WEBVTT - Rerun: The Tech of Stranger Things 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:12.760 Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey thereon 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:16.120 Welcome to Tech Stuff, I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:19.400 an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and How the tech 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:19.840 are you? 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:20.880 So? 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:25.640 Yesterday we published an episode called Lighting Up the Holidays 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:29.479 that originally published back in twenty nineteen. Today, I'm going 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:33.080 to do one from twenty seventeen. This is a rerun 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:36.760 of an episode called The Tech of Stranger Things. It's 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:41.199 still somewhat thematic because we have a discussion about holiday 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:45.040 lights in this episode as well. Jess Royle and John 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:48.440 Hilton were guests on this episode. Both of them had 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:53.640 worked on the set of Stranger Things, and yeah, it 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:56.920 was a great discussion about the technical issues that go 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:01.080 on to making a show like Stranger Things work, particularly 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:05.679 a show that's set in an earlier era, that being 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.679 the nineteen eighties, and trying to make sure that everything 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:12.720 feels genuine. It's actually tricky because, as you are aware, 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.399 most of us don't hold on to our technology for 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:21.960 that long. Making sure we have the right tech is tricky. Anyway, 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:24.840 I hope you enjoyed this episode The Tech of Stranger Things, 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:30.200 which originally published October twenty fifth, twenty seventeen. I have 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:33.679 to thank my two special guests who have joined me 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:37.480 for this episode of Tech Stuff, Jess and John, who 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:41.520 both have worked on multiple projects, but the one we're 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:45.880 talking about specifically today is the Netflix series Stranger Things, 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:49.880 a show that I binged immediately when the first season 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:52.400 came out and fell in love with it, not just 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:54.880 because I recognized some of the people in it, but 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:59.440 because it really felt to me like it didn't feel 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:02.800 like a show set in the nineteen eighties. It felt 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:05.200 like a show that was made in the nineteen eighties 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:10.399 and somehow disappeared and then resurfaced twenty years later, and 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:15.560 it's it's so evocative, and I wanted to have both 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:17.919 of you on to talk about your roles in making 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:21.919 this show what it was. So we're gonna talk today 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:24.959 about sort of the tech side, the behind the scenes 0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:28.600 side of making a show and the work that you 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:32.639 do and how that ends up contributing to this overall 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.280 effect whatever the show may be or the movie, whatever 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:37.880 the project is. In this case, we're talking about something 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.240 that is a period piece. But you know, obviously there 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.880 are other ones where you have a very different feel 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:47.160 for whatever the project is. So I'm going to start 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:50.880 with you, John, John, you are rigging gaffer. 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:51.320 Ye. 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:57.160 Tell listeners who have seen I'm sure the term gaffer 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:00.040 in the credits what that means, because I think I 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:01.880 think a lot of folks just don't know. 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:06.320 The gaffer is just a department head that's in charge 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:10.639 of the electrical so electrical distribution and lighting. I think 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.600 the term comes from old man. Yeah, he was the 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:15.720 old man on the crew. He's in charge of the lighting. 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:20.919 Yeah. They have a the term gaffer in and lord 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:24.280 of the rings. Actually, Sam Wise Gamgee's father is called 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.760 the old gaffer. I say that because of my Lord 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:32.680 of the rings geek. So what are your responsibilities. 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:34.400 Typically on a shoot as a ring gaffer? 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:38.240 I provide the power to the set and any any 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:42.480 lighting that we can get up before beforehand before photography, 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:43.960 We'll get that done as well. 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:48.000 Cool, So you are making sure that all the stuff 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:51.120 that needs to work is actually going to work. Yes, 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:55.640 an important role on any production. And how did you 0:03:55.680 --> 0:04:01.080 get your start in the business known as show I was. 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:06.120 A nanny for a director of photography in nineteen ninety 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:09.840 eight the summer of ninety eight, and I watched his 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:12.840 kids during a summer and after at the end of summer, 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:15.480 he had me tag along with him to go work 0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:19.599 on a film. And after the film, he was. 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.760 Like, oh, you'd be great at this. You should move 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:22.839 to LA I got my friends. 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:24.799 They can hook you up at a camera rental house 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:26.520 and you can do that for a little while. And 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:29.600 I was like, I don't want to do that. I 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:31.520 want to move to New York City and be a bum. 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.880 So I didn't get into it right away. I was 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:38.120 a maintenance man in an apartment complex and all my 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:38.960 tools were stolen. 