Scream 2 Elements of Design

Scream 2 Elements of Design I chose the movie clip from the film Scream 2. In this clip there is a movie preview of the movie Stab which is based on the book written by the reporter Gail Weathers from Scream 1. The setting is dark and rowdy with people running around joking. Some movie goers are dressed in the slasher attire complete with the mask and carrying plastic knives. They all seem to be horsing around, running, throwing popcorn, and emulating the slasher character with plastic knives. The camera focuses on a young couple, Maureen and Steven. Maureen is sitting alone when her “boyfriend” Steven with the slasher masked on came back to their seating area unbeknownst to her that her boyfriend was a victim of the real killer and is now dead. Upon her hugging him she finds blood on her hands and the real slasher immediately begins stabbing her multiple times. Although this murder happen in public view, the movie goers assumed it was a part of the show and did nothing as Maureen was killed.
The Scream 2 film was a horror flick in one of many other Scream series. The artists involved in the production of this film are; the director Wesley Craven, production designer Robert Zimebicki, and the art director Ted Berner. This team worked hand in hand to deliver a phenomenon horror film. The director Wesley Craven is not new to horror film making. He also is also popular for his direction and acting in the well known film series Nightmare on Elm Street. In the movie Scream as the director Mr. Craven was responsible for the proper administering the creative portion of the movie. He created the vision for the film by the writer’s thoughts and vision along with assistance from other production members. Creating the actual vision from book to film require precision and articulate vision. His job was to make the screenplay come to life on the big screen. This can be difficult at times if the director has a different view of things then the writer and other members. He worked hand in hand with the entire cast of actors and crewmembers to ensure the shape of the film. Wesley Craven stated the difficulties in the beginning
“By the time Ehren was writing, I was already kind of shooting. It was a difficult script to figure out, but Kevin was the one who laid out the master plan and all the characters and scenes, the beginning and almost all of the ending. What we had to figure out was the relationships of the characters, how Courtney and David would intermingle with the kids. That was the tricky thing. I also didn't have Courtney for more than a month, so I had to figure out how to use all of her time in places where we didn't even know what was going to happen yet, like in the ending.”
(Craven, 1997)
Mr. Craven continued his role as director after the production of the movie was completed. He ensured the passion of each character was reflected properly in particular scenes, lightings, and shots.
Robert Zimeicki had worked on many movie production sets before Scream. As the production designer for Scream 2 he worked closely with the production team. He was responsible for the overall settings. He was required to provide the crew and staff with specific visual for costume designing and make up. While helping to create character appearances in specific scenes, he worked with the director for special effects for the film.
Ted Berner as the art director for Scream 2 worked directly under the production designer. He was basically responsible for assigning tasks and ensuring budget is followed for the art department. He worked with the set designer to provide props, furniture for different scenes, and arrangement of sets. If there was an issue with certain set productions such as constructing that team reported to him for resolutions and guidance. The movie clip viewed shown the characters in different attire but mainly the males had on the original slasher attire. Costuming, makeup, and hairstyling can tell viewers some information about characters such as the symbolisms in a film, age, eras, or the image. “Costumes, props, and makeup give the viewer important information about characters that may never be spoken in the dialogue. Light, shadows, and colors, and even the position of characters on the set can suggest psychological feelings viewers should have about what is happening”
(Goodykoontz & Jacob, 2011, p 80).
The intensity of light provides meaning to the color, size, and contrast to reveal different views of specific scenes characters and settings of moods and feelings. The audiences have the opportunity to experience a wide range of emotions. In this clip of the movie low key lighting was utilized to heighten the dark mood. Mise en scene generated a horror aspect with the settings, props, and the audio effects of screaming sounds. The characters reflected that current time period of the movie’s release with clothing, hairstyles, and make up. Mise En Scene in ‘Scream’ creates the setting, which affected the target year, for example Scream was made in 1996 so the clothes worn by the characters reflect this time period. The frame was used properly for this scene and provided viewers with information about what is going on. The elements of this film came together and presented a well made film. The vision for this follow up movie was accurate and precise as a continuous storytelling of horror depictions and the mystery from the first Scream.