It’s hard to deny the success of HBO’s The Last of Us. With over 7.5 million viewers tuning in mid-way through the series for episode 4 alone, it’s clear to see that the television show is blazing its own trail.
Based on the 2013 video game of the same name, The Last of Us is a drama set in post-apocalyptic America. Set in 2023, twenty years after a deadly, fungal pandemic wipes out most of the population, the show follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) as he tries to smuggle Ellie, a young girl with a vital secret, across the country. With a striking visual identity combining abandoned cities, stark wilderness and explosive action scenes, there is plenty to delve into as the series unfolds.
With more and more video games being adapted for the screen, the pressure is on for television creatives to replicate the work of a game designer.
The difference between filming for video games versus television
Speaking to Asad Qizilbash (Head of PlayStation Productions) about developing the video game for television, Co-President of Naughty Dog, Writer and Executive Producer Neil Druckmann commented on the difficulty of translating the video game for the screen;
“Where we capture the video game stuff, we have all the coverage, every angle, because we’re capturing 3D data of their face, of their body, their voice. We could change their clothing, we could change the set, we could change the weather. All those things we could change…you have endless possibilities. On the TV show, that’s pretty much what it’s gonna be. And then you say action, and then you hold your breath, and you’re hoping all the pieces will come together.”
Getting the details right
With a cult fan following established long before the cameras started rolling, it was essential to get the look and feel of the television show right. With most scenes being shot on-location across Canada, it was through a mixture of live-action and incredible visual effects that brought The Last of Us bursting into life on screen.
Pulling out all the stops
It wasn’t just fans who devoted themselves to the show. Behind the scenes, the creative team behind the blockbuster series also committed wholeheartedly to the production.
With a deluge of source material to consider from the original video game, it was important that every little detail was correct. This in turn called for hours of reviewing the game footage itself, as well as sourcing supplementary material from across the globe.
Using VFX to enhance scenes
As part of the process, visual effects were used throughout the series for maximum impact. This included taking elements of the streets, cities and natural landscapes and overlaying various effects including explosions, decay and overgrown patches to show the full effects of a fungal pandemic on the landscape.
Below, we’ve sourced similar elements available via our inspirational gaming content, as well as photographs of the various filming locations. See if you can figure out which episode each location is featured in.
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