The blair witch project is the story of three student filmmakers, heather donahue, joshua leonard and michael c. There was already a sequel to the blair witch project, but the less said about book of shadows. The marketing, which went viral even before viral marketing was a buzz. When their investigation agency books a walkin client, angel, cordelia, and doyle couldnt be happier. Were going back into the woods to revisit the blair witch project and talk to the creators about how the movie made us think it was real. The collected data found in this dossier lends more eerie authenticity. To clarify right out of the gate, im not talking about the marketing campaign of the blair witch project. A decade after the blair witch project possessed the boxoffice, a new indie horror film is building similar buzz. As blair witch 2016 takes to the box office, the drum catches up with of one of the creators behind the original movies website to find out how the film kickstarted a viral marketing trend that. The challenge of following up the most effective marketing campaign ever inside the blair witch marketing campaign, and the difficulty of following a.
The low budget horror film, the blair witch project, was one of the biggest success stories in film history based on the ratio of production cost to revenue. The blair witch project alternate endings were filmed. Campfire was born from our passion for storytelling. The simple and extremely costeffective campaign was done through a means of the internet. How 1999s the blair witch project foretold hollywoods. If you were wondering about ihop becoming ihob, remember red bull dropping a guy from space, or were conned by the blair witch project, be aware that theres a long history of companies pulling crazy marketing stunts for a little attention from consumers. But if you think it was just a movie, youd be mistaken. Williams, and joshua leonardwho hike in the black hills near burkittsville, maryland in 1994 to film a documentary about a local legend known as. Parents need to know that the blair witch project is a 1999 foundfootage horror movie in which three film students attempt to film a documentary about the strange and terrifying murders that have taken place in some woods in rural maryland. That in itself was one of the best marketing campaigns of. Directors eduardo sanchez and gregg hale edited the footage and released it as the movie titled the blair witch project.
The film was immediately greenlit upon pitch due to the surprising success of its predecessor, the wildly successful 1999 film the blair witch project. The blair witch project came out of nowhere and though the movie, itself, was certainly a unique thrill ride, it owes a whole lot of its success to its mockumentarystyle promotion and guerrilla marketing campaign. One film was a revelation of cinema which shook the world at the time and created such panic and fear that the effects of the film can still be felt today. O n a recent trip to the states, a group of us decided to take in a movie.
The film which is usually thanked andor blamed for this trend is the blair witch project. We studied the movie due to its use of handheld cameras, and because it was a. However, the film proved that viral marketing campaigns are a crucial aspect of contemporary film promotion. The internet is now an essential part of all marketing strategies in the movie industry but it was the 1999 phenomenon that was the blair witch project that is credited with being the first movie. Williams, and joshua leonardwho hike in the black hills near burkittsville, maryland in 1994 to film a documentary about a local legend known as the blair witch.
The blair witch project a stanford graduate school of. Why more movies need to adopt blair witchs marketing nat brehmer january 23, 2017 no comments 71 views 0 likes. Although the movie itself may not have turned out as great as all the hype, the blair witch project is considered by some myself included as the greatest marketing. I think the blair witch project was the first example of what the power of fandom would do in hollywood, said monello, now the founder of. Did the blair witch project fake its online fan base. Many were duped by the convincing campaign, with only the appearance of the films actors on news and entertainment. How the blair witch project made people think it was real. The blair witch project is a 1999 american supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by daniel myrick and eduardo sanchez.
Ive heard many people talk about how they detested this film. We already had some buzz going into the sundance film festival. Stern compiled this dossier, unearthing deeper mysteries surrounding the students disappearance. Okay, its sort of farfetched to claim that the dark knight was directly inspired by the blair witch project. Though the blair witch project took only eight days to film and had a shooting budget of. The hype surrounding the blair witch project is a rare phenomenon in which a purely fictitious film sorry to burst the occult lovers bubble, but there is no blair witch myth. Goodreads members who liked the blair witch project also liked. A complete guide to the blair witch mythology screen rant. The movie s marketing campaign was designed to convince the public that the footage was real through extensive online lore around the fictional legend of the blair witch and missing posters featuring the actors distributed at screenings. In case you missed it first time around, heres a quick rundown of the movie. They buried their actors and asked them not to show up until their lie came out first out in the open. The blair witch project created buzz at the 1999 sundance film festival, where it screened as a midnight movie. The original blair witch project was the first movie that gained infamy on the internet.
