Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1262492
34 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E When it came time to pin down the sound of the Demogorgon, Henighan first experimented with non-mammalian sounds — using the creaking of a door — but ultimately turned to his own library of seal sounds. "There was one little sound that, as I was just sort of listening through the library, I was like, 'Oh, that's kind of interesting,'" said Henighan, who used those sounds to build a variety of vocalizations for the monster. "Out of that, I was able to sort of grow the differ- ent types of roars and gurgles and snarls and growls." Th e D u f fe rs d e s c r i b e t h e s o u n d s concocted by Henighan as "incredibly unique." "If he's heard a sound before in a movie or show, he's just not interested," the creators said. "He's breathed incred- ible personality into the Upside Down and its many monsters, bringing them to roaring life." Of course, not every sound is big and bold. Especially during Season 1, Henighan was tasked with creating a subtler soundscape emerging from the not-quite-right town of Hawkins. "In the early episodes, you didn't quite figure out what was going on," he said. "If you listen closely to the insects or the background at m o s p h e re, . . . t h ey ' re s o m e t i m e s pitched a lot lower, or they're sometimes reversed and there's a heaviness to it." T h e "S t ra n ge r T h i n gs " e d i to r i a l crew say that Season 3 — set during the summertime, frequently unfolding in a period-appropriate shopping mall — was its boldest to date. "We wanted to go in with that big summer blockbuster feel," Fuller said. For his part, Zimmerman realized the show had "hit the big time" just from reading the scripts. "All of a sudden, we are quadrupling our visual ef- fects," Zimmerman said. "Every episode h a s m o n s t e r s e t p i e c e s w i t h c r a z y special effects." The complexity of material posed challenges for the post team. "It was a constant pressure — the pace of just get- ting things out the door and turning over these crazy visual effects sequences," Zimmerman said. "It was like finishing a triathlon." Zimmerman invited first assistant editor Naranjo to work with him on Episode 8, which was about 30 pages longer than any other episode in the show; the pair split duties in cutting a climactic fight in a mall. "You have Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolard, Caleb McLaughlin, Shawn Levy on the "Stanger Things" set. P H O T O : T I N A R O W D E N / N E T F L I X