Stern compiled this dossier, unearthing deeper mysteries surrounding the students disappearance. 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. The blair witch project is a 1999 american supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by daniel myrick and eduardo sanchez. Blair witch is already generating way more positive buzz than that mess. That in itself was one of the best marketing campaigns of. The challenge of following up the most effective marketing campaign ever inside the blair witch marketing campaign, and the difficulty of following a. Revisiting one of the best viral marketing campaigns of. Inspired designs on tshirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. The blair witch project created buzz at the 1999 sundance film festival, where it screened as a midnight movie. Perhaps the most polarizing film on doctor gashs top 10 greatest horror moviesever. They buried their actors and asked them not to show up until their lie came out first out in the open.
However, the film proved that viral marketing campaigns are a crucial aspect of contemporary film promotion. It tells the fictional story of three student filmmakersheather donahue, michael c. Williams, and joshua leonardwho hike in the black hills near burkittsville, maryland in 1994 to film a documentary about a local legend known as. Halloween 90s kids were terrified by the blair witch, but heres the story behind the movie. Cnn this witch boasting wicked marketing brew july. In case you missed it first time around, heres a quick rundown of the movie. How we made the blair witch project film the guardian. The blair witch project alternate endings were filmed. It tells the fictional story of three student filmmakers heather donahue, michael c. I kind of thought the blair witch project was real. Directors eduardo sanchez and gregg hale edited the footage and released it as the movie titled the blair witch project.
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. The marketing strategy for the blair witch project is an ingenious campaign that really worked incredibly well for the film. A complete guide to the blair witch mythology screen rant. But if you think it was just a movie, youd be mistaken. 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. How the original blair witch project ushered in a new era. Groundbreaking for its time its use of handheld cameras found one year after the disappearance of the filmmakers caused quite a buzz. Why more movies need to adopt blair witchs marketing nat brehmer january 23, 2017 no comments 71 views 0 likes. Filmmaker russ gomm takes a look at the phenomena of the blair witch project through the eyes of a fan who was captivated by the unusual promotional strategy that led up to the release. Hell donahues mother would even receive sympathy cards. Books similar to the blair witch project goodreads. The most successful viral marketing campaign of all time centred on a small, lowbudget indie flick in 1999 called the blair witch project.
Campfire was born from our passion for storytelling. 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 blair witch project is the story of three student filmmakers, heather donahue, joshua leonard and michael c. Goodreads members who liked the blair witch project also liked. 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. How 1999s the blair witch project foretold hollywoods. 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. Upon release, the blair witch project quickly became a phenomenon. The viral marketing for blair witch is as mind boggling. 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. The blair witch projects marketing was beyond that. Did the blair witch project fake its online fan base.
The marketing, which went viral even before viral marketing was a buzz. Released in october 1999, it wasnt the first foundfootage horror movie. The film was immediately greenlit upon pitch due to the surprising success of its predecessor, the wildly successful 1999 film the blair witch project. Buzz worthy the way the film was made is the kind of lowbudget trivia that has added to the buzz surrounding it. 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. We already had some buzz going into the sundance film festival. How the blair witch project made people think it was real. There was already a sequel to the blair witch project, but the less said about book of shadows. 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. 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. The film which is usually thanked andor blamed for this trend is the blair witch project. 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.
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. Okay, its sort of farfetched to claim that the dark knight was directly inspired by the blair witch project. Ive heard many people talk about how they detested this film. Bbc culture was the blair witch project the last great. Though the blair witch project took only eight days to film and had a shooting budget of. Williams, who are investigating the supernatural legend known as the blair witch in the town of burkittsville, maryland. To clarify right out of the gate, im not talking about the marketing campaign of the blair witch project. With the prerelease buzz of the blair witch project reaching record highs. The roots of the woods movie, which would later become the blair witch project, were first cemented in 1993. When their investigation agency books a walkin client, angel, cordelia, and doyle couldnt be happier. 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. Of course, we were all gagging to see the blair witch project wed bought into the months of buzz that had already.
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. The simple and extremely costeffective campaign was done through a means of the internet. They had thought it all through, to make a hoax so palpable that the whole world would believe it. Find books like the blair witch project from the worlds largest community of readers. The blair witch project alternate endings were filmed once the distributor found audiences just as confused as they were scared by the original ending. Though the buzz finally is dying down, blair witch continues to scare the hell out of the conservative marketing community in hollywood. Watch the trailer for the blair witch sequel you didnt. I believe your enjoyment of the blair witch project is directly related to when you saw it. 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. O n a recent trip to the states, a group of us decided to take in a movie. The collected data found in this dossier lends more eerie authenticity. A decade after the blair witch project possessed the boxoffice, a new indie horror film is building similar buzz. 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.
High quality the blair witch project gifts and merchandise. Why more movies need to adopt blair witchs marketing. The movie and this scene in particular became a pop culture touchpoint. The freak success of paranormal activity the atlantic. The original blair witch project was the first movie that gained infamy on the internet. 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. 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 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. Chat sites started picking up rumours of three college kids who were lost in the woods while on a film school.
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. Ed sanchez remembers the night in 1998 when he walked through desolate maryland woods at about 3 a. We studied the movie due to its use of handheld cameras, and because it was a. Many were duped by the convincing campaign, with only the appearance of the films actors on news and entertainment. 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.
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