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:43.880 Oh why, And I was like, I'll go work on 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:46.279 movies now. 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:50.159 A secure circuitus rude to get there. So did you 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:53.440 have a background in electrical work before you even got 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:54.120 into the movie? 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:54.760 A little bit? 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:57.520 And I've done like my dad does HVAC, So I 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:00.159 kind of dabbled on that and doing the whole and 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:05.400 it's for apartment complex thing. I kind of understood electrical systems, right. 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:08.920 So you then take that understanding and you start pouring 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:12.719 it over to the production side, where I imagine it's. 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:14.880 A a fairly. 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:20.240 Strenuous process to make sure everything is how it needs 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:24.240 to be because Obviously, any time on any set is money, 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:27.640 So anything that takes extra time is going to cost 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:30.520 the whole production extra amounts of money. So I mentioned 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:32.480 this a fairly high stress environment. 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:33.360 It is. 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:39.440 Yeah, I don't get a lot of sleep. I always 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:42.360 called Jesse workaholic, but really it's me. I do it 0:05:42.400 --> 0:05:43.560 all at home. She doesn't see it. 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:48.440 It's fair now, Jess, you you were a set decorator. 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:52.640 Are still our sex decorator for Stranger Things. Also, congratulations 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:55.239 on getting an Emmy nomination for that work. 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:55.840 Thank you. 0:05:55.960 --> 0:05:59.760 That's amazing. This first time I think I've ever sat 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:02.080 down onto the table with an Emmy nominee. 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:02.719 Wow. 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:05.960 Yeah, it's It's a big moment for me. It's what 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:09.560 I'm saying. So let's talk about what that means. What 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:12.240 does what is actually set decorator on a set? 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:17.040 So I work under the production designer, and the production 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:19.640 designer kind of sets the look like, helps pick locations 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:23.440 and then you know, has a lot of references and 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:26.560 different things as far as the minutia of how a 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:30.040 set comes together. There's an art director who kind of 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:32.680 oversees more of the construction end of things, and then 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:36.040 everything from like those four walls. For the most part, 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:40.920 I kind of deal with so light fixtures and you know, 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:45.680 carpet and sofas and electronics and all the garbage and 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:47.760 some sets and piles up in the clutter. 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:49.520 That's my specialty. 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:53.760 So when a when the art department has said, like, oh, 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:57.000 we've got this idea for what the the feel for 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:00.720 this particular set needs to be. Uh, it's your job 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:04.760 to go and actually procure all that, put it all together, 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:08.200 make sure that it's matching the vision for whatever that 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:13.560 idea was. Right, Yes, And on a production that's a 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:17.160 period piece, I imagine that also involves lots of hunting 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:21.240 around for really obscure and obsolete stuff. 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:22.080 It does. 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:24.160 I spend a lot of time and I always tell 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:28.400 everyone dead ladies, basements of state sales. I'm always like 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:32.040 emptying out the leftovers of houses, you know, after a 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:35.840 state sales over and you know, and Stranger Things is 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:38.560 one of those weird shows, especially where everything's a little 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:42.000 bit interactive kind of which is why that's why I 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:44.080 wanted John to be here, because he's I think he 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:46.360 sold himself short a little bit as far as like 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:51.360 just preparing or providing power to a set because we 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:54.680 had so many interactive elements, you know, lights and otherwise 0:07:54.880 --> 0:07:57.000 that kind of had to be period and had to 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:59.080 be functional and do a bunch of different things. 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:01.920 So yeah, a good example that would be, of course, 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:05.440 the Christmas lights make play a huge role in that 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:08.679 season of Stranger Things. I mean, it's a communications device, 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:12.400 and I don't know how many of my listeners know this. 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:16.080 Christmas lights don't work that way. Typically, you have them 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:18.960 all rigged up so that if one goes out, they 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:21.840 all tend to go out, especially the period ones. So 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:24.680 getting them so that they very they light up in 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:29.080 very specific ways probably meant a little bit of rewiring 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.960 work and a little bit of rigging things in an 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:34.720 interesting way so that you could get to do it 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:38.319 on command. That was such an important integral part of 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:41.320 the storyline. I remember. 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.000 I remember when they came and asked me. They were 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:48.880 walking through the buyer's house set. It was Chris and 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:54.200 Jess and Todd, and they were like, we want to 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:58.080 make each light go off and individually. Is it possible? 