this is my analysis for my a2 media coursework of the Blair Witch Project's advertising campaign

1. Blair Witch

2. Starts with a shot of the studio making
the film, this means people who know
the company will trust that the film will
be made to the same standard.
Eerie non-diegetic moaning
gets played as part of the
soundtrack, this is disturbing for
the viewer, and helps to
accentuate how scary the film is

3. The 2nd shot gives the basis of the
plot. The last sentence is short and
blunt to shock the viewer and add a
new level of fear

4. The trailer consists of reviews pooping up,
this is a way of showing to the viewer that
the film is good and will therefore
persuade viewers to pay to see the film
The low key lighting makes the wood look dangerous
and scary. The silhouette stick figures have a sinister
feel to them, as they look so out of place. The viewers
eye is drawn to them as the large dark sections in the
clip are suck in the viewers gaze. The black shadows
also contrast the review, making it clearer and
therefore more likely to be read.

5. The Clips are edited together by fading to black,
the jump cutting to a different clip, this creates the
feeling od disjointedness for the viewer

6. The sounds on the sound track sound like animals, this plays
into people’s fear of woods, as they worry about being
mulled by animals. By playing into people’s fears in the
trailer, the director is conveying that the film is scary

7. The flash of white is in contrast to the
black, this shocks the viewer as there
not expecting a flash of white amongst
the dimly lit and shadowy footage.
The line “tell me where you are josh” is said shouted,
with a lot of despair in the persons voice. This creates
sympathy for the viewer but also interest as the
person wonders where josh is? And why is josh lost?

8. The title of the film and the films logo
is shows around 2/3rds into the trailer,
this is so that the footage can draw the
viewer in, so then they are paying
attention and are excited about the
film when they find out the name.
There are echoing noises heard, this is conveying how the characters are
lost in the woods, and it’s a big wood, which shows the reader that the
characters are in danger being hunted/ stalked by a thing in the woods

9. The last sound heard on the trailer is a scream,
this scares the viewer as they think the trailer is
over so they aren’t expecting anything to
happen. They also have empathy with the
character screaming, as she is screaming and
want to help and find out why she is screaming.
The website for the film is shown, this directs people to the right place to
get more information about the film. The website is also at an address
which is easily remembered for a later date, which is always useful.
The film was made
before the raise in
social media
(1999) so there
are no social
media links.

10. Only part of the main
characters face is revealed, this
is accentuated by the mysteries
to do with the film and
therefore intrigues the viewer.
The extreme close up on the characters
upper face, show the scared emotion
they have and means the viewer will
have sympathy for them.
The website is written in red, this draws the viewers eye down to the website and
the information around it. The website is important as the film was released
before the digital revelation so the easy to remember title and the vivid red
righting will ensure that the website is remembered and then looked at when the
consumer is next near a computer as they can’t just grab their phone and google.
The poster follows the rule of thirds as the top image sticks to the top third, and the
bottom text is in the bottom third, the symbol text and model are all in the middle third.
This is done to have the viewers eye drawn to the information. The layout also leaves an
abundance of dark space, which makes the poster eye-catching and slightly creepy and un-
nerving. This darkness of the poster also plays on the consumers “fear of the dark” and
therefore has the potential to scare the viewer before they even see the film.
The red symbol also features in the film but
is largely unexplained. Its presumed that it’s
a symbol of the “Blair Witch.” the symbol is
one of the only coloured objects on the
black and white poster, making it stand out,
and the unknowns around it poses
questions and creates a talking point about
“what is it?” which turns consumers into
presume as the advertise the film in
convocation when they discuss potential
meanings of the symbol.
The poster is vastly black and white, with
hints of colour on the woods and on the
model, this contrasts the conventions of film
posters at the time which used an abundance
of colour to be eye-catching. The minimalistic
approach to the poster becomes visually
striking as the focus is on a small section of
the poster and not on the whole poster. Black
has connotations of death and fear which is
the predominate colour of poster. The top and
the text is white, which contrasts the black in
order to stand out with connotations of
purity. The black out weighing the white
conveys the demise of the innocence and
purity from the characters. The tiny amount
of red symbolises death and danger and acts
as a warning first to the characters in the film,
and then to the viewer that the film is
dangerous… tempting them to watch the film.
The very bottom of the poster contains the logos
for the companies in association of the film, this
conveys to the consumer that the film was made
with the same quality and standard as the others
films from the company.
The text on the poste is the tag line for the
film. It sets up the plot and intrigues the
viewer. The mode of address is very formal
and official, fuelling the fire to the rumours
of the film being true. The ellipsis puts a
audience on a cliff hanger making them
curious about what happened to the
characters. The last sentence is deliberately
blunt in order to shock the viewer.

11. The colour scheme
is a sickly yellow-
green colour, this
helps to convey
how sickly the
witches character
is, and the choice
in colour is just a
reflection on her
personality
The cover is dominated
by the Blair Witch
Symbol, this is done as
the models are in the film
so it’s the easiest way to
convey to that reader
that the cover is about
the Blair Witch Project
without using words
There is a pun ‘rags to
witches’ this coveys to a
reader that it’s a fun
magazine, this means that
even if a reader doesn’t
like horror films they might
still pick up the magazine
then even be tempted to
see the film.
The magazine uses the
directors as models
instead of the actors,
this helps to tie into
the films plot that the
characters are dead, so
by using non-cast
members to advertise
it, it keeps the idea
going that the witch
killed the cast.

12. The Blair Witch Project
• Three film makers set out to make a documentary on
“the Blair witch,” after interviewing locals, they go into
the woods were the legend orientated, and are never
seen again
• The film was directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo
Sanchez
• The low budget film was mostly unscripted, filmed in 8
days, edited over 8 months, and with a budget
between $20,000 and $25,000
• The film was sold for $1 million to Artisan
Entertainment and made $1.5 million on opening
weekend alone.

13. Ad Campaign
• The Blair Witch Project was revolutionary being one of
the first found footage films released, this combined
with unknown actors, led to many people believing the
film was real, meaning there was an intrinsic buzz
about the film with the public.
• Haxan films put together the website
www.blairwitch.com in June 1988 (almost a year
before the films release)
• The website contained character histories (including
childhood photos) and pictures from a police
investigation into the missing characters – fuelling
rumours that the film was real.

14. Ad Campaign
• Missing posters and leaflets were distributed of
the characters in the film, and their IMDb pages
had them as “missing, presumed dead”
• The low key advertising had the benefits of being
cheep, which is good for a low budget film, and
viewers felt that they had stumbled on to
something special instead of being fed something
by mass media conglomerates.
• By mainly advertising on university campuses’ the
film saved money by only advertising to their
target demographic of students and not just
general cinema goers.

15. Trailers
• Trailers were kept short, giving away very little
of the film.
• One trailer consisted just of a black screen
while the main character, heather, asked for
forgiveness. With another trailer consisting of
the police search for the missing people. Both
trailers are described as chilling.