| Bryan Konietzko | Hi, this is Bryan Konietzko, co-creator of Avatar. |
|---|---|
| Michael Dante DiMartino | Hi, this is Mike DiMartino, the other co-creator of Avatar. |
| Andrea Romano | I'm Andrea Romano, I'm the voice director. |
| Dante Basco | And this is Dante Basco, I play Prince Zuko. |
| Mike | Thanks for coming today, guys. Uh, we're gonna be watching "The Southern Raiders", uh, which I think is probably our darkest episode of the-in the whole series. |
| Andrea | There's a lot of humor in this episode as well, so, at the same time that we see this, I mean, we all have feelings of resentment and, you know, hate, we all feel it at some point or another. But how you deal with it, and if you ever choose to forgive someone who has wronged you, you know, is a choice that we all have to make at some point or another in our lives, and I think it's a valid question to pose to our audience, and it's interesting to see how we resolved it. |
| Dante | Yeah, I think a lot of the fans out there appreciate the, uh, the-being able to-the characters really full and really real. [Refers to Zuko joking around with the group and Katara focusing on nothing but avenging her mother's death.] Different sides of Zuko, different sides of Katara. |
| Bryan | Definitely. I mean, that-it's kind of our, I don't know, every time Mike and I do an interview, um, or Aaron Ehasz, the head writer, does an interview about the characters, people say, "well, how did you get them to be so, you know, realistic," or this or that, and it's like, well, we just try to treat them with respect and not so two dimensional; um, you know, everybody has, like you said Andrea, you know, goes through feelings, uh, negative feelings and has, [Andrea affirms.] uh, you know, faults and challenges in their judgment. |
| Andrea | It-it helps, too, that we had such very fine actors on this series. |
| Bryan | Like Mr. Basco. |
| Dante | [In the background.] Why thank you, thank you. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Andrea | Absolutely true. I, you know, I-I watched the dynamic be-amongst the actors, a-and then amongst the characters, and it's-it's quite wonderful how you've really all grown together working on this series, and, you know, [Refers to Katara's frustrated reaction at Zuko after he saves her from some falling rocks.] as-as this episode begins we see this, you know, Katara is so angry at Zuko, just so angry, and it's absolutely believable. And then as we watch what-what progresses and how the episode ultimate ends, it's-it's-it's you-you actually feel the entire, um, emotional range that she has to go through because she's so terrific, and-and you are too, Dante... |
| Dante | [In the background.] Thank you. |
| Andrea | ... it's terrific. |
| Dante | Yeah, the wild thing about watching-watching the-the cartoon now, the animation, is, uh, we've worked together so long, we've worked on these characters and the characters are so full, and so well-rounded, three-dimensional characters that I actually see the actors in the-the cartoon characters. It's a very strange thing to see as an actor; like, we voice the characters, and then as I'm watching it now, I see Mae in the performance. I see Jack, I-I-I see, uh, so weird... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Jessie. [Andrea and Mike affirm.] |
| Dante | ... I see Jessie, I see Grey, and these are cartoon characters, so it's-it-like you said, it's very strange how the-the actor and the character kinda, over the years, melded into this one thing where it's very-these characters are very, very tangible. [Andrea affirms.] |
| Bryan | And one step further, I see, uh, the animators in Korea, um, there's something that happens magically between Jack's performance of Sokka, and, uh, and Yu Jae Myung, the-one of the animation directors; like, when the two of them come together, the voice and that animation, it's just, like, that's who Sokka is, you know, that's him at his most pure state. |
| Andrea | And he has-and that-that character has really gotten so... it-it's a wonderful bit of comic relief very often in our episodes, and then there's just a-a-a realism about what Jack does that's-it really is quite Jack, [Laughs.] you know... |
| Bryan | [In the background; laughs.] Yeah. |
| Andrea | ... he is kinda goofy sometimes, and-and then he can be very serious, and there's some very silly moments for him in this episode that [Bryan affirms.] I particularly like. |
