WEBVTT - The Tech of Stranger Things 0:00:04.519 --> 0:00:13.640 Technology with tech Stuff from dot Com. Hey there, and 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:17.600 welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland, executive 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:21.680 producer here at how stuff works dot com, talking all 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:25.439 about technology on this show. And today we have a 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:28.480 very special treat, at least for me and also for 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:33.199 you guys. There's this little series that showed up on 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:37.440 Netflix and took the world by storm. That would be 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:42.760 Stranger Things, a series that I very much personally enjoyed. Well, 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:46.479 my producer extraordinaire Ramsey was able to land interviews with 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:48.199 two really cool people who came in to talk to 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:50.800 us about what they did behind the scenes to make 0:00:50.840 --> 0:00:54.760 Stranger Things work. And that's just Royal, the set decorator 0:00:54.920 --> 0:00:58.560 for the series, and John Hilton, the rigging gaffer for 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:02.520 the series. So what follows is our conversation about the 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:05.800 tech behind making a show work and just sort of 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:11.240 the interesting challenges one faces when doing these sort of things, 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:16.720 especially in locations as opposed to sets. So enjoy. I 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:20.199 have to thank my two special guests who have joined 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:23.560 me for this episode of Tech Stuff, Jess and John, 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:27.920 who both have worked on multiple projects, but the one 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:32.479 we're talking about specifically today is the Netflix series Stranger Things, 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:36.560 a show that I binged immediately when the first season 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:39.000 came out and fell in love with it, not just 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:41.560 because I recognized some of the people in it, but 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:46.080 because it really felt to me like it didn't feel 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:49.440 like a show set in the nineteen eighties. It felt 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:51.840 like a show that was made in the nineteen eighties 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:57.120 and somehow disappeared and then resurfaced twenty years later, and 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:01.920 it's it's so evocat of and I wanted to have 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:04.160 both of you on to talk about your roles in 0:02:04.280 --> 0:02:08.200 making this show what it was. So we're gonna talk 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:11.120 today about sort of the tech side, the the behind 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:14.720 the scenes side of making a show and and the 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:18.280 work that you do and how that ends up contributing 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:21.520 to this overall effect whatever the show maybe, or the movie, 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.320 whatever the project is. In this case, we're talking about 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:26.720 something that is a period piece, but you know, obviously 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.160 there are other ones where you have a very different 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:33.320 feel for whatever the project is. So I'm going to 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:39.400 start with you, John, John, you are rigging gaffer. Tell 0:02:39.639 --> 0:02:44.200 listeners who have seen i'm sure the term gaffer in 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:47.079 the credits what that means, because I think a lot 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:50.959 of folks just don't know. The gaffer is just a 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:54.480 department head that's in charge of the electrical so electrical 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:58.280 distribution and lighting. Um. I think the term comes from 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:01.160 old man. Yeah, was the old man on the crew. 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:04.400 He's in charge of the lighting. Yeah. They have a 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:08.600 the term gaffer in uh and Lord of the rings. Actually, 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:13.280 Sam Wise Gamgees father is called the old gaffer. Uh. 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:15.200 I say that because of my Lord of the rings geek. 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:19.320 So what are your responsibilities typically on a on a 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:22.720 shoot as a ringing gaffer? I'd provide the power to 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:26.240 the set and any any lighting that we can get 0:03:26.320 --> 0:03:31.600 up before beforehand before photography, We'll get that done as well. Cool. 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:34.760 So you are making sure that all the stuff that 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:39.240 needs to work is actually going to work. Yes, an 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:42.520 important role on any production. And how did you get 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:47.440 your start in in the business known as show I 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:53.720 was a nanny for a director of photography in eight 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:56.920 the summer of ninety eight, and I watched his kids 0:03:57.600 --> 0:03:59.520 during the summer and after at the end of the summer, 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.160 he had me tag along with him to go work 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:06.840 on a film. And after the film was like, oh, 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:08.760 you'd be great this, you should move to l A. 