| Bryan Konietzko | Hey, everybody. This is Bryan Konietzko, co-creator and executive producer. |
|---|---|
| Michael Dante DiMartino | And this is Mike DiMartino. |
| Bryan | He's too cool to say his position. |
| Mike | Well, I alrea-I-you said that the first time. [Bryan laughs.] So... |
| Joaquim Dos Santos | [Laughs.] This is Joaquim Dos Santos, the co-executive producer. |
| Jeremy Zuckerman | And this is Jeremy Zuckerman, the composer. |
| Bryan | S... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to Bryan and Mike's "Created By" credit underneath the series title card.] See, there's-there's my name, right there. They-they know what it is. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Joaquim | Bam. |
| Mike | Alright, so, we've made it to the last episode. |
| Jeremy | Whoo! |
| Mike | Uh, which, this was an epic music episode, [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] and uh, I always am-am-am more critical of the episodes I write because I, you know, 'cause you're always more critical of [Mike and Jeremy chuckle.] your-your own stuff, and like, this was one where like the animation came out pretty cool, but like there was something that like, the episode didn't feel, like, cool as a finale; but then you did the music. |
| Jeremy | Aw. |
| Mike | And it tied it all together. [Bryan chuckles.] |
| Jeremy | Wow, I didn't know that, [Mike affirms.] you felt that way. That's awesome. |
| Mike | No, I did, I did feel that way. I wanted you to know. |
| Jeremy | [Gives an affirming murmur.] Thank you. |
| Bryan | And he was like, "if he doesn't say this, we're fired." [Joaquim laughs.] |
| Jeremy | [Laughs.] Why's that? |
| Mike | Well, it just, it's kind of like, probably one of the-even though there's action, and whatever, like it's not a typical episode. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | It's pretty cerebral. I... [Joaquim and Mike affirm.] no, I-I was actually really proud of it as a finale, because it is, uh, such a cerebral, kind of a heady, um, episode, and-and I dug it. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Mike | Yeah, I think you, Bryan, you described it as like, "it's like an experience." [Bryan laughs.] |
| Jeremy | Really. |
| Bryan | [In a mock dreamy voice.] Yeah, man. |
| Mike | Like, you could sit around and, like, you know, nitpick it, and I'm sure there's stuff that maybe doesn't make sense on the like physical plane, but in the spirit plane, [Jeremy chuckles.] totally makes sense. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | Well, it's-it-it makes a sort of dream-like logic in a lotta ways, and-and, [Mike affirms.] um, I don't know, I'm into that kinda stuff, and it's al-it's always a delicate balance of making it clear enough, and-and sort of making an intuitive logic, you know. [Refers to the closeup shot of Aang's statue in Republic City, its head partially submerged in the waters of Yue Bay, fading to a closeup shot of an unconscious Korra lying in the snow, her head lining up with where the statue's was.] I love that transition, there. We-we did a couple retakes to try to get their faces to line up, but... linking the Aang statue to Korra. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Mike | But I think, like the music is, I mean, it's almost like one long... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Yeah, it really is. |
| Mike | ... s-score through the whole thing. |
| Jeremy | It's pretty much wall-to-wall. [Mike affirms.] Um, and uh, you know, I can-I can always tell when an episode is paced really well because musically, everything's sort of, happens very naturally. [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] And that's-that was the case with this one, like, listening back to just the music. It's all... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] You mean like it wasn't super rushed or anything, or... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Right, all the cues sort of are the duration they-they should be like naturally musically, you know what I mean? [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] It's very easy to kinda make it work, uh, from a musical standpoint. Um, and so, like when I, you know, I was just reviewing the music, listening back, congratulating myself. [Everyone laughs.] |
| Mike | Well done. Well done, Jeremy. |
| Jeremy | I know. Yeah, it all seemed to like flow fairly well. |
| Bryan | Jeremy's like, "what do you mean, 'you're harshest on your own work'? [Joaquim and Jeremy laugh.] I pat myself... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Yeah, right. |
| Bryan | ... on the back regular". Oh, it's... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Yeah, that's-that's me. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | You should be proud, you should be proud. No, yes, if-if anyone knows Jeremy, he's, [Jeremy laughs.] he's a little neurotic, and uh... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Oh-oh yeah. No, I can't-I can't listen to my music; I, like, I judge it immediately before I even listen to it. I'm like, "oh, [Bryan laughs.] that's terrible". [Mike chuckles.] I can... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] At least listen to it first... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] No, no. |
| Bryan | ... [Laughs.] before you get there. |
| Jeremy | I refuse, I refuse. |
| Bryan | Oh man. |
