2008 Woodie Awards
A Clarkson Mosaic:
Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street
Matthew Lee
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Features
Wes Craven, author of A Nightmare on Elm Street, is arguably the most famous person to pass through the halls of Clarkson. A Clarkson Mosaic reveals that students were required to take humanities courses for four semesters in 1955. As the students entered their sophomore year, Humanities IV required them to "prepare an original creative project." This creative project would spawn the great series of horror films. These movies are what Craven is most well known for.
The section of A Clarkson Mosaic for 1955 explains that students enrolled in the course had a wide variety of choices for projects, including photography, poetry, sculptures, drawing, painting, and film. Three brothers of the Theta Chi fraternity, faced with these choices, approached a young Craven in search of help. They wanted Craven to aid them in producing a horror movie.
The three told Craven that they were interested in making a film, using their house as the set. The house was located on Elm Street, Potsdam. The task was much more difficult than they had originally anticipated. No one involved had any experience in editing or recording sound. In fact, it is believed that they used glue to bind reels together during editing.
The group adopted two co-directors John Heneage and Ken Lyon, later in the project's life. Eventually, all of the scenes were shot, and the editing was finished.
The final cost was $300, with the title, "Pandora's Experimentia." The film was only shown twice, with mixed reviews and reactions. Craven would continue to work on similar scripts, during his time as a humanities instructor. Differences arose between Craven and the university. The problems stemmed from a doctoral dissertation that eventually forced him to leave the campus for good.
Years, and many revisions, later, Craven would eventually find himself in Hollywood. He produced the series, A Nightmare on Elm Street, that became internationally accepted as one of the greatest horror series ever written.
The section of A Clarkson Mosaic for 1955 explains that students enrolled in the course had a wide variety of choices for projects, including photography, poetry, sculptures, drawing, painting, and film. Three brothers of the Theta Chi fraternity, faced with these choices, approached a young Craven in search of help. They wanted Craven to aid them in producing a horror movie.
The three told Craven that they were interested in making a film, using their house as the set. The house was located on Elm Street, Potsdam. The task was much more difficult than they had originally anticipated. No one involved had any experience in editing or recording sound. In fact, it is believed that they used glue to bind reels together during editing.
The group adopted two co-directors John Heneage and Ken Lyon, later in the project's life. Eventually, all of the scenes were shot, and the editing was finished.
The final cost was $300, with the title, "Pandora's Experimentia." The film was only shown twice, with mixed reviews and reactions. Craven would continue to work on similar scripts, during his time as a humanities instructor. Differences arose between Craven and the university. The problems stemmed from a doctoral dissertation that eventually forced him to leave the campus for good.
Years, and many revisions, later, Craven would eventually find himself in Hollywood. He produced the series, A Nightmare on Elm Street, that became internationally accepted as one of the greatest horror series ever written.
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