Research: Art of the title 'The last of us'

For my research I have chosen to write about the movie ‘The last of us’. This movie is about 20 years after an infection disease took over most of the world’s population. Joel (the main character) finds himself travelling through what is left of the US with a girl who may just have the answer to bringing mankind back to life. The only problem is they aren’t the only one trying to survive through these desperate times. After all this time civilisation is over. What you were- your life, your plans, your future- it’s all gone.

This opening sequence of this movie is effective as it betrays a sense of decay and ruin. At the beginning of the sequence ‘The last of us’ title fades onto the screen in a bold text, this could be symbolic signal to how life is slowly diminishing. Throughout the sequence there is mainly text and credits, as it goes on a clear beginning to the film is soon established. 

Firstly, we are presented with a range of shots of bacteria multiplying out through the screen, this is shown using extreme close ups. This is repeated throughout the sequence, this conveys that the virus continued to develop. There are established hard cuts purposely placed after every shot to show the staggering significance of speed created by each bacterium. Extreme close ups exemplify the worrying nature of how something so small can result in such tragic effects. Using black and white shots reflects the dull, dark and depressing topic and also mirrors the structure of a scientific document. The main theme is also supported through the camera angle, the shot is a bird’s eye view, as if you are looking through a microscope to see the development of the shot.  

The opening title sequence begins with a singular guitar cord strumming, the peacefulness combined with the panic context communicates a sense of demoralised implication with the music. Nevertheless, it is soon interrupted by a narrative voice. There are at least four different voices of authority within the opening, each outlining the statistics related to the death caused by the virus. The hard cuts between the audio provide the effect of immense amounts of information, this highlights the sense of importance of the topic. The development of bacterial growth is reflected within the tone of the narrative dialogue, as the topic discussion increases in pace, so does the uncontrollable spread of this unknown diseases cause a virus. 

The last of us conveys a sense of decaying and ruined civilisation through the use of visual and audial codes, we are provided with an unsettling curiosity as to what could cause such mass destruction in such a small period of time.