0:08:58.559 --> 0:08:58.880 Yes? 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:01.120 And I turned around and I walked back in my 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:03.600 little office and I was like, oh no, how am 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:04.120 I going to make this? 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:10.280 For like technically yes, it's possible. Practical not really, So 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:15.040 how did you go about solving that problem? 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:18.560 I just started scribbling a lot and locked my door. 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:24.240 And just trying to figure out how to get lights 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:27.480 to go on and off individually, which means the way 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:31.960 had to build individual strands of lights. So I ended up, 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:35.000 I guess it's kind of low tech. We're kind of 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:38.280 getting a low tech as possible. So I ended up 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:42.640 using Cat five cable and taking all the different strands 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:47.600 and making them individual and soldering them into old Christmas 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:49.520 lights that Jess would bring us Wow. 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:53.520 So you were actually hand designing something so that you 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:57.120 could achieve this effect in a practical approach. It's one 0:09:57.120 --> 0:09:58.560 of the other things, by the way, that I love 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:02.400 about Stranger Things being I was born in the seventies, 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:06.880 So seeing not just something that is set and appears 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:09.720 to have been made in the eighties, but to rely 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:13.439 so heavily upon practical effects that warms my heart because 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:17.280 I grew up watching films that relied heavily on practical effects, 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:19.760 and I think it is very important to get across 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:22.480 that same feel in order to get the effect that 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:25.800 you want and not rely too heavily on anything. That's 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:29.720 computer generated. Not to dismiss computer generator, it certainly has 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:33.160 a place in storytelling, but to me at least, and 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:37.240 maybe this is my own bias, has it just has 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:39.920 a different look in a different feel, you know, there's 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:42.720 something genuine about practical effects. 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:46.000 And not all of ours went. We had different test 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:50.120 runs that the Duffers forward they kill if any of 0:10:50.120 --> 0:10:51.800 those videos ever got out. Some of the ones that 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:54.920 didn't work as well, with like the monster coming through 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.040 our latex we have you know, printed the wallpaper and 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:00.520 stuff in the buyer's house onto latex. We had all 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:04.480 these different tests we did with various you know, slimy 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:07.480 substances and things on. Anyway, they didn't all It took 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.160 a while to kind of get that just tweaked, you know, 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:11.720 just right right the face. 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:13.920 Like kind of pushing through the surface of the wall. 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:17.800 And originally they had him breaking through the wall entirely. 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:20.720 They're trying to do it all practical, and I think 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:24.480 it's nice to have technology options where VFX could just 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:26.440 take what we did and really enhance it. 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:30.000 And you know, right yeah, eventually you get to a 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:32.080 point where you just say, you know, physics just doesn't 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:35.040 work that way. Yeah, I like, I appreciate where you're 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.560 trying to go with this. Yeah, I love that there 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:40.080 was a latex approach a practical approach with that too, 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:45.000 because I mean I also, full disclosure, my sister's a puppeteer, 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:47.880 so I see the puppeteer side of sort of this 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:51.720 kind of stuff all the time. And to appreciate practical 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:54.400 effects where you're using something like a latex sheet and 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:58.920 you're using some form of whether it's an actor, a mask, 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:02.079 a puppet, or whatever, to create that effect. I mean, 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:08.439 there is something really visceral and the textures are really impressive. 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:12.000 It's something that goes again beyond just that, Oh, that's 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:17.160 a very clever animation, and also that just shows a 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:20.480 level of care that you know, you have to have 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:24.319 all of that work back behind the scenes to get 0:12:24.360 --> 0:12:28.440 that effect to happen on screen. That is happening in 0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:32.960 real time somewhere. It's not a bunch of people staring 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:36.920 at a green wall pretending that they see something that 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.880 is really effective and then having to react to nothing 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:42.040 at all. They actually have stuff to react to in 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:45.800 those practical effects. I am not an actor that's good 0:12:45.880 --> 0:12:48.920 enough to react to a green screen and make that 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:51.840 at all convincing. I need to have some sort of 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:54.080 monster thing coming at me so that I can really, 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:57.440 you know, be somewhat convincing in my response. 0:12:57.640 --> 0:12:59.559 And The Christmas Lives is the same thing, because we 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:02.440 you know, I think it looked a lot more authentic 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:05.600 and better to have it practical. But even there's like 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:09.760 the scene where Holly the young Wheeler daughters like following 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:12.800 the Christmas lights down the hallway, and I think if 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:14.880 we didn't have all of those actually lighting up in 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.560 her having that direction and sort of all the interaction 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:20.560 you know with the lights and actors, it wouldn't have 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:21.160 been the same. 