| Michael Dante DiMartino | Hello! This is Mike DiMartino, co-creator and executive producer. |
|---|---|
| Bryan Konietzko | This is Bryan Konietzko, uh, also co-creator and executive producer on Legend of Korra. |
| Benjamin Wynn | And I'm Ben Wynn, uh, half of the Track Team, and I do sound for the show. |
| Jeremy Zuckerman | And I'm Jeremy Zuckerman, the other half of the Track Team, and I do the music. |
| Mike | Welcome, guys. |
| Jeremy | Thank you. |
| Bryan | I guess it would be weird if I was the executive producer on some other show, [Jeremy affirms; Ben chuckles.] but I was doing commentary here. |
| Jeremy | It's a... it's a little superfluous, but it's cool. |
| Mike | I assume people know what show they're watching. [Ben chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. So, if you don't know the Track Team and their history with uh, this, this uh, project, we go way back. Um, Ben and I were roommates years ago when Mike and I were first creating Avatar, back in the early 2000s. And um, and I met Jeremy, who was Ben's friend from Cal Arts; they were both studying music and like music production there. And uh, so when Mike and I, when Mike and I got a-a pilot going, we-actually even before that, we did like this pencil test thing as part of development, and uh, these two guys, we said, "hey, can you do the music and the sound?" and uh, it's ten years later, we're still working together. |
| Ben | Insane. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] I can't believe it's been ten years; [In a falsetto.] it's insane. |
| Bryan | Yeah, it was uh, it was really cool, like we've told this story a couple times, but, like I was in the living room eating my lunch or something, and Ben and Jeremy were in the other room working on the main, like, theme. And uh, la-that ended up, I think it's like the main theme for [Jeremy affirms.] Avatar and Korra. |
| Jeremy | The French horn thing. It's-it's in Korra a little bit, but it's uh, it's like Aang's main theme. |
| Bryan | And yeah, they had been working on it all day, and I was just like, "that's it!". They-they played the melody. |
| In the background, Jeremy hums part of the Avatar theme. | |
| Ben | Yeah. [Laughs.] |
| Jeremy | Yep, he's like, "that's the one," we're like, "yeah? Yeah? Okay, cool, easy." |
| Mike | Which we did bring back, I thin-I think it was the f-last episode [Jeremy affirms.] in this s-season, which I-I enjoyed [Ben affirms.] bringing that back in the big Avatar moment. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, that was nice. Talking about... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Mike's-Mike's like the master of like, "we bring back the Avatar theme, right here," you know? [Jeremy laughs.] |
| Mike | "C'mon Avatar theme!" |
| Bryan | He-he always knows when... |
| Ben | [In the background.] He... this theme... |
| Jeremy | It's like... [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | ... to do it, and like, we're always like, "ooh, well played." [Mike laughs; Ben gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Jeremy | "Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it." |
| Mike | Yeah, you can't just... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] "Right here." |
| Mike | ... use it every time, [Jeremy and Bryan affirm.] you gotta-gotta earn that. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, we made 'em wait. [Mike laughs.] With the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Honestly, like other than maybe like Star Wars or something, where there's the like, the Empire theme or something, like I never really thought of like themes being associated with characters, [Jeremy gives affirming murmurs intermittently.] or something, you know? Like, maybe I knew it in kind of a, like a [Jeremy affirms.] intuitive way, but I never really put my finger on it. But when, you know, w-working with Jeremy on-on all these Avatar and then Korra episodes, it's like these themes get developed and then they sort of get a, it's like you use them that specific-you like, they're usually associated with a character. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, they become-they sort of become like secondary characters in some way. |
| Bryan | Yeah. I guess I always thought of it more as like for more of a mood or an emotion. But, yeah, it's fun, it's fun to like take it and then, you know, you'll often like develop it depending on the mood or what the episode is. |
| Jeremy | Well with-well with Korra, um, a lot-you know, I'd s-moved awa-like, Avatar was very chara-the themes were really character-driven. [Bryan affirms intermittently.] Um, but Korra, it's a lot more situational dr-like, there's-there's probably the combination of character-driven and situ-situational, uh, driven themes; it's like what you were talking about, like more moods or situations. Um, for some reason, Korra lends itself better, or at leas-or at least, I'm in that sort of state of mind these days. Um, but it-things are a little-little more flexible that way too, you know? If you have a theme that's perfect, but it's like, "aw! I can't use that here because it's so-and-so's theme". It's-it's not quite, it's a little more flexible when it's more situational. |