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:10.400 I got my friends. They can hook you up at 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:12.480 a camera rental house and you can do that for 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:14.840 a little while. And I was like, I don't want 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:17.160 to do that. I want to move to New York 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:21.240 City and be a bum. So I didn't get into 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:23.440 it right away. I was a maintenance man in an 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:27.200 apartment complex and all my tools were stolen, and I 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:34.960 was like, I'll go work on movies, a security circuitous 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:38.039 route to get there. So did you have a background 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:40.760 and electrical work before you even got into the movie 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:43.240 a little bit? And I've done, like my dad does 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:45.120 h V a C. So I kind of dabbled on 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:48.720 that during the whole maintenance for apartment complex thing. I 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:53.840 kind of understood electrical systems, right. So you then take 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:56.799 that understanding and you start pouring it over to the 0:04:56.839 --> 0:05:01.200 production side, where I imagine it's a a a fairly 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:06.599 uh strenuous process to make sure everything is how it 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:10.279 needs to be because obviously, any time on any set 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:13.760 is money, So anything that takes extra time is going 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:16.760 to cost the whole production extra amounts of money. So 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:22.760 I mentioned it's a fairly high stress environment. It is. Yeah, 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:26.240 I don't get a lot of sleep. I always called 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:29.039 Jessell workaholic, but really it's for me. I do it 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:32.000 all at home. She doesn't see it. It's fair. And now, 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:35.920 Jess you you were a set decorator, are still lar 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:40.040 sick decorator for Stranger Things? Also, congratulations on getting an 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:44.000 Emmy nomination for that work. Thank you. That's amazing. I 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:46.760 at this first time I think I've ever sat down 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:50.680 at a table with an Emmy nominee. Uh yeah, it's 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:53.119 It's a big moment for me, That's what I'm saying. 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:56.640 So let's talk about what that means. What is what 0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:00.400 is actually set decorator on a set? Um? So I 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:04.080 work under the production designer UM, and the production designer 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:06.760 kind of sets the look like, helps pick locations UM, 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:10.120 and then you know, has a lot of references and 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:13.200 different things as far as the minutia of how a 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:16.600 set comes together. UM. There's an art director who kind 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:19.320 of oversees more the construction end of things, and then 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:22.640 everything from like those four walls. For the most part, 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:27.279 I kind of deal with so light fixtures and um, 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:31.640 you know, carpet and sofas and electronics and all the 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:34.400 garbage and some sets and piles up in the clutter. 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:39.599 That's my specialty. So when a when the art department 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:41.880 has said, like, oh, we've got this idea for what 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:46.560 the the feel for this particular set needs to be, Uh, 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:50.360 it's your job to go and actually procure all that, 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:53.400 put it all together, make sure that it's matching the 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:58.000 vision for whatever that that idea was right. Yes, and 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:01.160 on a on a production that's a period piece, I 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:05.080 imagine that also involves lots of hunting around for really 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:09.640 obscure and obsolete stuff. It does. I spend a lot 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:12.280 of time and I always tell everyone dead ladies, basements, 0:07:13.480 --> 0:07:17.200 estate sales. I'm always like emptying out the leftovers of houses, 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:21.239 you know, um after an estate sales over um. And 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:23.440 you know in Stranger Things is one of those weird shows, 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.400 especially where everything is a little bit interactive kind of 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:29.320 which is why, um, that's why I wanted John to 0:07:29.320 --> 0:07:31.680 be here, because he's I think he's sold himself short 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:35.320 a little bit as far as like just preparing or 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:38.680 providing power to a set. Because we had so many 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:42.480 interactive elements, you know, lights and otherwise that um kind 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:44.240 of had to be period and had to be functional 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:46.800 and do a bunch of different things. So yeah, a 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:49.440 good example of that would be, of course, the Christmas 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:52.680 lights make a play a huge role in that season 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:55.320 of Stranger Things. I mean, it's it's a communications device. 