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.160 No, you wouldn't be able to get that tension. Yeah, 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:28.360 that's a great moment, So tell me also, I mean 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:30.360 the Christmas lights. I think that's one of those that 0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:33.480 I that I definitely wanted to hit upon because it's 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:39.559 a deceptively simple technology that ends up actually requiring thinking 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:42.680 outside the box in order to get the effect they wanted, 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:46.199 so requiring you to actually solder things. 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:48.160 Weeks weeks weeks of soldering. 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:51.000 Wow, So if you had to estimate, like how many 0:13:51.000 --> 0:13:52.600 weeks are you talking about for that, just to make 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:54.360 sure you could get that effect to work properly. 0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:56.760 It was two two weeks. 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:58.559 That's I mean, that's a lot of work to get 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:00.280 Christmas lights the light up. 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:02.560 I think we only built out of the twenty that 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:06.319 we were going to build, we only built seventeen because 0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:08.520 that's all we had time to do on top of 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:09.679 everything else that we had to do. 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:11.880 Oh sure, yeah, yeah, So. 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.839 Because then they would so they would solder these little strands, 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:19.360 you know, onto the sockets, and then we had it 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:22.680 involved me going back to props the lights that Joyce 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:26.520 originally buys at Melvald's Props. I guess it just sort 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:29.760 of had newer lights in the box and wasn't really 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:33.080 thinking about the bigger picture. So we had to go 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:35.680 back and have switched those out for the older strands 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:38.360 that have like the green and red twisted. 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:40.000 Sort of look right so that we could. 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:41.880 That that was the easiest thing for us to copy. 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:45.120 So they would finish soldering and then we would paint 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:47.480 them green and red and twist them all together. 0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:50.120 You know. So there's like a whole there's a whole 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:51.200 collaborative effort. 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:55.520 Serious continuity right there making sure that like because I mean, 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:58.280 I see a lot of movies where clearly that that 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:00.680 level of care was not quite take and you'll look 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:02.520 at something and think like, that's not even the same 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:04.800 prop as what he was holding a second ago. So 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:07.560 having that kind of level of detail is really cool. 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:11.720 So I assumed there was someone just like actually just 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:14.040 manually operating those lights. 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:17.080 Yeah, for all those sequences, we had our dimmer board 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:20.600 operator Jim and doornoman uh huh. He programmed all that. 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:24.760 And operate in real Tumbrad in real time. Wow. 0:15:24.960 --> 0:15:27.080 He's another one of my heroes too, because these guys, 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:29.760 because it wasn't because the Christmas lights were one thing. 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:33.040 And then there's also like the scene with the lamps 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:37.840 in the bedroom and Winona having to you know, bring 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.120 I guess we never had a scene. At first they 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:41.800 were going to show her like bringing all the lamps 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:42.640 in and setting them up. 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:44.000 And that was going to be like a whole other nightmare. 0:15:44.040 --> 0:15:47.320 But once they were sort of you know, they are 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:50.680 just getting those programmed right to do that effect. Jim 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:53.240 stayed late with me one night and just like we did, 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:55.720 you know, kept practicing and getting all that down. 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:58.280 So see, to me, that's really cool because it's not 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:00.880 just technical. It's it's a level of performance. I mean, 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:04.600 you're playing effectively another character in the scene, and so 0:16:05.240 --> 0:16:09.040 you know, there's all the timing that's required in that 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:12.440 to and again to get what the director wants in 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:16.840 order for that to have the emotional and psychological impact 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:19.480 on the viewer, which, by the way, credibly effective. 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:20.400 Because I loved it. 0:16:21.160 --> 0:16:24.960 So you know, my hat's off to you, because I 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:28.720 occasionally am a performer, but I couldn't do any of 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:31.400 the rest of it, whereas you guys are doing all 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:41.120 of that. So I'm really I'm really impressed. I assume 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:46.480 that it's is pretty tricky outfitting entire sets with nineteen 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:53.720 eighties era carbeting, furniture, the technology in particular, because we're 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:56.000 not so far removed from the nineteen eighties that we 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.040 think of those things as antiques. So therefore there's not 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:02.640 a lot of work and preserve preserving them, but we're 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:05.920 far enough out where nobody wants to hold onto them anymore. 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:09.920 So was was that a challenge to you to find 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:12.399 things that could incorporate that could live in that early 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:13.320 eighties setting? 