Episode 6 of “The Final of Us” is a flashback episode that takes a break from the Contaminated and the warring factions of Seattle.

The particular flashback provides a uncommon glimpse into extra tender moments between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsay) as they discover the Wyoming pure historical past museum like wide-eyed children.

Cinematographer Ksenia Sereda labored on creating the appear and feel of the present for seasons 1 and a pair of hand-in-hand with creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. Sereda, who labored on episodes 201, 203, 205, and 206, knew she needed to protect quite a lot of the appears from season one. Talking with Selection‘s Artisans, offered by HBO, Sereda mentioned, she needed to maintain it very grounded and preserve the hand-held digital camera motion to maintain the reliable vibe of the present.

In selecting her lens, Sereda says she needed to remain within the 35-millimeter sensor household, and Arri had a brand new improve to the Luxo 35mm lens, which was “wonderful for the low-lit scenes.”

Episode 6 was particular in some ways. Not simply because Druckmann was directing, it was a heat second that audiences may relish and reminisce on since Joel had been murdered on the finish of episode 2.

Sereda says, “He is aware of this materials like no one else. It was very attention-grabbing to develop that with Neil, regardless that within the recreation it was already wonderful and we may have simply take that as a really large, very lovely, costly previs and simply replicate it shot by shot.”

She goes on to clarify, “There’s one very particular sequence when Joel brings Ellie to the Museum of Pure Historical past. We all know Ellie is obsessive about house and all of the house stuff, so that they transfer by way of the museum and so they go to the house division, he brings her to the house capsule, he provides her a tape recording, and as she’s listening to the recording and we see the lighting is altering and we’re listening to this recording and we’re listening to it along with her.”

Sereda mentioned the weather of bringing the scene to life and the way the pre-viz course of labored. “We had a 3D mannequin of the house capsule.” That mannequin was used for blocking and she or he carried it round anytime the sequence wanted to be mentioned. The mannequin additionally helped with discovering digital camera angles to shoot the capsule, which she says “was very small,” and from there our division created a 3D take aside mannequin for us and after that they printed it on a 3D printer.”

To shoot the sequence, Sereda says she additionally checked out different films that featured a launch sequence. One film that impressed her was Damien Chazelle’s “First Man.”

“Beneath the house capsule, we had hydraulics put in and all the pieces can be synchronized and choreographed all collectively to recreate the sequence and the sensation as if the spaceship goes to house.”

Realism was additionally key in taking pictures the sequence. “Total, the sequence had three layers. The primary layer was the lighting, the second layer was the digital camera motion, and the third one was the way to recreate the sensation of the house launch.”

Watch the video above.