| Michael Dante DiMartino | Hi, this is Mike DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar. |
|---|---|
| Bryan Konietzko | And this Bryan Konietzko, the other co-creator. This is the first time Mike and I have watched this pilot, which was the, uh, test animation we made, um, when we developed the series. I think the first time in a couple of years since we've seen this. |
| Mike | Yeah. [Refers to the opening sequence where Katara, who is named Kya in the pilot, names the four bendable elements, the sequence cutting to four different benders using their particular element.] So, this was kind of the precursor to the main title we have now, where you see... the uh, four elements. Um... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] And I actually just remembered that I animated these scenes. |
| Mike | Oh yeah, that's right, you did. |
| Bryan | I did the full animation on the in-betweens. |
| Mike | So, yeah, this is kinda-this is the low-budget version of, [Laughs.] of the main titles. Katara's a-dialogue is-is kinda similar. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the bearded Avatar bending all four elements at a group of warriors while riding at the top of a large water spout.] And that sort of became Pakku on the [Mike affirms.] water snake in the finale of... season-season one. |
| Mike | So, you'll see a lot of differences in this, you know, animation, from... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Design. |
| Mike | ... the-yeah, design. Costumes... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Names. |
| Mike | Is... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Katara's name was Kya in this. |
| Mike | Oh, that's right. That's right. We had to change her name. Um... |
| Bryan | So, what-the... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] But, you know, all the-all the basics are there. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. It had to be-it couldn't be an origin story, the network wanted it to just kinda be a sample of what the series would be like. So, it's kind of a more basic... |
| Mike | Yeah, [Refers to the shot of Aang standing on the edge of a cliff, looking out at the misty mountains around him.] even that shot's pretty similar to the last one [Bryan gives an affirming murmur.] of the main title. [Bryan affirms.] So, the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] So, when Mike and... |
| Mike | ... [Refers to the theme that plays as the Avatar logo appears.] oh, I was just going to say the theme-the actual Avatar theme that Ben and Jeremy did is-is similar to... |
| Bryan | Yeah. On this, uh, pilot, Ben and Jeremy both did sound design and music. Now, with the intense schedule of the series, they split it up. [Refers to Kya's hair, Appa's fur, Aang's robes and Sokka's clothes shifting in the wind as they fly through the air.] So, that was some early animation from Yu Jae Myung, who does a lot of the episodes now. [Mike affirms; refers to Sokka screaming Aang's name as Appa evades Zuko's fireballs.] Some really funny Sokka stuff. |
| Mike | So... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the armor worn by Zuko and his firebenders.] Wow, look at that. [Laughs.] |
| Mike | Yeah, so, obviously the firebender costumes... are a lot different. [Bryan affirms.] Even the voices are a little different now I hear 'em. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Zuko and his three firebenders creating a large fireball that they launch straight up into the air.] Oh... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Wow. |
| Bryan | ... I did that scene, too. So, Mike and I, um, when we got the approval to do this pilot, we went to Korea, and, um, interviewed a lot of different studios, and we ended up going with, um, Tin House and JM Media, which were two really small studios that just-had just done a really cool feature film. And, um, I don't know, they just had a cool attitude and weren't trying to impress us, they just-they were really talented, and, um... so, ended up getting an apartment in Seoul, South Korea, and, uh, lived there for... actually I was there almost four months, uh, in 2003 for the production of this pilot. And Mike came over for several weeks, and did a lot of layout. |
| Mike | So, there's a lot to accomplish in this pilot, which was, you know, get a s-get a sense of all the characters' personalities. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Really short amount of time. |
| Mike | Yeah, to, you know, get a sense of the bending that we wanted to do, and the action. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Kya controlling the water by fluidly moving her hands while keeping her stance.] So, even back then we were working with Sifu Kisu on the, uh, martial arts consultation. [Refers to Aang complaining to Katara after she accidentally drops a bent stream of water on him.] It's a different voice on, uh... Aang... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] On Aang, yeah. And... |
