LFTVD (Stranger Things)

Question 1

Who created the story for Stranger Things?

Answer 1

The Duffer Brothers (Ross and Matt)

Question 2

Who produced Stranger Things?

Answer 2

Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment

Question 3

Who owns Monkey Massacre Productions?

Answer 3

The Duffer Brothers

Question 4

Who owns 21 Laps Entertainment?

Answer 4

Shawn Levy

Question 5

What is Stranger Things based on?

Answer 5

A conspiracy theory called the “Montauk Project” about secret government experiments during the Cold War

Question 6

What media/directors/authors does Stranger Things take inspiration from?

Answer 6

E.T., Poltergeist, Alien, Star Wars, Silent Hill, The Last of Us, Freddy Kreuger, Pennywise

Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter

Question 7

Who funded Stranger Things?

Answer 7

Netflix

Question 8

Who bought Stranger Things and for how much?

Answer 8

Netflix for an undisclosed amount

Question 9

What was Stranger Things’ budget for Season 1?

Answer 9

$6 million per episode

Question 10

Where is Stranger Things available?

Answer 10

Only on Netflix

Question 11

When was Stranger Things released?

Answer 11

15 July 2016 worldwide

Question 12

How were Stranger Things episodes released?

Answer 12

All in one go for audiences to binge-watch

Question 13

What was the critical response for Stranger Things?

Answer 13

• 14 million viewers within 35 days of release
• Research showed viewers were “hooked” on the show by the second episode
• Received a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 8.2/10
• Received a 76/100 score on Metacritic
• Received a rating of 8/10 on IGN

Question 14

How can audiences access Netflix?

Answer 14

Through a subscription service payment starting at £4.99 a month

Question 15

How many views does Stranger Things have as of January 2024?

Answer 15

140.7 million views

Question 16

How many subscribers does Netflix have?

Answer 16

Around 250 million

Question 17

How many views did the first episode of Stranger Things have on release?

Answer 17

12.7 million

Question 18

How many episodes are in Season 1 of Stranger Things?

Answer 18

8

Question 19

How long are the episodes in Season 1 of Stranger Things?

Answer 19

Between 40 to 50 minutes

Question 20

Where was the show filmed?

Answer 20

Atlanta, Georgia

Question 21

Who are the main characters?

Answer 21

Will Byers (boy who goes missing)

Mike, Lucas, Dustin (Will’s friends)

Joyce Byers (Will’s mum)

Jonathan Byers (Will’s older brother)

Nancy Wheeler (Mike’s older sister)

Hopper (police officer)

Eleven (supernatural girl)

Dr Brenner (leader of experiments at Hawkins Lab)

Steve (Nancy’s boyfriend)

Barb (Nancy’s best friend)

Benny (owner of the diner)

Question 22

What program was used to edit Stranger Things?

Answer 22

Avid Editing Progam

Question 23

What is the name of the first episode of Stranger Things?

Answer 23

The Vanishing of Will Byers

Question 24

When did Stranger Things filming begin?

Answer 24

November 2015

Question 25

How long did it take to film Season 1 of Stranger Things?

Answer 25

6 months to film the first season and 11 days to film each episode

Question 26

Who edited Stranger Things?

Answer 26

Dean Zimmerman

Question 27

What technology was used in the first episode of Stranger Things?

Answer 27

A mixture of practical and digital effects to create the monster/Demogorgon (they used real constructed props for the monster itself but for other scenes (such as the monster bursting through a wall) they used digital CGI effects)

A film grain was added over footage to make it look more old and outdated like the 80s; they achieved this effect by scanning in real film stock from the 1980s.

Question 28

How was the title sequence created?

Answer 28

Created digitally in post-production by the studio Imaginary Forces, who took inspiration from 80s media/pop culture, the show’s script, synth background music and book covers from authors such as Stephen King.

In the title sequence, they made letters vanish to reflect the “missing” theme of the show, and made letters cast shadows over each other to represent the “mystery” and “hidden” aspects of the show.

Question 29

How was Season 1 marketed?

Answer 29

DVDs of the first season had packaging that looked like VHS tapes to pay homage to the time period of the 1980s (when the show is set in and when VHS tapes were popular).

The show’s soundtrack was released on cassette tapes again as a reference to the 80s.

A 360-degree VR experience was created shortly after the release of season 1 to immerse the audience into the ST universe of Hawkins. Audiences could access the VR experience on YouTube (or use it in a Google Cardboard VR headset) and it gained at least 13.5 million views. This was an example of low cost strategy marketing with a high return.

A 4-hour long Twitch stream was held before the release of the first episode which featured Twitch influences playing games in the famous ST basement. This offered an interactive and immersive experience where the audience watching live could vote in the comments for “creepy” things to happen to the unsuspecting gamers, such as for the lights to flicker or for a door to slam shut.

Poster created by artist Kyle Lambert, hand drawn using Procreate on iPad and Adobe Photoshop, inspired by the work of other poster illustrators such as Drew Struzan, Bob Peak, John Alvin and Richard Amsel. The poster was designed to pay homage to the 80’s era of hand-painted movie posters.

Question 30

What spin-off products of Stranger Things are there?

Answer 30

West-end stage show “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” set in Hawkins in 1959 and follows the stories of a young Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper.

16-bit beat-em-up style mobile video game called Stranger Things 3, available to play on the Netflix app for Android and iOS, which is based off the 3rd season of the show. There is another mobile game called Stranger Things: 1984.

Original board game called “Attack of the Mind Flayer”

Monopoly collaboration

Question 31

How is the audience of Stranger Things responsible for the popularity of the show?

Answer 31

There are fanfictions, fan-made MVs and memes which help to circulate the product.

These are all examples of prosumer content.

Fans also cosplay characters of ST which helps to promote the TV show to new audiences.

There is a ST Wiki where people can read and learn everything about the show, as well as contribute to the wiki page with information.

There is a r/StrangerThings subreddit on the online forum website Reddit where fans ask questions about the show, answer people’s questions, post theories, discuss episodes, share Youtube videos and make polls (favourite character, best character etc).

This subreddit has 1.5 million members and is part of the Top 1% of subreddits on the website.