Have you ever found a videotape hidden in someone’s basement or attic, popped it in a VCR and been blown away by what you see.

Or, have you ever come across an infomercial, a cartoon or an instructional video and just had to share its inadvertent hilarity with your friends.

Two high school pals from Wisconsin found themselves in situations like these, and with the footage they collected, they started a film festival like none other.

The Found Footage Festival is a traveling showcase of side-splittingly odd videos. It was founded by co-hosts Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher.

The two of them have had an impressive run in television and print media, writing and researching for “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “The Colbert Report” and The Onion. On the side, however, they have seemingly made their career out of sifting through old, outdated videos.

“It all started with a McDonalds training film for one of my first jobs,” says Nick Prueher, who sat down with The DePaulia. “I watched it over and over. I couldn’t help myself; it was just so hilarious and dumb. I ended up stealing the video and sharing it with Joe. It really became a cult thing with our friends and that’s where the obsession began.”

Since then, the pair has been rummaging through garage sales, thrift stores, and probably other people’s basements to amass a collection of thousands of used videos, many never meant for mass public viewing. On top of that, the festival accepts submissions from anyone who has something worth watching. The only two guidelines are that it must be on physical VHS format and be unintentionally hilarious.

One might ask themselves how, in an age overrun by DVD, High Definition, and even 3D, a VHS film festival is able to gain as much footage and traction? According to Nick, the decline in videotape has actually helped the fest rather than hurt it.

“Everyone is just giving their old tapes away,” Prueher states. “We’ve been getting loads of home movies, training videos and all sorts of things that people have just been throwing away.”

This year’s festival, coming to the Music Box Theatre this Friday, is sure to leave its audience in stitches. Videos range from demeaning training videos, embarrassing home movies and even cats on motorcycles.

The show will also have a special 25th anniversary screening of “Heavy Metal Parking Lot,” a fifteen-minute short, shot by fans prior to a Judas Priest concert.

To top it all off, there will be a special treat for the Chicago audience. The maker of one of the festival’s funniest and all-around creepiest videos, “Rent-a-Friend” will be stopping by. This will be the first-ever public appearance by said individual.

Joe and Nick promise a great show. Not only do they invite everyone to come, but to bring along any footage that they’d like to submit to the fest.

“It’s what keeps us going,” says Nick.

The Found Footage Festival kicks off at 10p.m. on Friday, April 15th, at the Music Box Theatre, located at 3733 N. Southport Ave.