| Bryan | ... Mitchel Musso. |
| Mike | Yeah, we re-recast Aang later. |
| Bryan snickers as Kya refutes Sokka's notion that waterbending is "playing", compared to when he used to braid her doll's hair. | |
| Mike | [Refers to Kya saying Aang is not her boyfriend.] Oh, even in there, we see a little-little t-Aang-Katara shipping in the pilot. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Sh-ship. [Refers to Aang's pants, the fabric on his left leg layered over where it meets the right leg.] And, uh, oh, Aang's costume was a little different, he had this like asymmetrical fold on his wind pants that no one could draw. |
| Mike | Oh, that's right, yes. |
| Bryan | So, that was the first change I made. And going into the pilot, I knew that a lot of the designs would need to be refined, but, um, it gave us an opportunity to test out some stuff, and, you know, obviously some stuff worked well, and some things didn't. Um, speaking of the designs, I should mention, uh, Yoon Young Ki, who's a good friend of ours, and, um, he was the animation director on this pilot, and, uh, an amazing animator, and, um, he, uh, he and I kind of brainstormed on these designs when I first got to Korea... and he had some good... some good advice. [Refers to Kya's hair loopies.] Actually, Katara's like hair loops... |
| Mike | The hair loopies? |
| Bryan | ... they used to hang down, uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Oh, that's right. |
| Bryan | ... just loosely, and Young Ki thought that would be too hard to animate, and, um, thought they'd be moving around too much, so he had the idea to tie 'em back, which actually ended up being [Mike affirms.] a-a-an authentic Inuit hairstyle. [Refers to Sokka comically rushing to eat some berries on a bush, his smile turning to a frown as he swallows them] And, um, this is a-is a great Young Ki animation there. And, uh... despite that, that we tied them back to make the animation easier, everybody keeps animating wind [Laughs.] in all the scenes. |
| Mike | Yeah, that's true. |
| Bryan | So, they keep blowing in the, [Refers to the tracking shot of Sokka running away the Fire Nation soldiers, wiping out as his legs are tied up by one of the soldier's ropes, the camera moving past him as he goes out of frame.] I think I did this scene, too. |
| Mike | Yeah, that one came out great. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to the small bird on Aang's head.] We put a kookaburra on Aang's head. [Mike chuckles.] We had this idea that Aang was-that nature was just attracted to him since he was the Avatar. [Mike affirms.] Like sort of a Huck Finn of the Avatar world. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Aang hands a flower to Kya while the group is on Appa's head, with Momo gnawing at something behind them. | |
| Mike | Momo's eating bugs off Appa, right there. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] That's right. |
| Mike | We never did-we should do that more in this-the series. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | That took a lot of retakes, I remember. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Yes. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Momo ears perking up, chirping loudly as he suddenly jumps on Appa's horn.] And this is Momo as Lassie. |
| Mike | Yes, hearing trouble. |
| Bryan | [Refers to and imitates Aang asking what Momo's hearing.] "Whaddya hear, boy?" |
| Mike | [Refers to Aang blowing on his airbender staff, opening up the glider.] So, it's the f-also he-when Aang opens his glider, that's kind of a more detailed thing that we nor-normally show. It's-he's actually using airbending to kind of open it. [Refers to the CG model of the Fire Nation base.] Oh, there's a cool CG shot... |
| Bryan | [Elongates "eh"; in a disappointed tone.] Eh... |
| Mike | ... or something. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | ... not-not so cool. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] I forgot about that. |
| Bryan | I think we had the idea early on that there would be more CG. [Mike affirms.] Actually, there-you'll see coming up, there's the most CG shot that we've never tried [Mike laughs.] to replicate, I think because I had to hand animate all the fire. |
| Mike | Oh right, yeah. |
| Bryan | That was really difficult. [Refers to Kya quickly climbing and sliding down some boulders to get to the Fire Nation base.] I love that animation of Katara sliding down the... [Mike affirms.] rock hill. [Refers to Momo scratching his ear while Kya tells Aang to stay behind while she rescues Sokka.] This is a great moment where Momo is not paying attention to what people are saying, [Mike affirms.] 'cause he just doesn't understand. |
