Stranger Things @strangerthingstv cinematographer Caleb Heymann @calebheymann breaks down how Season 5 opens and closes the series — from a grungy, practical-driven basement hideout lit with mixed color temperatures to the finale’s massive “Pain Tree” set animated through pixel-mapped SkyPanels and Vortex8s to sell a living, moving beast. Across both episodes, lighting, camera movement, and custom rigs reinforce the show’s full-circle return to Will and the hive mind, grounding spectacle in character and perspective.
Read more at the link in bio.
#AmericanCinematographer #StrangerThings
During our prep period for Stranger Things 5 I was looking for a unique way to represent Will’s tunnel vision as he goes into a trance. I was lucky to find these new prototype Schneider filters called the Center Spot Diopters. I tried stacking two of them with different diameters and simply holding it up in front of the lens while shaking it back and forth, and it gave us exactly what we were after. That became our signature look for Will’s trance and it allowed us to ramp up the effect mid shot. By doing it in camera we got a really nice organic interaction between all the practical in the background and the optics. When Will collapses we used the Doggicam body mount to lock in to Willl’s perspective as he falls. For the “Demovision” POV shots the Duffer Brothers referenced the frenetic Evil Dead 2 POV shots through the woods. We needed the camera to go up to 30 mph and low to the ground. We worked with champion FPV drone pilot Blake Sams (@nubbfpv ) who did an amazing job not just going low and fast but was even able to simulate the Demorogon’s gallop. We shot these on the Sony FX6 so that we could get away with shooting dusk at 12,800 ISO and avoid lighting huge stretches of woods and road for these quick shots. Huge thank you to @keslowcamera , @schneideroptics , @cinemoves and @lightcraft.tv , @doggicam_systems we couldn’t have done any of this without you!.
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@strangerthingstv@netflix #cinematography
"For the big action sequence in the Mac-Z at the end of 'Chapter 4: The Sorcerer', we used the ARRI Alexa 35 with Cooke S4 lenses. There are hundreds of flashing practicals around the set as well as very bright Molebeam spotlights sweeping through from the guard towers. The Alexa 35 allowed me to overexpose the Molebeams several stops and hold detail through the exposure range in the flickering lights, without worrying about clipping.
"There’s a moment in this sequence when the action moves into slow-mo, and we then flash back to Will’s childhood. We tested 16mm, 8mm and a 12mm extraction from the 16mm, but we really loved the grainy low resolution feel of the 8mm, which is what Will’s family would have likely owned in the early 1980s. We opted for the new Kodak Super 8 camera and Angenieux 8-64mm F1.8, and in the end shot a mix of that and a stripped-down Red Komodo for any flashback shots that needed VFX, but we always shot an 8mm version of each setup for reference."
Stranger Things is synonymous with thrilling sequences, and season 5 is no different. DP Caleb Heymann explains how the major Mac-Z showdown in “Chapter 4: The Sorcerer” came together.
Read more at the link in bio!
BTS from the final chapter of #strangerthings5 . When the long journey came to an end we couldn’t believe it was over. Somehow after 11 plus months of shooting no one was ready for it to end
@strangerthingstv@netflix
Celebrate the holidays by experiencing Volume 2 of the final season of STRANGER THINGS, tomorrow at 5PM PT. Then, prepare for the epic finale on New Year's Eve.
DPs | Caleb Heymann (@calebheymann ), Brett Jutkiewicz (@dpbrett )
Tandem/2nd Unit DPs | Jon Chema (@jchema ), Rick Diaz (@rickdiazdp ), Evans Brown
Serviced By | #KeslowCameraAtlanta
@netflix@strangerthingstv@strangerthings.things
Frames from Stranger Things 5 Chapter 1: The Crawl
The season opener had plenty of new locations and challenges for us to tackle as we set the table for an epic season. As we establish the world of lockdown Hawkins we cover a ton of ground as our characters begin their pursuit of Vecna. We lit up huge swaths of Upside Down for the military convoy stunts and our amazing gaffer @stephengrum and fixtures team led by Joshua Earles-Bennet (@aplusjimages ) built us custom flashlights and outfitted dozens of vehicles with headlights that we could remotely dim and flicker. Working with VFX and art department we were able to plan out the lighting of the Mac Z using Unreal Engine to design the lighting approach to the Mac Z and allow us to film in there 360 degrees. Our grip team led by the legend Kurt Kornemann shaped the light with passion and built us custom rigs to ascend up the radio tower and work with Cinemoves as we bounced seamlessly between cranes and tracking vehicles. And my brother and genius A Cam operator Nick Muller was there every step of the way, making it happen with style and grace and as many cafecitos as we needed to survive the nights. There’s so much more to share and I can’t even begin to say how grateful I am to have collaborated with all these amazing people to make this possible. It’s truly the best part of being a DP. And a huge thanks to the Duffers for making it all happen and bringing their passion, and trusting me to help bring their vision to the screen.
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Directors: Matt Duffer and @rossduffer
Camera Ops: @nickmullersteadi , @nmedrud
ACs: @williamcoe1 , Nelson Moncada, Bobby Mcmahan, @tjfallico , @dannaxgarcia
DIT: @qaiskaradsheh
Gafer: @stephengrum
AD @ @66tjones
Production Designer: @antichristrujillo
Art Director: @seanbrennan
Set Decorator: @jessroyal
Costume Designer: @amyparris
Stunt Coordinator: Hiro Koda
Second Unit DPs: @jchema , @rickdiazdp , EvansBrown
Colorist @skip_kimball
Second Unit DPs: Jon Chema, Ric Diaz, Evans Brown
@d_iverson@barely_balanced_tech@ebpat@cinemoves@Keslow Camera
@amestomisbehave@ralphscherer@hilaryleavitt@ilampton .
@michael_maher_jr@dpbrett@amestomisbehave@cinemoves
#strangerthings
