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attackfish) wrote2018-02-26 09:04 pm
attackfish) wrote2018-02-26 09:04 pm
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Avatar: the Last Airbender DVD Commentary: Book I, Chapter 20, The Siege of the North, Part Two
Commentators: Michael Dante DiMartino, series co-creator, Bryan Konietzko, series co-creator and Aaron Ehasz, series head writer.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Here we are, part two of the big Book One finale, uh this was written by Aaron, and uh, who is sitting right here, great episode. You you want to talk a little bit about the writing process, Aaron?
AARON EHASZ: I’d be glad to.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: All right! There’s a lot of great stuff that goes on.
AARON EHASZ: It’s funny that you mention that the episode was written by me.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, it is, isn’t it?
AARON EHASZ: Because at the end of every episode, you usually see “Written by so-and-so”. Uh, anyway, basically, this was just, uh, when you see a writer at the end, that’s the lead, sort of the lead writer on the episode, the person who writes the script, but I guess in general, we’re extremely collaborative on this show about the way that we develop every story, um, and the way that we kind of write and rewrite the episode. So there’s a lot of contributions coming from um, a lot of different places. In the case of the part one of this and the part two of this for example, we like pitched out for I think an entire week, we worked out every detail of the story of both, so that they would all kind of flow together, and connect and work so well. I should probably mention some of the other members of the writing staff while I have a chance. Umm, there’s John O’Brien, and Tim Hedrick, and Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, who is my wife, and uh, we also have Josh Hamilton, who is our superb writing assistant.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yes, all, very talented folks, and uh, it’s a pleasure to write with you all.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: [Referring to the monkey spirit] I like this odd spirit guy, he’s a very funny creation.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Voiced by Mark Hamill.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yes! Mark Hamill, also the voice of the Firelord. You may or may not know that.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Aang is voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: That’s right. I was waiting for you to fill that in. I thought you were going to.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: He’s a great, an amazing twelve year old young actor, and uh, just brought so much life, and uh, vitality to Aang.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: A consummate professional.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, just, just more professional than I am at my age, so.
AARON EHASZ: Zuko, a man of few words, but well acted words.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yes, uh, Dante Basco does his voice.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: He’s great.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: And uh, a great, just another great actor.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: When we were casting Zuko, we said we wanted someone who could say one word but suggest like a lifetime of tension, and uh, Dante just did such a great job.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: I remember also that my middle name is Dante. I remember sing his name on the CD of auditions, and his name was Dante Basco, and I was like uh! That’s the guy, right there, I know it! Of course I hadn’t heard his voice at all, but it actually turned out that he was good. And um, James Garrett did Roku. He’s a very cool actor, great voice quality.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Zach, the voice of Aang was um, what’s incredible is he’s a master at ADR, which is additional dialogue recording. I think that’s what it stands for. And um, that’s when you have to match your voice to the picture, so you have to go in and match the animation. It’s really difficult, and um, even for adult actors. It’s pretty trying, and Zach is just incredible. He’s done entire episodes that way when we had to do that, and, well, he’s a trooper. He’s also, what’s great is he’s such a normal kid. He and Justin Brinsfield, our recording engineer, I remember them just like rocking out on the bass, his first trip to LA.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: [Referring to Zuko’s “lucky to be born” speech to an unconscious Aang] This is a cool scene, because it, because this is probably the most Zuko has talked in one, in one stretch, the whole, whole season.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Because he thinks no one’s listening. [Referring to the orange glow in the corner of the screen in the ice cave] I like that color correction there. We had to suggest that that campfire was there. Looks cool. [Referring to the scene switch to the fighting going on in the Northern Water Tribe city] Big epic battle.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: This was definitely a challenge, because we wanted to you know, suggest the enormity but due to time and resources, and limitations, we obviously can’t show every part of the battle, so you know.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, this is really hard to do in TV.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, but I think it comes across.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Everything pulled off.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: [Referring to a wide areal shot of the city being invaded] You get shots like this where you see what, see things mixed in with you know, the details.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Great tanks designed by Aldeen and Diaz and um, these ships too.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah I think all the tanks and the ships are CG in the show. Computer generated, and composited in with the animation.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
HAHN: Admeral Choi!]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Hahn!
AARON EHASZ: There he is!
