“I think [the ladder sequence] is interesting because it’s a combination of a practical location and a stage build,” Brett Jutkiewicz explained. “So basically, when we’re outside and we’re seeing all the wide shots of the space, the shot from overhead looking down, that’s all on the real location. We found the exterior real location first, and the art department built the top two floors actually on stage, the exterior of that.”
The challenge came with having to make the constant shots back and forth between the location and the stage feel seamless, so the audience wouldn’t pick up on any of what was going on behind the scenes. This was part of why they avoided using any green screen. “Credit goes to [directors] Matt and Tyler pushing to do that stuff on the practical location,” Jutkiewicz said, “because I don’t think you can ever really get that look with visual effects.”
“Scream VI” has gotten some flak for being the least New York-feeling New York in a long time; the movie was filmed in Montreal, Canada, and we can tell. But although the setting doesn’t always feel like Manhattan specifically, there’s never any doubt that the characters are really in an urban setting. The buildings and streets all feel real and lived in, which definitely pays off in scenes like this.