| Mike | Being an animal. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Aang reminds Kya that bending is all in the legs as she goes to save her brother. | |
| Bryan | See, he's giving her some kung fu basics. |
| Mike | [Brief pause; refers to the giant, severed serpent head being moved into the Fire Nation base on a large cart.] So, here we see the serpent's head, [Laughs.] the controversial serpent's head on the cart. |
| Bryan | A lot of, uh, adults thought this was a [Mike chuckles.] dragon car. Didn't make the connection that this was the serpent from the beginning of the... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Yeah. Is... |
| Bryan | ... episode. It's only, like, three minutes earlier, but. |
| Mike | Yeah, we learned a lot. |
| Bryan | I've... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to Zuko's messenger hawk jumping off his arm.] Oh, then we have Zuko's hawk, which was supposed to be, like, his pet, but never really [Laughs.] made it into the series. |
| Bryan | I just wanna point out that my three-old nephew knew where that [Mike affirms.] dragon head came from. [Refers to Aang bobbing a ball of air up and down, Momo repeatedly jumping up to try and catch the rock inside the ball.] Now, here's another scene I-I did-I animated these scenes. |
| Mike | Cool. |
| Bryan | It was pretty fun. Kinda based on my cat. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Aang asks Momo if he would save Aang if he were about to be eaten by hog monkeys, to which Momo responds by jumping up again to catch the air ball. | |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] It was kind of the, like, [Refers to Momo suspiciously tapping the rock after it fell on his head.] oh, that was a fun scene to animate. |
| Mike | Yeah, that's a great scene. |
| Bryan | Or just looking on the internet for-I think I searched, like, "cats pawing at things", [Mike affirms.] and studied... when they do... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to the shot of Zuko, his back to the camera, standing on a balcony atop the base's wall.] This is a cool shot of Zuko just, like, looking out. |
| Bryan | Great layout by Young Ki. He was great at pose-he's really great at posing characters. [Refers to the extreme closeup profile shot of Zuko's scar, the wrinkled folds on his skin being much more evident.] I really like that detail shot of Zuko's scar. [Mike affirms.] I remember spending a lot of time on that. [Refers to the Fire Nation soldier who captured Kya.] Hey, that's Dee's voice, the-the voice of... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Oh, yeah. Dee Baker did that. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Aang swooping in between Zuko and Kya just as the former orders his guards to find the Avatar, the shot momentarily pausing on a freeze-frame of Aang's comically happy expression as he passes by on his glider.] So, this w-this idea, [Mike and Bryan chuckle.] I love, and we tried to replicate in a later episode, but, uh, it came from this hilarious layout that Young Ki did, [Mike affirms.] where Aang just had this demonic happy expression on his face, and, uh, we were like, "oh, we have to do a freeze frame." |
| A brief pause in commentary until Zuko, now having Aang surrounded by his spearmen, tells the Avatar if he wants to save his captured friends, that he can go and get them. | |
| Bryan | I like those spears. Why didn't I use those [Mike chuckles.] spears in the series? Those were nice. |
| Mike | [Refers to the Fire Nation soldiers shoving Kya and Sokka into a metal pit.] So, they fall, like, fifty feet [Bryan laughs.] into those-into the metal... |
| Bryan | [In the background; laughs.] Into those first... |
| Mike | ... metal hole. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the scaffolding Aang uses to evade the Fire Nation soldiers.] This scaffolding came out really cool. |
| Mike | Yeah. No, this was a great-there, [Refers to Momo jumping on the Fire Nation soldiers trying to climb up the scaffolding, twisting their helmets around to obscure their vision.] I always loved this action sequence. Some good Momo... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] That was one of our earliest ideas... |
| Mike | ... stuff, yeah. |
| Bryan | ... Momo... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Flipping guys' head... |
| Bryan | [Refers to Zuko's messenger hawk slamming into Momo.] Oh, right then-oh, Momo's nemesis, the hawk. |
