| Michael Dante DiMartino | This is Mike DiMartino, co-creator and executive producer. |
|---|---|
| Bryan Konietzko | This is Bryan Konietzko, co-creator and executive producer. |
| Jeremy Zuckerman | This is Jeremy Zuckerman, composer. |
| Mike | Hello, Jeremy. |
| Jeremy | Hello, Mike. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Thanks for coming back to do [Jeremy affirms.] one-one last commentary... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] I know. |
| Bryan | ... series. |
| Jeremy | Well, my pleasure. I might cry a little. [Bryan chuckles.] Is that alright, if I... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Sure. |
| Bryan | Sure. |
| Jeremy | ... show... [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] That would be awesome. All cry. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, together. |
| Mike | So, maybe-let's go-let's go to the beginning of Book Four; what was your-would-did you have a new uh, approach to the music this season? Like... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Book Four, I'm trying to remember. [Bryan and Jeremy chuckle.] |
| Mike | ... 'cause you always, like, kind of-you develop, like, new cues, [Jeremy affirms.] new-new themes, right? |
| Jeremy | Uh, yeah; you know, I think-I think with Three and Four-well, Three happened pretty ea-early, 'cause we had Zaheer in the first episode, [Mike affirms intermittently.] and that sorta shaped the whole thing. Four, it slowly took shape, and then uh, when we did the trailer, you know, that was, like, Kuvira's sort of thing, her theme, and that's, like, a really big part of this-this season, her-her theme, which is this, like, pretty in-intricate, um, stri-string part. But this little melody, and that kinda dominates, and comes-comes through in all-different ways, little variations, and stuff. You listen to this, there's probably a small handful of ideas that just, l-like, lots of variations, and, you know what I mean, just trying to-to get a lot out of it, to have this cohesive style and-and uh, vocabulary for the-for the whole season. So, yeah, I mean, uh, uh, I think it just slowly took shape over the course of the, you know, the whole season. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Toph joining with Lin, Opal, and Bolin to save her family.] Did you bring back any-any themes for Toph this season? |
| Jeremy | Um... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] From the old series? |
| Jeremy | I think I did; it's so funny, I'm trying to remember. She had a really s-uh, hate to say it, but kind of unremarkable theme [Bryan and Jeremy laugh.] fro-from Avatar, and uh, I think I kind of grabbed it, and, you know, sorta reharmonized it, and made it into something-at the time, it was just sort of these, like, I think it was, like, these two big brass chords, or something, because of her whole-back when we... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Brassy personality. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, [Bryan chuckles.] and then the first time we see her, you know, she's wrestling. |
| Bryan | What's it like for you when you have to, like, open up one of the old sessions for-for Avatar? Is it just weird, like, seeing into your brain from a few years ago? |
| Jeremy | Well, I can't even open them at this point. They're... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Oh, just... |
| Jeremy | ... yeah, the... |
| Bryan | ... software... [Mike chuckles.] |
| Jeremy | They're on old, yeah, everything... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] You physically can't. [Laughs.] |
| Jeremy | ... every-yeah, I can't-physically can't do it; [Laughs.] it'll kill me. |
| Bryan | Software's just outmoded. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, everything's obsolete, and I can't, you know, I'd have to, like, it'd be huge job to [Bryan affirms.] rebuild some of those things. Uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] So you just listen to 'em. |
| Jeremy | I go on, like, YouTube. [Bryan and Jeremy chuckle.] Some fansite, or something. |
| Bryan | Nice. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, totally. But it is crazy, seeing that old stuff, and... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] By the way, you-you guys, we-we must thank the fans, 'cause a lotta times, when we just need a quick reference, if we're writing, [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] or some design, or-or some musical cue, we-or a sound, you know, or s-oh! I wonder if that's online, and, like, we always find it on Avatar Wiki, or something... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Oh, they're so organized. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | ... it's-and it's like, yeah, we're just like, "yeah, thanks-thanks for the fans," [Laughs; Jeremy affirms intermittently.] or else I'd have to go to the vault and request some files. |
