Though it’s an oft-mocked trend, there are some understandable reasons young people kicked off the “vinyl revival,” be it vinyl’s richer sound quality or the focus on an entire album over a single song. While the same argument can’t quite be made about VHS tapes, that isn’t stopping one man from trying. OfftrackOutlet is described as a “one man personal project to bring back the once dead VHS format.” The unnamed man behind the endeavor gives contemporary movies a retro aesthetic by creating hyperrealistic worn-and-torn VHS tapes and covers that he documents on both his Instagram and his Tumblr.
He also transfers the movies onto working VHS tapes as seen in this Guardians Of The Galaxy clip:
There’s an incredible level of detail on the tapes, right down to the rental stickers and bargain bin price tags he sticks on them for added authenticity. And he even knows his VHS aesthetic well enough to know that Disney’s Big Hero 6 would have been packaged in a clamshell case during the VHS era.
Creating the covers is a meticulous process that requires “lots of cutting and gluing.” OffbeatOutlet offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of that detailed work here:
Though there’s a “buy” tab on his website, it doesn’t actually seem like his creations are for sale (nor would he likely be able to legally sell them). So until the VHS revival kicks off in earnest, VHS lovers will have to live vicariously through OffbeatOutlet’s work. Or they could always check out the StanVHS Tumblr, which does almost the exact same thing. Quentin Tarantino and Yale would certainly approve.