BRYAN KONIETZKO: So we shot reference of Dean flipping his hair around for that scene.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: This is a great… Aaron had had this idea that… We had totally forgot about Hahn, and this mission that he was supposed to be on, and Aaron pitched this idea, [Imitating Aaron Ehasz] What if he just, Zhao just tosses him overboard? I know it’s kind of crazy, and I thought it was hilarious.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: I love that Uncle has the empathy to shake his head, and have pity, and… Bye Bye Hahn. So this, remember this library, because it’ll show up again.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Neat calligraphy by S. L. Lee, who’s our, um, calligraphy expert, and does all of our translation. Early on we decided all the writing would be in classic Chinese. I found, I think I searched Chinese calligraphy on the internet. His website came up up first. I clicked on it, sent him an email, and then an hour later, he called me. I just got really lucky. I love the sound design in the Spirit World. Um, Ben Wynn did a really cool treatment, a lot of reversed sounds, and…
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: So what do you like most about the Spirit World, Aaron?
AARON EHASZ: Oh man.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Because you wrote the Spirit World episode, episode 1.07 as well. I feel that you have a special affinity
AARON EHASZ: I do, I think I enjoy the sense of discovery and ancientness, and I don’t know, cool, there are a lot of odd possibilities in the Spirit World.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Aaron created this really creepy character, Koh.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: And this whole sequence [referring to the sequence in which Aang walks through Koh’s cave as Koh sneaks along behind him] the purpose was to be very scary.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: David Filoni directed this episode, and uh, he storyboarded this sequence. [Referring to the shot of Koh’s lips curving up into a smile] I love that shot.
AARON EHASZ: We got the perfect actor to play Koh, too, Erik Todd Dellums, who is a, played a villain on a popular television crime show that I enjoy. Isn’t that amazing?
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, this is definitely… I think if I was eight years old and saw this guy, I would probably have nightmares, so, sorry kids, if you had nightmares.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Fear is a healthy, natural emotion.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yes.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: But I just love, again, it’s like not only is it a scary moment, but it’s like you’re kind of feeling for Aang, because he has to like put on this brave face and not show any emotion during this scene, which was a great device I think, Aaron used to add drama to the scene, so, you know… You’re, you’re, you’re waiting for that moment when you know Aang is going to show some emotion, or…
BRYAN KONIETZKO: I love how it effects him in the real world too.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: I love all the snow in this scene. It looks really cool, You really feel like it’s a blizzardy tundra.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah weather, is a really hard thing to pull off in TV animation. This one definitely came out successful. [Refering to the scene of Sokka steering Appa as Katara and Yue ride in the saddle, shot from below] I like that shot too, The sky came out really cool.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
SOKKA: They're not gonna die in this blizzard. If we know anything it's that Zuko never gives up. They'll survive – and we'll find them!]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It’s interesting hearing Sokka sort of complimenting Zuko.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah yeah, he like recognizes.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: He respects him.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, yeah.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
KOH: So... how may I help you?
AANG: I need to find the Moon and the Ocean.
KOH: Their spirit names are Tui and La. Push... and Pull…]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Really creepy sounds Ben Wynn did for Koh’s movements.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
AANG: Please, help me find them. An entire culture could be destroyed if I don't get their help.
KOH: Oh, you think you need their help? Actually, it's quite the other way around.]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: I like all the different faces we see of Koh, too, it’s got a great, kind of monster faces, and people and animals.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: There are even more.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, we just couldn’t fit them all in.
AARON EHASZ: Koh has quite a collection. I think we may hear more from Koh at some point in the future.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: I like it… So here’s the moment when he realizes the importance of the Koi fish that we saw earlier.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
AANG: I must be going now.]
AARON EHASZ: [Referring to the scene where Koh almost catches Aang showing emotion] Almost caught him…
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah. I love that read that Zach did for Aang. It’s totally deadpan.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
AANG: The spirits are in trouble. I need to get back to the physical world.
ROKU: A friend is here to guide you back.
AANG: Hei-Bai!]
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Hei Bai returns from… He was in the Spirit World episode 1.07, the panda guy. Here’s some more battle, Fire Nation is on the winning side until the moon!
AARON EHASZ: We see the moon!
