Have any of you tried to do this? The best method is to run the composite video output of a camcorder to a tv set or vcr's video in and then film the tv screen to create a loop. The distortions and effects are wild.....then review the vcr tape later, in slow-mo or via a computer program to see what you've captured.

To be honest, I tend to get kind of frightened and I have stopped every time I have attempted this. Frankly, i don't feel that all the things i have seen are benevolent.

I would be fascinated to hear any stories you all have.

I never knew there was a name attached to it! I played with aiming the camcorder at the screen a couple times. There is something odd about it, but it didn't bother me that much. Mostly I get to thinking about the "infinity" of it, and how long it takes for that last visible image in the middle to get there, going 'round-n-round in the loop. A mirror introduced in there somewhere could be interesting? I remember David Letterman doing something with this once, long ago.

I've always wanted to try that, and wondered how many images of the tv you would be able to see on the tv, but I've never had a working camcorder.

Dunno guys.... Yes when the camcorder is aimed at the crt bezel you can clearly see it on the screen itself, but a very subtle shift of direction upwards from the bezel and things get crazy.... I will admit this: out of all the times I've tried this, I have only made it through one 'review tape' session because I am a wimp with spirits and I cannot keep going. Sure, you can see anything if you really look, but I urge you doubters to just try it. B/W or color set.

That idea works pretty well with two mirrors opposite each other, you can see clear to infinity and beyond that way, it's hard to keep your head out of the way though.

A puzzle I've wondered about for many, many years:
"Joe" can only see 5' in front of him, his eyes are bad.
He is standing in a 10' by 10' room, 5' from a mirror. There is also a mirror on the wall behind him. Can he see the back of his head in the mirror in front of him? I know there are some optics experts on VK that could answer this one!

Decided to dig this up
Current system is a Sony 'Handycam' Hi-8 camera feeding composite into a 19" Sony crt. When I slowed down one of the tapes frame by frame I swear I saw a horse in the picture. Got a second opinion and they said it was some sort of animal. Odd but I love it. this is fun to do in the dark for a thrill

Never done it in the dark or went through frame by frame, but I've done that before with an early monochrome sony cam, a VCR, and my 71' CCI hybrid. At first I thought I had a cool feed back effect, then I rotated the camera with respect to the screen, and got the coolest monochrome kaliedescope(probably misspelled) effect I've ever seen. I could watch that to music for hours on end if I had time.

I may upload it and share it at some point.

This is an old video art technique - "video feedback" - one of many pioneered by Nam June Paik. When projection TVs (with a curved screen and a projecting unit that set before it on the floor) first came out, we tried it at work. Some of us got quite good at controlling the effects, and we made a tape of video effects to Christmas music, quite the opposite of those who see "spirits" in the images. Watching this on a large screen in a dark room can generate some vertigo, especially if you slightly tilt the camera to the left and right and play with the zoom, generating swirling spiral patterns. The characteristics of the camera affect the results somewhat - the lag of the early vidicon cameras gave a more smeary/blobs effect compared to the sharp strobing you might get with a CCD camera.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_June_Paik

Forgot to add - you can see this used in commercially made programs of the time - a prime example is the Dr. Who title sequences.

I woulden't decribe what I stumbled upon as swirling, it is like a flower of turtle shell that is changing gradually and shifting outward from center then gradually fading. It is really quite an intricate pattern, and quite beautiful IMHO.

I woulden't decribe what I stumbled upon as swirling, it is like a flower of turtle shell that is changing gradually and shifting outward from center then gradually fading. It is really quite an intricate pattern, and quite beautiful IMHO.

Yes, the effects can be very beautiful. The slowly changing ones depend on having a nearly upright camera and just the right exposure.

If possible, try changing the exposure, zoom, and camera tilt. Tilting the camera 90 degrees will give very fast moving spirals, depending on the zoom setting. Increasing exposure makes the delayed images explode, while decreasing exposure makes them fade away.

Wish I could understand half of that.....The only two controls on that video camera are the power button and the hand adjutment only lense (it is the oldest/most primitave video camera I have).

I never was into photography, and because of that never bothered to learn much more than the "ooh what does this button do?" method of opperating still, and video cameras (I'm about 20 so film for anything but stills and cinema gives me the impression of complete anachronism/novelty as do camcorders older than the VHS-C types).

If the camera has no zoom, try moving closer or farther away. If the lens has an aperture adjustment or the camera has any adjustment for lighter or darker, try that. Try rotating the camera to the left or right.