| Joaquim | For me, I-it-this is when the-the-the episodes become real. Li-you know, I-I'm-I'm a bit removed by the time we get to see like the final comp of everything, with the music and everything, I've-I've already gone five episodes down, uh, you know, maybe more episodes down the road and we're doing pre-pro on-on other stuff. So, when I see it, [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] it's like, "whoa, this is real. This is... [Mike chuckles.] |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] That's cool. |
| Joaquim | ... this actually happened". [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] This is uh, [Bryan affirms.] the emotions, that's when it really comes together, you know? [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | I think we're all so conditioned from watching so much TV and-and so many movies growing up, and, um, you know, we tend to hear sound effects and-and-and music, you know, we-we think it needs that; so, um, when we're working on these scenes, I mean, when I'm storyboarding, I'm thinking of music. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] And not in the sense that I'm composing melodies in my head, or anything, but I'm imagining a mood, and an atmosphere, and color, and sound, you know? I was one of those kids when I would draw a Gatchaman, as a-I would, like, make sound effects as I... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Oh, I totally uh... |
| Bryan | ... did the drawings and stuff. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Dude, to this day, [Bryan affirms.] I mean, we're in meetings, and Bryan's like, "you know, when it's like..." [Makes a bunch of explosion sounds.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Jeremy laughs.] When I'm wi-with the Korean animators, they just look at me like I am, like, a bizarre [Jeremy chuckles intermittently.] creature [Laughs.] 'cause I'm making all sorts of sound effects to describe motion, and they're like, "what are [Laughs.] you doing?". I guess people don't make sound effects in that culture that much. |
| Mike | Naw, you-yeah, I used to draw these like epic, like, war, like, roll out a piece of paper, and all these little plane-and like, you know, you make... [Makes a bunch of "pew" explosion sounds.] |
| Joaquim | Yeah, you make the sounds. |
| Bryan | Totally. [Jeremy chuckles.] When I was abou-in third grade, it was like everyone had their machine gun sound, and it was like you would be, [Jeremy chuckles.] like, "oh man, Steve. He specializes [Joaquim and Jeremy laugh.] in like a MAC-10, you know, with," and then like, I was really good at like a-like a automatic with a silencer, you know? And like, everyone had their speciality machine gun sound effect. So... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to when Zhu Li, carrying a large backpack, jumped onto Varrick's back as he stood in front of the hole in his jail cell.] We just have to comment how awesome that Zhu Li jump... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] It... |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Laughs.] |
| Mike | ... on Varrick's back was. |
| Jeremy | Uh-huh. |
| Bryan | Sorry. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to when Varrick told Zhu Li to "do the thing", the backpack opening and unfurling a pair of mechanical wings that allow the two escapees to soar through the air.] That's the ultimate "do the thing", right there. That was the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, that was a good one. [Jeremy chuckles.] Um, so, yeah, so in-in a sense, we're always like it's never complete; even when we get the final animation back, we're looking at it in color, you're still like, "aw," and, you know, and then we'll finally put the final puzzle pieces in with the-the audio. So, yeah, so I can imagine for Joaquim, he's not-he's not at the color correction sessions usually, and then the-or the mixes, so when he finally sees it, it's real! |
| Joaquim | It's like, yeah, it's like magic. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] You guys-you guys perform the magic. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to a despondent Korra telling Tenzin there's no point in connecting to her inner spirit now that she has lost her connection to Raava.] I love this scene, [Refers to when Korra was sitting on a rock, having pulled up her right leg against her chest as she wrapped one arm around it, while also using her bent knee to support her other arm as she hides her face in her hand.] it's-and-and Lauren, I think, drew that pose of her with her-her leg up and her head in her hands. She's so good at that naturalistic, attitude posing. |
| Joaquim | Yeah, any time you see a very real pose, [Bryan laughs.] like something that somebody would really do; that's Lauren. [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | And if their clothes are really wrinkly and folded, that's Ryu. |
| Joaquim | Yeah. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Mike | [Refers to the shot simultaneously panning around the Tree of Time, its branches and trunk being comprised of multiple layers that go out of view, while panning down toward Korra and Tenzin.] I love-this was a shot that Matt Gadbois had gone over, that little like pivot and [Bryan affirms.] pan down. Like, in the-the original footage, it was just like a regular pan down, which was, you know, a fine shot, but then he gets in there and does a nice little like faux 3D move on that. Just really makes it feel real. |
