| Bryan Konietzko | Hi, everybody, this is Bryan Konietzko, co-creator and executive producer. |
|---|---|
| Michael Dante DiMartino | This is Mike DiMartino, the other co-creator and executive producer. |
| Colin Heck | And this is Colin Heck, director of this episode, which is called "The Ultimatum". |
| Bryan | And many more. |
| Colin | And many more. |
| Mike | Yeah, so, Colin uh, well, you were-you were on pretty much since uh, Book One, [Colin affirms.] helping us out; and then took over directing duties on Book Two. |
| Bryan | Along with Ian, and then-and then we added Mel. [Mike affirms.] And then there-then there were three. |
| Mike | Were you relieved not to have to direct every other episode? [Bryan laughs.] |
| Colin | [Laughs.] Yeah, I like to think that Mel came on directly because of my complaining, [Bryan and Mike laugh.] during the... [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] Colin is really good at complaining, [Mike and Colin laugh.] I just want to point out. Just teasing. [Colin laughs intermittently.] We're-we're old friends, we-we-we rib each other. So... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] But this was quite an episode, [Bryan and Colin affirm.] was good directing. I mean, act one and three are crazy, and then act two, there was-tried to bring it down a little bit. |
| Colin | Yeah, ow. |
| Mike | And even then, even then we got some network notes that were like, "act two, there's a lotta talking in act two." |
| Colin | [In a disgusted tone.] Oh, really? |
| Mike | We're like, "I mean, do you see the other acts around it?" |
| Colin | It's crazy. Crazy! I think this is the first time I've seen it, like, completed. At the last-the last version I saw was completed animatics, this... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Oh really? Wow. |
| Colin | ... all this be new to me, yeah. |
| Mike | You're gonna be like, "what is this episode?" |
| Colin | It looks beautiful. [Colin and Bryan laugh.] |
| Mike | No, it came out fantas... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Does. |
| Mike | ... [Refers to the shot of the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace's courtyard as citizens walk through the plaza, with multiple plumes of smoke rising up from the Middle Ring in the distance.] I love all this uh, 'cause uh, you know, it's hard to show a city in riot [Colin affirms.] in uh, television animation, but it's-it's-you feel it, you feel it. You see a little-some crowds, [Bryan affirms intermittently.] but uh, love all the paintings, and the-the, like, fire glow from the city. |
| Bryan | Fred Stewart painted this area; [Refers to the interior of the Earth Kingdom airship Mako and Bolin walk into.] Lauren Zurcher painted these inter-you know, the keys for this-these interiors, [Refers to the shots of Ba Sing Se at night when Mako and Bolin fly over the burning city.] and then Emily Tetri did the stuff, kinda the twilight stuff, when they're flying over and there's the r-riots and fires everywhere. |
| Colin | Oh, cool. |
| Bryan | Um, yeah, they-they brought the drama. [Refers to the muted yellow color palette on Mako, Bolin, and the rioting citizenry as the setting sun's light shines through the airship's windows.] I love the-the-the color palette for this stuff; came out really good. |
| Mike | [Brief pause.] Yeah, we kinda, like, structured this episode differently from others, uh, when we were pitching it out. It was, like, because we had these, you know, everyone was kinda in different places at this point, we-we s-rather than, like, intercutting between all the stories, we decided, like, "okay, [Refers to Mako and Bolin evacuating their family from Ba Sing Se as they head back to the Misty Palms Oasis.] act one is gonna be Mako-Bolin story, [Refers to Korra getting advice about how to deal with Zaheer's ultimatum.] act two is, like, Korra, [Refers to Tenzin, his family, and the airbender recruits being attacked by the Red Lotus.] and then act three is Tenzin and the airbenders." |
| Bryan | You know, I never really thought about that. [Mike affirms intermittently.] Like, in-in my conscious brain. [Mike chuckles.] Brain meats. |
| Colin | And I thought it was really cool to-to do it that way. |
| Bryan | I stole "brain meats" from Jhonen Vasquez, I just wanna-I don't wanna... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] Oh, that's really nice. |
| Bryan | ... try to pretend that I created that. [Colin chuckles; refers to the profile long shot of Mako and Bolin's airship flying between the smoke plumes rising from the city below.] Um, yeah, this-these paintings came out great; awesome compositing from Studio Mir. [Refers to Mako assuming control of the airship, shoving Bolin out of the pilot seat.] Man, he really likes to just shove his brother [Bryan and Colin chuckle.] around whenever they're in airships. [Refers to the shot of Mako and Bolin's airship as it flies from out of frame along the roofs of the burning buildings near their family's apartment.] That's a cool shot. [Colin chuckles.] I kinda, like, it's great of these guys to rescue their grandma and family, but when I see this scene, I'm kinda like, "alright, family..." |
