"Stranger Things" Season 4 - Driving Plates

Below is a synopsis of some of the amazing work done for “Stranger Things” Season 4 using the custom driving plates we shot for them. This article contains spoilers, but if you haven’t watched the show yet, what are you waiting for?!

We were lucky enough to get to work with this stellar crew to create driving VFX plates to exactly match the shots in this epic season.

On most days we shot for a few different vehicle heights which ended up looking fantastic in the finished product.

One of the challenges of shooting for this series was the fact that everything had to be period (the show is set in the 80s) which meant we got to travel to a lot of interesting locations, see some beautiful neighborhoods and towns that have been seemingly preserved for the last 40 years, work on some beautifully decorated sets, and work with some very dedicated vendors with the coolest period picture cars you have ever seen.

We are honored to have footage appearing in almost every episode of season 4.

Right out of the gate we get this beautiful sequence in episode 1:

The VFX work on this show is truly out of this world and that translates to some expertly crafted driving sequences. Here, without knowing we shot the plates for this scene, I wouldn't be able to tell you this isn’t a practical shot. The use of reflection on the glass, the noise used to add even more realism to the actual glass itself. The changes in light color and intensity on the rounded metal edges. So much craftsmanship in such a seemingly simple shot.

In the show these scenes are set in Lenora Hills, California but were filmed on location in Albuquerque, New Mexico and it was HOT. The spicy California vibe is perfectly utilized in the cinematography here using the bright exterior to create visual contrast with the shaded interior. This is not only realistic but also fantastic looking. The depth of color in the low light interior is astonishing.

Next in episode 3 we get this very exciting scene which happens to prove some of the greatest strengths of driving plates… safety and ease of shot execution.

Here, for reasons in the narrative we see a very abrupt stop and a lot of exciting jarring motion inside the vehicle. The actor is seemingly unrestrained which probably wouldn’t fly if they weren't being safely filmed on a soundstage.

Thanks to the fact that the driving background plates are taking care of the interactive lighting in all of the closeups to sell the idea that the van is in fact moving, this is all completely safe for the actor. Our plates are even being used to add to the anticipation in the scene where the driver peers out of his window as though expecting a collision.

Many different shot types, elements, and capture methods are all being used simultaneously to yield a final product which is nothing short of exciting and emotionally charged storytelling.

As a connoisseur of driving sequences, this one from episode 3 checks all the boxes.

In this sequence multiple angles are utilized to accomplish a driving scene with a lot of intrigue. Three different actors are able to interact inside of the car.

This environment and these kinds of interactions would usually be a little bit dangerous to create with the use of other methods. We have things like: passengers getting out of seats, passengers not seat-belted, and we have the driver taking their eyes off the road multiple times throughout the sequence. Because we're utilizing driving plates, because we're utilizing interactive lighting, because the shots are so well fabricated, we're able to get the sense that they are 100% driving in a vehicle going down the street doing all of these dangerous things.

I really appreciate the use of the backgrounds here again to create a lot of contrast between the background and foreground. There's always an air of tension and fear in the series as it's definitely a horror show at heart. And here through the use of lighting we get a lot of nice low light detail and a coldness to the frame that sort of describes the despair and confusion that the characters are undergoing as their friend in the sequence isn't able to tell them exactly what's going on. There's a lot at stake in this sequence which utilizes very intimate framing where we get very close up on multiple actors at once. We get to see all of their facial expressions and all of their fantastic acting in one close-up frame.

This is all aided by the environment. They're going through a tree-lined highway with a lot of highlights on leaves and variation in intensity of the light as the density of the trees increases and decreases. There's a ton of nice dappled light being transferred onto the actors faces which adds to the realism of the sequence but also adds some chaos. The lighting in the foreground is nice and bright so we can see the excellent 80s colors that are being worn by these actors and we're able to get nice and tight into this relatively low and compact vehicle interior. There's a good amount of variability in terms of what you see in the driving plates with each cut back to the actors in the car from the actor in the bedroom.

