My Video Files Disappeared and became pfl files I can't open?? HELP!

I would guess that pfl is some sort of support stuff, less than a kilobyte in size. Video files ought to be a thousand times that. There's really no point in looking at tiny files. You also found thumbnail sized still images. Not much help.

I would say that if you erase files and then defeat the safety features like "Recently Deleted," then you can't expect much to remain. If you are short on space, then the safety net should not be the thing you remove.

Really, any of us might do that, but that's why it's good to have backups as another safety. I would suggest using Time Machine. With a portable machine like a MacBook, you can't have Time Machine connected all the time, but just plugging it in every night saves lot of heartache!

Sorry about the "I told you so" lecture-- I know it's not what you were hoping for. But, then, well …