| Mike | [Interjects; laughs.] I li-they are a little casual. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Mako and Bolin's family sitting inside their apartment, with Tu telling his cousins that they can't leave as Yin refuses to abandon their home.] They're just [Mike and Colin laugh.] hanging out, and they seem to be aware; I mean, [Refers to the faint orange glow on Mako, Bolin, and their family, illuminated by the light coming in from the window.] there's a fiery glow in the room. [Colin laughs intermittently.] Uh, I would imaging they're smelling smoke. Um, and they're just like, "well, I don't know, grandma doesn't want to leave," and uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] They're-they're a tight-knit family, man. |
| Colin | Stoic acceptance. |
| Bryan | I-I get that she's, you know, the matriarch [Colin snickers.] of this family unit, [Refers to black smoke and glowing orange light pouring out of the door gap to the room Mako and Bolin's family are in.] but look! There is fire [Mike and Colin laugh.] in their building. So, yeah, some fans have uh, correctly pointed out that we-that uh, their family lives in the same building that-that Zuko and Iroh were living in. [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] Um, and uh, you know, I imagine some people, the-the-some of the posts I saw were like, "the continuity on this show, it's amazing," and that's great. It's cool when you guys think we're smart; [Mike chuckles.] it's because we didn't have time [Everyone laughs.] to do a new design. It was, like, Ba Sing Se is such a massive location, um, and Colin and these guys, you know, needed to start up a new episode, and so, Mike was just like, "ah, let's just pull some stuff from the archives, and see what we can reuse," and so that was... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, I mean, the main thing we changed-we figured, like, Ba Sing Se hasn't changed drastically in the past seventy years, 'cause very traditional thing, but we-you did-you guys did update, like, the Lower Ring, the look of the Lower Ring, to be even more, like... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] More crowded. |
| Mike | ... crowded, and... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, o-o-like... |
| Mike | ... more buildings, and stuff. |
| Bryan | Yeah, it was based on Kowloon, which was, I think at-when it existed, was the most densely populated city in the world, um, and they tore it down. Uh, there's some amazing books and documentaries about it. Um, so, yeah, we-we definitely modified the old drawings, so it was fun; I mean, we love-we love revisiting stuff, um, so, it kinda worked, but it's not like we didn't think about it, like, "oh yeah, that's where [Mike affirms.] they lived". But uh... |
| Colin | [Interjects; refers to the montage sequence of Mako and Bolin's airship flying through the Si Wong Desert, as their family members look out the window in search of Korra and Asami.] Um, my-one of my crew uh, Natasha s-uh, Wicke, I think, you pronounce her la-last name, she did a great job on this sequence, uh, and-and did a lot of great acting, but she was very um, she'd a very interesting physics on the first pass of airship dynamics [Everyone laughs.] where-where it wa-it was moving as though it were a balloon that had had-had a leak in the back. [Everyone laughs.] Like, instead of just grace l-graceful, stately, like, moving, it was like, [Makes a "pshoo" sound imitating the airship zipping through the air; Bryan laughs.] and it was awesome. [Refers to the rising sun shining through and being partially framed by a piece of the broken hull from the airship Korra and Asami crashed.] Oh, that's really nice! That, like, the sun coming through the uh, [Bryan affirms.] the wreckage, that's really cool. |
| Bryan | Yeah, they did some great compositing. And that sunrise shot, um, I-Matt and I, uh, Matt Gadbois and I kinda tag teamed on that using... I don't know if it was Lauren Zurcher's original painting, or if it was a-one from Studio Mir. |
| Colin | Tough... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the numerous small spirits flying around and jumping on the iceberg fountain at the Misty Palms Oasis.] Yeah, man, I love seeing all these little spirits [Colin chuckles.] pla-playing. |
| Mike | [Refers to the ovular spirit suspended in the air above the fountain, with two appendages at its sides spinning about like propellors.] Yeah, I love the guy with the little helicopter-y [Bryan affirms.] arms, or whatever. [Bryan chuckles.] Yeah, and if people are wondering, like, "how-why has Colin not seen this episode before?" [Colin laughs.] uh, because the-the-the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] We don't let him. [Colin laughs.] |