0:07:56.040 --> 0:08:00.000 And I don't know how many of my listeners know this, Chris, 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:02.720 the lights don't work that way. Typically, you have them 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:05.600 all rigged ump so that if one goes out, they 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:08.520 all tend to go out, especially the period ones. So 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:11.320 getting them so that they very they light up in 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:14.960 very specific ways. Uh, probably meant a little bit of 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:18.400 rewiring work and a little bit of rigging things in 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:21.240 an interesting way so as you could get to do 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:23.960 it on command. That was such an important integral part 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:29.400 of the storyline. I remember. I remember when they came 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:33.560 and asked me. They were walking through the buyer's house set. 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:39.320 It was Chris and Jess and Todd, and they were like, 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:42.920 we want to make each light go off and individually. 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:46.960 Is it possible? Yes? And I turned around and I 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:49.840 walked back in my little office and I was like, oh, no, 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:53.400 how am I gonna make this story? Like? Technically, yes, 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:57.800 it's possible. Practical not really, So, so how did you 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:03.080 go about solving that problem? Um? I just started scribbling 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:08.720 a lot and locked my door and just trying to 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:12.640 figure out how to get lights to go on and 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:16.800 off individually, which means we had to build individual strands 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:20.000 of lights. So I ended up, I guess that's kind 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:22.480 of low tech. We're kind of getting at low tech 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:27.360 as possible. So I ended up using Cat five cable 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:30.320 and taking all the different strands and making them individual 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:34.880 and solder soldering them into old Christmas likes that Jess 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:39.240 would bring us. Wow. So you were actually hand designing 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:41.760 something so that you could achieve this effect in a 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.680 practical approach. That's one of the other things, by the way, 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:48.079 that I love about stranger things and being I was 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:51.959 born in the seventies, so seeing uh, not just something 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:55.520 that is set and appears to have been made the eighties, 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:59.320 but to rely so heavily upon practical effects that warms 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:02.640 my heart as I grew up watching films that relied 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:04.959 heavily on practical effects, and I think it is very 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:08.400 important to get across that same feel in order to 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:11.199 get the effect that you want and not rely too 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:15.720 heavily on anything that's computer generated. Not to dismiss computer generated, 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.840 it certainly has a place in storytelling, but to me, 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:21.959 at least and maybe this is my own bias has 0:10:22.280 --> 0:10:24.679 uh it just it just has a different look and 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:28.680 a different feel. You know, there's something genuine about practical effects. 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:32.320 And not all of ours went. Uh. We had different 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:36.240 test runs that the juffers for would they kill if 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:38.240 any of those videos ever got out some of the 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:40.040 ones that didn't work as well. Um with like the 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:43.480 monster coming through our latex. Uh, we have you know, 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:46.400 printed the wallpaper and stuff in the buyer's house onto latex, 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:48.480 and we had all these different tests so we did 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:53.200 with various um, you know, slimy substances and things on. Anyway, 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:54.880 they didn't all it took a while to kind of 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:58.000 get that just tweaked, you know, just right the face 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:01.280 like kind of pushing feel of the wall. And originally 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:04.880 they had him breaking through the wall entirely. They're trying 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:07.960 to do it all practical, and um, I think it's 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:11.360 nice to have technology options where VFX could just take 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:14.200 what we did and really enhance it. And you know, 0:11:14.600 --> 0:11:17.079 uh right, Yeah, eventually you get to a point where 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.680 you just say, you know, physics just doesn't work that way. Yeah, 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:22.160 Like I like, I appreciate where you're trying to go 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:25.240 with this. Yeah, I love that there was a latex 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:27.240 approach a practical approach with that too, because I mean 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:32.320 I also, full disclosure, my sister's a puppeteer, so I 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:34.880 see the puppeteer side of sort of this kind of 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:38.960 stuff all the time. And to appreciate practical effects where 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:41.560 you're using something like a latex sheet and you're using 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:46.080 some form of whether it's an actor, a mask, a puppet, 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:48.880 or whatever, to to create that effect. I mean, there 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:55.120 is something really visceral and and the textures are really impressive. 