R35 - Case Study of 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999)

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)

Roles in Technical Practices 

• Directors: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez
• Producers: Gregg Hale and Robin Cowie
• Editors: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez
• Music by: Antonio Cora - an example of his work is the YouTube clip below

Like all horror films, sound plays an important factor within the film. It heightens the suspense as well as creates it, enticing the audience and affecting them. Antonio Cora used simple objects like a microphone stand, and created the noises at 0:37 by throwing it on the floor and layering an effect on top to create the dystopian clattering sound that can be heard. The louder and louder it gets, the more the audience believe that whatever coming is getting closer, giving them a gripping experience and enabling to use some ideas for my own short horror film. 

Facts

• Production Company: Haxan Films
• Distributor: Artisan Entertainment
• Release Date: August 30th, 1999
• Budget: $22,500
• Box Office: $248,689,099

Plot

Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard, student filmmakers, set out to shoot a documentary about a local legend, the Blair Witch. In the forests near Burkittsville, Maryland, many children have vanished in the 1940s and people still avoid going too deep into the woods. So, the party sets out to look for facts that prove the legend, equipped only with two cameras and a little hiking gear. First, they find little piles of stone that must have been arranged artificially, later, they have to admit to be lost in the woods. Eerie sounds at night and more piles of stones in places where they have not been before cause the already desperate group to panic. And one night, days after they should have been back home, Josh disappears completely. Only what has been recorded and filmed with the cameras is found a year later and shows what happened in the woods.

Techniques

• Most of the camera work was handheld - some moviegoers got physically sick due to the shaky camera work
• The sound was used from daily objects - pans, glasses etc. 
• There is a Blair Witch Project 2 - there is talk of another, therefore there is marketing schemes already in place. They have their own website too.
• Target audience - a range from university students+ - their lifestyle, etc.