| Bryan | Yeah, when he wants to borrow Momo or... |
| Andrea | [Interjects.] Right, [Bryan affirms.] or when he's just waiting for Suki to arrive for a [Bryan laughs.] little evening tryst. |
| A pause in the commentary occurs as Team Avatar escapes Azula and her airships on Appa, the bison grunting in exertion as he pulls up to avoid getting hit by incoming fire. | |
| Andrea | I want to talk a little bit about, uh, the fabulous Dee Baker. [Bryan and Dante affirm.] Un-unlike most cartoons, you know, usually we record the voices first and then it's animated. In-for the characters that Dee Baker plays, which include Appa and Momo and all the creatures that are combined creatures whether they're badgermoles or whatever, we wait until post-production until the piece is already animated, and then we bring Dee in, and he screens the piece ahead of time, and then comes in, and to watch him work is just the most amazing thing, and, uh, going right from Appa, [Refers to the low rumbling sounds that Appa makes.] that huge massive sound, [Refers to the sharp squeakier sounds that Momo makes.] to little Momo and his little sounds, and all the animals and creatures in between, it's-it's quite remarkable, it's-it-it's an entertainment in and of itself. We should have the Dee Baker show [Dante affirms; Bryan chuckles.] where people can just watch him. |
| Mike | Yes, it's am-it's amazing to watch him, and-and it's such a specific, like, you know, there's a lot of voice actors, and I'm sure you guys have worked with a lot, but how many animal actors [Laughs.] have you worked with? [Andrea laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] I don't know. |
| Dante | Dee-Dee Baker is definitely a legend within his own [Mike affirms.] time and thing he does. He's, you know, anyone who's done voice acting has worked with Dee, because Dee is the guy [Andrea affirms.] that does all that stuff. |
| Andrea | Well respected in the, uh, field, very well known. He could... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Well, the-the oh, I'm sorry. |
| Andrea | No, no. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Azula, her usual sadism manifesting in almost manic glee as she tries to kill Zuko.] The foot-the footage has passed now, but I also wanted to talk about, uh, Grey, and, uh, her portrayal of Azula. |
| Dante | Amazing. |
| Bryan | And this is a-this episode is sort of, um, it's sorta the first time we've seen this-this subtle shift in Azula. I mean, we all know Azula's crazy and evil and all these things, but, uh, since Mai and Ty Lee betrayed her in, um, 315, we start to see, like, a little bit of a shift in her, um, you know, she's always hunting them down and vicious and-and whatnot, but start to see that, wait, maybe she's a little bit off. And-and this is the-we-we kinda planned this as the beginning of her unravelling, [Dante affirms.] which ultimately leads to the big finale where she's completely just off the deep end. |
| Dante | Such a great character, [Bryan affirms.] and-and Grey is amazing. |
| Andrea | It's quite wonderful. Grey DeLisle, we're talking about. As a matter of fact, she plays two roles in this piece, aside from playing Azula, there's a-a, um, a character, and I-I don't wanna spoil it yet, but I'll point it out when it shows up, [Mike affirms.] where it doesn't, you-you know, you wouldn't even know it was the same actress, which... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] I totally forgot. [Laughs.] |
| Andrea | [Refers to Sokka's comically shocked reaction as Zuko enters his tent, breaking apart the single rose he had in his mouth.] This is so silly, [Mike and Dante laugh.] I love this. Thisis what I was talking about, there's comic moments in this very sort of dramatic piece, and that's just-that-that animation acting there is so funny. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the soft whirring sound that plays as Sokka inhales most of the rose.] Yeah, I think in the mix, we-we added in the sound of, like, a, uh, a power drill when he sucks in that, [Andrea laughs.] in that stem, he's like... [Imitates the sound of a power drill spinning.] |
| Andrea | That's great. |
| Bryan | Every once in a while, we'll use a modern, uh, sound in Avatar for a little bit of effect, and, uh, it's pretty funny. |
