Calgarian Michael Playfair said there was a moment during filming for The Last of Us when microphones were everywhere and he thought, “there’s no way this is going to work.”

He said it happened in the first episode when the main cast members were inside a car being operated by a professional driver on the roof.

“We’re driving across fields and cow patties and here, there and everywhere. And we’ve got microphones on the actors and in the car … somehow we got the dialogue, and post-production people are very happy with it, editing was happy, producers were happy.” 

It all worked out in the end for Playfair, who won an Emmy with two of his colleagues for outstanding sound mixing for a comedy or drama series for the show. The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, was shot in 2021-22 in cities and towns across Alberta. 

In total, the HBO show The Last of Us walked away with eight awards at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards last Saturday.

Playfair said the win is still sinking in. 

“It was kind of a heart-stopping moment when that announcement came up and I had to walk up on stage with my two cohorts,” he said on CBC’s The Homestretch. Playfair won the award with his colleagues Marc Fishman and Kevin Roache.

“It’s a lot to take in at first, especially considering the top quality shows that we were up against like Succession, The White Lotus, Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Stranger Things, Better Call Saul. The sound mixing on all those shows was top notch,” Playfair added in an email. 

The fake fungus and film sets that took over Alberta during filming of The Last of Us generated a whopping $141 million for the province, and added millions more indirectly to its gross domestic product (GDP).

The Motion Picture Association – Canada says the post-apocalyptic drama was also the largest TV series ever filmed in the country. 

Damian Petti, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 212 in Calgary, said Playfair’s win was well-deserved, and he’s looking forward to what’s next for Alberta’s film industry. 

“The Last of Us has been amazing. We continue to see the spinoffs from that and it creates opportunities we didn’t have previously,” he said. 

Alberta’s Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women Tanya Fir is travelling to Los Angeles this week to promote the province to film and television creators. 

“Alberta’s government is proud of our talented and growing film and television industry, and we want to keep the momentum going for years to come. We want producers around the world to know about our competitive financial advantages, breathtaking locations, world-class studios and exceptional crews and talent,” Fir said in an emailed media release. 

Season 2 of The Last of Us is being shot in Vancouver.