Textual Analysis: The Blair Witch

ProjectBy Emma Weeks

Basic formatting• The way that the credits are

written onto props in the set such as rocks and leaves fits with the idea that this film is from the found footage genre and takes place predominately in the isolation if the wild.

• The scraggly hand writing used for the labels helps to allow the piece to conform to the horror genre due to the messy sprawling font which may be associated with the unbalanced mental state of the writer and subsequent danger.

Crediting• Specific roles are credited

throughout the opening credits which helps to give the film a more personal feel.

• An example of this would be the crediting of the films “photography” which may not be credited in may other films opening credits.

Studio recognition

• The studio is noted here on a rock near the beginning of the credit sequence.

Film title

• The film title if featured in the same way that roles are credited and the studio is referenced.

Barthes Semantic Code: Connotations within the story

which provide additional meaning beyond the denotative meaning

of the action.

Mise en scene• A feeling of isolation and

claustrophobia is created throughout the text through the use of shots of abandoned buildings and shots of the forest canopy.

• The lack of humans and animals in the sequence adds to the idea of isolation and makes the audience uneasy.

Editing• Shaken distortion and

faded transitions are combined to convey the eerie tone of the film to the audience and to set the tone for the films genre of horror.

• The writing on the forest objects has been overlaid in the editing process to create a more stark and unsettling contrast between humanity and nature.

Lighting • Natural bright lighting is

used but the shots are generally claustrophobic due to the constricting forest canopy.

• Near the end of the credits the sequence moves inside which allows for ominous spotlight lighting which creates an air of mystery and horror due to the fear that the audience may feel as they do not know what is happening in the shot outside of the spotlight of light.

Audio

• A composition with a rapid tempo is implemented in the opening sequence this rapid tempo creates suspense in the audience as it somewhat mimics rapid breathing and a rapid heart beat.

Camera shots• A number of shots are used

throughout the piece however the most relevant shots to mention are the close shots which are employed to allow the camera to focus on the credit writing.

• The camera work is all shaky in order to reference the fact that this film is made up of found footage.