In preparation for this project, I decided to watch the found footage horror movie that started it all; "The Blair Witch Project". Of course, I had heard numbers about the effect of the film. An old friend of mine had an uncle that worked in movie theatres at the time of it's release, and he described the experience as stressful and horrid. I always carried that conversation with me, and after finally getting around to watching "The Blair Witch Project" for the first time, I can see why it was such a big success.
Even by today's standards, there is still nothing quite like it. Maybe it's because of the use of intense improvisation, something that gives the film an intense sense of realism. The closest thing I can compare it to, considering my lack of knowledge within the genre, is "Marble Hornets". Alas, I will not get into my favourite internet horror ARG just yet. I shall save that for a later blog post, one you will be seeing later today.
However, upon watching "The Blair Witch Project", an issue has cropped up within my own; how do I handle the credits? Part of what makes the film so believable is the lack of opening credits, instead beginning with a statement informing the audience of the backstory concerning the characters and their disappearance before cutting to Heather informing whoever is holding the camera about her documentary. I took notes on this as well, which go more in-depth on my credits crisis.
The sad conclusion is that I will not be able to create such an intense atmosphere, or at least an atmosphere to my liking, if I have to ruin it by telling the audience that this isn't real. There are some ways around this, such as having the film slowly switch from found footage to a professionally-filmed movie the longer it goes on (an idea I had the previous night while trying to come up with a remedy for this situation). The main problem with that is it's a change made throughout the course of an ENTIRE film, not one I can make within a two-minute opening without making it feel rushed.
Right now, my only option is to include credits, which is something I'm not too excited about. I already have an idea of how to implement this, though it would force me to follow along with "Exploration #4" (see my previous post) as my main source of inspiration for the project. In between the sporadic shots of my opening, I could include the proper credits. It's not the best considering the believable tone I wish to set, but it will have to do. Who would've thought, sacrificing tone for a good grade.
No comments:
Post a Comment