0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:58.640 It's something that goes again beyond just that. Oh, there's 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:03.000 a very clever animation. Uh. And and also it just 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:06.600 shows a level of care that you know, you have 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:10.120 to have all of that work back behind the scenes 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:14.240 to get that effect to happen on on screen. Uh, 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:17.200 that is happening in real time somewhere. It's it's it's 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:20.640 not a bunch of people staring at a green wall 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:24.840 pretending that they see something that is really effective and 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:27.440 then having to react to nothing at all. They actually 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:31.040 have stuff to react to in those practical effects. Uh. 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:33.200 I am not an actor that's good enough to react 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:35.720 to a green screen with and and make that at 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.920 all convincing. I need to have some sort of monster 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:41.320 thing coming at me so that I can really, you know, 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:45.120 be somewhat convincing in my response. And the Christmas lights 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:47.600 is the same thing because we um, you know, I 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:49.959 think it looked a lot more authentic and better to 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:52.679 have it practical. But even um, there's like the scene 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:56.480 where Holly, the the young Wheeler daughters like following the 0:12:56.520 --> 0:12:59.439 Christmas lights down the hallway. Um, and I think if 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:01.400 we didn't have all of those actually lighting up in 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:04.280 her having that direction and sort of all the interaction 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.160 you know with the lights and actors, it wouldn't have 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:09.160 been the same. No, you wouldn't be able to get 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:14.760 that tension. Yeah, that's a great moment, so tell me also, 0:13:14.800 --> 0:13:16.640 I mean the Christmas lights. I think that's one of 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:18.880 those that I that I definitely wanted to hit upon 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:25.120 because it's a deceptively simple technology that ends up actually 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:28.160 requiring thinking outside the box in order to get the 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:32.520 effect they wanted son requiring you to actually solder things 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:37.160 weeks weeks. Wow, So if you had to estimate like 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:38.960 how many weeks are you talking about for that just 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:41.000 to make sure you can get that effect to work properly. 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.480 It was two weeks. That's I mean, that's a lot 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:46.880 of work to get Christmas lights. The light up we built, 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:49.200 I think we only built out of the twenty that 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:52.959 we were going to build, we only built seventeen because 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:55.200 that's all we had time to do on top of 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.480 everything else that we had to do. Yeah. Yeah, So 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:02.400 then they would so they would solder these little strands, 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:05.960 you know, onto the sockets, and then we had it 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:08.920 involved me going back to props Um the lights that 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:12.599 Joyce originally buys at Melball's Um props. I guess it 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:15.880 just sort of had newer lights in the box and 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:19.520 wasn't really thinking about the bigger picture. So we had 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:21.720 to go back and have switched those out for the 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:24.440 older strands to have like the green and red twisted 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:27.120 sort of look, so that we could that that was 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:29.480 the easiest thing for us to copy. So they would 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:32.480 finished soldering and then we would paint them green and 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:35.600 red and twist them all together. Um, you know, so 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:39.680 there's like a whole there's a whole collaborative effort any 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:42.240 right there making sure that like because I mean I 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:45.320 see a lot of movies where clearly that that level 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:47.760 of care was not quite taken. You'll look at something 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:49.600 and things like that's not even the same prop as 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:52.080 what he was holding a second ago. So having that 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:55.760 kind of level of detail is really cool. Uh So 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:59.120 I assume there was someone just like actually just manually 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:03.160 operating those lights for all those sequences. We had our 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:07.400 demmer board operator Jim Donovan. He programmed all that and 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:12.360 operating real temperating in real time. He's another one of 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:14.880 my heroes too, because these guys, because it wasn't because 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:17.840 the Christmas lights were one thing. And then um there's 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:21.200 also like the scene with the lamps in in in 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:24.520 the bedroom, um and Winona having to you know, bring it. 