The Blair Witch Project Essay, Research Paper

The Blair Witch Project

The movie The Blair Witch Project is one that seemed to cause a commotion amongst film reviewers and the actual public. It s a very interesting film about three filmmakers who are actually making the film that you watch. The emotion in the film leads the viewers to believe that it s real.

The film is by independent directors, unknown to most of the public. They attended the University Of Central Florida. (the school I would like to attend) Their style of filmmaking is different than what I have ever seen, and the unusual and unique way they made the film, is part of the excitement of seeing it.

This movie really had no writing. What the directors did, was placed their actors in the woods, gave them real cameras, audio equipment, and a GPS system, and told them to find their way to camp. The actors knew when they had reached their destination because there was a box set out with the supplies they would need until they traveled to the next site. Inside the box, were three envelopes, each addressed to an actor. Inside they would find a scenario of how the directors thought they wanted the scene to go. Then the people would act out the scene, adlibbing their parts.

I believe that the Blair Witch Project had some sort of historic value because of the way the movie was shot. It seemed to be the first movie where the actors actually made the entire movie, most of it being in their point of view. It was a movie without the typical rules of the trade. One thing that made it so big was that the directors brought attention to the film before it was even out in theaters by creating commercial teases, and also by creating a website claiming that the soon to be released film was a true story; a documentary found a year after the three film students suddenly disappeared in the woods. The website was so believable and skillfully arranged, that it actually managed to intrigue enough people to go see the movie, that they made five times the amount they invested in the making of the film.

This film did so well, because so many people thought the story line was true going into see the movie. The realness feel of the movie did this. Sound effects were quite specific because the viewers didn t see as much as they heard, so everything was made to make the viewer be in suspense without having any visual effects. The directors seemed to resemble the way old films were made by using sounds to scare the viewers

This movie can be classified as a horror film but it can also be suspense, or “psychological thriller” because you never know what is going to happen next.

The actors the directors used, were new to the film world and cannot be compared to anyone else. Their acting was quite convincing, for it to be their first movie. The three acted so well, that one can see changes in the three filmmakers’ minds, as they slowly seemed to go insane.

There was one scene that I thought was a good example of Mise en scene. It was the shot near the end where Heather was holding the camera in her lap as she was talking to herself. It was a close up of just her face, off centered to the right. I thought that this was one of the most powerful scenes in the movie. It really set the mood for the ending; that they would probably die in the woods. It showed all her emotions, while never leaving her face.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Blair Witch Project. I saw the movie when it was first released to this area; still in the time where everyone thought the story was true. I though it was very well directed and produced and it is a must-see for anyone that is open to see a new kind of film, and can tolerate the constant movement that is present at all times.