| Bryan | It's epic. See, that's what's great about working with Matt in the studio, we can just say things like, "you know, make it more epic". [Mike laughs.] And he's like... |
| Mike | [In the background.] He's like... |
| Bryan | ... "yeah, I got it." |
| Mike | ... "alright, [Bryan chuckles.] cool." [Joaquim affirms.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to Korra's memories visually manifesting inside the hollow of the Tree of Time.] There's another thing Matt had to do. Poor guy, we were... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Composite Korra... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] We we-we were like, "yeah, we'll just do these in-house," [Mike chuckles.] and uh, [Laughs.] it was like thirty shots, or something cra-maybe not that many, but it was a lot [Mike affirms.] of shots that he... |
| Mike | [Refers to when a memory of Korra staring down Tahno at Narook's Noodlery appears.] There's one shot for you Tahno fans out there. [Bryan laughs.] Tahn-Tahno shows up in one of these uh, memories. So, I think it's up in the corner there, or something. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the memory appearing in the top left-hand corner of the shot.] Yeah, [Joaquim chuckles.] that's-that's him up there. |
| Mike | So, he's in Korra's memory. [Bryan and Jeremy laugh.] Just remember that. |
| Bryan | Buried very deep. [Mike affirms; Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Joaquim | So, I've-I've actually got a question for Jeremy; is there ever, I-I've got like a little trick that I'll do over a scene that kinda works every time. If a scene's kinda playing, and it's not quite emotionally there, I'll usually put a little, subtle, little camera drift on it; is there anything [Jeremy gives a pondering murmur.] that you do musically that's just like, "I know this is gonna get 'em." [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | I don't wanna answer for Jeremy... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] It works, man. |
| Bryan | ... but every time he sees that little subtle push, and he goes, "ah, yeah, I guess that needs music." [Bryan and Joaquim laugh.] |
| Jeremy | That's so true. [Laughs.] That's so true. [Bryan laughs.] Yeah, just screams for something. [Joaquim affirms.] Um, well, I just know like if I, you know, erhu. It's like, "okay, an erhu melody. That'll-that'll do it". [Mike laughs; Joaquim affirms.] Um... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] That'll get 'em. |
| Jeremy | You know... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] And that's one of-that's the... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] The... |
| Bryan | ... ancient Chinese, like, is... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] String. |
| Bryan | Is it two strings? |
| Jeremy | Yeah, two strings. |
| Bryan | And it's bowed like a cello. |
| Jeremy | Right. And it's uh, it's a higher, you know, higher pitch than a cello a bit, but lower than a-well, actually uh, it's actually higher than a violin, too. The range is smaller, but it was... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] It sounds very uh, human-like to me. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, extremely vocal, [Bryan and Joaquim affirm.] and uh, Hong Wang, who performs it, is an-is an incredible musician; and so, you know, I know, [Sighs.] pretty easy to get that emotion, [Refers to the theme that plays as Korra meditates in the Tree of Time.] just bring Hong in and have him play the melody, here. |
| Joaquim | That's-that's the juice? |
| Jeremy | Yeah. |
| Bryan | It's very expressive. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, [Bryan affirms.] it's extremely expressive. |
| Joaquim | That's cool. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Korra, standing amidst the stars on a span of colored light, beholding an enlarged, monochrome projection of herself at the bridge's end, holding an orb of light representing the cosmic energy she is connected to.] So, this was fun; uh, for me, this was a-a callback to, you know, a scene from "The Guru", which was an episode I co-wrote with Mike on Avatar, uh, that was very close to my heart. It was something I didn't think anyone would like, and I thought everyone would think it was boring, but I thought it was a story that needed to be told. And um... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects; gives an affirming murmur.] That's one of my favorite episodes, actually. |
| Bryan | That's the crazy thing, [Jeremy affirms.] through the years, you know, I have friends that teach-they're kinda yoga teachers, and-and meditation teachers all over the world, and stuff, and they're like, "I use that episode to teach my adult, [Laughs.] like... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects; laughs.] Oh wow. |
| Bryan | ... you know, students," and stuff. |
| Jeremy | That's good. |
| Bryan | So, I'm like, "wow," I-I didn't know any of-I was learning about all that stuff when-when we wrote it. But, um, so that was really fun to-to see Korra's version of it, and-and uh, [Refers to Korra physically manifesting the cosmic energy within her body as a gargantuan, glowing, blue projection of herself.] I did these designs of giant spirit Korra, both the-the celestial one, and-and the-and the blue one, here; and she's like elongated, she's taller than her normal-she's more simplified. And uh, I was fortu... |