| Bryan | Another big change with Korra, eh, the music in Korra from Avatar was this idea that this is sort of a Jazz Age, 1920s influenced time period. So, we, we tasked you with trying to find the-some cool ways to infuse like swing and jazz and big band, and-and... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Oh, that was great, yeah. Yeah, that was really fun; um, I'd never written anything like that before, and Bryan-Bryan loves to, Bryan and Mike love to sort of throw these impossible tasks in my face. [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] Um, but it's great because they have such utter confidence... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] It's 'cause you always... |
| Jeremy | ... that it happens. |
| Mike | ... make it happen, man. |
| Bryan | Yeah, [Mike and Jeremy laugh intermittently.] but he-he's like, "oh, it-it's-I've never done anything like that, it's impossible". So, then you hired a, uh, you hired a uh... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Well, that was a big part of it, that they, they were... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] What was that? The Dixieland band. |
| Jeremy | ... they were Dixieland band, yes. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] And you wrote music for them. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, they were fantastic these guys, they were the real deal. I mean... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] And it sounded amazing. |
| Jeremy | ... you know, it made all the difference, you know, these players were unbelievable. |
| Bryan | So, basically what we're talking about, Jeremy, we-we decided because now that we have radios and, uh, record players in this world, and like parties where there's like, you know, kinda band offscreen pla-you know, just, there's basically incidental music, which is something we didn't have much of in-in Avatar. [Jeremy affirms.] So, Jeremy thought... maybe we should, he, you know, he wrote a bunch of like, uh, pieces, and did-I think you did like two variations on each piece, [Jeremy affirms.] and then you-he hired a Dix-a professional Dixieland band to perform these like things. So, it's like the stuff you hear on the radio that-and-and, you know, kind of this incidental music. So, there's like this whole [Laughs.] CD worth, it's like a whole album's worth of amazing stuff. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, it's great stuff. I mean, we've-we've never-I don't-I think-I don't know if we've ever heard an en-a track in its entirety yet in Korra, like one of those Dixieland tracks. |
| Bryan | Yeah, it's usually like a minute or two [Jeremy affirms.] snippet. But it's nice 'cause we can use different parts of 'em, you know, yeah. |
| Jeremy | Exactly. We can get a lot of-a lot out of it. I mean, we, we did one session and we were able to use it the whole season. And we still can use it, you know, I don't think we've heard everything from it. |
| Ben | It's also cool, too 'cause some of the juxtaposition was, like it's been used in a couple places that wasn't just incidental, right? Like, some, you know, sometimes putting up against... even action is kind of like a cool juxtaposition. |
| Jeremy | Um, yeah, that wasn't the Dixieland band, but that was a similar kinda thing, the Jazz Age kind of, um, you know, style, feeling. [Ben gives an affirming murmur.] Although, stylistically it was kind of its own thing, you know? But yeah, it was taken from-from that kind of Jazz Age. |
| Bryan | Yeah, and that was, I think, inspired by Blade Runner, the kind of the use of music there where something might s-start as incidental music, or the score is like kind of, like, ah-like it would be incidental music, though there's none really playing, [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] you know? It's like a scratchy record, or something; we did-we did some stuff like that. Yeah, it's fun. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, it's good stuff. [Refers to the escalating tense theme that plays as Amon looks out over his forces' preparations.] Then there's the-then there's the scary stuff here. [Mike chuckles.] |
| A brief pause in commentary as the scene fades to black. When it resumes, the commentators' voices are pitched at various rates. Bryan, Mike and Jeremy's are raised to a higher, squeakier pitch; Ben's is pitched down to a much lower, deeper range. | |
| Bryan | I'm scared. |
| Mike | It's okay, we're back everybody. |
| Jeremy | [Sighs.] I feel different somehow. |
| Ben | I don't know, I f-feel a lot better. [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Aw yeah, back in our natural voices. |
| Ben | It's hard to fake it all the time, you know? [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] |
| Bryan | I know, I feel like I wear a mask in society. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Ben | I know, I can't hold it in, it's... it's killing me. [Bryan laughs.] So, we should probably talk about how the-everything has changed from before Avatar, maybe. |
| Bryan | Yeah, I was-I was gonna say... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Sure. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | ... we talked about all the changes in the music, but what about sound, Ben? |
| Ben | Yeah, I don't know; why don't you tell me? [Bryan and Jeremy laugh.] Yeah, I mean, I actually I do-I do think that's kind of a weird question, like what did you guys have in mind in terms of how the world was going to be different in terms of music and sound? |
