The tone of the video game “The Last of Us: Part II” is even darker than it was in the first part: Ellie grieves the murder of her father figure, Joel, and begins an effort to avenge his death.
When it was time to adjust the game for season 2 in the HBO series, music
Supervisor Evyen Klean, Ian Broucek and Scott Hanau had the opportunity to explore a “number of new shades” in the soundtrack.
The primary musical moments take place under two Flashback sequences: the New Year’s Eve where Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) have their first kiss, and Ellies 16 -Anniversary, when Joel (Pedro Pascal) performs a reproduction of Pearl Jam’s “future days.” Another important moment comes today, when Ellie performs A-Ha’s “Take On Me” for yours.
“When you have all these amazing interactions between Ellie and Ellie and Ellie and Joel who are just so heartfelt, the music doesn’t have to be big and robust,” said Hanau, who worked on both the game and the series and, as a point monitor, monitored the integration of Gustavo Santaollala and David Fleming’s points. “When the show and the game communicate through the dialogue and cinematography, it is very minimalist but very potent at the same time. And we try to match that note with a point.”
For New Year’s Eve in Season 2 premiere and Emmy-nominated
The sixth episode, “The Price”, Trio and series co-creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin persuaded the dissolved folk country Group Crooked still on the screen and perform their songs “Little Sadie” and “Ecstasy”, both of which are presented in the video game 2020.
“Crooked still has not been an active band in a few years,” Broucek
said. “They are spread everywhere. Some still play actively as musicians; others are not and have gone on with their lives. But because of their involvement in the game, they jumped on the chance and we could get the core group in the band back, including singer Aoife O’Donovan.”
They also persuaded Santaolala to make a como that played their signature Ronroco on “Little Sadie” – a string instrument from South America – and a secondary guitar on “Ecstasy.”
“We got creative the stems on the tracks from the band and got Gustavo to add his instruments so he had something to play and created a new champion who ended up on the soundtrack,” Klean said. “It was pretty funny.”
In addition, Klean, Broucek and Hanau were responsible for making Ramsey and Pascal feel comfortable to make their solos live, including making reserve discovery for their guitar and singing and getting the latter guitar lessons.
“Craig and Neil really love to capture the authenticity of the moment, and we
Like to catch the man live on set so it really comes over in the performance, ”
Said Broucek. “The day they shoot, Pedro has the ear wig in; he can hear guitar and pantomime to it so that it looks and feels natural and then just give his heart to the performance.”
Pearl Jam Ballad 2013 as Joel sings to Ellie on her birthday is in the video game, chosen because its theme of devotion summarizes their band (“If I ever lost you, I would certainly lose myself”). In the same way, “Take on me” is heard in the game, performed by Ashley Johnson, who originated in the role of Ellie and is shown in Season 1 of the HBO series as Ellie’s mother. During Season 2, her cover for Shawn James plays “Through the Valley” from The Last of US: Part II at the last minute after Joel’s brutal death.
“After getting Ashley Johnson to come back and play Bella’s mother during season 1, it seemed like a natural time for Craig to include her again,” Hanau said. “So it works for fans who know the game, and it’s just as heartbreaking for those new to it. It was a good end cap for that section after all that despair.”
Another crucial part of the trio’s job was to know when to get out of the story and let silence fill the soundscape.
“The emotions and actors are so incredible and atmospheric. We don’t try to distract from it, we try to improve it and add it,” Hanau said. “So many times the best decision is to remove the music and let the spectacle shine through.”
“There really isn’t much extra fat to be like,” Oh yes, let’s throw an extra piece of music here, just for hell, “Raised Broucek.” It doesn’t really work in this world, which is what makes it so beautiful. Each beat is well thought out. There is a purpose for everything. ”
A version of this story first ran down to The Wire: Drama Issue of thewrap’s Awards Magazine. Read more from Down to the Wire: Drama question here.