| Joaquim | [Refers to Bumi dryly asking Tenzin what he said to Korra when they were in the Tree of Time.] That's the greatest line ever, right there. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Yeah, "what did you say?" [Joaquim laughs.] |
| Mike | Yeah, that was one little dash of humor in there. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to the wide shot of Korra's projection getting closer to the camera as she flies through the spirit lights rushing past her.] And then that shot of her flying through the sky, we-I sent a lotta reference from 2001: Space Odyssey, [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] which is not only one of my favorite films, I think it's-it has to be one of the greatest films ever made. [Joaquim and Jeremy affirm.] Um, and uh, so I sent them a lot of stuff from the... the crazy sequence in the end with him flying through space. So, I just-I just love this stuff; like, I mean, I'm a big Furi Kuri fan, and, uh, you know, the creator of that, he didn't-he didn't really want the series to make sense. He's like, he just wanted people to watch it, he said, like MTV, just-it should just-you should experience and feel it on a intuitive level, an emotional level, and-and like kind of a spiritual level, [Refers to Korra fighting UnaVaatu in Republic City.] and that-that to me, that's what this-this crazy battle, you know, is. It's-it's kinda symbolic. [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Mike | Yeah, definitely. Just the... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects; refers to the droning, reverberating sound of UnaVaatu's energy beam.] Yeah, that sound [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] for the beam [Bryan affirms.] is just... uh... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Ben's famous sound. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Joaquim | So cool. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the long shot of Korra and UnaVaatu as their energy beams collide in the middle of Yue Bay, the light from the former's beam casting the half of Republic City in view in a bluish tinge, while the latter's casts the other half in a purple tinge.] And this-this was sort of a reference back to two things; the spirit-the light battle between Aang and Ozai, and then also the um, the Azula, uh, versus Zuko [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] fight in the finale, where it was kinda these two colors battling, um, and the screen was split in half... uh, by those two colors trying to overtake each other. [Refers to Korra, having dazed UnaVaatu with a knee the head, holding the Dark Avatar's tendrils in one hand, while using the other to wrap the tendrils around her arm, pulling them to force the rest of his body into her reach.] Man, I love that animation of her [Joaquim affirms.] wrapping up the tentacles. |
| Joaquim | [Brief pause.] And who woulda thought? I mean, the finale is a giant, sort of kaiju battle, [Bryan affirms; Jeremy laughs.] you know, in the city. It's incredible. |
| Mike | But that's why I think, what the music does... for me here, it does make it more emotional. Like-like, the animation was cool, and it was like, "oh, this is a cool battle [Joaquim affirms.] between two giants," [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] but it was like, I wasn't feeling the emotions behind it [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] necessarily, 'cause-'cause they are so otherworldly and not like our normal characters fighting, you know? It wasn't like Zuko and Azula where it's like [Bryan affirms.] two humans going at it, and it's... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Yeah, like the most personal battle of all time. |
| Mike | Yeah, yeah. And, you know, with... you know, it's always-it is-it takes up to this other kind of level. Um, but I think you grou-Jeremy, your music like grounded the emotions. |
| Jeremy | Well, that's great to hear. |
| Mike | So-so, yeah. |
| Jeremy | Uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I also feel that-oh, I'm sorry, Jeremy. |
| Jeremy | No, I was just gonna say working with, you know, I-I work with a fairly small ensemble, and I think that has a lot to do with it. [Mike affirms intermittently.] It's a sound you don't hear a lot, and it's very intimate, and it's very human, and it doesn't sound like, you know, it doesn't sound like a MIDI, you-you know, you can tell it's real, you can hear-you can hear the details, and also doesn't sound like a huge, kind of gigantic orchestra. [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] And I think something about that, even like subconsciously, makes people just feel the humanity in it. |
| Mike | Yeah, yeah, that's a good point. |
| Bryan | Yeah, you know, I'm-I'm actually not a, you know, nothing against, I-I don't wanna make such a broad statement; I'm not a huge fan of the big, giant orchestras and scores, [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] and, I mean, that was one reason on Avatar I wanted to push against using Western instruments, because to me, there's a certain style of Hollywood scoring where, you know, they're all incredible players and they're very talented composers, but the-the orchestras get so big, but you lose the detail of the instruments, and it just becomes this kind of a wash. And uh, you know, in a uh, in a way, it gets so big that it sounds small again to me, and it doesn't have the impact of like a cello like rumbling, you know, like... [Makes a low humming sound.] |