| Jeremy | I know. I've done that so many times, where I just, you know, I need to find something, some reference from the original series, and find it in five seconds. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Mike | So, when you, uh, compose an episode, do you, like, we give you the spotting notes, which is kind of our idea of, like, where we think music should be; do you, like, go-do you do it linear-lil-ah, I can't even say the word, [Bryan laughs; Jeremy pronounces the word in a slurred manner.] in order? Uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Linearly. |
| Jeremy | [Laughs.] Linearly. |
| Mike | ... uh, or do you kinda, like, pick a section to start with, and then it kinda branches from there. |
| Jeremy | Uh, you know, it's funny, like, ninety percent of my work, I've done linearly, [Mike affirms intermittently.] and you-what happens is you wind up at the hardest part when you have the least amount of energy left, [Bryan and Jeremy laugh.] you know what I mean? |
| Bryan | That sounds like making animation. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, yeah. And-and, like, for some reason, uh, you know, the software I use is uh, you know, you kinda have to work linearly; like, if you go and you change something in the middle, it'll throw off everything after it. |
| Mike | Oh, really? |
| Jeremy | So, but I don't know why it never occurred to me, just break it up into different sessions. [Bryan laughs.] You know, I think it was just, [Laughs.] I don't know, I was really fighting it, [Mike chuckles.] you know? I just didn't want to change my paradigm, and finally, I think somewhere, maybe in the middle of Book Three, or near the end of Book Three, I started doing, like, the s-the-finding the hardest parts, and doing that first, [Bryan gives an affirming murmur.] and uh, and it was-it was really working out well, so I do maybe act three first, and then act two, and then act one, or something like that. |
| Mike | Ah, yeah. |
| Jeremy | Um, and then also, it-you get this nice thing where you have these, like, ideas that are, like, really big in act three, and you can hint at 'em... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] That's cool. |
| Jeremy | ... you know? Things like that. |
| Bryan | Well, the music, as always, has been just incredible-season... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Thanks, man. Well, thanks for giving me, you know, a lot of creative space, and uh, always being really supportive. |
| Bryan | Easy to do when you have the best. |
| Jeremy | Aww. |
| Mike | [Refers to the long shot of the spirit energy cannon as two mecha suits ready to load a spirit vine capsule through a hatch, with three thin horizontal rectangles arrayed on the portal.] Oh, I just have to-I saw it in that shot; I noticed some fans [Laughs.] were pointing out the little face... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] The face. |
| Mike | ... [Laughs.] on the gun, [Bryan affirms.] which I never notice... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] There's a face on the gun? |
| Bryan | There's this, like... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, on the back of the gun, there's, like, this little... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Hatch. |
| Mike | ... horizontal lines for the eyes and mouth. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, that's awesome. |
| Bryan | He's like a cute, he... |
| Mike | [In the background.] That's pretty funny. |
| Bryan | ... kinda looks like an Invader Zim [Mike and Jeremy chuckle.] chara-he looks like an Invader Zim alien. |
| Jeremy | Fun. |
| Mike | It's true. |
| Bryan | Yeah. I kinda wish instead of lifting the hatch open, it just lifted its mouth open. [Jeremy and Mike laugh; makes several gobbling noises.] |
| Mike | It's just funny, though, like, you-how we see this stuff so much, and, I mean, I've never noticed that. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Bryan | I did-yeah. |
| Mike | And then, immediately, fans watch, and they're like, [Jeremy chuckles.] "oh, look at this funny face on the gun." [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | I didn't, I mean, I didn't notice in the design process, for sure. [Mike affirms.] It was just when we got the, like, color animation. |
| Jeremy | Wow. |
| Mike | [Refers to the hatch as Baatar Jr. inspects the cannon's circuitry.] See, there he is, right there. |
| Jeremy | Oh yeah. [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, he's really cute. [Mike and Jeremy chuckle.] He's got, like, a little, [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] tiny smile. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Mike | Anyway. He's Baatar's friend. |
| Jeremy | Aww. [Everyone laughs.] |
| Bryan | Baatar designed it like his old stuffed [Mike laughs.] animal when he was a boy. |
