Client

Sonia Friedman Productions / Netflix

Location

London, UK New York, USA

Sector

Entertainment

Services Provided

Video & visual effects design

Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.

 

This project was created by 59, a Journey Studio. 

                        
                                                    

The show opened at the West End’s Phoenix Theatre and arrives on Broadway in March 2025. Directed by Stephen Daldry and co-directed by Justin Martin, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” is a play written by Kate Trefry from an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Trefry. The story serves as a prequel to the events of the television series, “Stranger Things.”

The world was brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, with 59, a Journey studio, responsible for Video and Visual Effects Design.

The development of video content began with a series of workshops in which scale model box projection, full-scale mockups, previsualization and extensive iterations were employed to take concepts through to production, all in close cooperation with illusions, sound and lighting.

                        
                                                    

To create convincing digital doubles for key moments of the show, we employed motion capture techniques more commonly associated with CGI for films and television. All the actors for these moments were scanned and modeled in software, and performances were captured in multiple takes before being stitched together into coherent, carefully choreographed sequences.

Though the design of the production was undoubtedly cutting edge, our focus was on ensuring the visual components of the show helped support the storytelling. Our design brings together digital and traditional theatrical techniques to create a rich, absorbing, surprising world — and in the process, pushes the outer boundaries of theater craft.

                        
                            

Impact

Winner

2024 Olivier Awards
London Theatre

A new chapter in theatre. It’s out of this world.

- London Theatre