| Andrea | You know, one of the other things I think that really makes this show so-just the quality is so wonderful, is that all of us who work on it are really specific, and if you will, you know, almost anal about making sure everything is the way we want it to be. [Refers to Sokka sultrily saying hello to Zuko, thinking it is Suki.] I-I probably did twenty takes with Jack on that particular, you know, uh, s-he-he expects that it's gonna be Suki walking in, and in fact it's, um, Zuko, and he freaks out. And I wanted to make sure it was absolutely right. I... |
| Dante | [Interjects.] I actually remember that day, yes... |
| Andrea | [In the background.] Uh-huh. I did. |
| Dante | ... you-there was quite a bunch of takes [Laughs.] on that. |
| Andrea | I-I had a-a very specific idea of what I wanted him to do, and I also like to supply, you know, Mike and Bryan with, you know, lots of options for what they can choose, um, s-for when they ultimately animate it. But he, you know, ultimately always comes through for me, and, uh, I think it was a hilarious take that we ultimately used. |
| Bryan | I'm pretty sure most of the other crew members that have worked with Mike and I through the years would say that we are also annoyingly specific. [Andrea laughs.] A lot of the, I mean, we try to, you know, leave room-everybody's so creative and talented, you know, try to leave room for people to come up with their own things and give them the-the space to do that, and include their ideas. And-but there's also times when Mike and I are-we find that we're both drawing the exact same revision for a scene. [Laughs.] |
| Dante | Whoa. |
| Andrea | Interesting, interesting. |
| Bryan | We kind of-we kinda are redundant sometimes. |
| Dante | The great thing about-you guys pay so much attention to detail that the world you created is so detailed and so on-it's just-it's just so re-makes it so real, where... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] And it-and it is a difficult thing to do on a TV show on a TV schedule, so. |
| Andrea | Absolutely. And you know, when, uh, when you're prepping a script as a voice director, you-you read through the script, and in your ears, you hear what you think the line reading should be, or how it-the scene should play, and where the arc is, and what the emotional content is. And then, I try really hard to leave myself open for other options that the actors come up with, and that's why you hire actors instead of just people with voices, you hire actors because they have ideas as well. [Dante gives an affirming murmur.] And so, I may have a very specific idea in mind before we start recording of what I think a scene should sound like, and then the actors get in the room together and-and do it differently, and then I have to weigh which works better, and very often the actor's ideas are better, and that's the beautiful thing of ensemble recording where you have the actors in the room at the same time and they can actually act and react, which is really important. [Dante affirms.] |
| Bryan | So, Dante, what was it like when, uh, you did some scenes with, uh, Mark Hamill who plays your... |
| Dante | [In the background.] Oh, yeah. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | ... evil father? |
| Dante | [Laughs.] That was amazing because he-he-of course he's a legend, you know, he's Luke Skywalker. And, uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Now he's sort of Darth Vader. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Dante | ... and now in this... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Or-or the Emperor. |
| Andrea | Is he now? |
| Dante | ... he's Darth Vader, [Bryan affirms.] and I'm playing this whole Luke [Bryan laughs.] Skywalker-Darth Vader scene, it's one of my most memorable moments of doing Avatar is really getting to play, you know, this Luke Skywalker-Darth Vader scene with Luke Skywalker. [Bryan laughs.] And he's scarring, you know, and I'm saying lines like, "no father, no," [Bryan and Andrea laugh.] it was crazy, it was like a-it's like-it was a trip. But this, also this world is, like, you two, not-are, like, spec-made a special world like George Lucas or like J. K. Rowling's where it's this world that's so magical and so full that people just get-get lost in it. |