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:18.280 Not as hard as you would think, I think, mostly 0:17:18.359 --> 0:17:20.479 just because thank God for State sales and Atlanta being 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:23.040 a good a state sales city. I've worked in other 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:26.000 cities where you just don't you know, they just don't 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.720 operate like that, you know. I don't know how people 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:31.080 get rid of their stuff after they've passed. I don't know, 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:34.119 but Atlanta is good about it. There are other like 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:37.520 I've done other movies. I did a movie that it 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:41.080 was a news station set in the seventies, and that's 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:43.159 one of those like there's already not a ton of 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:47.320 like news broadcast station equipment out there, not like you know, 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:51.320 old Nintendos and things, but and then it. 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:52.320 Was so fragile. 0:17:52.320 --> 0:17:54.080 It was sort of that like just that first wave 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:58.360 of like electronic technology and the old analog stuff from 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:01.479 like the fifties was you can get that kind of stuff, 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:04.920 but that's but getting stuff that worked that was That's 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:09.960 sort of that. That first generation plastic electronic disposable almost 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:14.800 like technologies was harder. But fortunately for you know, Sears 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:18.040 catalog days, a lot of Americans all had the same stuff, 0:18:18.280 --> 0:18:20.959 and enough people held onto it her pack rats that 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:23.400 we could kind of curate and go through and find 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:24.159 everything we needed. 0:18:24.359 --> 0:18:29.560 Yeah, I went to a panel with the art director 0:18:29.680 --> 0:18:32.119 from Stranger Things, and he talked a little bit about 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:38.119 the process of identifying the different the different types of 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:41.879 fabrics and the different color schemes that were going to 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:45.000 be important, and how you know, certain certain houses were 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:46.640 going to look like they were more of a holdover 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:49.520 from maybe the mid to late seventies and some were 0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:51.919 a little bit more modern in the sense of the 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:55.760 early eighties. And and that also was really interesting to me, 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:58.639 this idea of you know, you're not just you're not 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:02.240 just creating creating a huge pile of stuff from a 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:05.320 general era. You actually have to give each of these 0:19:05.320 --> 0:19:06.760 places its own personality. 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:09.320 Well that's yeah, there is a I tell people the 0:19:09.359 --> 0:19:11.880 story that one of our accountants came to me after 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:13.960 we were like up and filming the first week or 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:18.240 so on stage, and she said, you know, Jess, I 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:20.800 saw your sets. They look really great, but gosh, like 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:23.120 is this this is the eighties and they look very 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:25.200 seventies to me? And I was, you know, and it's 0:19:25.240 --> 0:19:28.199 one of those like not every socioeconomic group is going 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:32.119 to just instantly have you know, the late eighties. Yeah, 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:35.080 from like that series catalog that year. It's all it's 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:37.320 more of a you know, when did they build the house, 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:40.240 When would they have you know, renovated or what's there? 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:44.600 You know, did they have the means to update the carpet, wallpaper, whatever, 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:47.000 And kind of have to just think it through each 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:50.200 character having its own sort of storyline with their home. 0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:53.400 Yeah, keeping everything consistent. I mean that is clearly very 0:19:53.440 --> 0:19:56.520 important if you want to establish things, like, you know, 0:19:57.040 --> 0:20:00.360 a believable character. It would be weird to go into 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:05.840 a home of a person who was presumably just scraping 0:20:05.880 --> 0:20:08.680 by and you see what appears to be a brand 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:11.360 new Apple two gs in the background. You're like, that's 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:13.960 a couple of grand Where did they get that money 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:14.199 for that? 0:20:14.400 --> 0:20:14.680 They? 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:14.840 Yeah? 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:15.760 Yeah. 0:20:15.800 --> 0:20:19.840 So was there anything in particular that you either of 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:24.800 you that you think was really interesting or really cool? Uh, 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:29.280 something that you had not anticipated? Uh that you know, 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:31.800 that's like your go to, Like, you know, if people 0:20:31.840 --> 0:20:33.399 were asking you, what was it, like, You're like, well, 0:20:33.480 --> 0:20:35.480 let me tell you this particular thing that I was 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:38.760 really excited about, whether it was something that turned out 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:40.760 the way you expected at the beginning or something that 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:42.960 completely went a different direction. 0:20:44.200 --> 0:20:48.160 Getting getting invited back to season two, that was that's good. 0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:49.080 That's good. 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:51.480 I think if you were able to take all of 0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:53.960 those Christmas lights and make them light up individually, that's 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:55.040 a really good start. 0:20:58.000 --> 0:20:58.960 I don't know, I don't. 0:20:59.560 --> 0:21:00.960 I mean that's what I was thrilled to be here 0:21:01.000 --> 0:21:03.800 today and asked John to come too, because for me, 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:08.919 that sort of like collaborative overlap my thing. And he 0:21:09.040 --> 0:21:11.919 knows as well. Is it like today in film, Like 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:15.760 everyone loves led lights lighting, even if they're trying to 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:17.640 make even if it is like period or they want 0:21:17.640 --> 0:21:21.360