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: So yeah, back to that idea that the natural phenomenon accentuates the bending. [Referring to the sound of bent icicles embedding themselves into metal fire Nation shields] I love the sound design there.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, that’s great.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: We get to see Pakku really show his masterful skills here.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: That’s cool, and this idea of this kind of like waterbending serpent, uh, is from one of the earliest concept sketches that we did, I believe, for the development of the show.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: It’s kind of what Aang does a little bit in 1.02, where he comes out of the water, in that water spiral.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: [Referring to the scene where Hei Bai sends Aang out of the Spirit World] Miyuki boarded this part. She’s great with the animals, and kind of the fanciful elements of the show.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: [Referring to Hei Bai shouting the Mark Hamill Monkey spirit off his pirch] So much just happened in the last five seconds. There’s no way to commentate on it.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: [Referring to Aang’s spirit flying through the air] I really like that shot.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, that’s… That’s a story thing we struggle with every episode really, is like, we have these really complex stories sometimes that we have to cram into, you know, twenty-two and a half minutes, and certainly hard to get everything in, but somehow we always manage to do it.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: [Referring to Aang blowing Zuko into the cave wall and jetting away] Great little comedic moment, and some fantastic animation by JM Animation. I love that Aang does this huge airbending move and then can only inchworm, his face in the snow. [Referring to Zuko throwing Aang to the side to fight Katara]Yeah, that was Zuko just dismisses him.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: This is a great shot. Dean Kelly did this part.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: So now with the full moon, Katara gets the upper hand on Zuko. Great animation on that little bit of rope.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, the little details like that, I just love.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: We’re so lucky to have little flourishes like that in TV animation.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, it’s great, because the studios in Korea that do the animation, uh, what’s great is that we set up a system where they are able to add, and kind of augment the storyboards that we send them, so they’ll often add great little acting moments, or little flourishes like that. [Referring to the scene switch of Zhao grabbing Tui the koi fish] I love the contrast of Aang’s altruism and Zhao’s evil. So Act three was kind of a challenge, because I think it was all this couple, just very monochromatic tones. There was the red section, then the black and white section later. Was that difficult art direction wise perhaps?
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It was, there was a like, okay, it goes red, and then there’s a transition where the sky goes black and you lose the moon, so do we see the stars, do we not see the stars, and um, yeah, you think it might be easy, just having one color, but then we have fire flashes where there’s a little bit of color. [Referring to the flashback of baby Yue] And speaking of color, I’m actually really happy with how this flashback sequence came out. Hye-Jung Kim, color supervisor, just did a fantastic job. I love doing these monochromatic scenes, but you know, they’re not totally monochromatic. They’re just limited pallets usually. Little, little hints of color. [Referring to the shot where baby Yue’s hair turns white] Great, great water animation. You can see the younger Pakku in those scenes.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
ZHAO: I am a legend now!]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: This is a great moment for Zhao.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
ZHAO: The Fire Nation will for generations tell stories about the great Zhao who darkened the moon!]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: And just when he’s getting too pompous, Momo takes him down. This is where I definitely see some acting reference from my so-called performance.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, showing up in the animation. It’s cool.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It’s interesting, because bad acting often translates to good animation. Kind of do this like soap opera acting.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
AANG: Zhao! Don't!
ZHAO: It's my destiny... to destroy the Moon... and the Water Tribe.]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Love the music here by Jeremy Zuckerman.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
AANG: Destroying the moon won't just hurt the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone, including you.]
AARON EHASZ: Destiny’s a real recurring theme on Avatar. We approach that theme a couple of times over the course of the series.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: I’m glad that we… I’m glad that we often talk about the choice that’s involved with destiny, and that, you know, Zhao could choose to um, not destroy the moon, here, and I think that kind of ties in with the bending abilities too, that they’re not purely magic, you know, they’re still coming from something physical. It’s like the destiny is there for the character to…
AARON EHASZ: Yeah, there’s definitely a message, like in “The Fortuneteller”, that destiny, your destiny, is something you have the power to shape yourself.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Because yeah, because no matter what you think about the concept of destiny, people have certain situations they’re born into, and their constantly living up to or fighting it. [Referring to the scene around the Oasis after Zhao kills the moon] There was a scene that was difficult with the flashes of fire.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah. What I love about that is seeing Uncle, you know, beat up some guys, because he’s usually very peaceful, and…
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, we only hear about his former days as the general.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, yeah, moments like that, you know that he’s, he’s not one to be messed with.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Oh, so that’s a cool sound effect that, that Ben has put together, that combines multiple voices as kind of this idea that Aang is speaking with the voice of all these former Avatars simultaneously, his former lives. Great sequence by Dave Filoni here.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: [Referring to the shot of Aang sinking straight down into the water] That came out great.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, that moment! [Referring to the scenes of the Ocean Spirit’s magic spreading through the water] You should see Dave’s storyboards for this, with all the marker renderings of this lighting affect spreading out though the city. It’s really incredible.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, what did we, Dave was a big Godzilla fan, so I think we ended up calling this guy Koizilla.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It’s true, the design says Koizilla. [Referring to a shot of Koizilla walking through the Northern Water Tribe City] Another prety tricky color correction, adding these glows, and following his path through the city.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: But it’s cool, because we see Aang do the Kung Fu, he’s kind of doing Waterbending inside this thing, and then we see the koizilla do the move after him, so you get this idea that Aang’s controlling it.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: I really like the effect that Dave got in his storyboards, with his marker renderings, so when I did the character design of the Koizilla, I started with these smaller drawings using design markers, and blew them up and sort of traced the patterns that I’d made. Gave it a real liquid, yet energy feeling, and it took forever. And I comment JM for pulling off the animation. [Referring to Zhao and Zuko’s duel on the ice] I love this, this face-off.