| Mike | There's a whole story behind it. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Bryan | [Imitates Baatar Jr.] "I always thought he would be a cannon." [Jeremy and Mike chuckle; refers to Opal, Lin, and Toph working together to rescue Su, Huan, Wei, and Wing from Baatar Jr.'s facility.] So, I really enjoyed this episode. We-we've got so many Beifongs that have [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] cropped up [Mike chuckles.] throughout uh, the Korra series that it was was nice to have, like, kinda one last episode dedicated to them. Uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, we-we hadn't had them all together, um, before, so we wanted to kinda put a little-little f-end to their-their family saga. |
| Jeremy | Yeah. They're a great source of emotional weight. |
| Bryan | We're pitching a family sitcom, all the... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects; laughs.] Beifongs? |
| Mike | And they all... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Rolling with the Beifong. [Jeremy chuckles.] Uh, we... |
| Mike | They all live-a cave in the swamp. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Bryan | We're not actually, [Mike chuckles.] just-sorry. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, you really can't uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the spirit energy cannon being loaded onto a mechanized railway wagon.] So, yeah, I just wanna point out, this cannon, um, I think some people have-have detected online, uh, totally, completely based on a real cannon that was built by the Nazis in World War II, um, and uh, it's scary. It's-it's this insanely huge thing that they moved around on train tracks, and uh, we just based it on something real-real from World War II. It was actually called-nicknamed the Dora, [Mike chuckles.] or just Dora. [Brief pause.] So, anyways, you know, we weren't gonna have, like, a... a nuclea-you know, like an atomic bomb, or something, but um, we just wanted to have some crazy superweapon that-that sorta fit into the Avatar world, and since we had seen Vaatu's... had that, you know, this-almost like a laser beam thing, um, [Refers to the cannon using spirit vines as a power source to fire off massive purple energy beams.] and we came up with this idea that they harnessed, you know, that power, and had a cannon, and with this whole kind of fascist, uh, looking Earth Empire, in all their kinda Art Deco and-and fascist-looking stuff, uh, just thought, "well, let's reference this thing." And storyboarding-wise, it worked out 'cause they already had it built in Google SketchUp, so we just pulled up the model, [Jeremy chuckles.] and uh, put it in the storyboard. [Mike chuckles.] Anyways, obviously not su-uh, en-endorsing or romanticizing [Bryan and Jeremy laugh.] any of these regimes, uh, but, you know, as you can tell with-with a lotta stuff with the Earth Empire, you know, we're drawing upon [Mike affirms.] some pretty scary stuff from history, and, um... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Kuvira's, uh, you know, she's fascistic, for sure. |
| Mike | [Refers to the theme that plays during the Beifongs' rescue operations and clashes with Kuvira.] Well, your-her music was more-theme-more-you used more percussion, maybe? |
| Jeremy | Yeah. |
| Mike | It was much more [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] militaristic, I guess. |
| Bryan | Yeah, that was-and we talked about that [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] at the beginning, like, sort of a, you know, what they call, like, a military tattoo, which is not a tattoo in your skin, [Jeremy chuckles.] but like a drum pattern. |
| Jeremy | Right. It was... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Battlefield... |
| Jeremy | ... it was reminiscent of that without being literally that, you know, without having, like, snares, and, [Bryan affirms.] you know. |
| Bryan | Which I've a-always loved. I love that kinda music. There's a whole festival in Edinburgh, uh, military tattoo. |
| Jeremy | Oh, man, that's [Bryan affirms.] good. |
| Bryan | I was uh, I was there, a-as a young-young lad, passing through, but every room in the whole city was booked; I couldn't stay and see it, but I'd love to go [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] check it out. [Refers to when Toph answers Bolin's questions about Lin's father.] This-this was a great-great scene, when these burning questions, that have been burning all [Jeremy chuckles.] s-all series long, finally sort of get addressed. [Bryan and Jeremy chuckle.] |
| Mike | [Refers to Toph detailing how her former relationship with Kanto, Lin's father, eventually ended in separation.] Yeah, we-we didn't want it to be so simple that it was-not everyone from the old series hooked up with people you know; like, [Mike and Bryan laugh.] like, people's lives went on, they met other people that weren't giant, you know, big characters... [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Yeah, they met... |
