Research- Blair witch project.

It has become aware that our finanical budget will not be anything like that of the professional movies that i have started to analyse low budget films and the techniques that they use in order for it to look more professional. Within a media lesson last week we started to watch the Blair witch project then afterwards as a group de-constructed it and looked at the conventions that were used and how they made the film work and capture the audience.

The Blair witch project was a horror film released in 1999. It was produced by three media studies and the story-line was centered around a local urban legend of a 'blair witch'. All of the filming was done on a simple everyday hand held camera and was based around a hike to find the 'Blair witch'. This film budget was at approximately £500,000- £750,000 which in the media industry is extremely low as most films in todays market cost over a million to produce. However the gross revenue was incredibly high just under $250 million and the majority of its comments were on a positive note. Stated below is a full review in the MIGRAIN (E) format.

MEDIUM:- The medium that was being used here was a film and poster they will later be analysed separately below.

IDEOLOGY:- The most significant ideological concept behind this film was the use of the hand held camera and it's effect on the audience. The use of the camera establishes a sense of amateurs, not using many professional methods. And the concept of three normal "every-day" media students are producing this can act as a role model to the younger generation. Although the blair witch project itself can be considered another ideology within this film, as the audience (even when the film is finished) are not sure if it's real! Plus after researching I have found out that all three protagonists kept their real names whilst filming this would result in giving the audience the effect that the film is more 'realer',  emphasizing the documentary style.

GENRE:- The genre of the film is horror, however there are no killings within the film, it is still implied through the story line. Although in some ways it could also be categorized under the Documentary-Drama, as some people think the tale is real!

REPRESENTATION:- The representation through the film would be again the use of the hand- held camera and the main female character narrating as the story goes along. Through the use of panning shots and establishing shots, it created empathy, enabling the audience to feel their emotions.

AUDIENCE:- The Blair witch project had a range of audiences, and was placed in the top 100 scariest movies of all time!

INSTITUTION:- It was distributed by Arisan Entertainment, which was an independent company until being bought by Lions Gate Entertainment. What makes this label different from others was that it was famous for its roots in the 'home video industry'

NARRATIVE:- The basic synopsis of the story was- 3 student going into the forest to find the blair witch to see if she was really there or just a local myth.

the whole purpose of this analysis was to see the way that they use the hand held camera, and although it does look unprofessional in yet created a professional look. By deconstructing a clip from the film we can then see the codes and conventions that they use in order to portray this effect.

(need to find clip)

Also another method was used to create other effects such as suspense, shock etc was the camera angles, set and props that were used. 

Shot 1: Close up-

The close of one of the three protagonists Heather is one of the most famous shots from the film, and is used on the theatrical poster, DVD cover and trailer. This particular close up happens when the protagonist is in the tent and is crying to the camera apologizing. From using a close up shot this creates empathy as the viewer can clearly relate to the actors emotions and see the state that she is in. Half her face in sight and the background surrounded in darkness, highlights the fact that she is alone, and scared. The only light that its in the scene is from the torch that the character is holding when recording this. Meaning that ambient lighting has been used. All of this shows the viewer that she is alone and isolated from anyone. Lastly by looking closely the viewer can see that her nose if running, this could be seen as her being so devastated that she really doesn't care about her appearance, and little things such as presentation clearly do not mean much to her within  this shot.

Shot 2: Hand Held-Stair P.O.V. shot:

As I have become aware that most thriller/horror films include some form of a stair shot, which i shall be incorporating into mine. Because of this I 'print-screened' a shot of the stairs from the film. This particular shot is in black and white, simple yet effective. The stairs seem to have some sort of debris on them creating abandoned effect, all of this adds up to the suspense and build up of the murder.

Shot 3,4, and 5: Estbalishing/ Point of view shot:

This shot ties in with the story line, which I personally thought was very clever and effectual. The story of the Blair witch that she in some way killed children and made them stand in corners etc, hence the first shot requires to look at the wall whats on it and it's relevance to the film. The prints on the wall appear to be red marks ergo thereforth makes the viewer ponder...is it blood? Then after the film resumes it looks to be handprints small.... childlike! All of this adds up to the viewer that they then are young children's hand marks made out of blood! All of this goes on for less than a minute and is one of the most cleverly thought out bits from the film. Then personally when i was watching it i then rememberd the clips at the beginning of the film (which are posted below) and how the female protagonist also the narrator, said about how many children died in that epoch and how some went missing etc.

Grave yard- Establishing shot:

Gets the view in the mood for the next scenes. Up shot meaning that the camera was at a low angle when taking  this picture, illustrating that the locations power and significance in the story.

Gravestone- Close up and Establishing shot:

Big capital words "INFANT" meaning that the audience will show sympathy, and they will also believe that the story is starting to become real. In the background the viewer is also able to see the amount of other gravestones indicating a theme of death.

Shot 6: Point of view shot.

Although this final shot is relatively hard to see it is right at the end of the film

 and is the major climax, interestingly after watching this film I noticed that there is no resolution unlike most horror films. It ends on a  more negative note! However like the 3 major shots pictured above this one also relates back to the story and how the blair witch used to make the victims stand in corners before she killed them in the basement. Within the film one of the characters goes missing and when the other 2 start searching and go through this old comdemmed house in the middle of the forest, the find him in the basement standing in the corner the fema

le protagonist them screams and the film ends on one of the biggest cliffhangers i've seen and does literally leave the viewer dying to know more..Who took him? Is he alive? etc. Although this picture is very dark and you can just about depict the character standing there, this shot s vital to the story, it narrates to the viewer that he has been captured, and with screaming from the narrator only adds to the suspense. As the picture gets closer to the figure in the corner things seem to get darker generally creating a sinister atmosphere. Also after analysing all of this clips I have noticed that the shots mostly in black and white and/or surrounded by darkness, this to be shows that they are vital clips that need to be watched as the all the others are in colour and that the black and white ones emit a more cold dark and negative atmosphere when watching them and that things are more serious!