| Mike | ... the time between, like, shipping the episode and the animatic, and getting the footage back, uh, is, you know, can be four to six months depending on, you know, what the s-what the schedule is. Um, either the director's off on their next episode, or... |
| Colin | [In the background.] Or... |
| Mike | ... they've left the building. |
| Colin | ... a different series. [Laughs.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Or yeah, or it's just me and Bryan left, uh, [Bryan affirms.] and usually we handle retakes, um... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Post-production. |
| Mike | ... or someti-you know, when-when Lauren, and Ryu, and Joaquim were still here, uh, they would help us out with retakes, as well. Um... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, so, the directors, uh, do a ton for these episodes, shepherding them from, you know, once the script is done, to the final animatic being locked and then shipped to the animation studio, but then, uh, the directors are done with-with that particular episode. So, um... |
| Colin chuckles as Bolin horizontally slides in from out of frame toward Zuko. | |
| Bryan | ... you know... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to Bolin's elated reaction at meeting Zuko.] You wanna talk about this part, Colin? [Bryan and Colin laugh.] This part's fun. |
| Colin | Uh, [Laughs.] this is one of the scenes that I had to, like, do, like, actual acting for. So, there's, like, a videotape somewhere. |
| Bryan | Ooh! I wanna see that. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Colin | [Refers to when Bolin reached out his hand as if to touch Zuko, faltering back repeatedly when his fingers got too close.] Uh, like, Bolin fighting with uh, I think it was Natasha's idea to-for Bolin to be, like, like, wanting to-oh, no, it was Ryu, uh, to touch Zuko because he's so in awe, but he can't actually [Bryan laughs.] bring himself to touch him. [Bryan and Mike affirm; imitating and referring Bolin's nervously excited laughter.] Ahh, ahh, ahh. And I had to act that out, many times, in front of the camera to send over to Korea. |
| Mike | That's very funny. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Yin's mildly perturbed tone as she comments that Korra is very muscular for a woman.] Here we, uh, we have grandma having some very uh, [Colin laughs intermittently.] you know, uh, not very progressive views on what uh, physiques are [Mike affirms intermittently.] acceptable and attractive for a young woman. [Refers to Korra thanking Yin, returning the compliment with a standard "you, too".] Um, but I like K-I think Korra handles it well, you know? It's like the awkward uh, holiday meal where you've got the uh, the-the old ideas meeting the new. |
| Mike | Yeah, gr-grandma Yin had uh, was good for some-some comedy moments, I'll say. |
| Colin | Yeah, there's a good one coming up. |
| Mike | [Refers to Mako delivering Zaheer's ultimatum to Korra, saying the Red Lotus will wipe out the Air Nomads if Korra doesn't turn herself over to the anarchist group.] So, now we find out what "The Ultimatum" really is! [Colin laughs.] Zaheer wants Korra. Dun-dun-dun. |
| Bryan | Bwah! [Colin laughs intermittently; brief pause.] So, yeah, not only has Colin not seen this episode, but uh, the general public has not. Unless it's leaked since we got in the booth in the morning. Um... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Which is possible. |
| Bryan | But yeah, this episode hasn't been released yet. Um, and man, yeah, it's s-Mike, what-what happened to us? Like, [Mike laughs.] finales used to the final episode... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Yeah, it's-it's uh... |
| Bryan | ... and then, it became the last two episodes. [Colin chuckles.] |
| Mike | Well, I think, uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] And then it became, like, now, it's like, "yeah, [Mike affirms.] you know, well, we got the season premiere outta the way, we better start the finale." [Colin laughs.] |
| Mike | Well, I think, if I may offer a reason why, uh, is because we got a lotta characters. [Bryan affirms; refers to Tenzin, Bumi, and Kya fighting the Red Lotus.] And we, you know, and we wanna have, like, Tenzin, and Kya, and Bumi have their big moment, but we can't have everyone have their big moment in the last episode 'cause we'll never fit it all in. So, we-we tried to space it out, so that Tenzin and them had their big finale, here, um, and even though we see them in the-the end episode, they're kinda outta commission. So... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to Asami, Tonraq, Korra, Suyin, Lin, Mako, and Bolin standing around the radio operator as he tries to contact the Northern Air Temple.] Case in point, look at that shot. We have a lotta characters. [Mike affirms; laughs.] |