| Mike | ... in-in the world. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Bryan | ... they met love interests beyond, uh, their twelve years. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Mike | Yeah, [Refers to Bolin awkwardly accepting Toph's revelation with an ambivalent "okay".] and I-I think we wanted it to be, you know, that-that Bolin has the reaction that probably most fans have, which is just like, "uh, okay, that's the answer. What?" [Mike and Jeremy chuckle; refers to Lin venting to Toph about her prior refusal to even discuss Lin's father.] But-but, you know, it means much more to-to Lin that uh, you know, Toph seems very dismissive about who this guy was, and the fact that Lin didn't know him at all, and, you know, Toph didn't really talk about him much, but, I mean, it also points to the fact that Toph uh, sh-she didn't need no man. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, which is cool; it's, like... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] She was, yeah. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Bryan | ... that, you know, it's cool that people are curious, and stuff, and-but... you know, people can... they-it's, like, the guy doesn't have to be the dominant, like, storyline, you know? He's just-he's a guy that she had a relationship with; didn't work out, she moved on with her life. They happened to make a child, but, like, it's, like, she doesn't need some guy to complete her story, or something, you know? [Jeremy affirms.] Like... |
| Mike | [Refers to when Lin took issue with Toph labeling her desire to know more about her father as "nonsense".] Well, too-I think Lin has a point, too, where it's uh, didn't even get a chance to, like, know who he was, or, yeah. |
| Bryan | Oh, I'm not saying Toph uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects; laughs.] She didn't handle, yeah, she... |
| Bryan | ... explained it-she-I'm not saying she explained it [Mike affirms intermittently.] to her daughter, uh, maybe in the best way, but um, but at the end of the day, I find Su and Lin and Toph to be an interesting story. I don't, like, to me, it's not incomplete because I didn't know some guy that maybe she had a very short relationship with-something, you know. Maybe at the end of the day, that relationship wasn't a huge part of her life, but her children were. [Refers to the theme that plays as Bolin, Lin, and Toph find the suspended wooden cage holding the other Beifongs.] Love these cool, like, is it like... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Uh... |
| Bryan | ... extended techniques on the cello? |
| Jeremy | It's ma-it's actually matou qin, and we're doing... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Oh, okay. |
| Jeremy | ... this technique that isn't traditional at all, and, like... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Oh, cool. |
| Jeremy | ... the first time, you know, we did it, it took a while before Hong sort of willingly, [Laughs; Bryan affirms.] Hong Wang is the uh, instrumentalist who played all the-the Chinese uh, instruments. Oh, a matou qin is a Mongolian instrument, and uh, he-he actually said he thinks this could be the first show that's ever used it. |
| Mike | Oh wow. |
| Bryan | Oh, cool. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Mike | What is it? Wha-is it-what does it look like? |
| Jeremy | It's a str-it's a string instrument, has a s-has sort of like a-you play it the way you play a cello, you know? [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] Like, sitting on um, you know, down [Bryan affirms.] between your legs, and then the-the-the body is rectangle with these, like, F-holes like a cello. |
| Mike | Oh, okay, I think I've seen that, yeah. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, and you bow it, um, and you play it with your, like, your fingernail by your cuticle. |
| Mike | Oh. |
| Bryan | Oh, cool. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Jeremy | So, like, people always, like, like, so his cuticles are always hurting when, [Mike makes a disturbed murmur; laughs.] when he plays. |
| Bryan | You know, there's... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, that seems painful. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | ... there-you know I'm really into the, uh, Warsaw Village Band, [Jeremy affirms.] a-a Polish fol-group, and they-they play a s-like a violin thing with fingernails, too. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, [Mike affirms.] like the backs, yeah. |
| Bryan | Yeah, some crazy [Jeremy affirms.] fingernail technique. |
| Jeremy | And then you can slide all around and do really interesting, beautiful things. [Bryan affirms.] So, um, so yeah, you play it by the bridge, and you get all these harmonics; you play it by, you know, where the bridge is on the-the body, and you get all these great harmonics, the way you, you know, you c-you count on a Western string instrument like a cello, or, you know, violin, viola. |
| Bryan | But you've do-I remember when you were even performing similar techniques on cello, I think in uh, Avatar. |
