CMU School of Drama


Monday, November 13, 2017

Sound Crew Raises Audio Tech Level for Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things 2’

Variety: Critics have noted the differences between Netflix hit “Stranger Things” and “Stranger Things 2,” which bowed Oct. 27, but some things haven’t changed a bit. For example: the post-production setup is the same as before, and nothing if not convenient. The sound team is based in the Technicolor Seward Post Facility in Hollywood, where members work directly across the hall from the colorist. The convenient positioning allows creators Matt and Ross Duffer to jump between rooms, enabling the merging of picture and sound to inform, even change, aspects of the story.

2 comments:

Katie Pyzowski said...

I adore this show and from the moment I watched it, I loved the sound track and admired the sound design. I have yet to meet someone who does not think the music of Stranger Things is iconic. I love the vibes of the 80s sound track. The sound effects are even better. I had no idea that the regular world sound effects were sourced to be true to the time period as well. The squelching and noises of the Upside Down are so realistic and do make you feel disgusted and intrigued. I also had not even considered the adolescence of the actors playing a part into the sound design. Its amazing that production technology can do things like make people sound like other people (or to make current actors sound like themselves from the past, in this case). I also think it is interesting that the colorist and the sound team work so closely together. It seems logical to me that the sound and the image come together and are timed perfectly, but considering colors and imagery to make sure the chosen sounds and music create the right message or feeling is something I had not thought of. Perhaps this collaboration is what makes the soundscapes and audio of this show better than so many others. I want to work more with sound, and learning how certain sounds affect moods, and how colors play into those decisions would be really interesting. If I have the time, perhaps I will look into that.

Peter Kelly said...

The sound design of Stranger Things is incredibly detailed. This detail adds to the overall atmosphere and helps to immerse the viewer into the 1980s/supernatural world. Given that most of the show takes place in a fictional “real world” location during a time period that many people watching it have lived through. This makes it so that people are even more skeptical and ready to call out anything that isn’t perfect. I love that the sound designers are detailed enough with their research to go out and find the correct telephone rings, car sounds, and even commercials. The article also points out an interesting challenge the sound engineers have. The way that the child actors’ voices change over the course of filming has to be accounted for, and they do an amazing job of just that. Never once over the course of watching the show did I think, “Wow, his voice sounds different.” I commend the designers and engineers on a wonderfully immersive environment that doesn’t sway for even a moment.