| Jeremy | Yeah, solo-solo instruments, [Bryan affirms intermittently.] so intimate, so emotional. Um, also it's so expected, you know; at this point, it's almost like you don't-you don't really th-listen anymore because, you know, I, you know, you-I know what's gonna happen now with the huge orchestra, and, you know, you sort of-becomes a bit predictable. |
| Bryan | [Refers to when Korra attempted to find Raava's light inside UnaVaatu.] So, to me, what I was gonna say earlier, was the-the emotional, uh, the really like emotional content of this conflict is-is Korra's relationship, like her searching for Raava. And I feel like that's building off of the really amazing relationship that was established between Ran-Wan and Raava, [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] and um, so I feel that, even in this big, giant, blue, glowing Korra, I feel her desperation to, [Mike affirms.] you know, when she's searching [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] for her, [Refers to when Korra pulls out the light from UnaVaatu's chest, manifesting it as Raava.] and then when she finally, you know, rescues her. |
| Mike | [Refers to when Jinora's spirit completely illuminates the surrounding cityscape after releasing her light, in the process causing a small ball of light to appear in UnaVaatu's chest.] Oh, so this part, I always thought Jinora had, I saw some different theories of people had of what [Jeremy chuckles.] Jinora was doing. And the truth is I don't exactly know what she was doing. [Bryan and Jeremy laugh.] The idea is like she did gather some sort of spiritual energy that kind of helped, you know, uh, trigger Raava's li-little, tiny, little sliver of Raava that was left, [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] um, in-in the UnaVaatu guy. |
| Bryan | She was sort of a-a-like a vehicle. Like, she de-she delivered from the Spirit World, and it was-kinda resuscitated Raava as this little heartbeat. |
| Mike | Yeah, yeah. |
| Bryan | You know. |
| Mike | But she wasn't like gathering pieces of Raava, and, like reformed her, or something. |
| Bryan | Oh, was that... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Which seemed to be some-some [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] theories were... |
| Bryan | You know what? Maybe in a way... |
| Mike | [In the background.] But when-when... |
| Bryan | ... she was. |
| Mike | But that's the thing. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] It's all connected, man. |
| Mike | It's open to interpretation. [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | It's all-all the light energy. We're all one, you know. [Mike affirms.] One love. |
| Jeremy | Um... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] But that's why, yeah, we wanted to, you know... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] To... |
| Mike | ... tie-in, we had this all season, like Jinora and Korra's spiritual journeys were kinda paralleled, and to have them combine in-toward the end and-and in a cool way was the goal. |
| Jeremy | [Refers to UnaVaatu, purified by Korra's spiritbending, disintegrating and dissipating into flecks of golden light that fly into the sky.] I love that dissipation. |
| Bryan | Yeah, really pretty. [Refers to the shot of Korra, Raava, and Jinora, Korra's enlarged head dominating the background, while Raava hovers in front of Jinora, the spirit returned to the size she was from before she met Wan.] This is one of my favorite shots, right here. |
| Joaquim | Scale. |
| Bryan | 'Cause Raava's [Jeremy affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] been so big, you know, except for when she shrunk, but uh, just this crazy scale combination in that shot. And I-I just love glowing, blue Korra; I don't know. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Joaquim | Oh, it's really cool. |
| Bryan | Makes me very-it just, it's peaceful, [Jeremy chuckles.] even when she's kicking butt. |
| Joaquim | [Brief pause; refers to the horde of dark spirits advancing toward the Tree of Time as Mako and Tenzin defend the entrance into the tree.] So, this was uh, what I would refer to as a like murderous, [Mike laughs.] sort of sequence, [Joaquim, Bryan, and Jeremy laugh; Mike affirms.] with a-a million spirits; uh, but they-they-they brought it. I mean, it's-it's near impossible to do. |
| Bryan | Yeah, it's a tough thing to animate. [Refers to the shot of the dark spirits crawling into the Tree of Time's hollow as Tenzin and Mako send out air and fire blasts, before cutting to a shot framed from inside the tree and behind Korra and her defenders as the dark spirits begin to blot out the sky with their combined mass.] I mean, that-that's, those two shots, uh, you know, I wish I could go back, and like, "oh, we could make the spirits look cooler," but... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] But... |
| Bryan | ... what're you gonna do? This is... |
| Joaquim | ... hey, man. |
| Bryan | ... asking a lot of the animators, and just two shots. |
