January 10, 2026

Caleb Heymann: the cinematic playground of Stranger Things

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 341: Caleb Heymann

Cinematographer Caleb Heymann has been a key architect of the Stranger Things aesthetic since the tail end of Season 3. After starting as a second unit DP, Heymann was promoted to lead cinematographer for the blockbuster Season 4, and now its fifth and final season. The crew dedicated a full year to filming Season 5, spanning from January through December 2024. While the desert dreamscape was captured on location in New Mexico, the bulk of production remained in Atlanta.

Seasons 4 and 5 traverse a variety of locations, each requiring vastly different palettes. Heymann views each environment within the Stranger Things universe as a “cinematic playground.” To ground the show’s supernatural elements, the production leans heavily on location shooting and in-camera effects. “There are definitely certain anachronistic visual elements that we wanted to pay homage to,” says Heymann. “The lightning can be a little over the top. It intentionally rides that line between expressive and theatrical. But I think we try to not overdo it, because everything in front of the camera is already taking you there.”

The production constantly balanced both digital and physical effects. “We always try to push it and see what we can get in camera. The art department does an incredible job and builds us huge sets,” says Heymann. Creating the Upside Down was a monumental task for the art department, who must redress nearly every location for night shoots. The iconic vines, for instance, are physically constructed by “nether technicians.” To make the dimension’s signature hellish glow, the crew often used practical red lighting on set rather than relying solely on post-production color grading.

Heymann and the Duffer brothers selected a different camera system for each season, choosing cameras that best fit the story’s needs. For Season 5, Heymann needed a distinct visual motif to represent Will’s “trance state” and the POV of the demogorgons and demo dogs. He stacked two center-spot diopters, which blended the image while losing focus at the edges. To heighten the disorientation, the team shook the camera manually and with a camera shaker on a Technocrane.

“It was absolutely a dream experience already being a fan of the show to be able to come in and join this group of awesome people who work on it and to ultimately get to work with the Duffers,” says Heymann. “I learned a lot from them, just in their attention to detail and sensitivity to camera movement. And they’re always about pushing everybody to do their best work.”

See Stranger Things Season 5 streaming on Netflix.

Find Caleb Heymann: https://www.calebheymann.com/
Instagram @calebheymann

SHOW RUNDOWN:

01:53 Close Focus
06:45-01:00:06 Caleb Heymann interview
01:01:10 Short ends
01:08:39 Wrap up/Credits

Support Ben’s short film, The Ultimate Breakup! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theultimatebreakup/the-ultimate-breakup-short-film?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=the%20ultimate%20breakup&total_hits=2

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

.

In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

.


0 comments

November 22, 2023

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret cinematographer Tim Ives, ASC

The film Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is an adaptation of the 1970 Judy Blume book about a pre-teen girl coming of age. Cinematographer Tim Ives, ASC was drawn to working on the film because with three kids, including two daughters, he was interested in opening up the conversation about girls going through puberty and getting their first period. Tim also admired screenwriter and director Kelly Fremon Craig’s work on The Edge of Seventeen.

Tim had previously shot the series Stranger Things, so he had a comfort and familiarity with kids in their early teens. Tim also appreciated that Kelly Fremon Craig brought so much enthusiasm, love and commitment to the film, and deeply respected the book by Judy Blume. Though the film is set in the 1970’s, neither Tim nor Craig wanted Margaret to feel too dusty and faded. They wanted the film to have a nostalgic feel while still seeming contemporary. At first, they had trouble finding just the right look, until Tim showed Craig a book of photographs by Tina Barney. Her photos influenced the look of the movie, with a very amber, Kodak Gold film look. Tim wanted every scene in the movie to feel like it was a snapshot taken from real life.

In his work, Tim most enjoys working on stories with flawed characters with hopes of redemption. He first broke into narrative storytelling through the HBO series Girls, then went on to shoot the pilot for Mr. Robot and several seasons of Stranger Things. Tim enjoyed working on Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret because he likes the timeframe of film, where it’s working on one thing for about half a year, with one singular vision from one director. In series television, it usually means working intensely on one thing for almost a year, with a few different directors.

Tim Ives’ latest project, Love & Death, another period piece set in 1980, is currently on Max.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is currently available on VOD or DVD.

Find Tim Ives: https://www.timives.com/
Instagram: @timives

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com
Sponsored by Aputure: https://www.aputure.com/

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz

By Illya Friedman

.

In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

.


0 comments

February 17, 2021

Lachlan Milne, ACS, NZCS, cinematographer of Minari, Stranger Things, Hunt for the Wilderpeople and more

Lachlan Milne believes that finding a connection and building a friendship with the director of a film is the key to making great art. Growing up in Adelaide, Australia, Lachlan had a clear idea of what he wanted to do from an early age, since his father was a director and his mother was an editor. He got his foot in the door as an assistant prop master, but knew his calling was in the camera department. At first he was barely scraping by from job to job before getting more established as a cinematographer on small movies such as Uninhabited and Not Suitable for Children. His big breakout movie was 2016’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople with director Taika Waititi. Lachlan soon found a niche on challenging but fun supernatural movies such as Little Monsters, Martha the Monster, and Love and Monsters (coming soon to the U.S.) and then began work on the hit series, Stranger Things.

Working on a big budget show like Stranger Things was weird for Lachlan, who was used to making do on small budget movies. Stranger Things has the luxury of shooting on a stage, and everything is a built set, with walls and ceilings that could be removed for ease of shooting and lighting. The crew was even able to customize and control all the neon and lighting in Episode 8- The Battle of Starcourt to make the entire mall flicker on demand.

On his latest film, Minari, Lachlan and director Lee Isaac Chung decided the film needed to be one camera, that the pacing should be languid, simply and naturalistically shot. Lachlan feels that having a low budget actually worked to Minari’s advantage, because the best version of the movie was a film that relied more on capturing the performances rather than big showy shots. He favors holding out for a closeup until it’s emotionally warranted rather than doing it just for the sake of having closeups. Minari was a great opportunity for Lachlan to move back into shooting simple indie films. He and Isaac spent time together carefully shotlisting all the scenes. One of the most challenging aspects of shooting Minari was scenes in the trailer the family lives in. They used an actual trailer, and it was hard to cram sometimes up to 15 people into it, with no air conditioning and a limited range for camera motion and angles.

Lachlan Milne is currently shooting season four of Stranger Things.

You can watch Minari in theaters and streaming on VOD beginning February 26.

Find Lachlan Milne: https://info509786.wixsite.com/lachlanmilne

Instagram: @lachlanmilne

Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: https://camnoir.com/ep113/

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com
Aputure: https://www.aputure.com/
Website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz

By Illya Friedman

.

In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

.


0 comments