Opening Sequence Analysis – The Blair Witch Project

The movie first of all opens up with the creators of the film and then opens up with the title of the movie, the text in which it is shown is shaky and is shown with little colour and basic text font to show some uneasiness and to show that the movie is going to be a horror movie, the fact that there is also no sound during this next part also presents some sort of uneasiness. The text that follows explains when the movie is set and where it is set, it also explains to us that the characters in the movie are amateurs filming a documentary project which also shows us that they are vulnerable and aren’t too prepared to what is going to happen, the text also again shows shakiness and a lack of colour and sound to show the uneasiness and gives us hints that something bad will happen which is also shown directly in the text when it says that they go missing.

As the movie begins we also see how the people are amateurs by the quality and camera action by the person holding the camera at the start and the out of focus shot, there is then an example of a zoom out use of shot as the person holding the camera zooms out the shot to show the character from the waist up which is an example of a medium shot and the camera then pans to the right and back again to show the room where they are. The way that the character that is being filmed opens up the film by informally ‘introducing’ the audience to her home which setting we wouldn’t expect in a professional documentary. The clothing of the character being filmed is also a lot more casual then we would expect from a professional film and the posture she is in

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The opening title and text that’s sets the movie’s date and location and also presents some uneasiness with the dark colour and shakiness and blurred text.

also shows us that these characters are only students and aren’t actually professionals. The curtains are shut and outside is overcast and cloudy so little sunlight is getting into the house, the only light that is visible is the lighting of the room without any film lighting equipment, dark lighting again gives us a dark feeling that something bad is going to happen to these students there is also a dark and bland use of colour in this scene with only dark colours or white. The makeup used by the character in shot is also very casual and the sound starts off at being quiet and as the camera is raised we begin to hear very loud background noises showing us that no editing or sound cancellation has been used which again shows us that this is an unprofessional project and an unfinished project that has been filmed which again then refers back to the vulnerability of these characters and that something bad can easily happen to them as they are unprepared and without any other help except for the three characters in the movie, the short dialogue that is also exchanged during this scene also shows us the informality but also the relationship of the characters.

This scene then quickly changes to the next without any warning or transition which again shows us that there has been no editing work involved in the filming of this movie and again adds to the effect and realism of the way this movie has been presented – of footage that has been found and then just put together and shown which again adds to the horror that these students have went missing. This next scene shows us that the film is based off of a myth and uses a point of view shot to show the various books that are titled ‘How to stay alive in the woods’ which shows us that these characters are going to be camping out in the woods and adds a small amount of humour as the audience

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The out of focus, zoomed in and off centred opening shot to the movie as explained in the paragraph above.

The casual makeup, clothing and posture as described in the paragraph above and the dark colours and dark lighting.

already know that these students are actually missing and that something bad has happened to them. Although this scene is much more colourful than the last due to the colour of the books there is still dark colour and dark lighting and we can only see the hand of the main character and she is wearing a glove and what looks like a woolly jumper which shows us that the weather is quite cold and again adds to this uneasiness as we would usually think of cold, foggy and darkness to lead to something bad and again this adds to the horror of the movie. The use of the location of ‘Coffin Rock’ also adds to the sense of horror as we link the word ‘Coffin’ the idea of death.

The next scene again opens up without a transition and includes dialogue between the characters that show us the good relationship that these characters have with each other. The woolly and layers of clothing used by the other character in the movie again show us that the weather is quite dull and cold and the lack of sunlight also shows us this which sets the scene for a horror movie. In this scene we also have an over the shoulder shot so we can see the character’s clothing and also that he is working on the camera.

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The point of view shot used to show off the books that the character is talking about.

The frame then skips to when he has the camera working and is using it to film the other person behind the camera and the shot then switches to his view of filming her which shows us the clothing of her and whilst doing this it also changes the colour to black and white which shows us that the type of camera they have has added effects that will also change the atmosphere later in the movie.

The scene after that then has some dialogue that says that there will be a new character, the scene afterwards then introduces this next character where more informal dialogue is swapped between the characters in the car to show their relationship. The music playing in the car also sets the date as it isn’t modern music and it also shows the personality of the characters as it is the type of music you would expect these teenagers to be listening to and it is typically

stereotypical music taste, the skeleton on the wall next to the entrance of the house when the new character is shown also presents to us (in addition to the date the footage was filmed) that the movie is set at Halloween which again sets up the horror theme of the movie, the colour and lighting of this scene also appears to be dark which adds to this sense of horror, the clothing worn by this new character also shows us

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The switch between the two cameras as I mentioned in the paragraph above that includes medium shots of both characters to show what they are wearing and their environment.

the temperature as he is wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a high collar and jeans.

This scene then changes to when they are in the car and the vocabulary and dialogue used also presents the informality of these characters and the documentary they are making and that the footage hasn’t been edited to cut out these parts and instead has all been thrown together because of what has happened to them, outside the car look bright and sunny but this contrasts with the darkness in the car.

The next scene then shows the characters buying food for their camping trip, this scene has quite a lot of light and bright colours to maybe show the safety of civilization before they go out into the woods where the colours are much more brown and bland and where there is low key lighting.

After the characters are going to their next location, there is then another hint towards the date in which it is set from the Halloween decorations outside and the comments of the characters on these decorations that once again explain to the audience that this is a horror movie. The scene after that again then shows a woman being questioned about the myth of the area that they are going to investigate, we can tell that she is a local woman by the way she is dressed in uniform like clothing which shows us that she works in this

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The change in lighting and colour, now showing a much brighter setting and brighter colours – yellow and red.

restaurant, although she doesn’t have any idea about the myth by her response and her confused facial expressions which adds some mystery into the film as we don’t actually get told what the opinions are of other people. The scene inside the restaurant also has a lot of Halloween decorations and returns back to the darker lighting as they begin to talk about the myth again.

The next scene has the main characters discussing how Halloween affects the horror of the documentary and how this will affect the atmosphere of the documentary which links back to my point made, during this short discussion we also get a close up on the face of the girl talking to maybe highlight this discussions importance for later in the movie or to show off her facial expressions when she is talking.

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The darker lighting and decorations and facial expressions as described in the paragraph above.

There is then a sudden change as the colours once again change to black and white as it shows the teenagers preparing for their first documentary filming and again this adds to the horror effect as black and white are colours that we would expect from horror as it isn’t too bright and it looks dull and dark to add to the atmosphere as well as the film grain that appears to be showing.

The scene afterwards then shows us a graveyard which is a typical horror movie setting and adds to the feeling of death and tension that has been building up during this opening sequence.

The ending scene of this opening sequence then adds to a large amount of horror as the main character is describing the graveyard and the population that have lived in that location. There is a lot of

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description of death and of children that have died and been buried in the graveyard which adds some disturbing feeling. The black and white film grain also then adds to this horrific atmosphere. The lack of sound apart from the slow dialogue and the way the character speaks also adds to this sense of horror and uneasiness along with the explanation that there is something strange about the area.

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