The Last of Us

As a main VFX partner for HBO’s hit series ‘The Last of Us’, DNEG was tasked with recreating the dystopian world from Naughty Dog’s acclaimed video game. Our VFX team delivered over 530 shots and 71 sequences across seven out of the series’ nine episodes, with the goal of bringing the iconic locations from the video game to life.

From Austin to Boston to Salt Lake City and Jackson Hole, our DNEG team grew ivy, constructed skylines, built mountains, and destroyed buildings to showcase the post-apocalyptic world. 

Supported by extensive on-set photography and LiDAR capture, our global crew turned real city blocks into abandoned wastelands of overgrowth interspersed with paramilitary checkpoints and quarantine zones; simulated building destruction and collapse; and ‘grew’ ivy procedurally along buildings.

In order to find the balance between the haunting destroyed urban areas and the beauty of nature reclaiming them, our team had to ensure that every environment told a story. This foundation led the team to deliver some of DNEG’s most complex and detailed environment, FX and compositing work to date.

In a world gripped by cordyceps, trust frays, choices mold survival 

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'The Last of Us' | Trailer

Crafting a post-apocalyptic World

From growing vegetation 

to destroying buildings

We all made 
it happen

Lasting impression

'The Last of Us', Alex Wang Production VFX Supervisor

DNEG builds a beautiful broken world in HBO's 'The Last of Us' with MattePaint

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Going beyond gameplay for 'The Last of Us'

Q&A: DNEG on the VFX of 'The Last of Us'

The next best picture podcast interview with 'The Last Of Us' Visual Effects Supervisor Stephen James & Digital Effects Supervisor Nick Marshall

An inside look at 'The Last of Us' with DNEG 

HBO sets storm reid to star as Riley Abel in ‘The Last of Us’ series adaptation

'The Last of Us' Stephen James VFX Supervisor, Nick Marshall DFX Supervisor and Melaina Mace CG Supervisor DNEG

DNEG made a procedural tool that let artists create bomb-shaped holes in Boston buildings for ‘The Last of Us’

DNEG takes home three prizes at the Visual Effects Society Awards