The Making of The Blair Witch Project — behind the scenes of one of the most notorious independent film productions, including the revolutionary filming process and the ingenious marketing campaign.

The Blair Witch Project Ending Explained ►► https://bit.ly/hs-bw
StudioBinder Blog ►► http://bit.ly/sb-bl

─────────────────────

Special thanks to:
kevbones ►► https://bit.ly/kb-yt
CINECITY Brighton Film Festival ►► https://bit.ly/yo-cc

─────────────────────

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to The Blair Witch Project
01:31 Crafting the Story of the Blair Witch
03:23 Chapter 1: Innovative Directing
07:20 Chapter 2: Docu-Style Approach
12:25 Chapter 3: Pioneering Marketing
15:10 - Takeaways

─────────────────────

THE MAKING OF THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT

In 1999, the horror genre was once again growing stagnant. Then a small indie film called The Blair Witch Project came to Sundance and caused quite a stir. In this video, we take a look back at the making of The Blair Witch Project — from its unusual filming process to its marketing campaign that had (most) people fooled that it was all real.

HOW THEY SHOT THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT

How The Blair Witch Project was filmed is quite the story. With an initial budget of $35,000, directors Dan Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez took three actors into the woods, gave them cameras, and a rough outline of what was supposed to happen. To capture an authentic “found footage” look and feel, the actors operated the cameras themselves and improvised their dialogue. The filmmakers left notes for the actors to find using GPS, all while they monitored the filming from afar.

There was no locked script, so Myrick and Sánchez would watch dailies and make adjustments for the next day. This would include notes to the actors on their performance and story beats to pursue.

For shooting, there were two cameras utilized — a Hi8 video camcorder and a 16mm film camera. To record sound, they used a DAT recorder, which, like the cameras, was operated by the actors. The result is a truly authentic experience — they could shoot in 360 degrees with not a crew member in sight.

When they entered the editing room, the process was the same as any other documentary. This involved sifting through hours of footage and finding the right pacing, emotional beats, and tension. If the camera was extra shaky in a particular moment, but the performance was great, they’d leave it in.

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT PUBLICITY STUNT

The Blair Witch Project marketing campaign will go down as one of the best. The basic premise of the campaign was that the film was literally found footage and that the filmmakers had been missing for five years. In other words, it was all real. A website was created for people to learn more about the mystery of the missing filmmakers. And it worked — many people believed this narrative, and it built an immeasurable amount of intrigue for people wanting to see the footage.

Released in the summer, The Blair Witch Project would go on to become the most profitable independent film up to that point. It terrified audiences, became a cultural phenomenon, and kickstarted the found footage trend that continues to this day.


#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking

─────────────────────

♬ SONGS USED:

“Trouble in Woodsboro” - Marco Beltrami
“Bad, Wrong, Wrong, Bad/Used to Be Friends” - Mark Snow
“Suspiria Main Theme” - Goblin
“Urban Legend” - Christopher Young
“I Know What You Did LAst Summer” - John Debny
“Main Titles From The Sixth Sense” - James Newton Howard
“Sleepy Hollow Main Title” - Danny Elfman
“Devil Dog Dangling” - Christopher Young
“One More Look In Your Eye” - Christopher Young
“Bring In The Cube” - John Frizzell
“Cyrus’ Will” - John Frizzell
“The Frighteners” - Danny Elfman
“Surprise” - Don Davis
“Wakey Wakey” - Alejandro Amenábar
“Bonnie” - Graeme Revell
“Flight 180” - Shirley Walker
“Mexican Devil Disaster” - Christopher Young
“The Ring” - Hans Zimmer
“Darkness Falls” - Brian Tyler
“Story of the Town” - John Ottman
“Empty Couch” - James Newton Howard
“Tenebre” - Claudio Simonetti

Music by Artlist ► https://utm.io/umJx
Music by Artgrid ► https://utm.io/umJy
Music by Soundstripe ► http://bit.ly/2IXwomF
Music by MusicBed ► http://bit.ly/2Fnz9Zq

─────────────────────

SUBSCRIBE to StudioBinder’s YouTube channel! ►► http://bit.ly/2hksYO0

Looking for a production management solution for your film? Try StudioBinder for FREE today: https://studiobinder.com/pricing

— Join us on Social Media! —

Instagram ►►   / studiobinder  
Facebook ►►   / studiobinderapp  
Twitter ►►   / studiobinder  

#film-theory, #video-essay, #filmmaker