IH: Technical Analysis - "The Blair Witch Project" (Myrick/Sanchez,1999)

The following extract is from the ground-breaking experimental psychological horror film "The Blair Witch Project" (Myrick/Sanchez, 1999). The film is most famous for it's use of new techniques within the horror genre, such as pretending the film was genuinely footage from a student film project and continuing this theme through the use of almost exclusively handheld footage. The clunky, home made feeling of the opening first few minutes is key to setting the film's pace, as although very little happens during the opening scene the way it is filmed and edited clearly continues the idea of the footage having been found.
Source:
http://www.mojvideo.com/video-the-blair-witch-project-part-1/a7b4b8606ecf30cea4c2

Camera	Duration	Mise-en-scene	Sound and effects
Artisan/Havan Films	00:00 - 00:15	None	None
The Blair Witch Project	00:18 - 00:25	None	None
"A year later their footage was found"	00:29 - 00:40	None	None
(Handicam) Blurry ECU of hand on camera, zooms out and becomes less blurry to reveal lady talking (ECU to mid shot to long shot)	00:43 - 01:03	Normal looking home, comfortable looking pretty lady, old TV (sets the time period roughly)	Lady talking, the man behind camera talking
(Handicam) Close up of her hand as she touches the books	01:03 - 01:16	Messy pile of books, hand is gloved	Lady behind camera talking, man talking in the distance
(Handicam) Woman walks up to crew member who has arrived in car	01:16 - 01:22	Car is plain and cheap looking, man is dressed for expedition	"Hey it's Mr Punctuality" dialogue
(Handicam) Man prepares camera for shooting	01:23 - 01:30	Messy car boot, enhances verisimilitude	"No one knows I took it...but I got it." Reiterates guerilla low-budget filmmaking theme
(Handicam) Man pointing camera at lady	00:31 - 01:36	Man shooting woman, woman shooting man emphasises friendly playfulness	"I can see you!" (sing-song voice)
(Handicam) Reverse of previous shot, as shown through black and white camera	01:37 - 01:42	Woman wrapped up in warm clothes, ready for expedition	Use of profane dialogue enhances verisimilitude
(Handicam) Man lying down, clearly tired	01:43 - 01:52	Non-verbal language suggests tiredness	Discussing pre-production
(Handicam) Mike appears from doorway	01:53 - 02:11	Mike is carrying extensive amounts of kit (reminds audience of filming theme)	"Hey I guess you're Mike?" Dialogue reminds audience he is new to the group
(Handicam)Shot of Mike in the car	02:12 - 02:16	Car is simple and cheap looking, enhances verisimilitude	"I'm really excited, thanks for the opportunity" reminds audience he is new
(Handicam) Man driving the car	02:17 - 02:22	Same as previous shot	"We have so much battery power we could fuel a small country for a month"
(Handicam) Man showing food bought	02:23 - 02:26	Supermarket trolly with products in	Dialogue listing food bought
(Handicam) Marshmallow bag. Camera pushes against bag then retreats and repeats	02:29 - 02:40	Bag of marshmallows amongst other products	Crinkle of marshmallow bag accompanied with "Soft marshmallows!" dialogue
(Handicam) Move in on ghost sticker slowly	02:41 - 02:47	Ghost sticker in window connotes the paranormal	"Oooh spooky!"
(Handicam) Woman sitting in an interview position	02:48 - 02:57	Restaurant sets scene for the first interview, raises the key question	First mention of "The Blair Witch"
(Handicam) Woman speaks about how she wants to present the film	02:58 - 03:09	Black cat in background connotes bad luck etc	"I really want to avoid any cheese" is colloquial dialogue, enhances verisimilitude whilst continues theme of filmmaking
(Handicam) Small montage of preparation, then slate preparation	03:10 - 03:42	Production slate + camera equipment once again emphasises filmmaking theme	"Kiss the slate!" Introduces idea of superstition, biting of slate keeps atmosphere happy and funny

While it would not be wise to attempt to emulate the "found footage" theme of "The Blair Witch Project" (as it has since been done many times in films such as "Cloverfield" (Reeves,2008) and has a tendency to make the audience feel nauseous unless executed perfectly), the idea that we could set an idea for a theme such as the "This footage was found" theme and then film in such a way that supports this claim, is definitely worth exploring.