| Andrea | I do. [Mike chuckles.] I-I-I-I watch every single episode when it's the final mix, and I, uh, you know, it's so long since the initial record [Dante gives an affirming murmur.] that we've done. Sometimes it's six, eight months when I'm finally seeing the final project, and-product, and I,-I'm so amazed at, "oh that's right," this is this world, and-and I get lost in it, like when you go to a very good movie, [Dante affirms.] and you, for two hours, forget about your own life and you're in that world, and that's what happens for twenty-two minutes for every episode of this. You know, we didn't talk anything about Zach, [Mike, Bryan, and Dante affirm.] the brilliant, brilliant actor who plays the voice of Aang. And... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Re-remotely from the East Coast. |
| Andrea | Indeed, m-we record most of his episodes, uh, via ISDN, which is a satellite record, so we're not even in the same city. But what's so interesting about-what-his work, he's been a terrific actor since, what, 2002, 2003, [Dante affirms.] when we started working with him, but in fact because he was, whatever, ten, eleven years old when we first started working with him, that's exactly the age when the voice begins to change for a young man. [Refers to Aang's voice occasionally being slightly deeper in vocal range.] And so, as I listen to his voice now, two, three, four years after the initial records, you can hear him, in fact, he has aged. And thank goodness we allowed the story [Laughs.] to let that work, that he can in fact be a little bit older, because he clearly sounds older. It's... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Oh yeah, think it's-it's in line with Aang's maturing. |
| Andrea | Absolutely. He's taller, isn't he? He looks like he's at, [Dante affirms.] his model is taller and thinner. |
| Dante | [Interjects.] He's more muscular. [Andrea gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] He-he-he ranges in buffness depending on the episode. |
| Andrea | There you go. [Dante laughs.] |
| Bryan | Depending on-depending on the animator or the storyboard artist. |
| Andrea | I've noticed that, [Bryan affirms.] I've noticed that. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Same with Sokka, sometimes [Dante laughs.] Sokka's a twig, like me. [Andrea laughs.] And then sometimes he's pretty buff. |
| Mike | How do you do, Andrea, I know, like you said, Zach is in New York, and, you know, sometimes we have the actors all together here in LA, but a lotta times we're recording, you know, all the actors separately for the same script, [Andrea gives an affirming murmur.] how do you kinda keep everything in your mind so you know that what Dante says one day is gonna match up with... |
| Andrea | [In the background.] Boy... |
| Mike | ... what Mae says later? |
| Andrea | ... it's a great question, and I do try to remember exactly what we did, but sometimes it could be two weeks [Mike affirms.] between the time I recorded Dante's line and then the next line is Zach's line. And so, uh, I try, uh, what I do as much as anything is get multiple takes, so that I have a couple of options, and then we also have the benefit of once the whole piece is animated, and before music and sound effects and the mix, we do an ADR session, which stands for Automatic Dialogue Replacement. Now we go in, and if we discover that [In a somewhat muted tone.] Dante played a scene very quiet, [In a more energetic tone.] and then Zach played the scene right next to him very loud, we can go in and either replace Dante's lines, with Dante doing them, you know, to match Zach's energy or whatever. And so, that's always a-sort of a failsafe at the end of a-the process that helps us make sure, and it-it makes a difference between a good dialogue track and an excellent dialogue track. But, um, you know, the-the scripts are so well written that it's-it's-it's not that difficult to-to figure how the lines sh-the scene should flow, [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] and so it's-it's kinda easy to get a couple of takes from everybody that we'll ultimately cut together. |
| Dante | Yeah, and I think the first season, we pretty much were in the room most of the times together, [Andrea affirms.] so we really established that foundation of, uh, of who we were and our relationship with each other as the characters, and even just as actors and really get to know each other, and... |
| Andrea | [Interjects.] And then you all got really busy, and never... [Mike chuckles.] |
| Dante | ... then we all got really busy. [Andrea laughs.] Uh, but it was great times with Mae and Jack and-and Mako. |
