WithStranger Thingsseason 3 releasing in July 2019, it was three years before Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven and her crew returned to Hawkins to deal with the Upside Down. While filming was delayed due to the ongoing pandemic, one specific visual effects scene in season 4 took over two years to create.
As part ofStranger Things' latest season, fans got to see the Upside Down in much more detail. After introducingVecna as the main villain, the series dives deeper into the world he lives in, offering a closer look at some of the elements such as the Creel House. One particular shot of the manor required a bit of post-production work, but with filming taking so long, the visual effects team had ample time to not only make the scene come to life but make it appear spectacular.
RELATED:Can Stranger Things Avoid The Game of Thrones Effect?
Filming onStranger Thingsseason 4began before the pandemic, but when it stopped, the VFX team continued to work. In an interview withCollider, VFX Supervisor Julien Hery revealed that the first time fans see the manor in the Upside Down, as one of Vecna’s bat-demon flies over it, is the scene that his team worked on for months on end. The Creel House appears in the season both in the present in Hawkins and the Upside Down. Fans get to see several interior and exterior shots of the manor, including a stunning birds-eye view of Vecna’s lair, shrouded in red hues.
This specific sequence was perfected over two years. “We actually started to develop a few looks, and started to work on the assets before the pandemic. And when it stopped, we kept working on one or two shots,” Hery said. His team changed the animation several times to get just the right amount of nightmarish effects, all while ensuring that the manor still looks like a replica of the one in Hawkins. The scene transforms the scenery into a decomposing wasteland of sorts, as the vinesin the Upside Downspread all over the place, including inside the manor. “There was plenty of time, so we took like such a long time to develop that shot. So it was pretty cool,” Hery stated.
The latest season ofStranger Thingswas so popular, it helped make the series the most-watched English language show on Netflix. Within just the first three days of its release, season 4 had been viewed for 286.79 million hours. The figure rose to a whopping 781.04 million hours in 17 days, making it reach the top of the list. The series also earned the second spot on Netflix’s overall list of Most Popular TV series. The show currently leading the list is the Korean dystopian dramaSquid Game.
Stranger Thingsis streaming on Netflix.
MORE:If Stranger Things Ends With A Sacrificial Character, There’s Only One Choice