| Colin | But-but where's Saikhan, really? |
| Bryan | Yeah. Uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Everyone wants to know. He's uh, he's-I don't know. I guess he's taken over for Beifong again, temporarily. |
| Bryan | Mike and I, we are in negotiations [Colin laughs intermittently.] with Nickelodeon for The Legend of Saikhan. Um, it's-we've been, you know, the-it's looking like we're gonna get picked up for a hundred-and-fifty-three episodes. |
| Mike | Just an-an average guy trying to make a living in Republic City. [Colin laughs.] |
| Bryan | And uh, that one, the finale starts before the season [Colin laughs.] even starts. So, look-look-look out for that one, guys. |
| Colin | The finale's the trailer. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Brief pause; refers to when Yin states, after the rest of the group explains what they'll do as Korra meditates, that she will take a nap.] This was uh, well, now we can talk about Katie Mattila. [Colin laughs.] Whenev... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Oh yeah, often, yeah, Ka-so, sometimes, when we do a rewrite for the uh, at the end for the animatic, or something, we'd have to-we didn't have the actors, uh, so we, you know, either I, I would often temp the male voices, [Colin chuckles.] and Katie Mattila, our writer's assistant and writer, would uh, usually do the female voices, and she really got into character, and I remember she did that, grandma Yin was a... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] She says... |
| Mike | ... extra line. |
| Bryan | ... [Imitates Yin's content tone.] "I'm going to take a nap". [Colin laughs.] And uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] She's good at old ladies. |
| Bryan | And as much as we love our real, professional, skilled, talented, experienced actors, you get really used to the temporary voices, [Mike affirms.] and man, Katie's, I just fall in love with 'em. [Colin chuckles intermittently.] Tim-Tim Hedrick's, I always am like, "just keep Tim's in there". And so, I think we've used him a few times. |
| Mike | He did appear in uh, episode uh, six, I think. |
| Bryan | I think I'm gonna give uh, Tim about half the voice roles on Legend of Saikhan. [Mike and Colin laugh.] Think... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] He should play Saikhan's son. [Bryan and Colin laugh.] Long lost uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Ooh! I think that's a better name for the series, Son of Saikhan. [Mike and Colin laugh.] I like that. Son of Saikhan, alright. |
| Mike | Man, we-we got a whole series for... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Coming to you in 2049, [Colin laughs.] Son of Saikhan, hundred-fifty-three episodes. |
| Mike | It's kind of a revenge thriller sort of thing. |
| Bryan | It's only gonna be available on, um, this one app [Mike and Colin laugh.] that costs $5000 dollars, and there's only one copy of the app. Um, so, look out for that. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Like the... |
| Colin | [Interjects; refers to Iroh rocking his hand back-and-forth as he explains to Korra that Aang and Zuko's relationship initially was "a little rough".] I like that act... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, that's good acting. |
| Bryan | Oh, great acting. |
| Mike | Was this uh, William? |
| Colin | That was Will Ruzicka. [Mike affirms.] I don't know how you pronounce his last name, either. [Pronounces Ruzicka as "Ruh-zicka".] Might be Ruzicka. |
| Mike | Sorry, Will. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Korra and Iroh conversing in Xai Bau's Grove.] Um, yeah, I-it was fun coming-I loved coming back to this, like, place that was scary and tense... |
| In the background, Colin chuckles as Iroh maintains his smile while Korra's spirit fades away. | |
| Bryan | ... you know? But you've got Iroh, [Laughs.] I love that expression [Colin affirms.] he has at the end. |
| Colin | [Imitates Iroh.] "Yeah, well, see you later." |
| Bryan | He should've said, "I'm going to take a nap". [Everyone laughs.] That would've been a-a nice callback. [Refers to the patterned saddlebag that Zuko is fastening to Druk.] This bag [Colin chuckles intermittently.] is the most beautiful bag ever designed [Mike chuckles intermittently.] for uh, Legend of Korra. Christine Bian was like, "oh, you wanna ba-you wanna dragon bag? Cool dragon saddlebag? I'll give you a dragon saddlebag". And there we have it, beautiful knotwork, and everything. |
| Colin | [Brief pause.] So quiet. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, I think Zuko, he's-he's pretty stylish, man. He's like, "I roll on a dragon, [Mike chuckles; refers to Zuko's layered, sleeveless jackets having exaggeratedly pointed shoulders.] my outfit looks like a dragon, and look at my saddlebag." |
