How do productions like Stranger Things or other similarly "not modern but still within recent memory" productions acquire period props?
For productions like Game of Thrones or The Hobbit, I assume prop and dress production is relatively easy -- While we have drawings and paintings, no one is alive who remembers what people wore in the middle ages, you can be a bit off in your representation and no one will care, for instance Ikea rugs were used for the nights watch cloaks.
For productions like Stranger Things however a good chunk of the target demographic remembers the eighties and remembers them pretty well. Props like the wired telephones and CRT TVs reminiscent of the eighties help to complete the feel for a more discerning audience.
How do productions acquire these props? Do they need to build fake replicas, do they go hunting for them at garage sales? Do studios just buy modern electronics/outfits/props and stores them for possible use twenty-some-odd-years down the line?
Best Answer
Wired actually has an article about this:
...
To get the amazing '80s stuff, Reiss scoured eBay, flea markets, prop rentals, and estate sales in Georgia. (The series is set in suburban Indiana but shot in Atlanta.) Her budget for the season was around $220,000.
...
Reiss has a warehouse full of props on the Isle of Man, but almost everything for Stranger Things was bought or made for the show. When filming wrapped, everything was inventoried and put into storage in Georgia.
So the answer is, that it depends, and will vary from production to production, and also most likely from season to season as production staff change. Some shows will have a high level of detail required, which is what Reiss on Stranger Things was held to, while other production staff may take it easier and just buy replicas that aren't exactly the same.
Pictures about "How do productions like Stranger Things or other similarly "not modern but still within recent memory" productions acquire period props?"
Is there anything similar to Stranger Things?
Twin Peaks is a must-watch for not just Stranger Things fans but for anyone who loves twisted mysteries. Like the town of Hawkins, Twin Peaks sees strange, disturbing occurrences that open up another dimension, like the Upside Down.What technology was used in Stranger Things?
The Quarry - The Loop. The special effects in Stranger Things were achieved through a combined effort of practical effects and computer-generated imagery (CGI). Having grown up on genre films before computer graphics, it was important to the Duffer Brothers that the horror elements were done practically.Why did they stop making Stranger Things?
However, after two weeks of filming, all Netflix productions, including Stranger Things, were halted on March 16, 2020, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.Where did the inspiration for Stranger Things come from?
Stranger Things is inspired by a 'true' story. The show was originally called 'Montauk' and took inspiration from an alleged US Military programme named The Montauk Project which, legend has it, included experiments on children involving mind reading, mind control and time travel.Stranger Things 3 (2019) KILL COUNT
More answers regarding how do productions like Stranger Things or other similarly "not modern but still within recent memory" productions acquire period props?
Answer 2
If they don't go out and buy them or supply them themselves (early seasons of Married... With Children were largely dressed with stuff supplied by the crew, and the cast was known to wear their own clothes as the budgets were so low), then they rent them. There are prop suppliers around the country/world that basically just warehouse anything and everything you could possibly imagine, forever, in case a production needs to rent it for any reason. Here is just one such place in San Francisco... there are lots and lots of them.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Henry & Co., Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska, Ivan Samkov