in the United States. All TrueEarnings card accounts and balances held by American Express were sold to Citigroup, and new Costco Anywhere Visa cards were sent to Costco members prior to the switch date. The Costco partnership represented 8%, or $ 80 billion, of American Express' billed business and about 20%, or about $ 14 billion, of its interest-bearing credit portfolio. The impact of losing
5340-560: The film roughly 85 pages in length, though they allowed the members of the cast to improvise during filming. Grave Encounters was filmed in Riverview Hospital , a mental institute in Coquitlam, British Columbia ; the hospital has served as a location for a number of other television and film productions. A number of visual effects in the film were accomplished using computer-generated imagery (CGI). One sequence, in which
5429-427: The found-footage field - an ahead-of-its-time application of the vérité-video form to the horror/crime genre. The device was popularised by The Blair Witch Project (1999). Found footage has since been used in other commercially successful films, including Paranormal Activity (2007), REC (2007), Cloverfield (2008) and Chronicle (2012). Reviewing V/H/S for The A.V. Club , Scott Tobias notes that
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#17328017716385518-401: The genre "has since become to the '00s and '10s what slasher movies were to the '80s." The genre appeals to film producers because of its lower cost, as it is believed the illusion of amateur documentary style allows lower production values than would be accepted on a conventional film. Writer-director Christopher B. Landon , who has made several found footage horror films, posits that
5607-479: The genre is likely to extend in the future outside horror. The following entries are notable films in the found footage genre, though some were only partially made in that style. Andolan Films American Express The American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment cards . It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street , also known as American Express Tower, in
5696-401: The group to stay inside of the building so they can torment them, thus manipulating reality forcing them to be trapped inside. They aimlessly walk the hallways and realize that despite their clocks saying it's dawn, it is still dark outside. The crew returns to the lobby and sleeps but is awoken when the construction light they set up is seemingly pushed forward and shatters. T.C. tells Lance that
5785-409: The halls again, and an arm smashes through the window on a door and grabs Sasha. Lance frees her and they run down the hallways. While Lance comforts Sasha, T.C. yells at them to come into a room that Matt is sitting in. Matt, wearing a hospital gown and now insane, mumbles incoherently and claims that they can leave the building once they are "better" and that "he'll help you too". The four rest inside
5874-485: The halls, hoping to find him. Once they find the room where they heard Matt's screams, they encounter a metal bed frame that is hoisted into the air, and they run in terror. The crew stops to rest, and when they wake up, they find the word "HELLO" scratched into Sasha's back. They again go looking for Matt after hearing his voice on the walkie-talkie. The group comes across a woman in a hospital gown, and when they catch up with her, her face distorts grotesquely. They flee from
5963-499: The high-fee Centurion Card , often referred to as the "black card," which caters to an even more affluent customer segment. The card was initially available only to select users of the Platinum card. American Express created the card line amid rumors and urban legends in the 1980s that it produced an ultra-exclusive black card for elite users who could purchase anything with it. In December 2000, American Express agreed to acquire
6052-431: The hospital for the night and began their investigation, setting up camp near the main entrance and positioning static cameras throughout the building. No paranormal activity seems to occur within the first few hours until T.C. captures a door slamming behind him. The crew attempts to establish contact with any entities that might be in the hospital; they soon hear unexplained sounds, and Sasha's hair appears to be lifted into
6141-603: The launch of Bluebird, a prepaid debit card with roadside assistance and identity theft protection that can also be used as a substitute for a traditional transactional account whereby users can have payments deposited to the account and have insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation . In October 2013, Amex sold most of its publications: Travel + Leisure , Food & Wine , Executive Travel , Black Ink , and Departures magazines, to Time Inc. Time restructured
6230-455: The official launch date. The card was launched with an annual fee of $ 6, $ 1 higher than Diners Club, to be seen as a premium product. The first cards were made of paper, with the account number and card member's name typed. In 1959, American Express became the first company to issue embossed plastic cards. In 1966, American Express introduced the Gold Card for "big-spending members". In 1977, James D. Robinson III became chairman and CEO of
6319-472: The possibility of launching a travel charge card as early as 1946, but it was not until Diners Club launched a card in March 1950, that American Express began to seriously consider the possibility. At the end of 1957, under American Express CEO Ralph Reed the company entered the business and by the launch date of October 1, 1958, public interest had become so significant that 250,000 cards were issued prior to
6408-460: The practice largely ended in 1991. In April 1992, American Express spun off First Data in an initial public offering . In 1993, Harvey Golub became CEO of American Express. That year, American Express negotiated the sale of Shearson's retail brokerage and investment management business to Primerica . The Shearson business was merged with Primerica's Smith Barney to create Smith Barney Shearson . In June 1994, American Express completed
6497-419: The publications, which are now owned by Dotdash Meredith . In 2013, the company opened its first airport lounge, offering access to certain cardmembers. In March 2014, American Express announced the corporate spin-off its corporate travel business as American Express Global Business Travel and the sale of 50% of the business to an investor group led by Certares LP for $ 900 million. Effective in 2016 in
6586-491: The site for its stables. The company's first New York headquarters was an 1858 marble Italianate palazzo at 55–61 Hudson Street , which had a busy freight depot on the ground story with a spur line from the Hudson River Railroad . A stable was constructed in 1867, five blocks north at 4–8 Hubert Street. The company prospered sufficiently that headquarters were moved in 1874 from the wholesale shipping district to
