The many different trailers of The Last of Us aren't done to parody or skew, but to present existing themes and events in the game under different contexts.

…which is exactly the power of editing. :-p

Makes me want to whip up my own, since all of these trailers for one game highlight completely different aspects and moods, which speaks volumes about the game itself.

More so the power of editing.

Not really. Not in this context, no.

While editing and a few sound effects can turn "The Road" into a trailer for the most uproarious comedy of the year, the many different trailers of The Last of Us aren't done to parody or skew, but to present existing themes and events in the game under different contexts.

Yeah - 'helplessness' and 'vulnerability' are much more present in the viewer's mind when they're the one pushing the thumbstick forward as far as it can go and cursing that you can't go faster.

This is something that happens to me a lot in the Walking Dead, particularly in season 2, as I curse at people asking me to do things that as a child, Clem is completely ill equipped to do. (Although TWD is now overplaying its hand a bit there in my opinion. Clem is doing too much)

I think the TWD folks are trying to nudge you into realizing Clem is becoming too much. Her speech choices can be quite bad ass, and the characters around her when they react are making her/us realize just that.

I get the feeling the last not-yet-released Ep5 will make all this come to a head, as in Season 1 Lee was given a whole breakdown of his actions by the bad guy, in this one someone gives Clem a speech about her outlandish behavior this time around and how it's broken her as a child/person. And something horrible w/ the baby. Horrible. :(

I'm eager to play it. Good stuff.

- M

I cut a trailer for The Last of Us. I wanted to keep learning a new editing system (Premiere), but I also just really like the game and the story. Especially since it's actually being made into a movie, I thought this would be fun. I haven't seen any really good trailers, so I had at it.

VERY nice.

This showed up in my YouTube feed last night on the TV and I thought it was official media from the developer.

THAT'S a compliment, because I thought their trailers (especially pre-release) were really good (I do wish the remastered ones weren't so spoilerific).

Some minor spoilers, but you can't make a trailer without them.

What do they call that attention-getting clip at the end? I've seen that used lots, and I figure there has to be a name for it.

E block kicker?

No, wait, that's something else.

Maybe it's stinger, although I thought that was usually for the sound only.

I cut a trailer for The Last of Us. I wanted to keep learning a new editing system (Premiere), but I also just really like the game and the story. Especially since it's actually being made into a movie, I thought this would be fun. I haven't seen any really good trailers, so I had at it.

VERY nice.

This showed up in my YouTube feed last night on the TV and I thought it was official media from the developer.

Makes me want to whip up my own, since all of these trailers for one game highlight completely different aspects and moods, which speaks volumes about the game itself.

More so the power of editing.

Did you know The Shining is about a frustrated writer, who learns to love again through a child? It's true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfout_rgPSA

In fact there was a lot of emphasis on characters not Joel or Ellie, which is the real story in my opinion.

It's hard to focus on those two without spoiling *something* (there's a hint at a spoiler, but thankfully Cody cuts before it properly …hits). That's part of TLOU's genius, though: there's a lot of good characters, and there's a lot of great action, and that's even if you ignore the most important part: the story of Joel and Ellie's relationship.

Right. Think of it like a movie trailer! You don't want to give everything away, just that it's going to be about Joel and Ellie and Zombies. Maybe a little bit about Joel's initial feelings. Tess just happens to have a bunch of really good lines that set all that up, plus if you see the trailer and expect more of her, it might make what happens to her more of a surprise :-p

The 2014 E3 trailer for the game was spoilertastic, revealing:

Joel's Daughter Dies
Ellie is infected

Good thing I didn't see that before I got the game!

In fact there was a lot of emphasis on characters not Joel or Ellie, which is the real story in my opinion.

It's hard to focus on those two without spoiling *something* (there's a hint at a spoiler, but thankfully Cody cuts before it properly …hits). That's part of TLOU's genius, though: there's a lot of good characters, and there's a lot of great action, and that's even if you ignore the most important part: the story of Joel and Ellie's relationship.

Such a damned good game.

This is something that happens to me a lot in the Walking Dead, particularly in season 2, as I curse at people asking me to do things that as a child, Clem is completely ill equipped to do. (Although TWD is now overplaying its hand a bit there in my opinion. Clem is doing too much)

I've been drafting a message for a while now where I admit to you and Jillybean that BioShock Infinite isn't as good as The Last of Us.

It's fine. I won't gloat.

Much.

such lies

:)

Dishonored isn't as good as BI, though, although that's a close one.

I think it enables different vectors. Keep in mind, the Last of Us DOES utilize cutscenes to tell its story. The gut punching ending is a cutscene. Its success is not trying to do everything through the game like say, Half Life, but knowing when to use one or the other.

Well... spoilers!

Which ending do you mean? The ending where he shoots the doctors and rescues Ellie?

The ending where he shoots Marla?

The ending where he lies to her?

Any one of these would be a satisfying narrative end to me, but they're all interspersed with gameplay elements. I haven't thought enough about it, but I wonder if that somehow allows for 'more' shots at the ending you want.

In contrast, see Life on Mars UK, which should definitely have ended a good two minutes before it did.

Everything in the operating room was originally intended to be one long cutscene that included the shooting of Marlene and the rescuing of Ellie. One of the devs convinced Neil Druckmann to have the player take Ellie out, which of course dovetailed nicely with the gameplay and story in the opening 20 minutes of the game.

Another way they use gameplay is when they have us play as Ellie in the final sequence. The fact that we're removed from Joel fits exactly with where we are emotionally in the story. As for the final minute, it had to be a cutscene. It's probably the best "acting" I've seen in a game, and we need the camera to be where it is to get the full impact.

Although I appreciate stingers, I would have chosen a different scene to highlight, but that's what the people like, I suppose.

Now if someone asked me to write this movie, we'd be looking at a cross between Winter's Bone and the first episode of TWD.

Though, as of yet, no one's asked me.

I think it enables different vectors. Keep in mind, the Last of Us DOES utilize cutscenes to tell its story. The gut punching ending is a cutscene. Its success is not trying to do everything through the game like say, Half Life, but knowing when to use one or the other.

Well... spoilers!

Which ending do you mean? The ending where he shoots the doctors and rescues Ellie?

The ending where he shoots Marla?

The ending where he lies to her?

Any one of these would be a satisfying narrative end to me, but they're all interspersed with gameplay elements. I haven't thought enough about it, but I wonder if that somehow allows for 'more' shots at the ending you want.

In contrast, see Life on Mars UK, which should definitely have ended a good two minutes before it did.

I've been drafting a message for a while now where I admit to you and Jillybean that BioShock Infinite isn't as good as The Last of Us.

It's fine. I won't gloat.

Much.

such lies

Tim Rogers said something very interesting in this Last of Us review:

…part of what I like about videogame design as a dramatic instrument is their ability to put us a hundred percent into the moments editors would leave out of a film.

Thanks for posting that review. I enjoyed it, but I'm still amazed that anyone finished the game in 12 hours. I've played it four times now, and it took twice that each time.

Yes, well done.

I'm actually in the thick of playing Walking Dead Season 2 game (just waiting for the last Ep to release) and even there I have to say it's great to see how a good compelling story can just grab you.

I guess I need to overcome my squeamishness and play that. (I can't watch the TV series.)

It's not at all about the slick graphics, which of course doesn't hurt either.

But then again I'm talking to folks that were captivated way back with Marathon/Myth, so it's a foregone conclusion.

Yeah, and I still remember my roommate walking in during an early Marathon session and exclaiming, "Those are the best graphics I've ever seen!"