| Jeremy | Yeah. |
| Bryan | Yeah. Was that for... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Yeah, 'cause that... |
| Bryan | ... like, Hama? Like, the bloodbending episode? Or someth-or... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Uh, maybe some of that-definitively a lot for Koh. |
| Bryan | Was it Koh you were... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Koh Face Stea-Stealer stuff. |
| Bryan | Yeah, I remember you doing-you-you would do these cool, kinda, like, yeah, weird harmonics, and... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] It's the only thing I could do on cello. [Bryan and Jeremy laugh.] Yeah, that came in handy. |
| Bryan | I love that stuff. I mean, that's the kinda stuff that uh, when you hire Jeremy Zuckerman, you're gonna get the-you're gonna get the special stuff. [Jeremy chuckles.] It's not outta the box. |
| Jeremy | Bryan's my agent. He gets-he gets fifteen percent. [Bryan gives a mock shushing noise.] |
| Mike | Well, I love that you-you guys dug pretty deep into the different Chinese instruments and Asian in-instruments, to... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Yeah, that was amazing, finding Hong, uh, he's-he's a wealth of information. |
| Bryan | He's amazing. Big part of-sound of this whole series. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Mike | [Brief pause.] So, as we get to the finale episodes, I always kinda feel bad when we do the spotting notes 'cause it's [Laughs.] u-it's usually, [Jeremy chuckles.] like, when you get to act three, it's like, "uh, there's music this whole act." [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | Or the whole episode. [Laughs; Jeremy affirms.] |
| Mike | So, how do you, like, kind of uh, yeah, or the whole episode, for the last episode usually, [Bryan affirms.] um, how do you make them, like, distinct cues, [Jeremy affirms.] wi-with it feeling like uh, you know, it's a continuous piece of music, obviously, but... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] That is a challenge, and still hitting everything in time, and all that stuff, [Mike affirms intermittently.] and making it a compelling piece of music that works well. It's really the biggest challenge of scoring in general, you know, having it function correctly, and also be a good piece of music. But um, it's strange how, like, over the years, I've gotten less finicky about hitting things exactly on the subframe, 'cause uh, music doesn't need to do that exactly. Sometimes it can s-stop a little early, you know what I mean? Early's almost better than late, but, you know, sometimes it's cool, like, a little ring out, and then something happens, [Bryan affirms.] or there's a lotta sort of bisons, there. Um, but uh, yeah, I don't know, like, you know, we have the spotting notes, I have this really detailed cue sheet with timecode numbers, and, you know, I'll go through, I'll make markers, and a lotta times, things change, you know, as I'm working. I realize, like, you know, 'cause, you know, you can't get too married to the-to the uh, to the ideas you have, the initial ideas in the spotting notes as to, like, when things stop, and go away, and come back, and all that stuff. Um, so yeah, it's just sort of making things work with what you have, you know what I mean? And, uh, making room, but, I don't know, it's-it's just something that's sorta-it's a craft that you learn by doing it a lot, you know? Like, how-how do you fit stuff to function correctly, and... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] I've... |
| Jeremy | ... and sound natural. |
| Bryan | I've noticed you-you are really good with doing, like, it seems like, more and more, you do, like, really cool, abrupt tempo changes, or, like, time signature changes, [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] and stuff, like, especially in action, you know? 'Cause it-it can, when you have, like, tons of sound effects, or tons of, like, action music, you can get sorta numb to it. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, you get the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] But it seems like you always kinda, like, zap it with a energy by, like, just switching up the tempo, real quick. So... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Yeah, I look for these narrative moments, you know, these shifts, these important shifts, and uh, you highlight them by doing something either harmonically or rhythmically, you know. And I started getting into metric modulation, which is super nerdy. [Bryan laughs.] S-I never did that before. |
| Mike | Uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Wait, you got into something really [Jeremy laughs.] super nerdy involving music... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Oh, come on. |
| Bryan | ... and sound? Come on. |
| Jeremy | I'm not that nerdy. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Ohh. |