AARON EHASZ: This is a rematch we’ve been waiting for, for seventeen episodes, I think? It’s episode, third episode?
BRYAN KONIETZKO: 1.03, yeah. It’s nice to see… Zuko is a little more cavalier now. He was a little tentative in the 1.03 fight, staying, staying back at first.
AARON EHASZ: [Referring to Iroh telling Yue she has some of the Moon Spirit’s power within her] Here Uncle is showing his ability to see, see more than a normal person could see. The more you know about uncle…
BRYAN KONIETZKO: And if you notice, Yue’s eyes are blue despite the rest of the black and white.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Because the Moon Spirit is in her?
BRYAN KONIETZKO: That’s right, that’s right. She’s got a little bit of the otherworldly energy in her.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: [Referring to Yue laying her hands on Tui the Koi] Yeah, this is just a great dramatic moment.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Great sound design.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
SOKKA: No!]
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: We actually get to see Sokka be tender and emotional, which doesn’t happen too often.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: That… Great animation on her… lifeless body. It’s pretty good.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, I was jut going to say, to see Sokka like that is cool, because every… What we try to do is like, even though Sokka is the goofball a lot, you get to see this other side of him, and you know, all the characters are like that, where we show different sides of them that are different depending on the story and what’s going on.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Great uh, 3D models of the ships and tanks by Steve Z. I wish I could pronounce his name, but it’s more complicated than mine, so, sorry Steve. [Referring to scenes of the Fire Nation ship retreating] Again, we have to imply a much bigger battle than we have the resources to show. But I think it came out pretty great.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: It’s great, I really feel like you can sense the characters know they’re in the presence of something otherworldly. It’s really cool.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
MOON SPIRIT YUE: Goodbye, Sokka. I will always be with you.]
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Kind of a cool backwards sound treatment on her voice.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Classic trick of reversing the sound, then applying reverb, and then reversing that.
AARON EHASZ: [Referring to a shot of the moon reappearing in the sky] And the moon is back.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: So now you see that the moon is back, the Ocean Spirit is calmed down.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, I love that moment where the Ocean Spirit looks up at the moon. You see that his counterpart is restored, so he’s…
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: And what’s interesting, you notice that he drops off Aang at the outer wall there, so this moment where it kind of comes in and grabs Zhao is really more the wrath of the ocean coming to get Zhao.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, we wanted to be sure that it wasn’t Aang, taking this revenge.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: And then you get to even see Zuko here, you know, his kind of, you know, nobler side.
AARON EHASZ: But Zhao can’t do it. He can’t. He’s too proud.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Zhao does not have a noble side.
AARON EHASZ: [Referring to Zhao disappearing beneath the water] Flash.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: And then the epilogue. I really like the color in this. I like the kind of Maxfield Parrish like, all of the ground has this soft cyan blue, and then the sky is really desaturated, it’s cool.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: I always wondered what’s going to happen when Pakku shows up to Gran Gran’s house.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It’s not going to be pretty.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: She’s going to slap him.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Kanna’s going to have a word with him. Yeah, he thought it was hard fighting Katara, but…
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: I just wanted to mention Andrea Romano, who directs all these voices on our show, and does a great job.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Such a great job that my sister cried when she saw this scene. Yeah, she called me to tell me she cried right after the finale. Yeah, Andrea is just an incredible talent, so much energy.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
ZUKO: I’m tired.
IROH: Then you should rest.]
AARON EHASZ: That’s a call back to the second episode, I guess? And again their relationship is just great.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, just the way Book One ends is really great, leaves everyone off at this kind of pivotal moment, and a great place to pick up for season two.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It’s a moment where we just try to rely on the storyboarding. It’s well written, but it leaves room to convey the action through the images, convey the feeling.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: One of the few glimpses we get of the Firelord in season one, but definitely a formidable presence.
AARON EHASZ: There she is!
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: And there is Azula! Plays a big role in season two. [Referring to the credit screen, with Aaron Ehasz listed as head writer and episode writer] Man, your name is all over this credit here.
AARON EHASZ: All right!
BRYAN KONIETZKO: That’s the other Aaron Ehasz on this show. That’s the other one. We’d like to thank...
BRYAN KONIETZKO, MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO, and AARON EHASZ: Miken Lee Wong!
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Our line producer, and all these great artists on this episode.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: The nicest, most considerate, thorough human being you could ever hope to work with. We’d really like to think Jenna Lutrell and Eric Coleman who championed this series from its inception.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Thanks for Nickelodeon, for putting on this show week after week, we’re still amazed we get to make it, but uh, very proud of it, and uh…
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, they’ve been supportive of it since the get-go. So we’re lucky.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Thanks Nickelodeon!