| Joaquim | Yeah. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Refers to the dark spirits dissipating into flecks of light after Korra descends from the connected spirit portals in a beam of energy.] So, they all got dissi-dissipated. You can see the little yellow sparkles when she lands. |
| Jeremy | [Refers to the theme that plays as Korra releases Raava and Jinora from her palms.] For fans of Avatar, we get to hear the "Avatar Theme". [Mike affirms.] That shows up a lot in the finale [Bryan affirms.] and the last couple episodes. |
| Bryan | It's always emotionally stirring, even if you don't like put your finger on it, you're like, you feel [Jeremy affirms.] something familiar, some heart strings that had been pulled... [Mike chuckles.] before. |
| Jeremy | It's cool, 'cause it's one of these things where, like, I never wanna force reusing anything, like I actually sort of try to avoid it as much as possible to go back to those old themes. But when it really needs to happen, it's very obvious, you know? |
| Bryan | But we should be clear, when you go back to old themes, [Laughs.] you always like reorchestrate them, and rerecord 'em... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] Yeah, amazing. |
| Bryan | ... and edit 'em... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] More... |
| Bryan | ... like specific for the scenes. |
| Jeremy | Well, that's what's cool about it, [Mike affirms.] is like coming back to them with all this new sort of history, you know? |
| Bryan | I love hearing the-the-the-like the different variations you do of them. |
| Jeremy | [Gives an affirming murmur; brief pause.] And then there's like, you know, some Korra in it. So, it's sort of a combination of the two. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | That's cool. [Refers to the shot panning past Korra to reveal Raava towering over Korra's friends.] I love that reveal of Raava, all big and majestic. |
| Mike | [Refers to Korra and Raava flying up together to where the two spirit portals overlap and meet.] Yeah, this whole, like the-the refusing part always get me, [Jeremy chuckles; in a mock emotional tone.] gets me choked up. |
| Joaquim | The clout. [Mike and Jeremy chuckle.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to Korra fusing with Raava, restoring the Avatar Spirit.] I love this sequence, and I don't know how we would fit it in, but I kinda wish we saw Raava go into Korra's body, but it must have happen... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to the spot where the two spirit portals meet expanding as the beams crackle with energy.] 'S right in there. |
| Joaquim | Yeah. |
| Bryan | So, it's the... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Under the glow, man. [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] |
| Bryan | I just wanna see it. |
| Joaquim | Yeah. [Jeremy laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to the dark purple skyline beyond the spirit portals changing to vivid shades of red as the beams of light emanating from the portals separate and begin to shift to their original upright positions.] So, that was fun to do this like color transformation, there. I just had this idea that... when the energy shifted after Harmonic Convergence, that the-this location would just shift. It's a weird color combination, but I kinda like it. You know, I was trying out this "colorful" thing. [Jeremy and Joaquim chuckle.] |
| Mike | I, yeah, I like it. It's good. |
| Joaquim | Yeah. It's cool. It-it uh, reminded me of my uh, my childhood, and I was a big fan of Captain EO, there was a, sort of... [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Ah, there you go. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Joaquim | ... sequence at the end where everything becomes bright and beautiful. |
| Jeremy | Oh. |
| A brief pause in commentary until, prior to the scene transition to a black screen, the glowing light from Korra's eyes fades away as she declares that it is over. | |
| Mike | No, it's not. [Jeremy and Joaquim laugh.] |
| Bryan | It's not over! |
| Mike | There's still one act left, Korra. Come on. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Mako hugging Korra in celebration.] Hugs. |
| Mike | Hugs. |
| Bryan | It's what we do. |
| Mike | Yeah. [Refers to Mako kissing Korra on the cheek.] And a little kiss. |
| Jeremy | [Brief pause; refers to the theme that plays as Korra is congratulated by Tenzin, Mako, and Bolin, through to her expressing her condolences to Desna and Eska over their father's death.] Resolution uh, cues are fun. |
| Bryan | Oh, really? |
| Jeremy | There's something very satisfying, [Bryan, Joaquim, and Jeremy laugh.] which, yeah. |
| Bryan | Interesting. |
| Jeremy | Sorta, you know, it's like, reminds me a little bit of the-the "Peace" cue, the one from, you know, the finale of Avatar. |
| Bryan | Yeah. Oh, that one's amazing, yeah, you're right. |
| Jeremy | Thanks. |
| Bryan | Beautiful. |
| Joaquim | [Brief pause; refers to Eska nonchalantly telling Desna about Korra's mistaken belief that the siblings would be upset at their father's passing.] This is the greatest. [Bryan and Jeremy laughs.] |
| Mike | [Refers to when Eska expresses concern about how they would tell their mother about Unalaq's death.] Yeah, so you find out they had a mom the whole time. [Jeremy affirms; Bryan chuckles.] What's she doin'? [Joaquim laughs.] |
