‘The Last of Us’ Cinematographer Ksenia Sereda Breaks Down the Space Launch Sequence and How ‘First Man’ Was An Inspiration

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Episode 6 of “The Last of Us” deviates from the ongoing threats posed by the infected creatures and the conflict between Seattle’s warring groups, instead delving into a past event.

As a movie enthusiast, I’d rephrase it as follows:

From my perspective, a special flashback offers a unique peek into heartwarming moments shared by Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsay), as they traverse the Wyoming natural history museum with childlike wonder.

Cinematographer Ksenia Sereda collaborated closely with creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann during seasons 1 and 2, shaping the visual aesthetic of the series. Working on episodes 201, 203, 205, and 206, Sereda aimed to retain many elements from season one’s style. In an interview with EbMaster’s Artisans by HBO, Sereda expressed her desire to keep the footage feeling authentic and to continue using handheld camera movements to uphold the show’s trustworthy atmosphere.

When selecting her lens, Sereda opted to remain within the 35-millimeter sensor category, as there was a recent enhancement to the Arri Luxo 35mm lens. This upgrade was particularly impressive for low-light scenarios.

Episode 6 stood out for numerous reasons. It wasn’t merely due to Druckmann being at the helm, but rather because it offered a heartfelt scene that fans could savour and recall fondly, given that Joel was killed towards the end of episode 2.

According to Sereda, “Neil seems to understand this subject matter better than anyone else. It was intriguing for me to collaborate on it with him, although the game version was already impressive and we could have simply duplicated it as a very costly, high-quality preview and reproduced it shot by shot.

She continues to describe an exceptionally significant moment: “Joel takes Ellie to the Museum of Natural History’s space department, a place she’s deeply fascinated by. He shows her a space capsule, hands her a tape recording, and as she listens, we observe the atmosphere changing along with the sound of the recording, sharing in her experience.”

In this rephrase, I aimed to maintain the original meaning while using simpler language and a more conversational tone.

Sereda explained the steps involved in making a scene more vivid and detailed, including how the pre-visualization (pre-viz) process was handled. She mentioned that they had a 3D representation of the space capsule which she used for planning scenes and carried it along whenever the sequence needed to be reviewed. This model assisted them in determining camera positions to film the capsule, as Sereda noted it was quite compact. Following this, their department created a disassembled 3D model from it, which was later printed using a 3D printer.

To capture the scene, Sereda shares that she studied other films showcasing launch sequences for inspiration. Among those that captivated her was Damien Chazelle’s “First Man.

Beneath our spacecraft, we set up a system of hydraulics for synchronization. The entire performance was carefully orchestrated, aiming to replicate both the actions and atmosphere as though the spaceship were truly launching into space.

In the process of filming that particular scene, it was crucial to embrace realism. To break it down, there were essentially three fundamental aspects:

1. The first component was carefully controlling the lighting.
2. The second aspect involved strategically maneuvering the camera.
3. Lastly, we had to figure out how to evoke the sense of a space launch experience.

Watch the video above.

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2025-06-09 20:24