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Here we are, part two of the big Book One finale, uh this was written by Aaron, and uh, who is sitting right here, great episode. You you want to talk a little bit about the writing process, Aaron?
AARON EHASZ: I’d be glad to.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: All right! There’s a lot of great stuff that goes on.
AARON EHASZ: It’s funny that you mention that the episode was written by me.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, it is, isn’t it?
AARON EHASZ: Because at the end of every episode, you usually see “Written by so-and-so”. Uh, anyway, basically, this was just, uh, when you see a writer at the end, that’s the lead, sort of the lead writer on the episode, the person who writes the script, but I guess in general, we’re extremely collaborative on this show about the way that we develop every story, um, and the way that we kind of write and rewrite the episode. So there’s a lot of contributions coming from um, a lot of different places. In the case of the part one of this and the part two of this for example, we like pitched out for I think an entire week, we worked out every detail of the story of both, so that they would all kind of flow together, and connect and work so well. I should probably mention some of the other members of the writing staff while I have a chance. Umm, there’s John O’Brien, and Tim Hedrick, and Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, who is my wife, and uh, we also have Josh Hamilton, who is our superb writing assistant.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yes, all, very talented folks, and uh, it’s a pleasure to write with you all.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: [Referring to the monkey spirit] I like this odd spirit guy, he’s a very funny creation.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Voiced by Mark Hamill.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yes! Mark Hamill, also the voice of the Firelord. You may or may not know that.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Aang is voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: That’s right. I was waiting for you to fill that in. I thought you were going to.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: He’s a great, an amazing twelve year old young actor, and uh, just brought so much life, and uh, vitality to Aang.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: A consummate professional.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, just, just more professional than I am at my age, so.
AARON EHASZ: Zuko, a man of few words, but well acted words.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yes, uh, Dante Basco does his voice.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: He’s great.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: And uh, a great, just another great actor.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: When we were casting Zuko, we said we wanted someone who could say one word but suggest like a lifetime of tension, and uh, Dante just did such a great job.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: I remember also that my middle name is Dante. I remember sing his name on the CD of auditions, and his name was Dante Basco, and I was like uh! That’s the guy, right there, I know it! Of course I hadn’t heard his voice at all, but it actually turned out that he was good. And um, James Garrett did Roku. He’s a very cool actor, great voice quality.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Zach, the voice of Aang was um, what’s incredible is he’s a master at ADR, which is additional dialogue recording. I think that’s what it stands for. And um, that’s when you have to match your voice to the picture, so you have to go in and match the animation. It’s really difficult, and um, even for adult actors. It’s pretty trying, and Zach is just incredible. He’s done entire episodes that way when we had to do that, and, well, he’s a trooper. He’s also, what’s great is he’s such a normal kid. He and Justin Brinsfield, our recording engineer, I remember them just like rocking out on the bass, his first trip to LA.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: [Referring to Zuko’s “lucky to be born” speech to an unconscious Aang] This is a cool scene, because it, because this is probably the most Zuko has talked in one, in one stretch, the whole, whole season.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Because he thinks no one’s listening. [Referring to the orange glow in the corner of the screen in the ice cave] I like that color correction there. We had to suggest that that campfire was there. Looks cool. [Referring to the scene switch to the fighting going on in the Northern Water Tribe city] Big epic battle.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: This was definitely a challenge, because we wanted to you know, suggest the enormity but due to time and resources, and limitations, we obviously can’t show every part of the battle, so you know.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, this is really hard to do in TV.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, but I think it comes across.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Everything pulled off.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: [Referring to a wide areal shot of the city being invaded] You get shots like this where you see what, see things mixed in with you know, the details.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Great tanks designed by Aldeen and Diaz and um, these ships too.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah I think all the tanks and the ships are CG in the show. Computer generated, and composited in with the animation.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
HAHN: Admeral Choi!]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Hahn!
AARON EHASZ: There he is!
BRYAN KONIETZKO: So we shot reference of Dean flipping his hair around for that scene.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: This is a great… Aaron had had this idea that… We had totally forgot about Hahn, and this mission that he was supposed to be on, and Aaron pitched this idea, [Imitating Aaron Ehasz] What if he just, Zhao just tosses him overboard? I know it’s kind of crazy, and I thought it was hilarious.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: I love that Uncle has the empathy to shake his head, and have pity, and… Bye Bye Hahn. So this, remember this library, because it’ll show up again.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Neat calligraphy by S. L. Lee, who’s our, um, calligraphy expert, and does all of our translation. Early on we decided all the writing would be in classic Chinese. I found, I think I searched Chinese calligraphy on the internet. His website came up up first. I clicked on it, sent him an email, and then an hour later, he called me. I just got really lucky. I love the sound design in the Spirit World. Um, Ben Wynn did a really cool treatment, a lot of reversed sounds, and…
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: So what do you like most about the Spirit World, Aaron?
