The Blair Witch Project
Institutional information
Release date:
October 22, 1999 (United
Kingdom)
Directors:
Eduardo
Sánchez, Daniel Myrick
Film series:
The Blair
Witch Project film series
Budget:
60,000 USD
Box office:
248.6 million USD
Run time: 1h 45m
Genre: Mystery/Horror
Plot summary:
Found video footage tells the tale of three film students: Heather
Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams. They’ve travelled to a small
town to collect documentary footage about the Blair Witch, a legendary local
murderer. Over the course of several days, the students interview the people of
the town and gather clues to support the tale's veracity. But the project takes
a frightening turn when the students lose their way in the woods and begin
hearing horrific noises.
The title of the film is shown through simplistic, white writing, set against a black background. The lack of colour in this presentation generates the idea that the movie isn't going to be a means of positive or uplifting imagery. Additionally, this simplicity mimics the filming style of the movie. The title is shown for 10 seconds. This is a prolonged period of time when we consider how much there is for the audience to take in. Other shots containing more visual information are given less time to be processed and so in comparison this is definitely more time than necessary for a title. Perhaps the intention of this was not to offer the audience time from processing, instead to create suspense from the audience.
We are then shown a small piece of information that is in place to establish a narrative. This provides the audience with a date to which we know that the film is set; a location and a leading line. This line helps to generate mystery as it is ominous and offers no clarity as to what we should expect. Again, this text is white on a black background; making it stand out. The shot is slightly unsteady, suggesting that the film was shot on a handheld camera. This offers an organic feeling filming style and contributes to a greater rapport created between the characters and the audience. All footage in the movie has been captured on a handheld camera; creating the feeling of a home movie. The lack of advanced filming encourages a rough and un-fabricated narrative.
The next shot that we see is of multiple colours that change rapidly. This could be quite confusing for an audience as the image being filmed is unclear for a five second period. The camera work here can be categorised as a zoom (outwards). This is a common technique, often seen used in home movies. Therefore, this would have been used to portray a realistic feeling video as it mimics what we, ourselves may do when filming amateur videos for personal use.
Then, the video zooms out, revealing a female character. The shot showing the audience her face begins as blurry. This could indicate to us that this characters future is uncertain because of the uncertainty of her appearance in this shot. The blurring could also be representative of the lack of clarity and foresight that the characters have regarding their future. Additionally, this character is the first one that we see, therefore it is indicated to us that she could play a large role within the film.
Once the video has fully zoomed out to a point where it is stable, we are presented with a mid shot of the female. This shot allows us to see her surroundings. The white walls and curtains indicate that this is a safe location as the colour white connotes purity and good. The lighting in the room isn't overly exposed, but it's also not too dim that we are unable to see what's in the frame. We can still see all objects in the background and so nothing is left for us to question.
The camera then quickly pans to the right and then back
to the left. Using this shot would confused and the audience. This shot can also be used to create anticipation. The mystery behind what will be revealed when the camera goes back to the original position is what causes this anticipation.
The next shot that we see is of multiple colours that change rapidly. This could be quite confusing for an audience as the image being filmed is unclear for a five second period. The camera work here can be categorised as a zoom (outwards). This is a common technique, often seen used in home movies. Therefore, this would have been used to portray a realistic feeling video as it mimics what we, ourselves may do when filming amateur videos for personal use.
Then, the video zooms out, revealing a female character. The shot showing the audience her face begins as blurry. This could indicate to us that this characters future is uncertain because of the uncertainty of her appearance in this shot. The blurring could also be representative of the lack of clarity and foresight that the characters have regarding their future. Additionally, this character is the first one that we see, therefore it is indicated to us that she could play a large role within the film.
Once the video has fully zoomed out to a point where it is stable, we are presented with a mid shot of the female. This shot allows us to see her surroundings. The white walls and curtains indicate that this is a safe location as the colour white connotes purity and good. The lighting in the room isn't overly exposed, but it's also not too dim that we are unable to see what's in the frame. We can still see all objects in the background and so nothing is left for us to question.
Mise en scene has been used throughout this film to
illustrate the conventions of horror genre film. In this shot, the television
to the left of the frame helps us to establish context for the film. We know
that the time the film was set must be between the 1990s and early 2000s
a this is when the larger TV screens would have been developed. Also, the
filming style used indicates to us that a camcorder is being used which
helps to encourage this time scale. The costume worn by the female is typical
of this period of time. Particularly, the hair style is one that was
popular around the 2000s.
The camera then quickly pans to the right and then back
to the left. Using this shot would confused and the audience. This shot can also be used to create anticipation. The mystery behind what will be revealed when the camera goes back to the original position is what causes this anticipation.
No comments:
Post a Comment