| Mike | Yeah. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to Zuko chopping and punching the air, bending and sending a wave of flame and multiple fire blasts up at Aang.] Some Tán Tuǐ. It's one of the basic Northern Shaolin forms. [Refers to the Fire Nation soldier who tries to stop Zuko from burning the scaffolding.] Oh, that was some-oh, forget it. [Mike laughs.] Some... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] That was Bryan's voice. |
| Bryan | ... horrible voice acting. |
| Mike | So, yeah, it's funny, little-little pieces of the-of this pilot have kind of made into the series in various ways. So... ideas, or... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to Aang and Zuko fighting each other on the scaffolding encapsulating a statue.] You'll see this, you'll see, uh, some stuff like this later in season two. [Mike affirms.] Was-was in 203. |
| Mike | But yeah, I love the-the idea of them just fighting on this-top of this... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to a closeup shot of Aang as he dodges a fire blast that comes from behind the camera.] I like that, the way the fire came right from camera. Great animation by Young Ki there. [Brief pause.] It's almost like I'm seeing this for the first time. |
| Mike | I know. It's... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I forgot about, [Refers to the long tracking shot of Zuko's hawk chasing Momo through the burning scaffolding, the scaffolding being a CG model.] alright, here is some crazy... so yeah, all that fire, I had to kind of animate by hand over the top of this 3D animation. |
| Mike | Yeah. We don't-we, [Laughs.] I don't think we've ever done a shot like this in the actual series. |
| Bryan | So, we-we thought... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Probably 'cause we learned our lesson from this. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Brief pause; refers to Momo, hanging upside-down after accidentally wrapping his tail around a wooden bar, reaching down and eating some food that is beneath him.] And this is pretty funny. |
| Mike | Yeah, this was classic, early Momo... chowing down. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Momo drinking soup from a bowl.] I like how he's just drinking little soup at the end, wash it down. |
| Mike | But yeah, even in this early pilot, you know, we tried to balance the-the action and the comedy stuff, and [Bryan affirms.] find moments for both. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Aang and Zuko fighting each other on top of the scaffolding, now just reduced to two swaying planks on posts.] So, the fight, we-we-we did it in three stages, just sort of on the scaffolding, and then on this dilapidated scaffolding where they had really nowhere to stand, [Refers to Aang and Zuko fighting each other on the statue's head.] and then the third stage is up on the, the head of this huge Avatar statue. [Refers to the statue being vertically bisected, the left half being the original stone material and carving, and the right side being covered in a black material with the statue's altered expression being much more menacing.] Which, the concept is that they are, uh, retrofitting it to become Zuko's father, the Fire Lord. [Refers to Zuko firebending small daggers out of both of his hands.] There's the fire daggers, which don't show up that much in the series, but are pretty prevalent here. |
| Mike | [Refers to the "boing" sound effect that plays as Sokka's grappling hook fails to connect with anything.] What was that? [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to the theme that plays after a droplet of water falls on Kya's forehead.] I think that-that waterbending might've made it into the series. |
| Mike | Yeah, we hear that in the first episode, I think. |
| Bryan | In the... yeah, just... Jeremy's little... theme there. [Refers to Sokka complaining in the background as Kya focuses on waterbending.] This is one of the first times Jack DeSena just went off, improvising, and now we know we can just trust him to come up with some funny stuff. |
| A brief pause in commentary as Kya bends the water in some nearby barrels to surge out and flood the pit and courtyard, a Fire Nation soldier's eyes cartoonishly bugging out as he makes a pitched confused noise just before the wave of water rushes over him, with Mike and Bryan laughing at his expression. | |
| Mike | Whoa, like that... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] That's Ben's voice, that funny little [Makes a "whoop" noise; laughs.] is Ben's voice. |