AARON EHASZ: Oh man.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Because you wrote the Spirit World episode, episode 1.07 as well. I feel that you have a special affinity
AARON EHASZ: I do, I think I enjoy the sense of discovery and ancientness, and I don’t know, cool, there are a lot of odd possibilities in the Spirit World.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Aaron created this really creepy character, Koh.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: And this whole sequence [referring to the sequence in which Aang walks through Koh’s cave as Koh sneaks along behind him] the purpose was to be very scary.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: David Filoni directed this episode, and uh, he storyboarded this sequence. [Referring to the shot of Koh’s lips curving up into a smile] I love that shot.
AARON EHASZ: We got the perfect actor to play Koh, too, Erik Todd Dellums, who is a, played a villain on a popular television crime show that I enjoy. Isn’t that amazing?
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, this is definitely… I think if I was eight years old and saw this guy, I would probably have nightmares, so, sorry kids, if you had nightmares.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Fear is a healthy, natural emotion.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yes.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: But I just love, again, it’s like not only is it a scary moment, but it’s like you’re kind of feeling for Aang, because he has to like put on this brave face and not show any emotion during this scene, which was a great device I think, Aaron used to add drama to the scene, so, you know… You’re, you’re, you’re waiting for that moment when you know Aang is going to show some emotion, or…
BRYAN KONIETZKO: I love how it effects him in the real world too.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: I love all the snow in this scene. It looks really cool, You really feel like it’s a blizzardy tundra.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah weather, is a really hard thing to pull off in TV animation. This one definitely came out successful. [Refering to the scene of Sokka steering Appa as Katara and Yue ride in the saddle, shot from below] I like that shot too, The sky came out really cool.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
SOKKA: They're not gonna die in this blizzard. If we know anything it's that Zuko never gives up. They'll survive – and we'll find them!]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It’s interesting hearing Sokka sort of complimenting Zuko.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah yeah, he like recognizes.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: He respects him.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, yeah.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
KOH: So... how may I help you?
AANG: I need to find the Moon and the Ocean.
KOH: Their spirit names are Tui and La. Push... and Pull…]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Really creepy sounds Ben Wynn did for Koh’s movements.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
AANG: Please, help me find them. An entire culture could be destroyed if I don't get their help.
KOH: Oh, you think you need their help? Actually, it's quite the other way around.]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: I like all the different faces we see of Koh, too, it’s got a great, kind of monster faces, and people and animals.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: There are even more.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, we just couldn’t fit them all in.
AARON EHASZ: Koh has quite a collection. I think we may hear more from Koh at some point in the future.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: I like it… So here’s the moment when he realizes the importance of the Koi fish that we saw earlier.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
AANG: I must be going now.]
AARON EHASZ: [Referring to the scene where Koh almost catches Aang showing emotion] Almost caught him…
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah. I love that read that Zach did for Aang. It’s totally deadpan.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
AANG: The spirits are in trouble. I need to get back to the physical world.
ROKU: A friend is here to guide you back.
AANG: Hei-Bai!]
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Hei Bai returns from… He was in the Spirit World episode 1.07, the panda guy. Here’s some more battle, Fire Nation is on the winning side until the moon!
AARON EHASZ: We see the moon!
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: So yeah, back to that idea that the natural phenomenon accentuates the bending. [Referring to the sound of bent icicles embedding themselves into metal fire Nation shields] I love the sound design there.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, that’s great.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: We get to see Pakku really show his masterful skills here.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: That’s cool, and this idea of this kind of like waterbending serpent, uh, is from one of the earliest concept sketches that we did, I believe, for the development of the show.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: It’s kind of what Aang does a little bit in 1.02, where he comes out of the water, in that water spiral.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: [Referring to the scene where Hei Bai sends Aang out of the Spirit World] Miyuki boarded this part. She’s great with the animals, and kind of the fanciful elements of the show.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: [Referring to Hei Bai shouting the Mark Hamill Monkey spirit off his pirch] So much just happened in the last five seconds. There’s no way to commentate on it.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: [Referring to Aang’s spirit flying through the air] I really like that shot.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, that’s… That’s a story thing we struggle with every episode really, is like, we have these really complex stories sometimes that we have to cram into, you know, twenty-two and a half minutes, and certainly hard to get everything in, but somehow we always manage to do it.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: [Referring to Aang blowing Zuko into the cave wall and jetting away] Great little comedic moment, and some fantastic animation by JM Animation. I love that Aang does this huge airbending move and then can only inchworm, his face in the snow. [Referring to Zuko throwing Aang to the side to fight Katara]Yeah, that was Zuko just dismisses him.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: This is a great shot. Dean Kelly did this part.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: So now with the full moon, Katara gets the upper hand on Zuko. Great animation on that little bit of rope.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, the little details like that, I just love.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: We’re so lucky to have little flourishes like that in TV animation.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, it’s great, because the studios in Korea that do the animation, uh, what’s great is that we set up a system where they are able to add, and kind of augment the storyboards that we send them, so they’ll often add great little acting moments, or little flourishes like that. [Referring to the scene switch of Zhao grabbing Tui the koi fish] I love the contrast of Aang’s altruism and Zhao’s evil. So Act three was kind of a challenge, because I think it was all this couple, just very monochromatic tones. There was the red section, then the black and white section later. Was that difficult art direction wise perhaps?