| Mike | He's like uh, I think what we were, when we were trying to, like, come up with a character description of, like, what old Zuko was, it was, like, one of the things was like "Clint Eastwood", [Bryan laughs.] you know? Like, the-the grizzled old... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] The per... |
| Mike | ... guy, who's still-but he's still pretty cool, and you feel like [Bryan affirms.] he could uh, you know, tangle with someone. |
| Bryan | The-the-the, like, more like his roles, not the guy who talks to empty chairs. |
| Mike | No, no, yeah, yeah. [Colin chuckles.] The movie star Clint Eastwood. [Bryan and Mike laugh.] Although, we should have Zuko just talk to a chair. [Bryan laughs.] That'd be funny. |
| Colin | [Refers to Zuko, shocked after Korra offhandedly mentioned that Iroh had advised her to speak to the former Fire Lord, asking if the Avatar had spoken to his uncle.] Oh, I do like this line. This is a ni-mo-nice moment. "You talked to my uncle?" [Bryan laughs; imitating and referring to Korra telling Zuko she's spoken to Iroh's spirit several times.] "Yeah. Yeah, I think I tal-talked to him a couple times." |
| Bryan | "Yes, I talk to your dead uncle". [Colin chuckles intermittently; refers to when Meelo asks who is on the radio, then telling Bolin that Bolin isn't on the other line after the earthbender reiterates it's him.] Here's funny voice acting from Logan, the voice of Meelo. [Refers to Meelo picking his nose as he converses with Bolin.] Which again, people on this show just have some serious ear, and foot, and nose hygiene issues. |
| Colin | [Refers to when Meelo wiped the booger on his finger on the underside of the desk he's sitting at.] The-that's-there's my greatest influence on this show, was originally, Meelo picked his nose and then flicked it, [Bryan laughs.] and I was like, "no, he's going to wipe it under the desk." [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | For someone to get on the knee of their pants or robe, later. [Colin laughs.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until Korra, relieved after hearing Tenzin on the radio, quickly tries to explain Zaheer's impending attack on the Northern Air Temple. | |
| Bryan | So... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Yeah, I love this. |
| Bryan | ... scariness begins. |
| Mike | The end of the act is very tense and uh, dramatic. [Brief pause; refers to Korra frantically telling Tenzin to evacuate the temple with his family and recruits before the Red Lotus arrive.] I just like how helpless Korra is at this moment; [Bryan affirms.] like, she's-she's so far away. [Refers to Tenzin seeing the Red Lotus' airship through a window.] And uh, Zaheer has arrived. [Imitating and referring to Zaheer and P'Li as they look toward the temple while standing inside the airship.] "Hello! [Bryan and Colin laugh.] You guys in there? Oh, there they are, okay." |
| Bryan | So, here begins the madness. [Colin affirms.] |
| Mike | Yeah. So, how, when you were, like, splitting up this episode, Colin, wha-how did you split this up amongst the artists? |
| Colin | I had-was like, "well, Eu-Eugene has to do this". [Mike laughs intermittently.] The-the-I looked at act three, and I was like, "well, Eugene, you're just gonna have-take one for the team, and do all of act three." |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Wow. |
| Mike | And he di... |
| Colin | [In the background.] And-and he did it. |
| Mike | ... he did do a fine job. [Bryan affirms.] Um, so, he really did the who-the entire act? |
| Colin | He... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Or most of it? |
| Colin | He did. |
| Bryan | Uh... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] Um, it's a-it's a pretty short act, like, time-wise, it's-there's just a lot going on. [Mike affirms.] Um... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Did uh, the supervisors help with any of the action s-like, stuff? |
| Colin | They-they did eventually, [Bryan affirms.] but the first pass was all Eugene. He... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I remember it was really solid from [Colin affirms.] early on, yeah. |
| Colin | Um, you know, we had to... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to Kai, Daw, and another airbender launching themselves backward with a blast of air to avoid the lava emerging from the ground.] Whee! [Colin laughs.] Sorry, the way-the way [Laughs.] they fly away just cracks me up. |
