Behind The Excellent Sound Of HBO's 'The Last Of Us' - With Michael Benavente & Chris Battaglia:

The Last of Us Series and Game Sound Design

Posted June 27, 2023 by Asbjoern Andersen in Game audio, Television sound

The Last of Us HBO series was absolutely superb, and now, our friends at Tonebenders take you behind the sound of the series in their great new interview with Supervising Sound Editor Michael Benavente and Sound Designer Chris Battaglia:

Bonus: We've also included a number of in-depth sound stories behind The Last of Us game series for you below

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Here’s the Tonebenders’ official introduction:

Michael Benavente (Supervising Sound Editor) and Chris Battaglia (Sound Designer) tell us about the amazing sound work they did on the HBO series The Last of Us. We talk about the pressure to stay true to the sound work done on the original games, designing decrepit and terrifying soundscapes and lots more.

Hear the full interview here:

Bonus: Learn more about the sound for The Last of Us game series:

Behind the game audio for The Last of Us (Part I):

The Sound and Music of The Last of Us – Soundworks Collection:

In this exclusive profile, the team at SoundWorks Collection talks with the sound and music team behind the critically acclaimed Naughty Dog Studios game, The Last of Us — including Game Director Bruce Straley, Creative Director Neil Druckmann, Senior Sound Designer Derrick Espino, Audio Lead Phillip Kovats, Senior Audio Programmer Jonathan Lanier, and Music Manager, Jonathan Mayer:

SoundWorks Collection - The Sound and Music of The Last of Us

Re-Making The Last of Us Part I: Chapter 5: Sound
Here, Audio Director Neil Uchitel discusses the team’s approach to sound and how they enhanced it in The Last of Us Part I:

Re-Making The Last of Us Part I - Noclip Documentary

Behind the game audio for The Last of Us Part 2:

The Sound and Music of The Last of Us Part 2 – Soundworks Collection:
In this conversation Soundworks Collection chats with the sound team from Naughty Dog to discuss their extensive work on The Last of Us Part 2. They explore the gun and foley sound recordings, creating the terrifying sounds of the infected, the whistle language of the Seraphites, the unique glass and breathing sound systems, Ellie’s guitar gameplay sounds and much more!

GANG award-winning interview: How The Last Of us Part 2‘s increible sound was made:

If you’re interested in knowing more about the sound of the The Last of Us series, check out our GANG award-winning interview with the audio team at Naughty Dog below:

How The Last of Us Part II’s incredible sound was made:

Tonebenders and Soundworks Collection are part of the Audio Podcast Alliance, featuring a hand-picked selection of the very best podcasts about sound. Check out the full list of Audio Podcast Alliance members below, and click a on podcast name to go directly to their latest episode:

AMPS Podcast • CAS In Conversation • Field & Foley • Immersive Audio Podcast • LA Post Production Sound Design • Level with Emily Reese • Location Sound Podcast • Sound Business • Soundbytes Podcast • SoundGirls Podcast • Soundtrack Show • Soundworks Collection • The A Sound Effect Podcast • The Dolby Institute Podcast • The Game Audio Journey • The Sound Architect Podcast • Tonebenders • Twenty Thousand Hertz

Hear more audio-related podcasts here

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THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:

A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

Environments & Ambiences Suburban Russia Play Track 56 sounds included, 173 mins total $19

What could be better than summertime in the country?

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Those sweet sounds of hammers, lawnmowers, dogs, neighbors activity, forests, fields, rain and, of course, lots of cicadas!

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• Recorded with Mid-Side Sennheiser MKH8040/MKH30 combo

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• All files have metadata included

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User Interface (UI) Sound Effects Motion Graphics Play Track 650+ sounds included $9

Introducing MOTION GRAPHICS, a complete Motion Graphics sound effects library from SoundMorph!

Motion Graphics focuses on all the elements you might need for sound design on a trailer, a cinematic scene or a visual that is heavy with motion graphics, whether it be abstract or straight forward, Motion Graphics has all the elements and textures you could think of. Motion Graphics are something all of us sound designers run into at one point or another, so this library is an excellent addition to your sound effects tool box.

Motion Graphics was created by and in collaboration with sound designer Rostislav Trifonov (SoundMorph Elemental library contributor).

Motion Graphics features 650 24bit/96 kHz .wav files, all meticulously embedded with Soundminer & Basehead metadata.

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Featured Sound Creators Modular UI Play Track $9

Modular UI is an advanced user interface library designed by world-renowned sound designer and musician Richard Devine.

Designed and sourced entirely from Richard Devine’s personal and exclusive Eurorack modular synths and processors collection, the Modular UI soundpack combines the retro, clean sound of analog with the futuristic tech of the new wave of advanced analog and digital synthesis from modular synths, evoking flashbacks of iconic sound design heard in both classic and modern sci-fi films.

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Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:

Cinematic & Trailer Sound Effects SpellBound Play Track 969 sounds included, 122 mins total $90

SpellBound is premium sound effects library exploring the intersecting spaces of modern magic and science fiction energy. The result is a polished, designed, and inspiring set of cinematic magic sounds ready to bring new life to your film, game, and media projects. Brian Johnson, the creator of SpellBound and Slipstream is an award winning sound designer who after working in film, and television, has found his home designing sound for the biggest video game franchises in the world.

SpellBound has 969 total sound effects
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Designed section – 202 designed multi-event show stopping full frequency sound effects.
Elements section – 767 designed construction kit, layers, sweeteners, and single event effects.

SpellBound can compliment your fx arsenal with traditional fantasy, modern magic, cinematic impacts, and even as an explosion sweetener. It can take over a fantasy trailer or a compliment a hybrid space magic video game.

Thank you for licensing SpellBound. I hope it inspires you to create something exciting and magical.

SpellBound Flyer

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Game Audio Packs - Game Sound Effects Libraries Kawaii UI Bundle Play Track 1339+ sounds included $70

Kawaii UI Bundle is the ultimate bundle for cute user interface sounds.
In this Bundle you get both volumes of our Kawaii UI libraries.
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These libraries provide an adorable blend of cute, satisfying interface sounds, crafted to enhance user experience and feedback.
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Designed

The designed portion of Kawaii UI Bundle gives you a selection of ready to use OS sounds, various melodic and synth based sounds, button presses, cursors, notifications, swipes, errors, bootups, app opens, loading loops, etc. We’ve even included an adorable vocal alphabet for character text.

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The source recordings inside are a treasure trove of physical button presses, clicks, pops, taps, mouth sounds, toks, shakers, general synthesised UI sounds, FM bells and telemetry style sounds.. Kawaii UI Bundle provides you with the essential building blocks to craft your own distinctive designs. Combining these elements gives sound designers a robust sonic palette to create new UI sounds.

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Footsteps Sound Effects Footsteps Vegetation Play Track 582+ sounds included $59

Vegetation Footsteps is a detailed collection of footwear and movement variations recorded on dry leaves and forest floor textures. Featuring walk, run, sprint, scuff, pivot, and single step actions, this library captures the nuanced crunch and rustle of layered vegetation underfoot. With performances in sport shoes, sandals, leather shoes, high heels, and barefoot, each sound is designed for realistic character movement across natural environments. Ideal for games, film, and animation, Vegetation Footsteps offers clean, focused assets for building immersive terrain interaction.

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Foley Sound Effects Potion Sound Effects Play Track 135 sounds included $19.99

A collection of 135 potion sound effects.

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Game Audio Packs - Game Sound Effects Libraries Power Up Sound Effects Play Track 140 sounds included $29.99

A collection of 140 individual power up ability sound effects.

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