Where is your setting going to take place? In VHS, that’s tied directly to the Main Set, a clearly bounded map, which could be a building, an open area, or a combination of the two. Choose what kind of Set fits your inspiration and start from there.

In our examples, a Silent Hill-style setting might take place in a hospital, school, or prison. For Sleepy Hollow, it could be a forest or a colonial village.

Once you’ve decided on the location, it’s time to build a story. Draw directly from the original material or take its core themes and reinvent them. Use this step to also justify the presence of the survivor group: it’ll make it easier to kick off your Films.

Maybe the Set is the site of a local legend. Maybe it hides the house of a serial killer. Or maybe it’s a place where specialists are called in to retrieve an artifact, investigate a disappearance, scout the area, or just enjoy a weekend getaway.

Make sure the characters’ reason for being there is tightly linked to the Set. For example:

The survivor group is part of a rescue expedition looking for a missing girl. She’s not the first to vanish in the area, and many speak of the legend of the Barbed Man: a creature made of razor wire that traps its victims within its coils. The tale goes back to the death of Martin Wirefield, a homeless man who sought shelter in the old Blackpine sawmill and ended up fatally entangled in a fence of barbed wire.

In this example we have:

• A reason for the characters to be there;
• A tragic legend;
• A potential monster (The Barbed Man);
• An environment (the forest, the sawmill, or both).

Let the story you build breathe life into everything else.

P.S.: You can also take inspiration from existing VHS Sets. In many cases, like the woods (Bloodlust), the school (Trashbag), or the hospital (Spin–off), you don’t even have to build one from scratch. Just adapt what’s already there or tweak it to better fit your vision.