Laurens Ehrmann, founder and creative director at The Yard, has been interviewed by Radio France’s ICI HERAULT on its latest projects, including Stranger Things 5.

At the end of January, Laurens Ehrmann, founder and creative director of The Yard, was interviewed by Arthur Deplante for his programme « Ici, ça marche« , broadcast by ICI Herault, part of Radio France. On this occasion, he shared some exciting news : The Yard had just won four Genie Awards at the PIDS ENGHIEN VFX festival, including Best Visual Effects in a Series for Stranger Things 5. 

As with all projects carried by The Yard, the studio’s team from Paris and Montpellier collaborated on the series. The fact that the visual effects for such a renowned series were crafted in the south of France caught the attention of the local press and sparked discussions about why The Yard chose to establish itself in Montpellier, what exactly the studio worked on, and what this project represents for the team.

You can find highlights from the interview below :

Montpellier could be the future French Hollywood

During the interview, Laurens Ehrmann revisited the fundamentals of VFX. Visual effects, he explained, are “digital images added to your films and series”—elements that enhance or transform footage captured by camera. From explosions to fully digital creatures, VFX shape the visual storytelling of today’s cinema and streaming hits, especially when it comes to sci-fi, as it is the case for Stranger Things.

The Yard’s decision to establish a strong presence in Montpellier was strategic. The city’s dynamic ecosystem—notably with leading VFX school ArtFX—has attracted studios and talent. The Yard has indeed developed partnerships with ArtFX and PICS Studio in the region, as part of its strategy.

Laughing, Laurens responded to the idea that the city is becoming a creative hub: “We could say that Montpellier might be the future French Hollywood.”

Working on the world’s biggest streaming series

The highlight of the conversation, of course, was The Yard’s contribution to Stranger Things 5, produced for Netflix. Laurens Ehrmann explained that, for nearly 15 months, around twenty artists in Montpellier worked discreetly on the project, alongside their colleagues based in Paris.

The Yard contributed to all eight episodes of the season, delivering 570 shots. Among them:

• The playground in front of Henry Creel’s house
• The surrounding forest where the children gather
• The cave environment where Max takes refuge
• Portions of the mysterious “Upside Down” — the parallel dimension connecting two worlds

Entire environments — including the playground and forest — were fully rebuilt digitally.

For journalist Arthur Deplante, it was a surprise to learn that, for over a year, such a major international production was being crafted in Montpellier in the utmost secrecy.

A source of pride for an independent French VFX

Beyond the awards themselves, Laurens emphasized what this recognition represents:

“It is a source of pride for an independent French company to be interviewed and to contribute to projects of such international renown as Stranger Things.”

Working on Stranger Things 5 marks a major milestone for the studio and further cements Montpellier’s growing reputation as a VFX powerhouse. Winning four awards out of five nominations at PIDS confirms The Yard’s position among the leading VFX studios internationally, while remaining deeply rooted in the French creative landscape.

🎧 Listen to the full interview on the ICI Hérault website (in French) and discover how Montpellier talent is shaping some of the world’s biggest series.

Find out about our work on ‘Stranger Things 5‘ here.

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