The Blair Witch Project — Viral Marketing

7 min readSep 15, 2018

The Power of Marketing and Myth

The paratexts of The Blair Witch Project (1999) shaped audience expectations of both the film itself, as well as the developments in digital cinema. The filmmakers used paratexts such as an informative website, found footage and photographs, and missing posters of the filmmakers themselves. The use of paratexts was starkly different from those of other films of the same release date such as The Matrix. Rather than using them to sell the film as The Matrix did, paratexts were used to enhance the world of the film, making it seem authentic, and this contrast emphasised the developments in digital cinema through rejecting certain technological developments.

Figure 2

The Filmmakers Website

Use of the internet for the viral marketing campaign, namely the films website, was credited for the films success (Telotte 2001, pp. 33). The website contained information about the filmmakers, as well as a timeline of events leading up to and following their disappearance. The website described that the movie depicted a documentary created by three film students who went missing, made up of found footage (Dobele, Toleman and Beverland 2005, pp. 146). It also contained information about the myth of the Blair Witch, false news reports and interviews, and evidence found by police. The website played a vital role in the success of the film, causing the public to question whether the film depicted reality or fiction. It created a backstory for the film, with information about the characters and the history, which greatly aided the marketing of the film as it was more complex than a typical Hollywood film that ends when the credits roll up (Thevenot and Watier 2001, pp. 9). The website excelled at this through its accessibility to the public, feeding them false information to bring them into the world of the film without even being aware of it.

Spreading of the Myth

The original website was created by the production team, but it was soon followed by websites created by fans who believed the myth to be true (Roscoe 2000, pp. 3–8). As well as this, a mailing list was formed (Dobele, Toleman and Beverland 2005, pp. 146) as well as chat rooms in which fans of the film could discuss theories and rumours surrounding it. These websites only worked to enhance the myth and rumour around the film, leading fans to expect a true horror story. They allowed people to respond to the film, and shaped the ways in which people would experience the film upon seeing it (Roscoe 2000, pp. 3–8). The websites created an online community of people discussing the film, exploring the information about it and coming up with their own theories as to whether it was true or not, and reinforced and scepticism the public may have had about the legitimacy of the film. It was effective due to its ability to immerse the audience in the reality of the film (Higley and Weinstock 2004, pp. 43), drawing people in to explore the site, encouraging them to discuss it with their friends and family. The real element of the films paratexts enhanced the fear surrounding the film itself, as people were able to empathise with the families who had ‘lost’ their children, and imagined themselves too becoming lost. The website become a part of the experience of the film (Higley and Weinstock 2004, pp.44), building upon it rather than just summarising the film.

Figure 4

The Offline Campaign

The offline campaign was equally important in ensuring the films cult status at the time, including missing posters handed out the the film screenings (Higley and Weinstock 2004, pp. 39), This use of paratext directed people to the website, not explicitly but through piquing their curiosity. The film was not pitched as a mockumentary, but rather as an authentic documentary (Higley and Weinstock 2004, pp. 42). The audience was led to believe through many types of paratext that what they would see was true. In the cinema itself this was emphasised by the use of hand-held cameras and ‘real’ reactions from the actors, who were not given a script (Telotte 2001, pp. 33).

Authentic Handheld Horror

The film itself was described by Banash (1999) as surpassing technology, and instead “returning…to an authentic psychological [horror]”, as it is presented as unmediated and authentic. The film rejected the use of a formal script, instead using what is described as “method filmmaking” (Schreier 2004, pp. 320), making the acting seem more natural and believable, as the actors had little knowledge of what was going to happen each day. The lack of script and formal structure made the film more believable as a found-footage documentary (McDowell and Myrick 2001, pp. 141) The production of the film also emphasised the developments in digital cinema by ignoring and rejecting them. The film was shot entirely on handheld, sixteen-millimeter film cameras, despite the availability of digital cameras and talented camera crews (Schreier 2004, pp. 320). This serves two purposes- firstly to immerse the audience into the world of the film as they watch it, increasing the authenticity and believability of the film as a whole. Secondly, this use of camera shows a clear rejection of filmmaking practices of the time- through the use of handheld cameras the audience’s attention is subtly drawn to the lack of quality of the filming, present in many other films. This contrast in quality of the film signposts just how far film had come in the previous decades by reverting back to outdated techniques. The audience was able to contrast this film with other of the same time period, and truly appreciate how far film had come through this comparison.

Figure 6

Rejecting Current Technology

The contrast between The Blair Witch Project and The Matrix, released in the same year, is significant. The Matrix is full to the brim with special effects, camera crews and well-known actors, whereas The Blair Witch Project is the polar opposite. The film itself acts as a contrast to the developments in digital technology through its rejection of them. The website for The Blair Witch Project was a source of information, simple to navigate and clearly laid out, supporting the film (Dobele et al. 2007, pp. 4). It endeavoured to amplify the film world, and influenced the audience to expect authenticity. In contrast to this, The Matrix’s original movie website was far more show-y, featuring games, animations and interactive features, it was far more exaggerated, effect-filled as the film itself was, and set up the audience to expect a typical Hollywood film. The effect on the audience was vastly different in these two cases- while The Matrix made use of every new development in digital cinema and obviously showed it to their audience, The Blair Witch Project more subtly accomplished this through its contrast again Hollywood films. The audience expected authenticity and believability, and this stark contrast highlighted digital cinema developments in a more indirect way.

In Conclusion

The Blair Witch Project used paratexts in an innovative way to enhance the experience of the audience whilst subtly and indirectly exposing the audience to developments in digital cinema. The films website was vital to the success of the film, as were the many fan websites that followed, opening up discussion in the community of film fans. Combined with their offline campaign including missing posters, the audience was left clueless as to whether the film was a true documentary or a fictional one. The rejection of a formal script and film crews further increased the believability of the film, and consequently the myth surrounding it. The use off film cameras contrasted against the current technology of the time, emphasising how far digital technology developments had come by rejecting them. The paratexts of The Blair Witch Project created awe and mystery surrounding the film, and through rejecting certain technological advancements and paratexts of the film emphasised the very developments that weren’t used.

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Bibliography

Dobele, A., Lindgreen, A., Beverland, M., Vanhamme, J. and Van Wijk, R., 2007. Why pass on viral messages? Because they connect emotionally. Business Horizons, 50(4), pp.291–304.

Dobele, A., Toleman, D. and Beverland, M., 2005. Controlled infection! Spreading the brand message through viral marketing. Business Horizons, 48(2), pp.143–149.

Banash, D.C., 1999. The Blair Witch Project: Technology, repression, and the evisceration of mimesis. Postmodern Culture, 10(1).

Higley, S.L. and Weinstock, J.A. eds., 2004. Nothing that is: Millennial cinema and the Blair Witch controversies. Wayne State University Press.

McDowell, S.D. and Myrick, D., 2001. Method Filmmaking: An Interview with Daniel Myrick, Co-Director of The Blair Witch Project. Journal of Film and Video, pp.140–147.

Roscoe, J., 2000. The Blair Witch Project. Mock-documentary goes mainstream. Jump Cut, 43, pp.3–8.

Schreier, M., 2004. “Please Help Me; All I Want to Know Is: Is It Real or Not?”: How Recipients View the Reality Status of The Blair Witch Project. Poetics Today, 25(2), pp.305–334.

Telotte, J.P., 2001. The Blair Witch Project Project: Film and the Internet. Film Quarterly, 54(3), pp.32–39.

Thevenot, C. and Watier, K., 2001. Viral marketing. Georgetown University, Communications, Culture & Technology Program, pp.1–15.