<P> While filming, the brothers tried to capture shots that could be seen as homages to many of the 1980s references they recalled . Their goal was not necessarily to fill the work with these references, but instead make the series seem to the viewer as a 1980s film . They spent little time reviewing those works and instead went by memory . Matt further recognized that some of their filming homages were not purposely done but were found to be very comparable, as highlighted by a fan - made video comparing the show to several 1980s works side - by - side . Matt commented on the video that "Some were deliberate and some were subconscious ." The brothers recognized that many of the iconic scenes from these 1980s films, such as with Poltergeist, was about "taking a very ordinary object that people deal with every day, their television set, and imbuing it with something otherworldly", leading to the idea of using the Christmas light strings for Will to communicate with Joyce . In order to help the cast get into the mood and their characters, the Duffer Brothers would play creepy music on set before filming . </P> <P> The brothers attributed much of the 1980s feel to set and costume designers and the soundtrack composers that helped to recreate the era for them . Lynda Reiss, the head of props, had about a $220,000 budget, similar to most films, to acquire artifacts of the 1980s, using eBay and searching through flea markets and estate sales around the Atlanta area . The bulk of the props were original items from the 1980s with only a few pieces, such as the Dungeons & Dragons books made as replicas . Costume designer Kimberly Adams - Galligan for the first season aimed for capturing authenticity of the clothes choices by the characters, such as reflecting that the Byers would likely use hand - me - down clothes compared to the other families; in this case, while the costume department did distress the outfits for all the characters, they spent more time for Will's clothes compared to Mike's . Frequently, they needed to create outfits for the kids themselves since many were still growing during the time of filming, and could not readily acquire period fashion across a range of sizes . Director of photography Tim Ives shot the first season with Leica lens and the 6K Red Scarlet Dragon to "make sure that our images had the soft and round tones that are in' 80s films"; this is achieved through digital image processing . Ives said that these cameras allow them to create an adaptable quality to the recorded film that is adaptable to a wide range of viewing experiences, including support for newer and future television technologies such as high dynamic range video that was just becoming adopted at the time of filming . </P> <P> Filming for the second season began on November 7, 2016, once again in and around the Atlanta Metro area . While parts of Season 2 were set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, these were actually filmed in downtown Atlanta, with skylines of Pittsburgh added in post-production . Andrew Stanton, director of Pixar's Finding Nemo and WALL - E, directed the fifth and sixth episodes of the second season . Levy stated that Stanton was a big fan of the show and called up Levy, offering his directorial abilities for the show . Rebecca Thomas directed the seventh episode of the season . Unlike the first season, which they were able to film without any real security issues, the heightened awareness of the show required the producers to take significant steps to keep the show's production in secret while filming the second season . They spoke to the production team of HBO's Game of Thrones for tips and advice for securing filming sites, and have adopted code names for the series and various parts to allow the actors to speak to others without revealing details of the show's plot . Kim Wilcox took over for costumes in the second season, finding many of the same problems with designing for the child actors that were aging . Furthermore, she wanted to create the 1980s aesthetic but as reflected in a small rural town, with the trends of period slowly filtering into it rather that immediately jump on elements like neon colors . The second season concluded filming on June 2, 2017 . Ives once again used Leica lens to film the season, while upgrading to the Red Weapon 8K S35 camera . </P> <P> Filming for the third season officially began on April 23, 2018 . Parts of filming in May 2018 were done at a re-dressed Gwinnett Place Mall near Duluth, Georgia to appear as the fictional "Starcourt Mall" in Hawkins, including recreating several 80s - era storefronts such as The Gap, Waldenbooks, and RadioShack within it . </P>

When did filming start for stranger things season 2