AUSTRALIA: For the final season of Stranger Things, Sydney Harbour was transformed into an otherworldly extension of Hawkins, complete with bikes, projections, demogorgons and a climactic, fire-lit appearance from Vecna himself. Fans were drawn into a fully immersive adventure that unfolded across themed environments, interactive challenges and live performance, leading them through Hawkins National Laboratory and ultimately into the Upside Down.

At the heart of this large-scale spectacle was Lighting Designer Michael Burton, tasked with “bring[ing] the Stranger Things adventure to a climax with a live spectacle on Sydney Harbour,” delivering a visual narrative that fused brand-accurate colour, mood and atmosphere with the demands of an exposed waterfront location.

Burton’s brief was tightly defined, both creatively and technically. “I was required to support the visual/video content with lighting using colour, mood, effects, haze, etc.,” he explains. “We were also mindful that the lighting was on brand with colouring using only Red and Blue, with the occasional wow strobing effect.” As with any outdoor production, the elements became an immediate factor, and a significant rain event ahead of the final night made the choice of IP-rated equipment essential. All lighting and effects were supplied by Resolution X, drawing heavily on ShowPRO’s weather-resistant portfolio alongside selected fixtures from Ayrton, Prolights, Look Solutions and MA Lighting.

The rig was built around a substantial complement of ShowPRO IP-rated luminaires, including 20 units of the ShowPRO LED Fusion PAR Q12 IP65, six ShowPRO EC60 Wash IP66, seven ShowPRO EC12 Wash IP66, seven ShowPRO LT6 Profile IP66, ten ShowPRO DreamPIX Strip IP65 and four ShowPRO LED Fusion Wash Q48 IP65. These were augmented by eight Ayrton Domino Lt IP65, eight Prolights Smart Bat units, six Viper NT fog machines and two Cobra 3.1 fog machines from Look Solutions; with overall control handled on two MA Lighting grandMA3 light consoles. This combination delivered the flexibility to shape atmosphere, cut through haze and integrate tightly with projection content, while maintaining full operational reliability in wet conditions.

A nuanced analysis of the lighting deployment reveals that seven ShowPRO LT6 Profile IP66 and seven ShowPRO EC12 Wash IP66 were mounted on seven 2.4-metre vertical trusses positioned in front of the mesh projection screen, allowing light to spill over the top of temporary fencing erected for crowd control and creating an additional layer of wash to catch the haze and smoke. Six ShowPRO EC60 Wash IP66 units were evenly spaced along the sides of the activation area behind the fencing, where, as Burton notes, “their light output and zoom range were impressive,” adding that “we had to run their intensity levels back considerably so as not to overpower the video content.” Eight Ayrton Domino LT IP65 fixtures were rigged on ground-based box truss to introduce another dimension of light, while ShowPRO DreamPIX LED strips installed directly beneath the screen were used for dynamic swipes and the opening and closing of the Portals and Gates that punctuated key narrative moments. ShowPRO Fusion Washes and Pars were deployed to illuminate the areas in front of the fencing and both sides of the walkway leading into the activation, ensuring continuity of atmosphere from entry through to the core performance space.

With an extremely compressed schedule, pre-production became critical. Burton and Lighting Programmer Mitch Wisby spent two days at Resolution X using its PreVis Capture suite, enabling the show to be fully programmed off-site due to the absence of on-site programming time. Wisby built the show on an MA Lighting grandMA3 full-size console before switching to a grandMA3 light on site, a workflow that Burton says “worked extremely well, allowing for a smooth transition when we were on site on the bump-in night.” The project itself was a multi-part collaboration between Matt Teale of Eat The Elephant, Aaron Bilham and Joel Menegazzo of Amplify, Channa Goonasekara of Netflix Creative and Burton, with Wisby’s programming central to translating creative intent into precise control. Burton also acknowledges Daniel Monro of Resolution X for his role in delivering the event.

Against the dramatic backdrop of Sydney Harbour, the production demonstrated how tightly integrated lighting, video, effects and interactivity can transform a public space into a fully realised narrative environment. For Show Technology Australia & New Zealand and Resolution X, the project showcased not only the creative potential of IP-rated lighting in complex outdoor environments, but also how carefully structured previsualisation, programming and equipment choice can turn a globally recognised story into a live, location-specific experience that resonated with both fans and the wider industry.