Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1542693
2 4 P E R S P E C T I V E J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 Key Sequences Two significant moments in the final season stood above the rest. The first finds our hero Eleven running an obstacle course to fine-tune her telekinetic powers, called "El's Junkyard Training." The second is a battle with Hopper and Eleven in the Upside Down taking on multiple forces, including a heavily armed military presence, called "The Billboard Shootout." El's Junkyard Training When we find Eleven in season 5, she's training in preparation to face down the penultimate villain, the evil Vecna and his legion of demons. She races against the clock in an old junkyard peppered with pumpkins, old car parts and boobytraps designed to sharpen her telekinetic abilities. The set was being designed as I was boarding but it had been extensively scouted so I knew where the action took place. We also drew overheads, a top-down map of where each beat takes place. Overheads are the most useful tool a director can provide. It's clearer than a shot list and a life- saver when sets, locations and the script change. The Duffer Brothers employ action that is always in service of character. Every punch, shot and telekinetic smash are in service of revealing who our heroes truly are. This gives the storyboards focus, informing the sequence's dramatic purpose and the emotional event to be earned. Production Designer Chris Trujillo had location photos and a handful of sketched-out gags for Eleven's obstacle course. Drawing everything allowed the Brothers to gauge the scene's rhythm since Eleven is racing against a clock.