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It was, there was a like, okay, it goes red, and then there’s a transition where the sky goes black and you lose the moon, so do we see the stars, do we not see the stars, and um, yeah, you think it might be easy, just having one color, but then we have fire flashes where there’s a little bit of color. [Referring to the flashback of baby Yue] And speaking of color, I’m actually really happy with how this flashback sequence came out. Hye-Jung Kim, color supervisor, just did a fantastic job. I love doing these monochromatic scenes, but you know, they’re not totally monochromatic. They’re just limited pallets usually. Little, little hints of color. [Referring to the shot where baby Yue’s hair turns white] Great, great water animation. You can see the younger Pakku in those scenes.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
ZHAO: I am a legend now!]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: This is a great moment for Zhao.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
ZHAO: The Fire Nation will for generations tell stories about the great Zhao who darkened the moon!]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: And just when he’s getting too pompous, Momo takes him down. This is where I definitely see some acting reference from my so-called performance.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, showing up in the animation. It’s cool.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It’s interesting, because bad acting often translates to good animation. Kind of do this like soap opera acting.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
AANG: Zhao! Don't!
ZHAO: It's my destiny... to destroy the Moon... and the Water Tribe.]
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Love the music here by Jeremy Zuckerman.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
AANG: Destroying the moon won't just hurt the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone, including you.]
AARON EHASZ: Destiny’s a real recurring theme on Avatar. We approach that theme a couple of times over the course of the series.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: I’m glad that we… I’m glad that we often talk about the choice that’s involved with destiny, and that, you know, Zhao could choose to um, not destroy the moon, here, and I think that kind of ties in with the bending abilities too, that they’re not purely magic, you know, they’re still coming from something physical. It’s like the destiny is there for the character to…
AARON EHASZ: Yeah, there’s definitely a message, like in “The Fortuneteller”, that destiny, your destiny, is something you have the power to shape yourself.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Because yeah, because no matter what you think about the concept of destiny, people have certain situations they’re born into, and their constantly living up to or fighting it. [Referring to the scene around the Oasis after Zhao kills the moon] There was a scene that was difficult with the flashes of fire.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah. What I love about that is seeing Uncle, you know, beat up some guys, because he’s usually very peaceful, and…
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, we only hear about his former days as the general.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, yeah, moments like that, you know that he’s, he’s not one to be messed with.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Oh, so that’s a cool sound effect that, that Ben has put together, that combines multiple voices as kind of this idea that Aang is speaking with the voice of all these former Avatars simultaneously, his former lives. Great sequence by Dave Filoni here.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: [Referring to the shot of Aang sinking straight down into the water] That came out great.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, that moment! [Referring to the scenes of the Ocean Spirit’s magic spreading through the water] You should see Dave’s storyboards for this, with all the marker renderings of this lighting affect spreading out though the city. It’s really incredible.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, what did we, Dave was a big Godzilla fan, so I think we ended up calling this guy Koizilla.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It’s true, the design says Koizilla. [Referring to a shot of Koizilla walking through the Northern Water Tribe City] Another prety tricky color correction, adding these glows, and following his path through the city.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: But it’s cool, because we see Aang do the Kung Fu, he’s kind of doing Waterbending inside this thing, and then we see the koizilla do the move after him, so you get this idea that Aang’s controlling it.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: I really like the effect that Dave got in his storyboards, with his marker renderings, so when I did the character design of the Koizilla, I started with these smaller drawings using design markers, and blew them up and sort of traced the patterns that I’d made. Gave it a real liquid, yet energy feeling, and it took forever. And I comment JM for pulling off the animation. [Referring to Zhao and Zuko’s duel on the ice] I love this, this face-off.
AARON EHASZ: This is a rematch we’ve been waiting for, for seventeen episodes, I think? It’s episode, third episode?