6675-497: The spin-off of the remaining investment banking and institutional businesses as Lehman Brothers , ending its foray into the brokerage business. In September 1994, the Optima True Grace card was introduced. The card was unique in that it offered a grace period on all purchases whether a balance was carried on the card or not, not charging interest on new purchases immediately for cards with unpaid balances. The card
6764-403: The successor earlier in 1850 of Butterfield, Wasson & Company). Wells and Fargo also started Wells Fargo & Co. in 1852 when Butterfield and other directors objected to the proposal that American Express extend its operations to California. American Express initially established its headquarters in a building at the intersection of Jay Street and Hudson Street in what was later called
6853-835: The technique is in horror films , such as The Blair Witch Project , Cannibal Holocaust , Paranormal Activity , Diary of the Dead , Rec , Cloverfield , Trollhunter , V/H/S , and Incantation , in which the footage is purported to be the only surviving record of the events, with the participants now missing or dead. It has also been used in science fiction such as Chronicle , District 9 , Project Almanac , Europa Report , Gamer , drama such as Zero Day , Exhibit A , comedy such as Project X , mystery such as Searching , family such as Earth to Echo , experimental arthouse such as The Connection , The Outwaters , Masking Threshold , and war films such as 84C MoPic . Although found footage
6942-442: The term "discovered footage" for the narrative gimmick . Found-footage films typically employ one or more of six cinematic techniques — first-person perspective , pseudo-documentary , mockumentary , news footage, surveillance footage , or screenlife —according to an analysis of 500 found-footage films conducted by Found Footage Critic. As a storytelling technique, found footage has precedents in literature, particularly in
7031-559: The time of its acquisition, Shearson Loeb Rhoades was the second-largest brokerage firm , behind Merrill Lynch . After the purchase of Shearson, Weill was given the position of president of American Express in 1983. Weill grew increasingly unhappy with responsibilities within the company and his conflicts with CEO James D. Robinson III . Weill soon realized that he was not positioned to be named CEO and resigned in August 1985. In 1984, American Express acquired Lehman Brothers and added it to
7120-431: The time. The building completed the continuous masonry wall of its block-front and assisted in transforming Broadway into the "canyon" of neo-classical masonry office towers familiar to this day. American Express sold this building in 1975, but retained travel services there. The building was also the headquarters over the years of other prominent firms, including investment bankers J.& W. Seligman & Co . (1940–74),
7209-529: The use of Visa and Mastercard. The rationale was due to far lower fees as compared to American Express' fees at the time (which were about 4% for each transaction versus around 1.2% for Visa and Mastercard). The revolt, known as the "Boston Fee Party" (alluding to the Boston Tea Party ), spread to over 250 restaurants across the United States, including restaurants in other cities such as New York City , Chicago , and Los Angeles . Visa offered to pay
7298-606: Was a box office success, spawned a sequel in 2012, and has attained a cult following since its release. Jerry Hartfield is the producer of Grave Encounters, a paranormal reality television program directed by ghost hunter Lance Preston. Hartfield explains that the show was canceled after five episodes following the crew's disappearance and presents raw scenes from recovered footage of the sixth and final episode. The Grave Encounters crew consists of Lance, occult specialist Sasha Parker, surveillance operator Matt White, cameraman T.C. Gibson, and fake medium Houston Grey. The crew
7387-399: Was assigned the task of consolidating the railway lines for the war effort. All contracts between express companies and railroads were nullified and McAdoo proposed that all existing express companies be consolidated into a single company to serve the country's needs. This ended American Express's express business and removed them from the ICC's interest. The result was that a new company called
7476-554: Was discontinued a few years later. In 1998, Amex launched the Blue credit card, targeted at young adults, in the UK after testing it in other countries. The card had a smart chip and users were encouraged to pay bills and get information via the company website. It launched in the US in 1999. A television media campaign for Blue adopted the 1979 UK Synthpop hit " Cars " by Gary Numan as its theme music. In 1999, American Express introduced
7565-603: Was instrumental in expanding business operations overseas, even investing in tourist relations with the Soviet Union . During World War I, Dawson was a photographer and film correspondent with the German army. American Express was one of the monopolies that President Theodore Roosevelt had the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) investigate during his administration (1901–1909). The interest of
7654-516: Was introduced in 1975 and renewed in 2005. In the 1980s, Amex acquired and then divested a stake in Shearson . In the 1990s, it stopped reducing interchange fees for merchants who exclusively accepted Amex cards and expanded market share through targeted marketing campaigns. Amex converted to a bank holding company during the 2007–2008 financial crisis . Amex began operating airport lounges in 2013, offering access to certain cardholders. Amex had
7743-475: Was merged with the investment banking business. The investment banking arm was renamed Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc. In 1983, as part of Robinson's plan to expand into international banking of wealthy clients, Amex acquired Trade Development Bank of Geneva from Edmond Safra for US$ 550 million and Safra became a member of the board of directors of Amex. TDB executives were excluded from important company decisions and Safra unsuccessfully tried to repurchase
7832-564: Was offered by invitation only to American Express customers with at least two years of tenure, significant spending, and excellent payment history. In 1987, American Express introduced the Optima card, its first credit card product that did not have to be paid in full at the end of the month. In 1991, a group of restaurants in Boston , including some that were exclusive to Amex, stopped accepting American Express while accepting and encouraging
7921-488: Was originally the name of an entirely different genre, it is now frequently used to describe pseudo-documentaries crafted with this narrative technique such as Lake Mungo , Noroi: The Curse and screenlife films such as Unfriended , Searching . The film magazine Variety has, for example, used the term "faux found-footage film" to describe some titles. Film scholar David Bordwell criticizes this recent usage, arguing that it sows confusion, and instead prefers
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