A scene from the Last of Us with a giraffe used an actual animal from the Calgary Zoo. .“What I quickly learned after doing the research on the game was just how critically important this one moment is to the whole story of the game,” said Last of Us location manager Matt Palmer in the Making of The Last of Us documentary. .“Yes, you can create a giraffe in visual effects, but it’s just not the same.”.While the Calgary Zoo has a few giraffes, 12-year-old, 17-ft. high, male Masai giraffe Nabo was chosen for the role. .The scene is one of the most important in the Last of Us video game and show, as it is a moment of relief before main characters Joel and Ellie come up against more brutality. HBO put the scene in the first season finale on Sunday. .Ellie is recovering from a traumatic encounter with a group of cannibals and has lost her usual wit and humour. She stumbles upon the giraffe at the right moment — a reminder of the beauty and power of nature. .There were a number of social media users who said the giraffe was fake. What might have tripped people up was the special effects used to pull off the scene. .HBO took the production of the Last of Us to the Calgary Zoo to film the scene. Nabo’s enclosure was fitted out with blue panelling to make a blue screen. .Last of Us production designer John Paino said the setup took one month to get the giraffe comfortable in the changed environment. He was socialized around a bunch of new people. .“That’s Hollywood magic of isolating the giraffes and putting them on our set,” said Paino. .“That was probably the most complicated piecing of VFX (video special effects) stage, scenery, and location I’ve worked on.”.The Alberta government said on March 6 it is keeping its fingers crossed the Last of Us chooses to shoot its second season in the province. .READ MORE: UCP says no decision made by HBO yet whether film Season Two of The Last of Us in Alberta.“HBO has not yet made a decision on the location for season two for the Last of Us,” said Alberta Ministry of Culture policy advisor Jason Kwong. .“We continue to celebrate the success of season one as new episodes continue to roll out with rave reviews and record setting audience numbers from around the world.” .The Calgary Zoo could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
