Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: the last of us

The Last of Us Sound Editor on HBO Series, Video Game Authenticity

Supervising sound editor Michael J. Benavente (Starship Troopers) spoke with us about navigating HBO's The Last of Us apocalypse and more.

Sound editor Michael J. Benavente and writer Craig Mazin have a long history together, dating back to their heydays in the comedy spoof genre in the Scary Movie franchise. Now they're among TV royalty working on HBO's The Last of Us, which adapts the two Naughty Dog PlayStation games to the small screen with company president Neil Druckmann acting as series co-creator with Mazin. Benavente has had a 42-year career working on several franchises, from The Goonies, Star Trek, Batman, Terminator, to 21 Jump Street, with almost 150 credits to his name. He spoke to Bleeding Cool about his over two-decade relationship with Mazin, working with Druckmann (before he announced his series departure before season three), contrasting seasons one and two, and highlighting some of season two's more memorable moments.

Supervising Sound Editor Michael J. Benavente from the Silliest Spoof Comedies of 'Scary Movie' Franchise to Award-Winning TV Drama of 'The Last of Us'

Bleeding Cool: How did you get involved with 'The Last of Us?'

I worked with creator and showrunner Craig Mazin for about 20, 22 years now. When we met, he was a comedy writer on 'Scary Movie 3' (2003), and I was the supervising sound editor. I also did 'Scary Movie 2' (2001) with the Wayans. When David Zucker and Craig came aboard for 'Scary Movie 3,' which was sort of a reboot, I can't remember how I got involved, but I ended up becoming the supervising sound editor on that. We met at a preview in Paramus, New Jersey, and liked how the other worked, and then he wrote 'Scary Movie 4,' which I was involved in.

[Craig] directed a comedy called 'Superhero Movie' (2008), which I also did, and then I worked on a film that he also wrote, 'Identity Thief' (2013), which Seth Gordon had directed, but [Craig and I] kept in touch. I did not work on 'Chernobyl.' All the post was done in the UK for that, and when I read he was doing this project, 'The Last of Us,' I'm not a gamer. I didn't know of it, because my daughter-in-law's a big fan. I wrote him a little email, he wrote me back in about five minutes, and said, "Hey, if this show gets done in Los Angeles, it's yours." It turned out it was, so it worked out nicely for me.

As you're working on the show, did you just work with Craig, or did you also work with Neil?

Neil, as well. He obviously created the game and is with Naughty Dog, so he had lots of ideas, input, and was one of the creators and producers as well.

As far as just the distinct sound of the show, what were the biggest challenges of creating that dystopian apocalypse compared to your other work?

Well, it's a futuristic society, but also a quiet society. There aren't spaceships traveling overhead, that kind of stuff. We needed to be loyal to the game, but still be theatrical, because we were a broader canvas of sound. Like I said, I'm not a gamer, but I had some very young crew members who were, and so they did a lot of research into what things sounded like. We also got input from Naughty Dog as far as what things sounded like in the game, but we weren't married to that.

We know that the audience knows what those things, like clickers, should sound like, so we tried to stay as close to those original audio elements as possible. We ended up bringing several actors in from the video game process to repeat the bloater, clicker, and stalkers, to give us a kit and a library of things to work with, and then we hopefully expanded upon that for the HBO show.

Was there any difference between the process of how it was in seasons one and two? Obviously, there are dramatic narrative shifts because we're going from a simpler story of just Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), and then we're shifting around a bunch for the second season. Were there any tonal differences as you're changing from the more simplistic season one, compared to the way season two went?

I'm trying to think…the learning curve on season one was a lot tougher than it was by season two. Craig Mazin is a terrific writer and can be quite demanding and passionate about sound. If something wasn't right, we would hear about it. By the time we got to season two, we figured out a lot of the learning curves. Season two seemed like we were in a different location almost every 10 minutes, because [Joel and Ellie] were on a journey in season one, but [Ellie and Dina] were really on a journey in season two, and Ellie was seeking revenge. We tried to make every location sound a little bit different, and we had the same issues in season 1.

It was tough because you don't have school children in the background, fire trucks, or hospital PAs, things you might have in any other television project. You hear everything, because it's a quiet world, and that was this challenge we had in season one, as well as season two. Craig listened to every single footstep, whether it was on glass, leaves, or mud. We were in Seattle in season two, so we had a lot of rain, and rain can get boring if it sounds the same every single episode or location. My editors are great, trying to make every location and raindrop sound a little bit different, whether it's hitting a window or a tent. We're keeping the audience engaged when we're in a new place, and something new is going to happen here.

Were there separate goals when you tried to balance out the horror, action, and drama?

We had such great actors that when we have drama scenes, we don't want to overstep this great acting and dialogue with sound. We wanted to complement it. In season two's "Through the Valley," which is the big action episode, the second episode, we wanted it to be big in certain parts, but we also didn't want it to start big. Craig was very adamant that when you're with Tommy (Gabriel Luna) on the top of the wall there, fighting the infected hordes, that we're really with them and the sound can't be too big. Then by the time we get to the ground, and you know they're getting firebombs and things thrown at them, that can be bigger. We wanted a difference in location and what was happening at any given time.

Since you mentioned that season one had such a learning curve, did you draw upon any external inspiration going in, or was it something you were feeling throughout?

Season one starts before the pandemic starts, when they're in Austin (TX), it's a real world where there are fire trucks, school bells, and that kind of thing. Little by little, we got into a world that had military zones, PA systems, and quarantine areas. We wanted to feel this dystopian military setting happen as the show progressed in season one, and then eventually, when Ellie and Joel get on their journey, we get to hear more about nature and the things that they're experiencing in this quiet environment until there's a gun battle or similar.

Both seasons of The Last of Us, which also stars Kaitlyn Dever, Young Mazino, Catherine O'Hara, and Jeffrey Wright, are available to stream on HBO Max.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!