With stranger things season 4 ending, it seems like great timing to make a stranger things style transition to the Upside Down. In the Netflix series Stranger Things, there is an opposite version of our world called the Upside Down. The Upside Down is dark, creepy, and possibly filled with aliens, monsters, creatures, and other things.
Now, you can also apply the Stranger Things Upside Down Effect to your video! This effect combines camera tricks and video editing within Filmora to transition from the normal world into the Upside Down.
In this article
How-to Guide
1) Preparation
To make this effect, you will need two footage shots: one with the camera moving down and one with the camera coming back up.
When shooting for the footage, follow the steps below:
First shot
- Find any item close enough to the ground that we can block our frame with.
- Once you have your talent lined up, rotate your camera while lowering it below the foreground item at a constant speed and leaving the camera there. The key is making sure when you go behind the object, the frame is nothing but black.
For the next scene, have your actor change positions, or you can change the set around to look like the Upside Down. For instance, adding fake plants and flickering lights.
Second shot
Start bringing your camera back up at the same speed and rotate it again in the direction it was moving.
2) Steps
After you have all the footage, you can start editing it on Filmora. If you haven't installed it yet, you can download Filmora at their official website at https://filmora.wondershare.com.
Now, launch Filmora on your PC and follow the steps below:
Step1 Take your first clip in the “normal” world and drag it down to a video track on the timeline. Trim the edge of the clip, so it ends on pure black and in a downward motion.
Step2 Drag the second clip (in the Upside Down) onto the video track on the timeline after the first clip. Trim this video, so it begins in pure black and an upward motion.
Cut the clips to get the timing right since it should be a very fast transition. You can cut in the black frames so they won't be too apparent.
If you don't have a perfectly smooth transition, you can add a dissolve by going to Transitions > Basic > Dissolve.
Color Grading and Effects
After the transition, you can make the clip look a lot more like the Upside Down from the show with a color grade and Filmora effects. Follow the steps below:
Step1 Double-click on your second clip, then go to Color > Advanced. For a quick edit, you can try one of the presets available, such as “cool film.” It will give you the colder blue tones that Stranger Things used for the Upside Down.
Step2 You can further edit the color grading in the white balance menu. Drag the slider to the left to get a blue, cold vibe for the Upside Down.
The “cool” or “warm” color grading technically talks about color temperature. A “warmer” look will be more orange, and a “colder” look will be bluer. You can also use the tint slider to fine-tune the look.
Step3 Next, move down to the color, lower the brightness and increase contrast. It makes the scene darker and more sinister than the normal world.
Step4 Finally, go down to the vignette and drag the amount slider a tiny bit to give a Vinnette around your clip.
3) Pro Tips
You can still make your clip look even more like Upside Down with some Filmora elements.
Go to Elements > Smoke > Smokescreen 2. Drag this element on top of your Upside Down clip and trim it, so it starts at the same time the clip leaves the black frame.
You can adjust the opacity by double-clicking the smoke effect to open the setting.
Finally, go to the Transition > Basic > Dissolve to the start of the smoke and adjust it when the smoke gradually appears.
Resources from Filmostock
You can also use filmstock effects to bring our video to the next level. Go to Elements > Fire > Large Scale 12 and drag it down on top of your clip and the smoke.
Double-click the clip and change the scale of the effect to your needs. Then, go to compositing to change the blending mode to the screen to help the effect blend in more.
Now, go to color and open the white balance menu. Drag the two sliders to change the color of the particles to match your clip.
Summary
That is all you need to make a Stranger Things Upside Down effects to your video. Let us know if there are any other effects from tv shows you want to learn how to make.
