Stranger Things Virtual Reality Experience Produced by CBS VFX

Netflix kicked off their “See What’s Next” press event in Berlin during the first week of March and CBS VFX was there to present our Stranger Things Virtual Experience to the public for the first time.  The excitement was palpable, as our collaboration with Netflix’s publicity team was about to be fully realized and enjoyed by Netflix staff, tastemakers and fans of the hit show alike.  It was the culmination of months of work that ended up being a fun and rewarding experience for everyone involved.

For any virtual set or serious excursion into VR, the first step to success is always authenticity.  For the Stranger Things Virtual Experience, our team laser scanned and rebuilt the actual house from the show.  We then added the voice of Joyce Byers, Winona Ryder’s character, to an actual phone call within the virtual house that puts the user in a similar role to that of Winona’s character within the show.  The result is a completely immersive, at times unnerving, trip down the rabbit hole that is Stranger Things.

The culture of Netflix is built on disruption and our job was to deliver a virtual adventure that was as innovative as the Netflix brand.  We did so by building a custom, room-scale experience beyond anything that anyone could buy off the shelf.  Mission accomplished.  Our VR experience enables users to freely walk the entire house while using their hands to hold a flashlight and answer the phone, putting each person who enters our virtual set into a suspenseful, real-time interaction on the show’s set.

Fully immersive?  You bet.  Compelling?  Very much so.  Intense?  Judge for yourself by looking at the Stranger Things cast going through the experience for the first time.