| Andrea | It's-ah. [Sighs.] |
| Bryan | Oh, yeah. |
| Dante | The first season... |
| Andrea | [In the background.] The best. |
| Dante | ... me-me and Mako would do almost-we almost did all-nearly all of the first two seasons together. |
| Andrea | Yeah, we always tried to book at least you two together, [Dante affirms.] 'cause all your scenes were together. |
| Dante | And we definitely had, you know, great, great moments and great times together. [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Andrea | [Refers to Katara's flashback to when she was a young girl, and the last time she saw her mother alive.] This is, uh, really interesting, these flashback scenes, again, uh, as a tr-uh, uh, a tribute to the actors that we have, there's Mae Whitman as Katara, playing herse-her own character as, what, [Dante gives an affirming murmur.] four, five years younger at least, very convincingly, sounds just like her. Um, and then, uh, I think Jack does it too in this scene, doesn't he? |
| Dante | Yeah, he was earlier. |
| Andrea | [Refers to Sokka's flashback as a young boy, fighting against the Southern Raiders.] I think Jack appears as a-the young, uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to Katara's mother, Kya, convincing her daughter to leave her alone with one of the Southern Raiders.] The... what you were gonna say before I think was that Grey actually plays, uh, Katara's mom. |
| Andrea | Exactly... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] I did not know. |
| Andrea | ... did we miss that scene already? |
| Mike | Yeah. |
| Andrea | Yes. |
| Bryan | I did not know that. [Mike laughs.] |
| Andrea | Yes. So, the-the woman who plays, uh, Azula also plays, uh, uh, Katara's mom in this particular episode. It's... |
| Dante | [Interjects.] Grey just sounds amazing. |
| Andrea | Grey DeLisle, beautiful, beautiful actress, terrific. Lucky to have all these terrific actors. Beautiful guest stars, too; you know, kudos to Maryanne Dacey, who did the, um, the guest star and incidental casting on-on this. Just, you know, uh, it's-it's a-it's a world that's, you know, that we try to maintain a quality of sound in, and not every voiceover actor is gonna fit into that world, and so Maryanne did a remarkable job of-of putting together actors who sound like they're all in the same world. It-it's kind of got a-a classical level to it. At the same time, it's contemporary, and yet it's timeless. |
| Bryan | Yeah, we didn't-we didn't [Laughs.] want it to be too flowery and like, like, uh... |
| Andrea | [Interjects.] Shakespearean, or... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, [Andrea gives an affirming murmur.] like, [In a dramatic tone.] "hark"... |
| Andrea | Exactly. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | ... you know, and, you know, we-and-but at the same time, we didn't want like, [In the drowsy, friendly voice of a stereotypical California surfer.] "hey, man!" |
| Andrea | Exactly. |
| Bryan | Just being shmackedy and annoying, so, um, yeah. Uh, that was-it was a tough show to cast because, it was like, "well, what sound do you want?" And we're like, "we just want normal people, we don't want cartoon sounds and cartoon voices and stuff," so, um... |
| Mike | Yeah, 'cause we were pretty firm at the beginning about, that Aang had to be a boy, [Bryan chuckles.] he had to be a twelve year old boy, [Andrea affirms.] or around age nine... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Not a thirty-seven year old... [Andrea and Mike affirm.] yeah. |
| Andrea | Right, and we went through a few Aangs before we found Zach. |
| Mike | We went through a lot, yeah. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Katara and Zuko start interrogating the current commander of the Southern Raiders, Katara using her bloodbending to restrain the man, prostrating him as she contorts his limbs. | |
| Andrea | So, here we are in the third act, yes, where the most intense stuff starts happening. [Mike affirms.] |
| Dante | [Refers to Katara bending large waves and torrents of water as she storms the Southern Raiders' ship with Zuko.] And the fight scenes are amazing, amazing. |
| Andrea | Really nice. |
| Bryan | Thank you. |
| Dante | I mean, definitely like feature film quality, uh, John Woo kinda fight scenes. [Bryan and Dante laugh.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Well... |
