Since 2016, the Duffer Brothers‘ original Netflix series stranger things garnered an impressive number of viewers across the globe and consistently delivered quality content for four consecutive seasons. Between an excellent cast of unforgettable characters and a sci-fi-driven storyline that raises the stakes higher and higher each season, fans can’t seem to get enough of Hawkins, Indiana. Recently, Collider Samantha Coley sat down with one of the brains behind what makes stranger things so remarkable, Rodeo FX’s VFX supervisor Julien Heryto discuss the work that went into bringing Season 4 from page to screen, including the inspiration behind Vecna’s infamous Mind Lair.
Which makes stranger things Standing out from Netflix’s sizable roster of original content is the immersive quality, and Season 4 took the visuals to new heights. From the elaborate creatures of the Upside Down to the nightmarish hellscape where the big boss, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), resides, the VFX team was working overtime for the series’ final season.
After the Battle of Starcourt, fans were on pins and needles waiting to see what kinds of outlandish storylines the Duffer Brothers would take their party to in Season 4, and if the volume 2 premiere turnout is any indication. , they exceeded expectations. Like their characters, the villains have also grown. No longer just about sci-fi, alien-inspired Demogorgons and Demodogs, Season 4 introduces audiences to an all-new ballgame steeped in ’80s horror starring Vecna, the creator of all things torment. our heroes since Season 1. Not only is the entity itself terrifying, but its lair is a twisted landscape of living evil.
When Coley spoke with Hery, she inquired about the inspiration behind Vecna’s Lair. The VFX supervisor described their team’s credentials as “super dark”, citing the artist’s work wayne barlowein particular his piece entitled Hell. The art depicts a charred land of death with stark reds and fiery skies, and the visuals have a clear influence on Vecna’s Lair. Work with the Art Director Deak Ferrandwho worked on 2021 Dunes and James Wanit is Aquamanthe department was tasked with creating a complete environment that would reflect the villainousness of the Season 4 villain.
Hery told Collider:
“…we started with the concept [art] by Michael [Mayer], and then I remember like for the first two shots, we had to establish the island from far away, the island where the action is going to take place. And we were trying to find a way to establish that environment, and for those specific shots, we had to work to replace the island. We have to build a specific environment for this, for these few plans, to really establish a very large plan. [One of] the art references we use was Wayne Barlowe, he has these bits of… I think it’s called Inferno, and basically it’s paintings. And it’s nice… how to say… this painting that makes you nightmare: red sky, super dark silhouette. It’s super dark, but it was very interesting. Without a doubt, it was a benchmark for us to use that.”
In the show, Vecna resides in a world he created for himself, complete with a hive mind of living vines that coil and suffocate the mirror reality known to the main characters as the Upside Down. In the fourth episode, fans saw what Hery called “The Island”, a small section of the Upside Down which is made up of the remains of the Creel House, Hawkins Fractures along with the bodies of Vecna’s victims. intertwined. The lair is where Vecna brings his victims and where the final showdown between him and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) takes place in the Season 4 finale.
Hery is an Emmy-nominated VFX artist who has worked on a number of high-profile projects, such as Disney+’s MCU series Wanda Vision, Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldieras good as Eric Kripkefrom the Amazon Prime series The boys. To see more of his work, check out stranger thingsavailable to stream on Netflix.
Season 4 of stranger things is available on Netflix now, and be sure to check out our full interview with Hery when it arrives. In the meantime, you can watch the cast react to the scene from the fourth episode which features Vecna’s Lair for the first time below:
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