Stranger Things Cinematography Breakdown — A Nostalgic Approach to Lighting, Camera, & Lenses

Stranger Things Cinematography Breakdown — how the Duffer Brothers and primary DP Tim Ives used lighting, color, lenses, and aspect ratio to create the cinematic look of their ‘80s-heavy influences.

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Special thanks to:

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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro to Stranger Things Cinematography
00:44 - Duffer Brothers Nostalgic Vision
01:20 - Chapter 1: Lighting
03:54 - Chapter 2: Color
06:00 - Chapter 3: Cinematic Look & Feel
07:46 - Final Thoughts/Takeaways

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Stranger Things Cinematography Breakdown

The cinematography of Stranger Things is a conscious and direct homage to the sci-fi and horror films of the 1980s. Creators the Duffer Brothers and their primary cinematographer Tim Ives used every aspect of cinematography towards this goal — the lighting, color, lenses, aspect ratio, and more. In this Stranger Things cinematography breakdown, we’ll look at each of these aspects and how they contribute to the overall look and feel of the show.

Stranger Things Lighting Techniques

Inspired by the work of DP Allen Daviau, especially the films he shot for Steven Spielberg, Tim Ives did a number of tricks to emulate the lighting. For example, using high color contrast for interiors (warm inside, cool outside) and using book lights to create softer illumination.

Color in Stranger Things Cinematography

The first three seasons of the show saw a dramatic shift in the color palette. The first season is much more subtle and desaturated compared to the second and third seasons. The latter of which saw the inclusion of more neon lights and saturated colors more reminiscent of the teen comedies of the ‘80s like Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Cinematic Look and Feel of Stranger Things Cinematography

The camera and lenses themselves help bring all of these aesthetics together. Despite shooting on digital cameras like the Red Dragon, the lenses were tested specifically to match those used by these influential films. Coupled with the cameras and lenses used in Stranger Things, a subtle film grain was added in Post-Production to give it a more filmic look. And the aspect ratio was decided on 2:1, which is more reminiscent of cinema than television.

All in all, the Duffer Brothers and Tim Ives have made purposeful and aesthetic choices when designing the cinematography of Stranger Things. By using everything from the lighting to the aspect ratio, they have fused their influences into something all its own.

#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking

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VIDEO EDITOR: BRANDON SCULLION
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♬ SONGS USED:

“Stranger Things Theme (C418 Remix)” - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein + C418
“My BOOBS hurt”- Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“System Override” - Makeup and Vanity Set
“One Blink For Yes” - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“Night of the Seventh“ - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“You’re Regressing Eleven“ - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“We Don’t Understand Each Other“ - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“Starcourt“ - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“He’s Here“ - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“Journalistic Instincts“ - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“We Are NOT Heroes“ - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“I Wouldn’t Remember Me Either“ - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“Aftermath“ - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
“People Are Strange” - The Doors

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[StudioBinder]

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro to Stranger Things Cinematography
00:44 - Duffer Brothers Nostalgic Vision
01:20 - Chapter 1: Lighting
03:54 - Chapter 2: Color
06:00 - Chapter 3: Cinematic Look & Feel
07:46 - Final Thoughts/Takeaways

[rylandjames]

Favorite part about the show is that flashlights that shine into the camera make a somewhat mysterious and magical sound, emphasizing what the characters are looking at and feeling.

[MagneticDonut]

Interesting how we pick up on things like grain and color without even noticing and attribute those to the 80s in this case. Loved the analysis with the movies of that dacade. Thank you for the video!

[AndrewMabon]

Something essential which I believe is deeply embedded in the success of season 4 is camera movement and doing several things in the same shot. Season 1 used shots very deliberately and communicated *just* enough information. Seasons 2 & 3 had almost standard TV coverage a lot of the time, which was quite disappointing. Season 4 returns to the deliberate story focus and constraints on shots. I hope season 5 continues this trend.

[shaw]

Thank you so much on making this video. A few years ago I was really studying Tim Ives’s work on stranger things, watching interviews and blogs. Now I know even more. I hope you make another one of these when we have more info on the making of stranger things 4

[rayancedrichaddad]

Very Cool! Stranger Things TV show Identity is defined by the Passionate Cinematographers who work on it in each seasons and the Influence from Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter and Robert Zemeckis. Thank you StudioBinder.

[kritikaaagaur]

My favorite scenes were the master of puppets final scene, oof the climax built in that scene was outstanding. As well as the basketball scene where Lucas plays basketball along side with Erica's D&D match. Loved those scenes from Season 4

[pedroesteves]

loved the references to Spielberg's movies !!

[Sachin-gbji]

Everybody does content marketing, but when I look at you guys, It appears plainly..it is also love for the medium.

Amazing work. I am a media and film educator too, I use your videos so often and wonder sometimes, how awesome is it that someone has created these anthologies of finely analysed, edited and curated videos. Film analysis of a certain kind can be, at the end if the day, done through film ( video) only.

Thank you for existing !
Loved the video. The feel of stranger things is so wholesome.

[JoshGreensVLOG]

I feel so inspired to write, shoot, and edit after watching your videos, Studio Binder! Thanks for this one!

[madhavkrishnan]

I think one they not not just built the 80s tone for nostalgia but also as it is well accustomed. My observations were of the artificial grain, older lighting techniques. Also the sound is marvelous, perhaps not the greatest show, but a very well made one.

[minamoure]

I really love cinematography because I want to know about the lighting, lightning equipments, color grading and editing. Please make more like this type of content. please! Thank you!

[mindriotproductions]

Nice analysis as always!
I would really appreciate to see something similar for the Mr. Robot series, hope you keep that in mind!

[saimaharaj]

I am a huge fan of StudioBinder!

You guys need to do a comparison video: David Lynch VS David Cronenberg

How do their styles differ? Who does horror better?

[Lesbianlarry]

Thank you so much for this!!! I was literally going to comment on the next video yall released to ask if yall could make a video like this.... and then it was here!

[migueldelacruz]

I would like you to do an analysis of Severance the new Apple series.

[TheWrathfulSlayer]

Video idea: Tron Legacy, it can be about anything whether it is the director, visual style, or anything else!

[BrianLongFilms]

The score direction and camera work all tie in to make this show feel so magical. I get such a magical feeling while watching this.

There new director of photography: Caleb Heyymen did such a good job season 4

[peterguardiolaph]

I love this videos, great nostalgic cinematography, thanks for sharing

[u_o_m_i]

Fact:- bestest series of Netflix 20's ♥️👍