“The game itself is already an incredible visual masterpiece. So of course it was a lot of pressure,” admits “The Last of Us” cinematographer Ksenia Sereda. As the director of photography for the series premiere, “When You’re Lost in the Darkness,” she is responsible for setting the visual tone of the show. She focused on finding ways of preserving the iconic atmosphere from the hit video game while translating it to a new medium. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
One impressive camera sequence is the infamous scene told from Sarah’s (Nico Parker) perspective in the backseat of a car. “The scene in the car is very iconic to the game, and of course we tried to preserve the main idea,” explains Sereda. “We tried to stay very close to the character’s perspective.” The viewer is forced to look on with a sense of helpless horror, just as Sarah does, as the world around her crumbles and neighbors turn into monsters. Joel (Pedro Pascal) tries to navigate the vehicle through the center of a town but must avoid crowds, other vehicles, and the infected.
WATCH Nico Parker interview: ‘The Last of Us’
“Technically it was one of the most challenging scenes,” reveals Sereda, “there were a lot of elements we needed to put together.” Blocking for the sequence was required for both the car’s path, as well as the specific camera movements inside the vehicle, which swiveled around to match Sarah’s vision. Then there were many rehearsals for the actors and stunt performers outside the car, who were responsible for creating the chaos of the moment.
It’s no coincidence that once this sequence reaches its tragic conclusion, Sereda uses an idyllic shot of nature to introduce a 20-year time jump into the apocalypse. “I think a very big visual motif is the beauty of this nature overtaking the cities and the world in general,” explains the cinematographer. Humanity may be decimated, but the Earth has created something bizarrely tranquil and gorgeous in the ruins of humanity. “All the nature and all the infected creatures, they’re actually very beautiful,” Sereda asserts. “I’m in love with all these infected and how they look…I find it more beautiful than terrifying.” This fascination with the natural world helped Sereda adapt the infamous visual language of the video game.
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