The Blair Witch Project and Bridget Jones’s Diary are two films which conform or subvert Hollywood filmmaking standards and techniques. Both films have very different storylines and the making of both are at the other ends of the scale in comparison.
Bridget Jones’s Diary is a film which conforms to Hollywood filmmaking standards. The light-heartedness allows males and females of any age to enjoy this film. Following a clear storyline, the film allows the viewers to keep an understanding of the events that are unfolding throughout. The character of ‘Bridget Jones’, played by actress Renée Zellweger, is easy to relate to. The situations that she is put in and the series of events that happen to her through the film could by all means happen in everyday life and this link between character and audience allows a bond and fondness to be created towards the character. We can sympathise with her and imagine ourselves in her position. The ‘Bridget Jones’ character captivates the audience and allows the viewers to escape into her world for the ninety seven minutes that the film is on for. The film techniques that are used allow the viewer to follow the film like real life and don’t give the impression that the whole thing is a construction just for our viewing pleasure. The film has a seamless plot which ultimately ends in a positive result, not a cliff hanger that leaves the audience having to create their own ending. Bridget Jones’s Diary is a great example of a film which conforms to Hollywood filmmaking standards. It is an enjoyable, light-hearted, romantic comedy which allows the audience to escape whilst it is on and create a knowing bond with the characters throughout the film.
The Blair Witch Project is on the other scale and subverts Hollywood filmmaking standards and techniques. The main aspect of the film is to create fear, and make the audience feel like these events are actually happening and that they could happen again to them, however, the camerawork and general making of the film is difficult to follow and keep up with. The film is obviously portrayed as a home video and the actors are made to look like it is their handiwork, the method is in a way effective but the audience miss out on a lot of images and scenes which would help with the story. The flow of images broadcast is not seamless; they are edgy and create a sensation of being on some sort of ride. The illusion of the film being a homemade movie is meant to be the beauty of spurring fear in the viewers but the whole film being shot in the woods is confusing and hard to follow. The actors and actress that are shown in the film are trying to show a series of events that happened to them at the time they happened. We see the fear and helplessness of their situation but we don’t and aren’t really given the opportunity to relate to the characters and there is no link with the audience. The Blair Witch Project is a good example of a film which subverts Hollywood filmmaking standards and techniques. Although the effect of the film is to scare, the audience are primarily left confused and annoyed as there is no real ending to the film, just a strange shot leaving the audience to guess what happened next.
Both films were hugely successful whether or not they did conform or subvert Hollywood filmmaking standards and techniques. Each captivated the audience in a different way and although Bridget Jones’s Diary had the ending that was more accepted and enjoyable, The Blair Witch Project gave the viewer a new way of watching films and introduced a way of filming which has inspired some other great movies to adapt and take this method of filming and make it conform more to Hollywood standards.
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