BRYAN KONIETZKO: 1.03, yeah. It’s nice to see… Zuko is a little more cavalier now. He was a little tentative in the 1.03 fight, staying, staying back at first.
AARON EHASZ: [Referring to Iroh telling Yue she has some of the Moon Spirit’s power within her] Here Uncle is showing his ability to see, see more than a normal person could see. The more you know about uncle…
BRYAN KONIETZKO: And if you notice, Yue’s eyes are blue despite the rest of the black and white.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Because the Moon Spirit is in her?
BRYAN KONIETZKO: That’s right, that’s right. She’s got a little bit of the otherworldly energy in her.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: [Referring to Yue laying her hands on Tui the Koi] Yeah, this is just a great dramatic moment.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Great sound design.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
SOKKA: No!]
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: We actually get to see Sokka be tender and emotional, which doesn’t happen too often.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: That… Great animation on her… lifeless body. It’s pretty good.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, I was jut going to say, to see Sokka like that is cool, because every… What we try to do is like, even though Sokka is the goofball a lot, you get to see this other side of him, and you know, all the characters are like that, where we show different sides of them that are different depending on the story and what’s going on.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Great uh, 3D models of the ships and tanks by Steve Z. I wish I could pronounce his name, but it’s more complicated than mine, so, sorry Steve. [Referring to scenes of the Fire Nation ship retreating] Again, we have to imply a much bigger battle than we have the resources to show. But I think it came out pretty great.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: It’s great, I really feel like you can sense the characters know they’re in the presence of something otherworldly. It’s really cool.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
MOON SPIRIT YUE: Goodbye, Sokka. I will always be with you.]
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Kind of a cool backwards sound treatment on her voice.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Classic trick of reversing the sound, then applying reverb, and then reversing that.
AARON EHASZ: [Referring to a shot of the moon reappearing in the sky] And the moon is back.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: So now you see that the moon is back, the Ocean Spirit is calmed down.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, I love that moment where the Ocean Spirit looks up at the moon. You see that his counterpart is restored, so he’s…
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: And what’s interesting, you notice that he drops off Aang at the outer wall there, so this moment where it kind of comes in and grabs Zhao is really more the wrath of the ocean coming to get Zhao.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, we wanted to be sure that it wasn’t Aang, taking this revenge.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: And then you get to even see Zuko here, you know, his kind of, you know, nobler side.
AARON EHASZ: But Zhao can’t do it. He can’t. He’s too proud.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Zhao does not have a noble side.
AARON EHASZ: [Referring to Zhao disappearing beneath the water] Flash.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: And then the epilogue. I really like the color in this. I like the kind of Maxfield Parrish like, all of the ground has this soft cyan blue, and then the sky is really desaturated, it’s cool.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: I always wondered what’s going to happen when Pakku shows up to Gran Gran’s house.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It’s not going to be pretty.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: She’s going to slap him.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Kanna’s going to have a word with him. Yeah, he thought it was hard fighting Katara, but…
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: I just wanted to mention Andrea Romano, who directs all these voices on our show, and does a great job.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Such a great job that my sister cried when she saw this scene. Yeah, she called me to tell me she cried right after the finale. Yeah, Andrea is just an incredible talent, so much energy.
[Interjection of dialogue from the show.
ZUKO: I’m tired.
IROH: Then you should rest.]
AARON EHASZ: That’s a call back to the second episode, I guess? And again their relationship is just great.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Yeah, just the way Book One ends is really great, leaves everyone off at this kind of pivotal moment, and a great place to pick up for season two.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: It’s a moment where we just try to rely on the storyboarding. It’s well written, but it leaves room to convey the action through the images, convey the feeling.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: One of the few glimpses we get of the Firelord in season one, but definitely a formidable presence.
AARON EHASZ: There she is!
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: And there is Azula! Plays a big role in season two. [Referring to the credit screen, with Aaron Ehasz listed as head writer and episode writer] Man, your name is all over this credit here.
AARON EHASZ: All right!
BRYAN KONIETZKO: That’s the other Aaron Ehasz on this show. That’s the other one. We’d like to thank...
BRYAN KONIETZKO, MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO, and AARON EHASZ: Miken Lee Wong!
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Our line producer, and all these great artists on this episode.
BRYAN KONIETZKO: The nicest, most considerate, thorough human being you could ever hope to work with. We’d really like to think Jenna Lutrell and Eric Coleman who championed this series from its inception.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Thanks for Nickelodeon, for putting on this show week after week, we’re still amazed we get to make it, but uh, very proud of it, and uh…
BRYAN KONIETZKO: Yeah, they’ve been supportive of it since the get-go. So we’re lucky.
MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO: Thanks Nickelodeon!