Blog 01 – Technical Art – srauch

I continue to be inspired by the VFX in Stranger Things, which is done by Rodeo FX using (from what I could discern online) Maya for modeling and Arnold Core for rendering. The most recent season, according to VFX supervisor Julien Hery, was the product of about two years of work.

The Stranger Things VFX inspires me for a couple of reasons. For one, the monster design is spectacular; it enhances the storytelling significantly. Secondly, Stranger Things works to bridge the gap between practical and computer-generated effects, and they do a fantastic job of it. They use VFX in such an artful and compelling way to make creatures that are completely fictitious, but move in their environment in a very convincing way, enhancing the immersion and worldbuilding.

You can see one of their completely CG monsters in this scene:

The continued improvement of visual effects such as these will broaden the horizons of future filmmakers and storytellers, allowing them to elegantly depict what before could only be imagined.