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Find Out What's Reel About Stranger Things

Stranger Things aired last July on Netflix to breakout success. Over 8 episodes it tells the story of a boy’s family and friends searching for him when he goes missing. This is no standard missing person case however as there are supernatural dangers that our heroes must face to rescue him. The show was nominated for 18 Emmys, winning 5, and will have a second season airing October 27 2017.

Here are some facts about the popular show that you may not have known;

1. The opening title was inspired by the work of Richard Greenberg who designed title sequences such as Alien and The Goonies. Also the font used in the title sequence uses the same font as many older Stephen King novels – ITC Benguiat. The title sequence won an Emmy!

2. Over 1200 kids auditioned for a part in Stranger Things. Many kids were turned away for being “too trained” or having a look “like an actor”. The creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, wanted the kids to feel authentic and searched for many months until they found the current cast. The show also won an Emmy for casting!

3. Stranger Things was Shannon Purser’s first acting role! She portrayed Barb Holland. She did her own stunts and was also nominated for an Emmy (Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series)!

4. Millie Bobby Brown who plays Eleven stated in an interview that the creators of the show assigned the kids of the cast to watch Poltergeist, Stand By Me and the Goonies. Additionally, she was told to watch E.T. in regards to what they wanted her performance to resemble.

5. Some of the actors influenced their characters in the show. Winona Ryder who plays Joyce Byers wanted her hair to look like Meryl Streep in Silkwood. Caleb McLaughlin who played Lucas Sinclair insisted that his character wear a camouflage bandana. He got his wish and wore one for the last 3 episodes of the season.

6. The monster in Stranger Things was created using the combined effort of animatronics, prosthetics, CG, and performance. Spectral Motion created the animatronic head for the creature in approximately 2 months! There were some computer generated scenes of the monster however for when practical effects weren’t appropriate.

7. The van flip during the bike chase scene (which was heavily inspired by E.T.) was done by using practical effects – setting explosives off under the van. After being tested successfully, the van flip was attempted on camera and unfortunately one of the explosives did not go off which sent the van into a camera costing thousands of dollars. Thankfully the stunt worked the second time!

8. Millie Bobby Brown also participated in two practical effects. She was actually floating in the kiddie pool with the use of over 1, 200lbs of Epsom salt the way it was described in the episode. Additionally in the actual isolation tank scene, she was fully submerged in water and was wearing a Sea Trek helmet to breathe. That helmet would weigh about 70 lbs above the water!

9. Even though the creators wanted to use as many practical effects as possible, many visual effects were still required. In the final episode in particular, nearly 40% of the episode had a visual effects enhancement. The visual effects artists were working on shots until two weeks before the show aired on Netflix! The creators said that most shots didn’t end up being 100% complete and that it was “more of a ‘pencils down!’ kind of finish.”

10. The show was shot on a digital RED camera but had a layer of scanned 80’s film grain added to give it a vintage film look.

11. Netflix was the creator’s first choice for airing Stranger Things and they bought it within 24 hours of hearing the pitch for the show!

Check out the trailer for season 2 below!

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