| Bryan | They were not created in a lab. [Jeremy and Mike affirm; Joaquim chuckles.] Didn't we joke that, at the end, we were just like, "and they-and they were actually dark spirits the whole time, [Jeremy and Joaquim laugh.] that Un-that Unalaq had uh, just been... little puppet master." [Joaquim chuckles; Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Mike | That would've been weird. [Bryan, Jeremy, and Mike laugh.] |
| Joaquim | [Brief pause; refers to when Bolin, after Eska initially rebuffs his offer to move and stay in Republic City with him, says that Desna can come with her.] I like that Bolin's such a good dude, he's like, "alright, [Bryan and Mike laugh; Jeremy affirms.] she can-he can come too." [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Mike | There's a-there's a whole spinoff show, right there. [Bryan, Joaquim, and Jeremy laugh.] A sitcom of Bolin and twins in their apartment. [Jeremy laughs.] It's like Three's Company. |
| Joaquim | Yeah, it's like the-the Ropers [Mike laughs.] after Three's Company. [Bryan, Jeremy, and Joaquim laugh.] |
| Mike | [Brief pause.] That will pair well with the, uh, spinoff of Mako and the, uh, his partner who's a spirit cop. [Bryan and Jeremy laugh.] |
| Joaquim | Like it. Dude. |
| Bryan | And then there's the Nuktuk, uh... |
| Jeremy | Oh yeah. |
| Mike | Of course. |
| Bryan | Just gonna need a little "lucktuk"... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] So many-so many... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Find a different composer for that one. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Yeah, we-we talked about how that-that almost broke you. [Jeremy laughs.] I mean, that music's crazy, it's like... [Makes several noises imitating the Nuktuk action theme.] |
| Jeremy | It is. [Laughs.] |
| Joaquim | Hey, yeah, it's-it's a-it's so meta, it's a show within a show within a show. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to the shot of Korra's outstretched hand when she brings it toward to the Northern spirit portal to close it, hesitating before she touches the beam of light, her fingers relaxing and faltering.] Really like these hand drawings, her like pause. [Brief pause.] I've a really hard time drawing hands as many [Laughs.] people do, and so when I see really nice hand animation, I'm [Mike and Joaquim affirm.] out of my... [Refers to Korra standing in profile next to the spirit portal, as her movements cause the light rays emanating from the beam and vivid sky behind her to shift.] think Korra looks really nice in these drawings. |
| Joaquim | Yeah, the compositing with the light behind her, too, is incredible. [Bryan affirms; refers to the frontal shot of the back of Korra's hand as the red light from the portal shines through the gaps between her fingers.] Right in front of her, right behind her. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Bumi petting Bum-Ju over one of his flapping wings; laughs.] I always wondered how he pet his head. It-it just passes through his ear, there. [Bryan and Jeremy laughs.] |
| Joaquim | That's the-that's the Bum-Ju specialty. [Jeremy laughs.] |
| Bryan | He is a spirit. He can just-he just detached that ear for a little bit. |
| Joaquim | [Brief pause.] Have we talked at all about how hard the-the portal... [Bryan laughs.] stuff. |
| Bryan | Yeah, I think we did, we did talk about that a... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects; refers to the bands of light weaving around and outward from the Northern portal.] The helix. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Joaquim affirms; refers to when the portals were conjoined, the energy flowing from out of the Northern portal and into the Southern.] And trying to figure out which one was going up and down, and which color they were. [Refers to Korra and Mako talking in one of the Southern Water Tribe Royal Palace's hallways, the dust wafting around them being exposed by the light from the openings overhead.] Compositing on this sequence is nice, they put these cool dust particles [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] floating around in the-you can see it's in the-the kinda cathedral window light. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to the establishing shot of the Southern Water Tribe Royal Palace as people were congregating around it.] And that exterior painting of the palace, every time I see it, I'm like, "oh! This is amazing." |
| Bryan | [Refers to the varying color scheme of the palace architecture based on where the sunlight hits it.] Fred is great at painting many things, but one of his specialities is translucent materials. [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] He's really good at that; so, this ice palace, right up his alley. |
| Mike | [Refers to Korra and Mako apologizing for their past argument, somberly and mutually iterating why their romantic relationship doesn't work.] So, here we have the sad... break... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to Korra stating to Mako that, this time, it really is over between the two of them.] Definitive. [Laughs.] |
| Mike | ... but very clear breakup [Bryan and Jeremy laugh.] of Korra and Mako. |
| Bryan | Yeah, we-we've talked about that I think in a previous commentary, that the-the Asami-Mako breakup, maybe-maybe a little too vague, so [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] we-we thought we'd put a... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] We made sure it's very clear. |
