Hollywood Director 1992

Link spent five days editing the entire film. After watching it once, he felt it was pretty good, even better than the original he had seen.

There were three good points.

The plot and pacing were tighter, unlike the original, which had many boring segments that made you want to skip them.

Secondly, Renée Zellweger, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck gave better, more realistic, and more engaging performances in the film.

Also, Link and Sofia's filmmaking techniques were more advanced.

The camera work, pacing, lighting, sound, prop design, and atmosphere were all more mature.

This made the overall atmosphere of the film more suspenseful and terrifying than the original.

There were also downsides.

The film felt heavily designed. Cutting out large chunks of boring plot made the story tighter and more dramatic.

This approach could increase the entertainment value and horror effect in other films, but it also weakened the authenticity of the pseudo-documentary to some extent.

This was also influenced by Sofia.

After he suggested the 'Yakuza Style' filming method to Sofia, she asked him in return, if reality and horror conflicted, which should take precedence?

The pursuit of a Yakuza Style film should only have one goal.

After careful consideration, Link chose horror.

"The Blair Witch Project" is a horror film, and horror is the main selling point, while 'reality' is a promotional tool and also serves the 'horror'.

Because everyone hears that it is a real documentary, they will be more curious and have a sense of immersion when watching it.

The purpose of immersing the audience is to make them feel horror.

After determining that 'reality' should serve 'horror', he chose to sacrifice some authenticity to make the film more terrifying whenever reality and horror conflicted during filming.

Whether this was a good approach or not would only be determined after the film was completed and the system's evaluation was available.

After editing the film, Link handed it over to the production department for post-production, including adjusting the sound channels, brightness, clarity, opening and closing credits, etc., and digitizing it to create a format that could be shown in theaters.

The production department completed it in five days.

Link called Sofia, Danny DeVito, and Jon Gordon to hold a small internal screening in the company's screening room.

The film was 83 minutes long.

Like "Paranormal Activity", it was also a horror type.

The difference was that in "Paranormal Activity", the female lead, Katie, wanted to escape the evil spirit but couldn't, while "The Blair Witch Project" was actively searching for the witch.

"Paranormal Activity" took place in a villa, a small space, relying on sound and traces to create a sense of oppression.

"The Blair Witch Project" existed in a larger area. Because the witch could use witchcraft to prevent people who entered the forest from leaving, it was actually a closed space.

In addition, "The Blair Witch Project" was filmed in autumn and winter, and the withered and dark forest and cold weather could also add a sense of gloom and horror.

The two films also had similarities.

Both used handheld cameras and were pseudo-documentary style films. "The Blair Witch Project" was relatively more realistic and easier to believe.

There were not many actors in the films. "Paranormal Activity" had two, and "The Blair Witch Project" had three.

Both featured a very curious person who caused the disaster. "Paranormal Activity" had the male lead, Micah, and "The Blair Witch Project" had the female lead, Annie.

Also, the 'monsters' in the films were all invisible, allowing people to hear the sounds and see the terrifying scenes they created, but not see the entity.

These films mainly rely on the audience's imagination.

Viewers who are good at using their imagination will be very scared, while those who are not good at it or do not know much about the Blair Witch will find the film very boring.

"What do you think?"

After the film screening, Link asked Sofia Coppola, Danny DeVito, and the others for their opinions.

"What do you think yourself?"

Sofia asked.

"Perfect score."

"So confident?"

Sofia shook her head, "My opinion of this film is not so positive. The plot in the last twenty minutes or so is quite scary, but the first few tens of minutes are relatively boring, and those shaky shots make people dizzy. This kind of film is suitable for releasing videotapes. If it is released in theaters, not many people will go to see it."

"You're too demanding of the film. I said this film is made for ordinary people, and ordinary people here include those with low education levels, those who have not received higher education, and those who are superstitious and don't believe in science.

The literacy rate in the United States is only 69%, with 31% of the population illiterate, which is close to 100 million people.

As long as we can deceive, no, attract them to the cinema to watch the movie, the box office of this movie will not be too bad."

In the film industry, some films have high box office revenues, while others have low box office revenues. A big reason for this is the different target audiences.

Commercial films have a larger target audience, the entire population.

Therefore, the things explained in commercial films cannot be too profound, the satisfying and funny parts cannot be too obscure, and the undressing cannot be half-covered.

You have to try your best to make everyone understand and enjoy it.

Art films target intellectuals, a niche group. The camera language, plot, and themes can be expressed more obscurely, giving people some space to think.

For example, the male and female leads in commercial films are handsome men and beautiful women, and the selling points are more clear, satisfying, sexy, and explosive enough.

The male and female leads in art films need to have acting skills, and the things they show need to be profound enough to make people think about them endlessly.

If a commercial film is filmed too obscurely and profoundly, ordinary viewers will not be able to understand the satisfying parts, like spending money but not getting laid.

For this kind of movie, the audience will only call it a bad movie.

Many directors still feel wronged and think that the audience's level is not high enough.

Correspondingly, if an art film is told too bluntly and the actors' acting skills are too bad, it will also be criticized as a bad film by audiences with higher appreciation levels.

"Paranormal Activity" and "The Blair Witch Project" are both aimed at ordinary audiences with lower appreciation levels.

The selling point is horror and suspense.

There is not much obscure and profound content.

Being frightened after watching it is the gain.

You can't ask for too much else.

Sofia thinks that the first half is boring, which means that she is not the target audience of this film.

"So, in order to attract ordinary viewers, you deliberately made the film like this? That is to say, you have the ability to make it better?"

Sofia asked.

"No. Do you know the difference between me and most directors in the industry? I'm not an academic. My professional knowledge and cultural level are lower than theirs. It's unlikely that I can make something too profound."

"I don't believe it. I've been in Hollywood for more than ten years and have worked with many directors. Your ability to train actors and use the camera ranks in the top five of the directors I know. And you're someone who can write "Paranormal Activity", "The Blair Witch Project", and "Interstellar". You're telling me that you're not good enough?"

Sofia pointed her index finger at him and shook it.

Link laughed, "Screenwriter and director are different. With my current ability, I'm more confident in making this level of film. It would be more difficult to make films of a higher level. That's why I've told you many times that I still need to practice."

"In the future, when you've practiced and have confidence, will you make high-level films?"

"Of course, my goal is the Oscar for Best Director and a Grand Slam of the European Three Film Festivals' Director Awards. It won't be easy to win those awards without making some high-level works."

"Haha, you have big ambitions. Then keep it up. I'm optimistic about you."

Sofia bumped him with her shoulder, slightly playfully.