| Colin | We had to tweak a lotta things, you know, 'cause this is-is all really complicated, the, like, like, [Refers to when Zaheer airbent small gusts of wind to propel his jumps, launching himself from ledge to ledge while avoiding Tenzin's attacks.] airbending up a side of the wall, and, like, what this temple actually looked like, and... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Oh, man. Just-just doing the image boards, pla-planning out the lighting for this whole sequence, [Refers to the sequence cutting between the airbenders at different locations in the temple.] 'Cause they're-they're at various points around basically a cone, you know. [Colin affirms; refers to the lighting on the characters coming from different directions as the sequence cuts to different locations, with the direction of the shadows on the ground and their bodies changing throughout.] So, different lighting directions. |
| Colin | [Refers to the airship carrying P'Li circling around the temple as she bombards the fleeing airbenders, and, at a later point, Tenzin.] Yeah, the-the-the blimp is, like, circling around, and tracking that was kinda weird, and uh, there's just a lot of-lot of parties traveling around this mountain. Was uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to Opal sitting with the rest of the Red Lotus' captives.] This is the first time we see uh, Opal in her airbending outfit. She's in the crowd, somewhere there. |
| Bryan | Oh, yeah, because originally, we forgot to design her in it, and she was still in her... |
| Mike | [In the background; refers to Opal and an also captive Kya embracing each other.] Oh, there she is with Kya. |
| Bryan | ... sh-she was still in her old clothes, and we were like, "that looks weird." |
| Colin | [Refers to when Ming-Hua held Opal captive, wrapping her up in one of her water arms, while holding an ice spike to her neck.] Wait, wasn't that her being held up by uh, Ming... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, she's with Kya, there. |
| Colin | No, but, like, earlier, when Ming-Hua was, like... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Oh, yeah, yeah, Ming-Hua [Colin affirms.] grabbed her, yeah. I think she and Kya are best buds, I guess. |
| Colin | [In a surprised tone.] Oh! |
| Mike | Apparently. [Refers to Tenzin, refusing to be used as the Red Lotus' leverage against Korra, airbending Zaheer, Ghazan, and Ming-Hua against the temple walls with a sudden blast of air.] Yeah, I love Tenzin in this episode... |
| In the background, Colin makes a noise imitating the anarchists flying through the air at great speeds. | |
| Mike | ... he's just like... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, a-against... |
| Mike | ... tough guy. |
| Colin | Like, Eugene added a lot of little bits; [Refers to when Tenzin whipped his head about, the extreme closeup view showcasing his intense expression as the shot cut away to him airbending the Red Lotus.] like, you can see, like, when Tenzin's like, "yes, I do," and then he did this thing, he-his face got really close to the camera [Bryan affirms.] for just, like, a couple frames. And that was, like, something Eugene added in the boards, and... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] It's great. |
| Colin | ... like, he would out, [Refers to the profile shot of P'Li, standing at the edge of the airship's open bay door, as she pulls herself back before thrusting her stance forward and letting off a combustion blast.] that's Joaquim, all Joaquim. |
| Bryan | Tha-yeah, I was gonna say. That-that... [Colin chuckles.] see the Joaquim DNA in that drawing. Great posing, po... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] We-we got sent-we-the-the P'Li scenes got sent back a few times. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | It's tough, it's tough [Colin affirms intermittently.] because um, and you know, Joaquim had worked on, like, Combustion Man stuff back on the original series. So, he was-he kinda knew the weird action I was after. It's-it's like a non-action, [Laughs.] it's like, [Mike affirms.] you're not throwing a punch, or anything, you're just like, [Gives a fierce sounding grunt.] and... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Right, but you need a little bit of a... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, it's just... |
| Mike | ... motion and effort. |
| Bryan | ... supposed to be motivated by the breath, and-and then a stance change, so that it's not just, like, magic stuff. |
| Mike | [Refers to Tenzin fighting Zaheer.] And this is kinda the first big airbender versus airbender [Bryan affirms.] battle. |
| Colin | [Refers to Zaheer having to avoid most of Tenzin's airbending.] The-I-am I correct in saying that this is the most butt Tenzin has kicked? |
| Bryan | Uh... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] Or is that-am I wrong about... |
| Bryan | ... yeah, the long-maybe the longest, [Colin affirms.] yeah. I mean, it's-he-he-he did some stuff in 107, um, but yeah, this was fun. I mean, there's-I don't know that we've really had airbender versus airbender where they're really going at it. [Mike affirms; Colin chuckles.] Um... |