| Jeremy | Um, there's much nerdier people out there. [Bryan chuckles intermittently.] But um, uh, yeah, so it's like, you know, like maybe, you know, if you're ninety beats per minute, you switch to, like, what? One-twenty, or something. Is that-that 1.5 x 90? I don't know whatever that would be. Um, so it, you know, and it has this actual-it's actually pretty natural-feeling, you know, [Bryan affirms.] these-these quick shifts to these tempos that are, like, divisible. |
| Bryan | Yeah, they're, like, mathematically... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Multiple... |
| Bryan | ... related. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, [Bryan affirms.] they, like, clean it, you know, mult... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] That's cool. |
| Jeremy | And uh, and amazingly, like, a lotta times, you can, you know, it gives you a lot more, I don't know, freedom to make things hit the right cuts, um, and then you just need to shift things a little bit here, a little bit there, [Bryan affirms.] maybe the whole cue needs to start a little earlier, starting two minutes back, you know what I mean? Or you change the tempo a tiny bit, and over the whole course of three minutes, everything starts to line up correctly. |
| Bryan | That's cool. [Jeremy affirms.] Wha... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to the dragon eel spirit as he told Korra that his kind do not involve themselves in humanity's wars.] I like this new spirit guy. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, he's cool. |
| Mike | He's-we-we hadn't seen him before. He's uh... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] He's beautiful. |
| Bryan | Both-what was your fir-uh, favorite episode, do you think, this season? |
| Jeremy | Uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Musically? |
| Jeremy | [Gives a thoughtful murmur.] I think, you know, I think the finale. [Bryan affirms.] Uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] We just mixed it yesterday, [Jeremy affirms.] and uh, sounded beautiful. |
| Jeremy | Really came out nice. It's just a lotta things that I wanted to do, like, the whole series that-there were a couple things that I got to finally do, you know, that I won't go into detail about. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] No, you can say it. |
| Jeremy | Uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] It's already... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] I guess... |
| Bryan | ... by the time they get this... [Mike chuckles.] |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Okay. |
| Bryan | ... it's coming out. |
| Jeremy | Well, like, the-extending the end credits, I wanted to do that since, you know, I made them, and uh, amazingly, the last cue of the finale, like [Bryan affirms.] the last chance I had to do it, it worked out, made sense. |
| Bryan | It's so beautiful, those kalimba chords are just amazing. |
| Jeremy | Cool. And uh, yeah, that's nice, too, 'cause that has so much history, you know? 'Cause that's from the pilot of Avatar. |
| Bryan | Yeah, that's what I-when I, [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] when you sent the-the preview, um, I was like, I had kinda forgotten that-that-that the end credits were-were-had the kalimba in it, I was like, "oh man, this is so cool, it ties it back to Avatar." 'Cause that was such a big part of-almost the end of almost every episode, like, when they would fly away, and have the kalimba... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] And if you notice, in the strings, that theme comes back during the wedding, [Bryan affirms.] and it comes back a little bit, too, in the uh, in the last cue, subtly. |
| Bryan | Well, that's fitting that the final one would be your favorite. [Jeremy affirms; Mike chuckles.] Sounds good. |
| Jeremy | But uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I-me, too. I mean, I really l-I mean, it's-it's tough, 'cause there's-there's so many I like, but... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Yeah, and it's hard for me to remember, too. Uh, you know, we worked so fast on these, they all kinda blend together. |
| Bryan | Yeah. Oh, for us, too. |
| Jeremy | Like, for Avatar, I remembered everything distinctly. [Bryan affirms.] I remember, like, every episode, but this one, it's-blends together more. |
| Mike | Well, that's what's uh, amazing; I mean, people might know this, but they might not, like, you have about two weeks, or so, to, [Jeremy affirms.] to compose the whole episode. |
| Jeremy | Really though, I have about five days... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Oh really? [Laughs.] |
| Jeremy | ... to compose, [Laughs.] because of... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Because of all the... |
| Jeremy | ... the recording, [Bryan and Mike affirm.] and everything. Uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, 'cause on this series, [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] you added a lot more live instrumentation, and that took-takes so much prep, and then so much post. |
