THE LAST OF US PRODUCTION
EYE OF THE STORM Visual effects for the Jackson battle were locked in pre-production using previs animation before any location or blocking decisions had been finalised
and designed some shots that weren’t in there. It was an iterative, collaborative process,” she explains. These Jackson battle scenes were filmed on a backlot rather than in the Rocky Mountains, giving the crew a little more control over blocking, lighting and other concerns. “With everything big, you just have to break it down into its component parts,” states Goldschmidt. “The rooftops are the perfect example. The rooftop action was all scripted, but it wasn’t clear what rooftop we would need to be on. We had to go and figure out the best geography for where the infected would come from, where we would be, where Tommy would be and how that would all work out.” Shot over 24 days, episode 202 then involved an additional week of second unit photography, getting the shots that would later receive a hefty dose of VFX.
creature than the regular infected (also known as a ‘boss’ in video game lingo). Tommy goes up against one and barely makes it out alive. YIN AND YANG The events of Through the Valley cause the series to change course, and Goldschmidt expected a strong reaction from audiences. “For the people who played the game, the question was: are we going to do it justice? For the people who didn’t play the game, it’s this shock. We knew what the original reaction had been to the game, and we knew people were upset. It felt safe to assume that was coming.” In spite (or because) of the pressure to deliver, episode 202 is one of the series’ highest rated. “As soon as it was out and I started hearing from people, I felt a huge relief, like this weight had been lifted.
FOR THOSE WHO played the game , THE QUESTION WAS: are we going to do it justice? ”
Besides the mere chaos of a standard battle sequence, Through the Valley adds flamethrowers and other digital pyrotechnics, as well as a ‘bloater’ – a larger, stronger and more menacing
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DEFINITIONMAGS
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