| Colin | [Interjects.] There just haven't been enough of them. [Laughs; Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | There really haven't. Um, so, yeah, this was a fun bald man showdown. [Mike and Colin laugh.] Robes aflowin'. |
| Mike | [Refers to the frontal shot of Zaheer as he kicks an air swipe toward the camera, the scene quickly fading to white as the attack reaches the camera, before quickly fading back in to streams of water rushing around Kya as she tries to hold back Ming-Hua's attack.] Yeah, I like that transition, there, from the [Bryan affirms.] air to the water. |
| Bryan | Cool to see Kya fighting again. [Colin affirms.] Got to see some of that earlier this season. [Brief pause; refers to the slow motion shot of Kya breaking the frozen tip of Ming-Hua's water arm off after it nearly comes into contact with her torso.] Yeah, it's uh, the-the-the level of slow motion on this uh, on Korra, has been really cool; just-we talked about earlier, but they in-betweened it really well, and then they used this plugin to kinda help [Mike affirms.] enhance the smoothn-smoothness of it. |
| Colin | And, like, ten years ago, that woulda looked really ugly. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, it's tough. I mean, but again, you ha-it still has to be animated very well [Colin gives an affirming murmur.] by hand before it can be... |
| Colin | [Interjects; refers to the torrent of water that Kya used to send Ming-Hua off the temple flowing off the edge of the temple in turn as though it were being pulled.] I really like this moment. |
| Bryan | Yeah, [Refers to the sound of rushing water and crashing waves as Ming-Hua emerges from below, using the water from Kya's attack to form multiple water tentacles attached to her body.] Ben did a great job on the sound, too. It's very creepy. |
| Mike | [Brief pause; refers to Bumi running away from Ghazan, the lavabender melting the ground to send at the airbender.] Yeah, then we gave, like, Bumi the... still intense, but a little more of the comedic [Colin and Bryan affirm.] fight, here. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Bumi's startled expression as he avoids Ghazan's lavabending, and his furious expression as he dives toward and slides underneath the lavabender.] His expressions throughout this thing are amazing. And I think a lotta that was in Eugene's stuff, right? |
| Colin | Yep. [Mike affirms.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | Yeah. Eugene, those really funny... funny posing and expressions. |
| Colin | I-I might be remembering this wrong, but I think he originally had a beat where Bumi farted on him. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Just to... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] That's certainly possible. Everyone... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] That is-that is... |
| Mike | ... everyone was trying to throw in farts, [Bryan laughs.] and we were... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] That is the domain of Meelo, and Meelo alo... |
| Mike | ... the fart police. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Colin | [Refers to Bumi, having pounced on Ghazan's back, biting the lavabender in the shoulder.] I-I can't believe we got away with the bite. |
| Bryan | We ha-we had, like, one kind of fart joke in the-the entirety of Avatar: The Last Airbender, [Mike and Colin laugh intermittently.] and then Ryu came and worked in, you know, pre-production, and he was just like, "hey, I-I want him to fart," and uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] All the time. [Colin laughs.] |
| Bryan | ... if we-if we allowed all of the farts that were pitched [Mike affirms; Colin laughs.] by Ryu in, I mean, we mighta had a uh, you know, NC-17 rating, I don't know. It's just too much fart. |
| Mike | Yeah, yeah. [Refers to Kai flying through the air on his glider and avoiding P'Li's combustionbending, trying to distract her and let his fellow escapees reach the nearby flying bison.] And then we gave-this was kind of Kai's big moment of sacrifice, here. So... |
| Bryan | Kai's a-Kai's a brave, like, uh, he's like a, what do you call it, swashbuckler. [Mike affirms.] Little swashbuckler, that guy. |
| Colin | Grew up on the streets, got nothing to lose. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Mike affirms; refers to Kai, flying up vertically in front of P'Li's line of sight, spinning along with his glider and bending an air swipe at the combustionbender with his outstretched leg.] That's a cool move; we-we kinda saw Aang do-similar move where, you know, it's always tough to get someone to be able to bend while he or she is flying on a glider. [Colin affirms.] |
| Mike | [Refers to the Red Lotus' airship continuing to circle around the temple while P'Li continues her assault.] And the idea was, if anyone's wondering, "who's flying the ship?" [Bryan and Colin chuckle.] uh, you know, in the later ep-the next two episodes, we kind of... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I was wondering. |
