THE UPSIDE DOWN, DOWN UNDER

Following four successful seasons, Stranger Things' highly anticipated Season 5 had to be bigger than ever. And what better way to showcase this monumental achievement than with a portal into the Upside Down opening up on the backdrop of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We partnered up with Netflix and Amplify on this iconic activation, to bring the immersive and unsettling soundscape to life.

BRIDGING THE TWO WORLDS TOGETHER

Our brief was to bring the Stranger Things universe to life through a layered, cinematic soundscape built from the show’s most recognisable audio DNA. This included an atmospheric entrance soundtrack, a tension-filled ambient “holding state,” and a three-minute hero show synced to animation, lighting and pyrotechnics.

When we scouted James Squire’s Landing, it was clear the site could support a fully immersive experience. This led us to a spatial-audio approach, with speakers distributed across the space and an additional array installed in the control tower above. By allowing sound to move and descend from overhead, the environment reinforced the illusion that the Upside Down was breaking through.

“We should never stop being curious, to always open any curiosity door we find.”

Dustin Henderson Stranger Things Season 1

BUILDING THE WORLD

The challenge then became integrating this bespoke speaker array into a seamless, believable experience. With a clear understanding of where sound would originate across the space, we turned to Dolby Atmos to design a custom spatial layout that mirrored the world we were creating. That framework guided many of our creative decisions, shaping how we told the story and how audiences would enter and inhabit the Stranger Things universe.

From there, we developed a suite of sonic options, blending iconic assets from the show with additional sound design to build out key narrative moments. These were first rendered in stereo and binaural to preview how each idea translated in an immersive context.

Finally, we moved into a Dolby Atmos mix stage, where we refined and balanced the full experience within the exact spatial environment it would later occupy.

Custom speaker layout built in Dolby Atmos

Final tweaking and refinement at a Dolby Atmos mix stage

ENTERING THE UPSIDE DOWN

The activation saw thousands of people line up to feel this entire experience, resulting in a truly immersive audio experience. Paired with strong visuals, lighting displays and pyrotechnics, the Stranger Things world was truly brought to life in the sky of Sydney Harbour.

Following its success, the activation crossed the pond for the London premiere of ST5.

Client Netflix

made with Amplify

production companies Synctum + Eat the Elephant

SOUND DESIGN OTIS

TECHNICAL SOUND DIRECTION OTIS