| Andrea | This is so great, this is where she does bloodbending, right? |
| Mike | [Simultaneously with Bryan.] Yes. |
| Bryan | [Simultaneously with Mike.] Yeah, she... |
| Andrea | [Interjects.] Oh, it's so scary, it really is. |
| Bryan | ... takes this dark, uh, skill that she reluctantly learned in episode 308. [Dante affirms.] |
| Andrea | I love that you remember. |
| Bryan | And that's, you know, there's another important lesson, it's, like, once you have power over someone, are you strong enough not to use it, you know, and-or use restraint [Dante affirms.] in life. |
| Dante | Even the use, the-the thought of bloodbending is-is a-is a idea that-it's just crazy, [Bryan chuckles.] like the-the-the average television or Nickelodeon watcher [Mike chuckles.] was not thinking about [Andrea laughs.] bloodbending. But yet it's a very possible situation in this world, and it-and I think that's what makes it so exciting for-for people who watch the show. |
| Mike | Yeah, it's not a-a skill that they take l-or certainly Katara takes lightly, it's-it's a very serious [Andrea affirms intermittently.] proposition to just do that on somebody. |
| Andrea | And it's not treated lightly, it's, [Mike affirms.] it's-and you know, [Refers to Katara releasing the Southern Raider commander after she realizes he is not the same man who killed her mother.] here she is, she's so close to being out of control and that's what adds so much to the drama of it is we think she could really lose it here, [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] and really do something that she regrets for the rest of her life, but she manages to hold herself. [Refers to Kya's murderer, Yon Rha, now retired, and living with his verbally abusive mother.] I love [Laughs.] the fact [Mike chuckles intermittently.] that this evil, evil man is now reduced to being yelled at by his elderly mother while trying to garden. |
| Bryan | Maybe this is why he was so evil. |
| Dante | It's karma. |
| Andrea | Maybe. |
| Bryan | When he's out in the world he's just, you know... |
| Andrea | Channeling her. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Andrea affirms.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until Yon Rha shifts his eyes to see what is behind him, knowing that someone is following him. | |
| Bryan | Back to the, uh, bloodbending, it-it reminds me of a very real thing in martial arts, um, in the breadth of a certain discipline, on one end you have healing where cultivating this, you know, what they call chi or, um, or, you know, ki in different cultures, uh, cultivating this kind of life force energy, on one hand can be used to heal people, can be used to benefit other people. And then on the-on the other hand, is the will behind it, it can be used to kill someone, and you have to, um, it's always up to you where you a-where you are in-in the middle of that, you know, equation, and, um, it's really your integrity and your character and-and how you deal with conflict and how you deal with opposition and what you choose to do with that energy. So, um, here, Katara, you know, she-she has this amazing ability to heal people, but she's also learned how to manipulate them from the inside out and, uh, force them to do her bidding physically. So, um, we see that she's unbalanced emotionally, and so that's what's coming out. |
| Andrea | [Brief pause.] Well, we can only hope she'll make the right choice. [Mike chuckles; Bryan affirms.] Use your powers for good! |
| Bryan | [Refers to Aang trying to guide Katara into letting go of her anger over her mother's death, while agreeing with her that she needs to confront Yon Rha herself.] I love that even though Aang is sort of not in this story very much, [Dante gives an affirming murmur.] to me, he's-his presence is in all of these scenes 'cause you know he's like the little angel on her shoulder, [Andrea affirms intermittently.] you know, that she's ignoring at this time, and so, I-to me, it's really-it is a story about Aang because it's, like, it's just about, you know, about him trying to have influence over her actions from afar, just by not telling her what she has to do, but just by gently suggesting, you know, what she-what she try to achieve with this journey. |
