Spatial and temporal design elements in film production collaboration

¶ … action-packed sequel to the Expendables (2010), The Expendables 2 expands on Stallone's action-packed script and introduces even more action stars of the 80s and 90s. The Expendables 2 brings back Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture, with expanded roles played by Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. In addition to this impressive cast, The Expendables 2 also features performances by Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Through The Expendables 2's mise-en-scene, the audience is exposed to a non-stop, action-packed, adrenaline fueled adventure.

While Stallone directed the first film, Stallone passed the directorial torch to Simon West for the sequel. As a director, West was charged with guiding "the actors in performance, [determining] the staging of the action, [supervising] all aspects of shooting, and [working] with the producer, writer, and designer before production and with the film and sound editors after production to ensure consistency and excellence of the movie as well as the best possible use of personnel, materials, and resources provided by the producer" (Mast & Kawin, 2003, p. 681).

The art director and production designer also play an important role in making sure a film is a unified and cohesive work of art. An art director is responsible for designing a film's sets and determining a film's set decor (Mast & Kawin, 2003, p. 678). The Expendable 2's (2012) art direction was helmed by Adam A. Makin, Ivailo Nikolov, Ivan Ranghelov, and Sonya Savova.

The production designer is "an art director responsible for designing the complete look of a film, coordinating and integrating its sets, dressings, props, costumes, and color schemes" (Mast & Kawin, 2003, p. 687). Paul Cross served as The Expendable 2's (2012) production designer.

In The Expendable 2 scene titled "You've Been Back Enough," the Expendables -- Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Norris, Willis, and Schwarzenegger -- are about to have a showdown with Jean Vilain, an international crime leader and arms dealer. From the beginning of the clip, it is evident that the Expendables are going to ambush Vilain and his cohorts and that the ensuing battle will be over the top and highly destructive, the ultimate public showdown. The mise-en-scene in this sequence is established through framing and shot design, and costuming. The framing of the film sequence establishes that there are two opposing forces that are about to collide. While Vilain and company's presence is enough to clear the airport terminal, they are unaware that the Expendables are lying in wait ready to take them down. In the film, the Expendables are prepared to take down Vilain as they hide behind a glass wall and commence shooting as soon as they have their enemy in sight. The glass wall is opaque to not only hide their identity, but can also be seen as the gray moral area in which they are always forced to operate. As the action begins to pick up speed, each character is seen to attack using his or her specialty, whether it is guns, knives, martial arts, "defensive" driving, or a combination thereof.