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:26.880 I guess we never had a scene at first they're 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:28.560 going to show her like bringing all the lamps in 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:29.800 and setting them up, and that was going to be 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:32.480 like a whole other nightmare. But um, once they were 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.360 sort of you know, they're just getting those programmed right 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:37.960 to do that effect. Um, Jim stayed late with me 0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:40.600 one night and just like we did, you know, kept 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:43.560 practicing and getting all that down. So see, to me, 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:46.200 that's really cool because it's not just technical, it's it's 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:49.080 a level of performance. I mean you we're playing effectively 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.440 another character in the scene, and so you know it's 0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:56.000 there's there's all the timing that's required in that too, 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:59.360 and again to get what the director wants in order 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:03.560 for that to have the emotional and psychological impact on 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:06.640 the viewer, which, by the way, credibly effective because I 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:10.760 loved it. Uh, So you know, I'm my hats off 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:14.520 to you because I occasionally am a performer, but I 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:16.720 couldn't do any of the rest of it, whereas you 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:19.600 guys are doing all of that. So I'm really I'm 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:30.880 really impressed. I assume that it's is pretty tricky outfitting 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:36.920 entire sets with nineteen eighties era uh, carpet ing, furniture, 0:16:37.440 --> 0:16:41.400 the technology in particular, because we're not so far removed 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:43.880 from the nineteen eighties that we think of those things 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:46.600 as antiques. So therefore there's not a lot of work 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:50.320 in preserve preserving them, but we're far enough out where 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:54.560 nobody wants to hold onto them anymore. So was was 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:56.920 that a challenge to you to to find things that 0:16:56.960 --> 0:16:59.920 could incorpe that could live in that early eighties setting? 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:04.919 Not as hard as you would think, I think, mostly 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:07.119 just because thank God for state sales and Atlanta being 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:09.680 a good estate sales city. Um. I've worked in other 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:12.760 cities where you just don't you know, they just don't 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:15.399 operate like that. They don't. I don't know how people 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:17.760 get rid of their stuff after they've passed. I don't know. 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:20.359 But um, Atlanta is good about it. Um. There are 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:22.679 other like I've done other movies. I did a movie 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:27.240 um that it was a news station set in the seventies. Um. 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:29.399 And that's one of those like there's already not a 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:33.359 ton of like news broadcast station equipment out there, not 0:17:33.440 --> 0:17:37.479 like you know, old Nintendos and things, but um, and 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:39.480 and then it was so fragile. It was sort of 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:43.000 that like just that first wave of like electronic technology 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:46.119 and the old analog stuff from like the fifties was 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:48.840 you know, you can get that kind of stuff. Um, 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:51.600 but that's but getting stuff that worked that was That's 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:56.240 sort of that. Um. That first generation plastic electronic disposable 0:17:56.280 --> 0:18:00.359 almost like technology is was harder. But um for gently 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:03.440 for you know, Sears catalog days, a lot of Americans 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:06.600 all had the same stuff, and enough people held onto 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:09.120 it her pack rats that we could kind of curate 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:11.919 and go through and find everything we needed. Yeah. I 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:16.160 I went to a panel with uh, the art director 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:18.800 from Stranger Things, and he talked a little bit about 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:25.520 the process of identifying the different the different types of 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:28.399 of fabrics and the different color schemes that were going 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:31.480 to be important, and how you know, certain certain houses 0:18:31.520 --> 0:18:32.760 we're going to look like they were more of a 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:35.920 holdover from maybe the mid to late seventies and some 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:38.439 were a little bit more modern in the sense of 0:18:38.480 --> 0:18:41.680 the early eighties and UH. And that also was really 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:44.400 interesting to me, this idea of you know, you're not 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:47.840 just you're not just creating creating a huge pile of 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:51.440 stuff from a general era. You actually have to give 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:54.360 each of these places its own personality. Well that's yeah, 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:56.800 there is a I tell people the story that one 0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:58.960 of our accountants came to me after we were like 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:02.120 up in filming the first week or so on stage, 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.560 and um, she said, you know, Jess, I saw your sets. 