| Andrea | It really is a juxtaposition there where the young Aang sort of tells her like a parent, you know, uh, go ahead, go out and do what you have to do, but please, I hope that you choose forgiveness rather than revenge. And, you know, here he is, the young one, and she, you know, is the older one who should be sort of teaching him, and in fact they-they switch and-and he teaches her. So, it-it-I agree with you, he is with her through this entire journey she goes through. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Aang talking to Katara about he lashed out in his rage after he found his people eradicated.] I think it's also interesting that, you know, if you look on paper, Aang has lost a lot more than Katara has, and he sorta gently reminds her of this; he's like, "hey, my whole culture was wiped out, [Andrea affirming murmurs intermittently.] everyone I've ever known was-was wiped out," and, uh, but-but as we all know in real life, you can't really quantify suffering, um, it's really a-a personal thing, and, uh, everybody-s-you know, everybody's situation, when your own world kinda crumbles, it seems like the whole world's falling apart, [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] you can't really, you know, equate these things. And, uh, so we just see Katara lost in a very human moment in this episode. |
| Andrea | [Refers to Katara stopping herself from killing Yon Rha, suspending the numerous icicles she had bent right above him.] I love that scene, so dramatic. You just go, [In a mock desperate, pleading tone.] oh no, don't do it, [Mike chuckles.] don't do it! [Refers to Yon Rha offering Katara the chance to take his mother's life as "penance" for his murder of Kya; laughs.] And he wants his mother to be taken instead. So wrong. |
| Dante | [Brief pause.] Yeah, it's just incredibly cinematic, especially for a television show. [Andrea gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | That's the challenge. [Laughs; Mike affirms.] Well, it definitely helps to have, uh, like you said, good quality voice actors, because... a show could look as pretty as you want it, and then it's like when you see really good Japanese animation with really bad dubs, [Andrea gives an affirming murmur.] uh, I mean, it just takes the soul away, and it just makes [Dante affirms.] you cringe to watch it, [Dante gives an affirming murmur.] and all the hard work and talent just-if the-if the v-the soul of the character in the form of the voice isn't there, then it's just not worth watching. |
| Andrea | Absolutely. And because, again, we record the voices first, and that's really what animators are working with, if we don't give them a good track to begin with, then, you know, again, it could look pretty, but it doesn't really have much of anything. So, I-I think the voice actors give so much to the animators to, uh, play with emotionally with their faces, with their physicalities. |
| Bryan | Oh, definitely. We're really lucky on Avatar, even though it's a TV animated show, um, most of our animation directors in Korea, even though they're Korean and might not be fluent in English, they actually listen to the voices and base their animation on that. |
| Andrea | Nice. |
| Bryan | That's why some people, you know, we meet art students and animation students, and they're like, "how did you get the-this level of acting?" And-and, um, just because these-these animators have taken it upon themselves to really analyze the performances of the actors. |
| Mike | Yeah, and they-they can still understand the emotion behind the lines if they-even if they don't [Andrea affirmingly murmurs intermittently.] understand the words exactly. |
| Bryan | And frankly, no offense to-but sometimes better than our English... |
| Mike | [In the background; laughs.] Yeah. |
| Andrea | [In the background.] Uh-huh. |
| Bryan | ... speaking crew members [Dante laughs.] that we worked with. I mean, they have a real sensitivity to the acting, it's amazing. |
| Andrea | It was one of those instances where all the stars aligned on-on this production, you know, so-from the writing, to the music, to the martial arts stuff, to the voice acting, everything, just all-everything aligned. |
| Bryan | Mike has often said it's been charmed. [Mike affirms.] Not that it's been easy, but [Andrea gives an affirming murmur.] it-it has been charmed. |
| Mike | Yeah... |
| Andrea | [In the background.] Very nice. |
| Mike | ... thank you both for your amazing work on the show. |
| Dante | Thank you. |
| Andrea | My pleasure. Thank you. |
| Commentary ends. |