Behind the scenes of Stranger Things: what the set photos show
Universe · Behind the scenes · Filming
Everything is filmed in Georgia, around Atlanta, since the first season, on closed sets and with numbered scripts. In this article: the shopping street redecorated every season, the creatures played by a performer in a suit before the digital retouching, the hours in the chair the antagonist's makeup requires, what green screen does and does not do, shooting with children over nine years and the photos taken from the street. By the end, you will understand how these images are made.
A faceless creature sitting down to a sandwich, an actress suspended from cables in front of a green wall, an Indiana street rebuilt in Georgia: the set photos tell another show. Here is what they show of the making, from practical effects to sets, and why the production lets so few of them out.
The essentials
- Where it shoots: in Georgia, around Atlanta, since the first season
- The creatures: a performer in a suit, then digital touch-ups
- Downtown: a real shopping street, redressed every season
- The makeup: several hours in the chair for the antagonist
- The secrecy: closed sets and numbered scripts
- What leaks out: mostly photos taken from the street, by locals
Contents
- An Indiana town filmed in Georgia
- The creatures: a human body before the retouching
- The makeup, and the hours in the chair
- What green screen does, and doesn't do
- The secrecy, and why so few photos leak
- Rebuilding the 1980s, object by object
- Filming children for nine years
- Where to see these images today
An Indiana town filmed in Georgia
The first thing the set photos reveal is the show's real geography. Hawkins is supposed to be in Indiana; it has been filmed in Georgia, around Atlanta, since the first season. Downtown is a real shopping street in a small town, redecorated every season with period signs and vintage cars.
Photos taken by residents show the process: trucks, replaced road signs, storefronts covered with fake businesses, and extras in 1980s outfits. Between takes, you can see crews laying down artificial snow again or hosing the road to get reflections. A five-hundred-meter street becomes an entire town through framing.
| In the show | In real life |
|---|---|
| Downtown Hawkins | a shopping street in a small Georgia town |
| The national laboratory | a former university campus in Atlanta |
| Middle school and high school | a former school converted into a soundstage |
| The mall | an empty shopping mall north of Atlanta |
| the Byers house | an isolated house rented from its owners |
The town's T-shirt, to wear on site.
In the shopMen's T-shirt Hawkins Upside Dosaur39,90 €See the product
The creatures: a human body before the retouching
It is the most striking revelation in the behind-the-scenes photos: the show's monsters are first of all performers in a suit. A contortionist gave his silhouette to the first season's creature, in a full-body suit, with movements designed to look like nothing human. The digital retouching comes afterward, mostly for the petaled head that opens up.
That choice explains why those creatures are frightening: they really occupy the space, they cast a shadow, and the actors are looking at something that exists. The between-takes photos have become cult favorites among fans — a monster sitting on a folding chair, head under its arm, between two takes.
Why it changes everythingAn actor looking at a tennis ball on a pole does not play the same fear as an actor facing a two-meter figure. The show kept that rule until the end.
The makeup, and the hours in the chair
The fourth season's antagonist is the most spectacular example: prosthetics applied to the face, the skull and the hands, several hours of work before each shooting day, and a gait altered by the costume. The preparation photos show an unrecognizable actor, surrounded by three makeup artists.
The same principle applies to wounds, burns and diseased skin. Nothing is added afterward when makeup can do it: it takes longer, it costs more, but it lets them shoot up close without the image giving anything away. The show built its horror reputation on that detail.
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The armchair
several hours of prosthetics before the first take
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The costume
it changes the walk, and the walk makes the character
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The board
touch-ups between every scene, under the heat of the lights
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Taking it off
one more hour, at the end of a fourteen-hour day
What green screen does, and doesn't do
Behind-the-scenes photos show a lot of green walls, and you need to know what they're for. Most of the set is built: the interiors, the cabin, the lab, the hallways. Green screen is used mostly for extensions – a sky, a rift, a ruined city – and for the levitation scenes, where an actress is suspended on cables.
That is the limit the show set for itself: digital work extends a set that exists, it does not replace it. The behind-the-scenes images where you see an actress hooked to a harness, a meter off the ground, in front of a green wall, almost always match the most spectacular shots in the final result.
The secrecy, and why so few photos leak
The production is known for how tightly it locks things down: closed sets, numbered and name-tagged scripts, working titles different from the real title, and confidentiality clauses for everyone involved. The youngest actors long received partial scripts, episode by episode, to avoid leaks.
What does get out anyway almost always comes from the outside: photos taken from a window, street videos shot on a phone by residents, or agency shots taken with a telephoto lens. That's why the available set images mostly show exteriors — streets, forests, parking lots — and almost never interiors.
- Numbered scriptseach copy carries a name, to trace a leak back to its source
- Working titlesthe shoot moves forward under a name other than the show's
- Closed setsthe interiors are not visible from outside
- What leaks outexteriors, photographed from the street by locals
The figure of the creature, without the costume.
In the shopHawkins police 4x4 to build41,90 €See the product
Rebuilding the 1980s, object by object
A large part of the invisible work goes into the props. The set teams buy period cars, food packaging, posters, home appliances and toys, all dated before the year the season takes place. A cereal box with the wrong logo is enough to jolt an attentive viewer.
Behind-the-scenes photos show that accumulation: entire parking lots filled with 1980s cars, rebuilt supermarket aisles, classrooms fitted with period desks. It's the part of the work the audience only notices when it fails.
Filming children for nine years
The heaviest constraint on the production is not technical: it is the actors growing up. Between the first and the last season, the young performers aged about ten years, while the plot only covered four. The set photos make that gap visible, season after season.
The crews worked around it: hairstyles, clothing, framing that minimizes height differences, and a tighter shooting schedule to limit growth over the course of a season. The final season even leaned into the gap by letting time pass in the story. It's one of the reasons the series had to end.
Where to see these images today
Three sources coexist. The photos released by the production, often tightly framed set portraits. The press images, taken during the days open to journalists. And the residents' snapshots, posted on social media during outdoor shoots — these are the most interesting, because they show what no one prepared to be seen.
For a fan, the most entertaining exercise is comparing a set photo with the final shot: the same street, the same hour, and an entirely different town. It's the best demonstration of what framing, lighting and set dressing can do to an ordinary street.
The poster of the most recognizable set.
In the shopSweatshirt Hawkins Middle School men's70,90 €See the product
Frequently asked questions
Where is the series filmed?
In Georgia, around Atlanta, since the first season. Downtown Hawkins is a real shopping street in a small town, redecorated every season.
Are the monsters computer-generated?
Not only: they are first of all performers in costume, including a contortionist for the creature of the first season. The digital retouching comes afterward, in particular for the head that opens up.
How long does the antagonist's makeup take?
Several hours of prosthetics before each shooting day, plus an hour of makeup removal at the end, with a dedicated makeup team.
Why are there so few set photos?
Because the sets are closed, the scripts numbered and named, and the shoot moves forward under a working title. What leaks out comes mostly from residents photographing the street scenes.
Is green screen used a lot?
Less than you'd think: the sets are built, and green screen is used mostly for set extensions, skies, rifts and the levitation scenes with harnesses.
How do you handle actors who are growing up?
Through hairstyles, clothing, framing that softens the differences in height, and a tightened schedule. The last season also embraced the gap by letting time pass inside the story.
Are the accessories period-accurate?
Yes, and it's a big part of the work: cars, packaging, posters and appliances are chosen to predate the year in which each season takes place.
Can you visit the filming locations?
Several exterior locations can be visited in Georgia, in particular the main street, the school and some house exteriors, as long as you stay on public roads.