This gives it a good sense that we are in fact traveling and are not just running the same 10 seconds of footage over and over. The realistic “sunlight” from above is doing an excellent job of adding interactive lighting to the interior of the car and to the actors' clothing which adds a good amount of visual interest with the details of the wrinkles in the clothing. The lighting coming in through the front of the car is doing an excellent job of lighting the actors faces, their hair, and their eyes. Overall the cinematography in this scene is gorgeous.

Look at the wonderful gradient from warm intense light on the left of the frame to shadow and even hard black on the right side.

LED technology has come a long way, and this just goes to show. The quality of the light allows the cinematographer the ability to create something so natural looking and yet have such precise control over every element of the composition. We truly live in an exciting time for cinematography.

In this sequence we are riding in a relatively old car which means thinner supports for the roof and a lot more glass. The glass on older vehicles has unique refractive properties when compared to modern cars. Here the nuanced characteristics of this older glass is really able to be highlighted. The thin metal lines of the window frames, the subtle inconsistencies in the glass, the slick and reflective leather interior. All of these elements subconsciously set the viewer back in time.

Because of the intensity and quality of the light and reflections we can even accomplish very visually interesting shots like this one where the interior of the vehicle is obscured by the reflection on the exterior of the window.

The use of a flickering lens flare further sells the realism of this shot and I would say to a masterful degree. When you break it down, this is a great shot.

This next sequence from episode 6 has a lot going on.

I absolutely love when driving plates peaks above the roof of a car. It looks so amazingly immersive when executed well and “Stranger Things” employs this technique to create effect. You can see that they're using a reflection plate to add highlights to the roof and others to add realistic reflections to the front windshield and interior elements like the steering wheel. Because this is a station wagon you can see all six actors at one time which makes for a really interesting shot where every actor is so deep in their own world.

The reflections on the steering wheel, on the glass, on the seats, on the actors' clothing, and on their skin all increase the realistic look of this particular shot.

Because there doesn't actually need to be a driver at any point. When the crew needs to get inside the vehicle to shoot the rear passengers it is much more accessible and easier for them to accomplish their shots.

This is one of the night scenes we shot for. It appears in episode 6 as well.

I love the grade on this sequence. When we shot these plates the set was beautifully lit at 3200 K. In the grade they have warmed it up which creates a nice complementary contrast between the blue uniform of the officers inside the vehicle, the “moon” on their backs, and the orange light on the vehicle interior, background, and actors.

Because of how well lit the street was on the day, there is a lot of detail in the background that can be used to create a good sense of motion and realism in this night driving scene.

In episode 8 we get a pretty lengthy scene in the Surfer Boy Pizza van. It was a hilarious vehicle in the show and all the more so in person.

The scene is set in a barren desert landscape and as a result there is about as close to full sun as you can get inside of a vehicle.

Overall the scene is very bright and well illuminated but we are still able to get a sense of the sun’s direction. The landscape in the exterior shots and that of the plates seen from inside the vehicle matches extremely well. This scene is that of a road trip and the realism of the lighting manages to recall memories of baking in a hot car on a long road trip despite there being plenty of air conditioning to go around.

In this scene aside from the lengthy dialog between all of the actors we get an emergency pullover.

The actors scramble for footing in what once again would be a dangerous scene to film without the aid of driving plates ensuring the actors don’t actually go anywhere.

The final episode (episode 9) of the season is of course the grand finale. The set dressing and computer graphics in this episode are turned up to 11.

Driving through this set was a ton of fun, it was like being on a different planet with some very real problems.

The background actors were given a lot to do and were doing a great job at it. The show did a perfect job of matching reflections and backgrounds in each cut to the actors' POVs with what is actually happening outside of the vehicle on set.

I remember being very excited while filming the plates for this scene knowing that the finished product was going to be nothing short of exhilarating.