Williams, who are investigating the supernatural legend known as the blair witch in the town of burkittsville, maryland. Inspired designs on tshirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. The freak success of paranormal activity the atlantic. Why more movies need to adopt blair witchs marketing.
Of course, we were all gagging to see the blair witch project wed bought into the months of buzz that had already. Blair witch is already generating way more positive buzz than that mess. Oooh, so about 56 years ago i had to study the blair witch project movie as part of my a level media studies course, and i became absolutely hooked for a short time. Hell donahues mother would even receive sympathy cards. How the original blair witch project ushered in a new era. High quality the blair witch project gifts and merchandise. Blair witch 2 is a 2000 american psychological horror film, directed and cowritten by joe berlinger and starring jeffrey donovan, stephen barker turner, kim director, erica leerhsen, and tristine skyler. Released in october 1999, it wasnt the first foundfootage horror movie. It was a tale that evolved in the press and online and through genre fans and dozens of other little experiences to create an experience much larger than any single film could contain. The marketing strategy for the blair witch project is an ingenious campaign that really worked incredibly well for the film. Bbc culture was the blair witch project the last great. It tells the fictional story of three student filmmakers heather donahue, michael c.
They had thought it all through, to make a hoax so palpable that the whole world would believe it. Upon release, the blair witch project quickly became a phenomenon. The blair witch projects marketing was beyond that. I kind of thought the blair witch project was real. The blair witch project alternate endings were filmed once the distributor found audiences just as confused as they were scared by the original ending. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. The roots of the woods movie, which would later become the blair witch project, were first cemented in 1993. Williams, and joshua leonard who hike in the black hills near burkittsville, maryland in 1994 to film a documentary about a local legend known as the blair witch. Chat sites started picking up rumours of three college kids who were lost in the woods while on a film school.
Though the buzz finally is dying down, blair witch continues to scare the hell out of the conservative marketing community in hollywood. The viral marketing for blair witch is as mind boggling. Books similar to the blair witch project goodreads. Ed sanchez remembers the night in 1998 when he walked through desolate maryland woods at about 3 a. Whitney tyler is a beautiful, widely adored actress who plays a vampire on a popular television examines paranormal phenomena including the existence of spirits, esp, mystic powers, psychics. As one of the originators of viral marketing, the blair witch projects inventive campaign featured fake police reports and interviews all indicating that the events depicted in the upcoming horror film were genuine. Halloween 90s kids were terrified by the blair witch, but heres the story behind the movie.
The most successful viral marketing campaign of all time centred on a small, lowbudget indie flick in 1999 called the blair witch project. Groundbreaking for its time its use of handheld cameras found one year after the disappearance of the filmmakers caused quite a buzz. I believe your enjoyment of the blair witch project is directly related to when you saw it. It was 15 years ago when the blair witch project was killing it at the box office, generating buzz and excitement over what we know now as one of the best stunts in movie history. The movie and this scene in particular became a pop culture touchpoint. Find books like the blair witch project from the worlds largest community of readers. With the prerelease buzz of the blair witch project reaching record highs. It tells the fictional story of three student filmmakersheather donahue, michael c. Watch the trailer for the blair witch sequel you didnt.
Cnn this witch boasting wicked marketing brew july. How we made the blair witch project film the guardian. The blair witch project haxanartisan eighteen years ago, a starfree indie movie called the blair witch project became the first movie to focus its marketing strategy around the then. Perhaps the most polarizing film on doctor gashs top 10 greatest horror moviesever. Revisiting one of the best viral marketing campaigns of.
777 1511 1505 193 494 511 379 102 751 505 524 1584 103 871 1113 528 59 1021 1440 89 989 1054 36 867 175 1088 1049 205 749 1437 1132 1273 1051 1063 1436 1268 322 1302 1394 226 863 886 1361 38 1019