Redub: The Last of Us 2 E3 Gameplay
Naughty Dog creates some of the most immersive audio world-building in the video game industry. The Last of Us 2 has moments of serene solitude in abandoned cityscapes followed by intense and haunting action sequences. Your ears are transported to numerous locations throughout the game, all with unique and picturesque sound design elements. I wanted to try my hand at some of the more intense combat moments from their 2018 E3 Press Conference with this project.
As with all my projects, I started by laying out a marker track with every cue I wanted to fill. I transferred those marker cues to a GitHub Project Kanban to more easily track my progress and stay focused on the task ahead.
I find foley, bag movement, footsteps, grass movement, etc., to be the most foundational element of a video game audio bed. It can either make or break post-production audio. When you mute foley tracks, the picture seems incomplete. I used a Steinberg GrooveAgent instance loaded with different surface and velocity samples to lay the footsteps using a midi track, making it easier to change the sounds later on in the project.
One thing I wanted to tackle in this project was a more dynamic soundtrack that utilized rhythm and elements flowing in and out of the sequence to create more drama and impact. I used my accumulated sample library, drum samples, and synthesizers to create the patterns and musical cues you hear throughout the final product.
As with previous projects, my favorite field recording to use in this project was duffel bag handling. It is a fantastic source for backpack movement and cloth movement, and used at the right moments can build the foundation of cloth handling sound.
As I’m building a 5-minute reel, I would like to revisit this project to add my own recorded dialogue and voices. I have a decade of experience recording voice, and I would like to showcase my techniques in subsequent articles.
I am thrilled with the outcome of this project and can’t wait for you to see it in my final reel.