| Mike | That's funny. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Aang evading Zuko's strikes while they fight on the statue's head.] So, yeah this was one-I think I spent a lot of time on this one when I was in Korea, this-doing the layout for this sequence. Aang kind of using his bagua, more spiraling circular footwork. [Refers to Zuko doing a spinning hook kick, bending a wave of fire at Aang as he is in the air, forcing him back to the edge of the statue.] Zuko does a Dragon's Tail Kick here, I like this, to kind of close him off. He realizes he has to box him in. [Refers to the slow motion sequence of Zuko's kick, the wave of fire emanating from his leg partially obscuring his face, his tongue rolling out in his comically exaggerated anger; Bryan and Mike laugh.] That was a fun layout. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Zuko tells Aang to give up, brandishing his fire daggers at him, the light from the fire flashing off his eyes. | |
| Bryan | I like the little fire highlights in his eyes. [Refers to the ocean behind Aang, the light from the setting sun reflecting and glimmering off the water.] I love those sparkles, those came out really good. [Refers to Aang purposefully throwing himself off the statue, activating the Avatar State and airbending Zuko off the statue.] So, this was something we did not really do in the series where Aang [Mike affirms.] throws himself [Bryan and Mike chuckle.] into danger to put himself in the Avatar State. |
| Mike | Well, definitely the Avatar State become a mu-became a much more complex, uh, [Bryan affirms.] device in-in the show, and... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Though... |
| Mike | ... was not just a simple powerup thing that he did here. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Refers to the sequence of Aang jumping off the statue, divebombing on his glider to rescue Zuko.] I like this, though. |
| Mike | That... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the spin kick that Aang did while in the Avatar State, sending out a wave of air that knocks Zuko off the statue.] I do like the-I like the timing on that kick, that, like, arc of wind that he sends out. That's a cool power. [Refers to Aang letting go of Zuko mid-flight after he sees Sokka and Kya in danger.] So, Aang's nice enough to save his [Mike chuckles.] foe, [Laughs.] and then he just drops him. |
| Mike | [Refers to Zuko landing on top of his pet messenger hawk.] Maybe he killed his bird there, that's why he didn't make it into the show. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] I think it's alive. [Mike laughs.] It shows up in episode thirteen. [Mike affirms.] I just-I think the idea we had in the series was that they were more like homing pigeons. They weren't... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Yeah, that... |
| Bryan | ... so much specific pets, they were more like a... |
| Mike | That... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to Sokka, attached to Aang's glider via his grappling hook, holding onto the basket of food Momo had, the lemur continuing to eat atop Sokka's head.] That was straight from the, uh, some of the development work, [Mike affirms.] that shot. [Refers to Kya's panic at flying on the glider while hanging onto Aang.] I never know why, but people laugh at that little Katara [Mike chuckles.] slipping there. [Refers to the messenger hawk weakly flying in the air after Zuko is pulled off the ground by his men.] Ah, see, he's alive. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Forgot about the-yeah, he-he is alive. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the extreme closeup shot of Zuko's face, his eyes scrunching up in frustration.] I like that. |
| Mike | Alive and well. |
| Bryan | This shot's cool. That was another shot straight out of our development work. |
| Mike | [Refers to the "Safe Return" theme playing in the background as Kya describes the adventures she and Sokka will have with Aang.] This little kalimba come back in the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the shot of Aang sitting on Appa's head as they fly past the full moon.] That one, too, actually. |
| Mike | ... kalimba music makes it into the-the main series, [Bryan affirms.] too. |
| Bryan | Appa's head's really small. |
| Mike | Pram. |
| Bryan | There you go... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Whoa. |
| Bryan | ... wow, blast from the past. |
| Mike | Yeah, so that's a never-never before seen on DVD, I guess. |
| Bryan | Yeah, we-we showed it as, [Mike laughs.] at a convention, [Mike affirms.] couple conventions, I think. Um, but, you know, as different as it is, and a little rough around the edges, there's still a lot of great moments, and, um, a lot of people worked really hard. |
| Mike | Well... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] It was-I mean, it was, the s-the crew is so small on a pilot, that it's almost just as much work as doing the series. |
| Mike | Oh, well, still, it was-we did that over, you know, almost a year, and then, you know, we do a whole season now in [Bryan affirms.] little over a year, so. |
| Bryan | Just crazy. [Refers to Nickelodeon executive Eric Coleman.] Thanks, Eric. |
| Commentary ends. |