| Jeremy | So much more work, but so-I can't imagine going back now after doing that. S-you know, the difference is immeasurable. And you can write differently, and more interestingly, and su-more subtly, you know? You can do solos in SoundGri-you could never do that with MIDI. Yeah... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] But do you feel like because the time constraints are so, like, you have to do it quickly, like, you-you don't, like, overthink what you're doing kind of, 'cause you have to make a decision and move on, or... |
| Jeremy | Um, I still overthink for, like, the first couple days, [Mike and Bryan chuckle.] and my... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Jeremy is the [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] master of overthinking. |
| Jeremy | Oh yeah. I'm good at that. And then when the pressure's really on, and I can't overthink anymore, yeah, just flows, and then of course, that's, you know, when stuff starts happening. [Mike affirms.] You start not questioning yourself anymore, you know. |
| Bryan | I know. I'll talk to you on, like, a Saturday, and you're like, "oh man, I've got, like, couple minutes left to do," [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] and then I'll hear it, and I'm, like, and you're-you're, like, totally worried, and then I hear it, "oh my gosh, this sounds amazing." |
| Jeremy | Always. Yeah, I alway-I'm always, like, losing perspective by the end. But I really, you know, you guys, it's sorta like you have more faith in me. I'm trying to learn, like, have more faith, [Bryan chuckles intermittently.] have more faith in yourself; really important, and be so much less stressful. But uh, but then again, I don't wanna change things up too much, 'cause stuff always seems to come out nice, [Mike affirms.] so I'm like, you know, maybe the process, as crazy as it is, maybe it's, like, integral stress. |
| Bryan | Self-doubt, you know, [Jeremy affirms.] self-doubt can motivate; it can also kinda cripple you, because... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] It can, yeah. [Bryan affirms.] Really fine line, there. |
| Bryan | I always think fear is the best, [Mike chuckles.] fear is a good motivator. You can-you can kinda fuel yourself on any emotion, [Jeremy affirms.] up-up to a point. [Laughs.] |
| Jeremy | Yeah. But when it's really flowing, I'm no longer feeling all that stress, [Bryan affirms.] and I feel really great, and it's, you know, so-but to get there, yeah, you gotta be scared and stressed, and... depressed. [Everyone laughs; refers to Toph affirming to her daughters that, while she was not a great mother, she ended up with two great kids.] Here's a sweet scene. |
| Mike | [Brief pause.] Yeah, it's probably one of the few moments where Toph is being super sincere. [Laughs; Jeremy affirms.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] It's crazy how much family became a theme in this series. [Mike affirms.] |
| Jeremy | I really-I really-I like that. You know, there's a little family musical theme that happened; started in Book Two, and it comes back so much throughout the rest, you know, the rest of the whole series. |
| Bryan | That's cool. |
| Jeremy | And it really made me realize that family is, like, a huge, [Mike and Bryan affirm.] huge part of this whole story. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to Toph telling Opal that her fighting days are over, having realized that dealing with the world's problems has to be left "to the kids".] Yeah, and with that, we're gonna leave animation to the kids. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] "Leave it to the kids," yeah, we're-we're like... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] You g-you guys... |
| Mike | ... we're like Toph, yeah, [Bryan affirms.] really. |
| Bryan | We're-we're done, my back hurts, [Mike and Jeremy chuckle.] you guys take over. Sure you'll surpass us. |
| Mike | The next generation. |
| Jeremy | Go for it. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Zhu Li wearing her small, round Earth Empire cap as she informs the Beifongs about Kuvira's plan to attack Republic City.] I like that Zhu Li keeps her hat on, even though-though she's left the Earth Empire. [Laughs.] Thank you so much, Jeremy. Can't thank you enough. |
| Jeremy | Oh, my pleasure. My pleasure, guys. Thank you so much. |
| Mike | Yeah, thanks for all your amazing uh, music over the years. |
| Jeremy | Oh, Mike, thank you. |
| Mike | Been many years. [Laughs.] |
| Jeremy | Yes, it has. Really, we've been through it all. [Mike affirms.] Thank you so much; an amazing experience. |
| Bryan | Hundred-and-thirteen episodes total. |
| Jeremy | Now I will cry. [Bryan and Jeremy chuckle.] |
| Mike | Go take a nap. |
| Jeremy | There's a silent tear running down my face. [Mike chuckles.] |