| Colin | It's Asami. [Bryan and Colin laugh.] |
| Mike | Well, it's the unseen uh, other Red Lotus guy. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Well, there's a few. |
| Mike | 'Cause we-we-we-yeah, we kind of [Bryan affirms.] s-set up later. In this episode, you don't know, but in the next couple, you-you find out there's a few extra... |
| Colin | [In the background; refers to when the flying bison flew away from the stables after P'Li sent a combustion blast at them.] Oh, they all... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Beau... |
| Mike | ... dudes with them. So, uh, they-they brought a pilot. |
| Bryan | [Refers to when Kai, having been blown out of the sky by P'Li, freefalling through the air and disappearing beneath the clouds.] Beautiful animation of Kai plummeting into the mist. That was one of our trailer shots. |
| Colin | [Refers to Ghazan bending multiple earth columns beneath Bumi and Kya's feet, knocking them off the temple.] This is really hard to figure out, the, like, them getting knocked off, and then... |
| Mike | [Refers to Bumi grabbing Kya's hand as they fall through the air.] Grabbing her. |
| Colin | ... grabbing. It's okay. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Bumi bending a gust of air to propel himself and Kya back toward the temple and grabbing onto a window opening built in the structure.] And then he airbends them back towards the building. |
| Colin | Yeah, that's-that's the idea. |
| Bryan | Some-some Avatar physics, there. [Colin laughs.] Um, yeah, you know, reminiscent of Sokka and Toph in the Avatar finale. |
| Mike | [Gives an thoughtful murmur.] There's an Avatar parallel I hadn't thought of. [Colin chuckles.] Yeah, let's go... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] We don't-we don't think of many of them, [Everyone laughs.] we-we have uh, people doing that for us. We just-we just make it. |
| Mike | [Refers to Bumi falling and sliding down the mountain and onto a flat part of the cliffside below, alongside Kya.] So, once again, Bumi, big fall. |
| Bryan | Bu... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] This one really took him out, though. |
| Bryan | Bumi needs to move to a flat area, [Mike and Colin laugh.] uh, where, like, the biggest change is a slow grade up a ten-foot hill. |
| Colin | He needs to be a sandbender. |
| Bryan | Yeah, he-he's-he doesn't have much luck with cliffs. |
| Colin | [Refers to Tenzin trying to fend off attacks from Zaheer, Ming-Hua, and Ghazan.] This was cool, man, the... |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] Tenzin's tough, man. He's got grit. |
| Mike | Yeah, I think if uh, Tenzin fans out there will enjoy his... this little moment. Well, not because he got his butt kicked, [Colin chuckles.] but because of how... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Well, he's show-showing his mettle. |
| Mike | ... tough he... |
| Bryan | You know, he's not a uh... |
| Mike | [In the background.] He's... |
| Bryan | ... he's not just some... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] He's not giving up. |
| Bryan | ... you know, wishy-washy, like, like, "I wanna talk about spirituality" guy, [Colin laughs.] you know, he's-he-he-he can back it up, too. He can-he can go toe-to-toe. [Mike gives an affirming murmur; refers to when Zaheer told a panting, bruised Tenzin to give up.] And-and then Henry Rollins' read is just so dismissive. Just like, [Imitates Zaheer's contemptuous tone.] "give up," [Laughs.] you know, it's so... rough. |
| Mike | [Refers to the long shot of Tenzin, his back to the wall and surrounded by Zaheer, Ming-Hua, and Ghazan, panning along to the left, the view of the combatants being obscured by a wall in the foreground just as Ming-Hua follows up Zaheer's air blast with a water whip.] And then I like this pan where we pan away from the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] We-we... |
| Mike | ... whip to the face. [Mike and Colin laugh.] |
| Bryan | I, yeah, we actually did a retake where we had to get that-that overlay to cover it up a little earlier [Colin chuckles.] 'cause it was a little rough. [Colin laughs.] |
| Mike | [Refers to an unconscious Kai being woken up by a flying bison calf, the young airbender's foot having gotten caught on a tree branch growing along the mountain.] And then we wanted to end on somewhat of a lighter note. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, I... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] At least not everyone die... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the flying bison calf that Kai rides, his legs hanging along most of the bison's head.] I think that's the smallest Lefty is, [Colin affirms.] and then in the next episode, he's huge. [Laughs.] Thanks, Colin. |
| Colin | Alright, bye, guys! |
| Mike | Thanks, Colin. |
| Bryan | Great work. |