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:08.320 They look really great, but gosh, like is this this 0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:10.639 is the eighties and they look very seventies to me. 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:12.399 And I was, you know, and it's one of those 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:16.119 like not every socioeconomic group is going to just instantly have, 0:19:16.560 --> 0:19:20.080 you know, the eighties. So Yeah, from like that Sears 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:22.800 catalog that year. It's all it's more of a you know, 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:24.919 when did they build a house, when would they have 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:27.840 you know, renovated or what's there? You know, what did 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:31.240 they have the means to update the carpet, wallpaper or whatever, 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:33.399 and kind of have to just think it through. Um, 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:36.080 each character having its own sort of storyline with their 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:40.040 home keeping everything consistent. I mean that is clearly very 0:19:40.080 --> 0:19:43.199 important if you want to establish things, like, you know, 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:47.159 unbelievable character. It would be weird to go into a 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:52.920 home of a person who was presumably just scraping by 0:19:52.960 --> 0:19:55.320 and you see what it appears to be a brand 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:58.520 new Apple two gs in the background. You're like, it's 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:02.359 a couple of grand Where did they that money for that? They? Yeah? 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:06.480 So was there anything in particular that you either of 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:11.840 you that you think was really interesting or really cool? Uh, 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:15.919 something that you had not anticipated? Uh that you know, 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:18.199 that's like your go to, Like, you know, if if 0:20:18.240 --> 0:20:20.080 people are asking you what was it like, like, well, 0:20:20.119 --> 0:20:22.119 let me tell you this particular thing that I was 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:25.399 really excited about. Whether it was something that turned out 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:27.399 the way you expected at the beginning or something that 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:32.560 completely win a different direction, getting getting invited back to 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:36.160 season two. That was that's good, that's good. I think 0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:38.760 if you were able to take all of those Christmas 0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:41.000 lights and make them light up individually, that's a really 0:20:41.040 --> 0:20:46.440 good start. Um. I don't know, I don't that's I mean, 0:20:46.440 --> 0:20:47.960 that's why I was thrilled to be here today and 0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:51.280 asked John to come to because for me, that sort 0:20:51.320 --> 0:20:55.600 of like a collaborative overlap um my thing. And he 0:20:55.640 --> 0:20:58.400 knows this well. Is it like today in film? Um? 0:20:58.480 --> 0:21:02.120 Like everyone loves led lights and lighting, even if they're 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:03.920 trying to make even if it is like period or 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:07.560 they wanted to look um, you know, period, they still 0:21:07.640 --> 0:21:09.840 kind of fall back on LEDs because they're easier to 0:21:09.840 --> 0:21:14.199 control and and I kind of hate them, so um, 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:15.720 I mean, I'm coming around to some of them. But 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:18.800 anyway to have them, to have our electrical department have 0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:21.440 the patients to kind of like really do it right 0:21:21.480 --> 0:21:24.200 and work with the older technology and and you know 0:21:24.280 --> 0:21:26.840 that that was a it was a long process. But 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:32.359 the fluorescent fixtures lots fluorescence because their period, of course, 0:21:33.040 --> 0:21:38.119 and hardly anyone stocks fluorescent ballast that we had to 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:43.800 replace hundreds of ballast and high schools and Melvols and 0:21:44.080 --> 0:21:48.720 all over Georgia. We replaced ballast. Wow, that's a that's 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:53.240 a big undertaking. That was awful. Yeah, but but it 0:21:53.280 --> 0:21:56.120 pays off on screen because it does give you that 0:21:56.240 --> 0:21:58.800 like like that's why it feels like it was made 0:21:58.800 --> 0:22:00.960 in the eighties, is because has all of this this 0:22:01.200 --> 0:22:03.800 love and care behind it. Uh, And you can see 0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:08.639 that rolling out through other projects that are clearly uh 0:22:08.680 --> 0:22:12.320 following that same philosophy. I mean, Stephen King's it coming out, Like, 0:22:12.760 --> 0:22:16.359 I think the look of it owes an awful lot 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:20.680 to Stranger Things. Uh, it has a very similar kind 0:22:20.680 --> 0:22:23.520 of field to it. For that that second, I mean, 0:22:23.920 --> 0:22:26.480 it's amazing to me that they went ahead and decided 0:22:26.520 --> 0:22:30.560 to set the adult story in modern day, which conveniently 0:22:30.680 --> 0:22:33.840 made the children's story set in the eighties. And so 0:22:33.880 --> 0:22:36.840 there are a lot of parallels there. But it's funny 0:22:36.840 --> 0:22:39.640 because of course Stranger Things also, you could tell, has 0:22:39.680 --> 0:22:42.639 a little bit of the influence of Stephen King is 0:22:42.680 --> 0:22:45.920 certainly in the Stranger Things universe as well, So it's 0:22:45.920 --> 0:22:49.520 all kind of feeding in on itself. It's umu collaborative 0:22:49.560 --> 0:22:55.000