In my early days of filmmaking, I dreaded improvisation. The fact that anything can be left to be figured out on set never made any sense to me. I even low-key considered it to be a sign of laziness.While I still believe in preparation, films like Casablanca and The Blair Witch Project have pulled me down off my high horse, forcing me to look at the brighter side of improvisation. They are a testament to the power of improvisation, as both include improvisation and are milestone films in the history of cinema.In one of our previous articles, we examined how Casablanca leveraged improvisation in its narrative.In this article, we examine the behind-the-scenes of a pioneer in found-footage filmmaking, The Blair Witch Project, and assess the role of improvisation in it.A Quick RecapThe Blair Witch Project follows three film students who venture into the Maryland woods to document the Blair Witch, but they never return. The story is presented through footage retrieved from their Handycam long after their disappearance.How the Blair Witch Directors Relied on Improvisation1. A Script Without DialogueWhile an average screenplay is somewhere between 100 and 120 pages, The Blair Witch Project was only 35 pages in its original draft. This was because the script had essentially no dialogue."We had always wanted the dialogue to be improvised. We didn't want to put those kinds of limitations on the actors. The prime directive was not to give away anything that was fiction," Eduardo Sanchez said in an interview with The...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Thursday, 5 February