| Bryan | Put a button on this one. |
| Joaquim | [Laughs.] Put a nail in. [Mike affirms; refers to Mako and Korra affirming that they will always love each other.] The uh, the cool thing, though, is that as sad-as sad as it is, it's very kind of real, [Mike and Jeremy affirm.] and-and it feels, you know... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects; refers to when Korra and Mako briefly maintain their handhold as the former turns and walks away.] Especially with that hand, [Joaquim affirms.] and, yeah. |
| Bryan | [Refers to when Korra and Mako bring their foreheads together after their final kiss.] I was very particular about them [Mike laughs.] leaning their foreheads together after they kiss. [Joaquim and Jeremy affirm.] That was-that was specific, [Jeremy affirms.] had that in mind. |
| Jeremy | The little hand-the ling-the lingering... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] It's pretty mature breakup, I would say. |
| Bryan | And then I like the-the lingering handhold. [Mike laughs.] |
| Jeremy | Yeah, yeah. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the scraping sound effect that plays as Bolin slides in from out of frame next to Mako; laughs.] But then the sound Ben did for him sliding in on the ice. [Jeremy laughs.] So great. |
| Mike | And then... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to Bolin hugging Mako.] And then hugs! |
| Mike | ... hug. |
| Bryan | More hugs. |
| Joaquim | That's beautiful. |
| Bryan | We really need to count [Mike affirms.] all the hugs once we get through Book Four. |
| Jeremy | [Laughs.] Someone's gotta like compile 'em in a YouTube video. [Joaquim chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, that's-we were-we were thinking [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] of a little GIF compilation. [Refers to the lectern Korra delivers her speech at; laughs.] I don't know if you've noticed, but it's always the same podium, no matter if we're, [Jeremy laughs.] no matter where we are. [Laughs.] Republic City, South Pole; same podium. |
| Mike | I know. |
| Bryan | Varrick is-Varrick Industries podium. [Mike and Jeremy affirm.] They're-they're everywhere. [Refers to Tonraq stepping forward, waving to the crowd with an open-mouthed smile as Korra announces his new position as Chief of the Southern Water Tribe; laughs.] I love that little, [Imitates Tonraq.] "ahh." [Joaquim and Jeremy laughs.] |
| Mike | [Imitates Tonraq.] "Hey, guys. Uh..." |
| Joaquim | We just gotta add, yeah, like a singing voice, [Mike vocalizes another syllable.] yeah. [Jeremy laughs; in a single drawn-out note.] "No." [Bryan laughs.] |
| Jeremy | [Laughs; refers to the theme that plays as Korra reveals her plans to keep the spirit portals open.] Now we get a big Korra theme. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the crowd of Southern Water Tribe citizens standing before Korra.] I like the idea that the people, like, in this capital city are like, "what portals? [Mike laughs.] What're you talking about? [Jeremy and Joaquim laugh.] I have no idea what you're talking..." [Jeremy laughs.] |
| Joaquim | [Refers to the shots of the crowd, one from the vantage of the crowd looking up to Korra, their models being distinguishable from one another, the other shot being a long one framed behind Korra, where the models become painted background elements the farther out they are from her podium.] This was also, we were really impressed, uh, by the way the crowd sorta fades off to a painting [Bryan affirms.] between s-you know... [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, that was a cool idea for-that they did. |
| Bryan | It's always tough to do huge crowd shots. [Joaquim affirms.] They either look too much like a painting, or the l-the l-the cleanup lines of the pencil get too junked up, too clumped. But yeah, a Mir artist did that really well. [Refers to the shot tilting up to show spirits flying among the southern lights in the physical world, including Bum-Ju.] Yay, bunch of our friendly spirit friends. |
| Mike | Spirits are back in the world, people. Get ready. |
| Jeremy | Oh yeah. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to Bum-Ju flying into and past the camera.] It's almost a Back to the Future like ending, right there, [Bryan and Jeremy laugh.] with the... [Makes a "phwoo" sound.] |
| Bryan | Well, thanks for coming in, Jeremy. |
| Jeremy | Thank you. And uh, thanks for having me, folks. |
| Mike | Thank you both for a awesome Book Two. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Joaquim | Thank you, guys. This is was a-just one of the greatest experiences of my life. |
| Jeremy | Yes, me too. |
| Joaquim | So... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Really? Book Two was [Mike laughs.] one of the worst experiences in my life. [Jeremy laughs.] |
| Joaquim | I'm talking about the [Bryan laughs.] whole-the whole [Jeremy chuckles.] of Korra. |
| Bryan | No, I-it's-it's-it-it's been great. |
| Joaquim | Book Two was a rough... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] It was tough, really tough. |
| Joaquim | ... rough ship. |
| Mike | Book Three's gonna be awesome! [Joaquim affirms.] Get ready. |
| Bryan | Thanks, guys. |
| Jeremy | Thanks. |
| Joaquim | Thank you. |