Everyone's favorite nostalgic sci-fi series debuted its second season on Netflix just a few weeks ago, but if you're like me, you took just a few days to watch all nine episodes. Among the many compelling things the Duffer Brothers pull off in their show, using clever scene transitions is something any video editor will notice. This video pulls together 25 of the most creative edits from Season Two of Stranger Things.
If you're not familiar with the different types of edits seen here, but notice some similarities in the outgoing clip to the incoming clip, that's called a match cut. The "match" could be in framing, movement, sound effects, color, prop, or even dialogue. What makes it work is proper timing on part of the editor, but also the foresight in the writing and direction to know how one scene will blend with the next. TV shows like this often shoot scenes out of order, so it takes skilled planning to execute edits like these, especially at such a high frequency.
Another edit used a few times is called a smash cut, which is merely an abrupt edit. There might be a moment of tension that builds toward the end of a scene, and right when the audio and video are about to reach a tipping point or crescendo, an immediate cut moves to a scene where it might be quiet or otherwise calm, relative to the previous shot.
If this video and article feel familiar, it's because last year I featured a similar video, that was focused on the first season. Here's that post and video, which covered 28 Creative Cuts from Stranger Things.
It doesn't get much better than this show.
what a great show!
The production values and cinematography improved in Season 2, which looked sensational. Also, check out Mindhunters.
Awesome show, awesome cinematography. I really dig the scenes with the dark room with the liquid. All that negative space in the composition is so cool
dd