CASE STUDY: THE LAST OF US
TIMOTHY GOOD
Timothy Good ACE, is an editor and producer, known for editing TV series such as The Last of Us (2023), The Umbrella Academy (2019), and Fringe (2008), among others, as well as editing and co-producing The Resident (2018), Midnight Texas (2017), Aquarius (2015), and Believe (2014).
The Last of Us, all images courtesy of Warner Media, HBO
EDITING EMOTION INTO THE APOCALYPSE
THE LAST OF US, ON THE SURFACE A DYSTOPIAN TALE ABOUT SAVING HUMANITY, HAS ONE OF THE MOST CHARACTER-DRIVEN NARRATIVES YOU’RE LIKELY TO SEE ALL YEAR. THIS VISION OF WRITER/CREATORS CRAIG MAZIN AND NEIL DRUCKMANN HAS BEEN POLISHED AND BROUGHT TO THE FORE BY EDITORS TIMOTHY GOOD ACE, AND EMILY MENDEZ, WHO TALK US THROUGH SOME OF THE CRUCIAL SCENES.
EMILY MENDEZ
Emily Mendez is an editor known for TV Series such as The Last of Us (2023), The Resident (2018) and Light as a Feather (2018), as well as a number of shorts Sensum (2017), Grandma’s House (2017) and The Haircut (2014).
Based on the PlayStation game of the same name, the plot of HBO’s The Last of Us follows hard-bitten survivor Joel (Pedro Pascal) who must guide spirited 14 year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsay) through an America brought to ruin by a mutant strain of Cordyceps fungus that infects, controls, and then destroys human beings. The nine-part series has seven directors, with Good and Mendez taking on most of the editing. Their engagement with the
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project is obvious when you talk to them. “When we were working on the show,
I would find myself going home and just feeling the emotions from the day,” says Mendez. “Tim and I truly love the show. We put everything we have into it.”
MARKING TIME “Craig Mazin is an incredible writer, so a lot of the intention was built into the scripts themselves,” says Good. “[Over 18 months] we had long schedules and a lot of footage to put together. We were given a long leash up front to create the version of the episode that we felt was correct. “Emily and I have this wonderful
process where we watch every single take because you don’t know where the gold is,” he continues. “We add markers to every piece of film that we are drawn to. Your first impression is critical. Each colour marker has a different value. For example, we have the ‘Magenta marker’, for when it’s such an essential, amazing piece of footage. Later, I can see a catalogue of the highlights of every moment in every take.” A Cyan marker is used to highlight audio aspects. “There’s a scene where
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