| Bryan | Uh, I mean, the music thing was more of a, like a style thing, but I think with the-with the sound, we al-I mean, we always loved the music and we always loved the sound you guys did. |
| Ben | Thank... you. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the Fire Ferret mascot costume Pabu is wearing.] But uh, oh, Pabu! But uh, I think this time it-with the sound, it wasn't as much of a change, but I-I wonder if [Ben gives affirming murmurs intermittently.] your-your process changed, 'cause some years had passed, and you got new fancy programs, [Ben and Jeremy chuckle intermittently.] synthesizers... patch-patch phase. |
| Ben | A lot... |
| Jeremy | Plugins. |
| Bryan | Crazy Cwejmans. [Jeremy chuckles.] |
| Ben | ... a lot of programs. |
| Mike | Yeah, did you ever reuse like old firebending sounds, or did you make up new ones for this? |
| Ben | It's a bit of both. [Mike chuckles; elongates "uh".] Uh... [Bryan laughs.] the amazing thing is that some of the sounds that we did for that pencil test are still popping up in the show. |
| Bryan | Wow. |
| Mike | Oh, yeah? |
| Ben | The sounds we used were like... [Makes a bunch of explosion sounds; Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | I remember... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] They won't die. |
| Bryan | ... you guys wrote some like supercollider patch, or Jeremy, did you write that? |
| Jeremy | Yeah, we did some of that. |
| Bryan | Like a... |
| Ben | [In the background.] Think we did some granular... |
| Bryan | ... voice envelope... thingy, follower? |
| Ben | Uh... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Yeah. We did, and then... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Something? And then you... |
| Jeremy | ... I did get involved, I don't know if that one survived the process. |
| Bryan | But uh, I do remember throughout Book One of Korra, Ben, every once in a while, he would like... Mike and I would say, "oh, you gotta go back to this old episode of Avatar, and find," and, you know, just-since we had some earlier version. And then you were like, "man, I opened up those files, and I'm better now." [Jeremy laughs.] |
| Ben | [Laughs.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | "I'm-I'm awesome now. [Ben laughs; Jeremy affirms.] I didn't know what I was doing back then, but now I'm awesome." [Ben and Jeremy laugh.] |
| Mike | With Ben... |
| Ben | Oh god, I don't... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Is-is that-is that true? Is that fair? |
| Ben | I just want to point out, I don't really sound like that, [Bryan and Mike laugh.] and they listen to me. |
| Bryan | I just-this is how I am able to communicate it. |
| Ben | [Laughs.] I can't even speak words as quickly as he does. [Bryan laughs.] Um, no, it is true though that I've gone back to some of those old sessions. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the sound effects for the Wolfbat earthbender bending up some earth discs, kicking them, and their impact as they make contact with Mako.] I mean, listen-listen to this! |
| Ben | They're pretty embarrassing. |
| Mike | So, how-how was it to do the uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] They're not embarrassing, man. I mean, your, your process has changed. [Mike affirms.] |
| Ben | And you just learn, you know? |
| Bryan | Yeah. The idea... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, how hard-how hard was it do all these uh... |
| Ben | [In the background.] Uh, these uh... |
| Mike | ... these pro-bending matches? |
| Ben | These were insane. |
| Mike | Seems like that was the biggest challenge this season, huh? |
| Ben | Seriously. Well, uh, the-it was-it was uh, these were the first couple episodes we did, and it was just like, "alright, here you go." [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Yeah, I mean... |
| Ben | [Interjects.] I mean, it's just constant. |
| Jeremy | Tracks are the same. |
| Bryan | That's one big change was the sporting; you know, we have like a sporting event, which we never had before. |
| Ben | Yeah, the sports, and then there's also um, bigger machines. You know, there weren't really, [Bryan affirms.] there weren't really airplanes or uh, industrial machines. |
| Bryan | Yeah, we had some stuff, but it's way more prevalent. [Ben affirms.] |
| Mike | [Refers to the Wolfbat earthbender tripping up Mako by bending up a disc under his feet.] Well, there's-I love the sound of the-when they shoot the earth discs, the like... [Makes some whooshing sounds.] |
| Ben | Oh, the whirley sound. |
| Bryan | Yeah, that oscillating... like... |
| Ben | [In the background.] For that... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Was that a, a live thing you recorded, or was that a... |
| Ben | That's the sound of whooshes and uh, like various mechanical noises through a thing called a doppler. [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] That's through like a-a doppler effect that's oscillating, so going like back and forth, so it's... [Makes some "phwoosh" sounds.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. |
| Ben | But then you can pitch that again. And uh, Steve Tushar helped with those sounds, too. |
| Bryan | Yeah, those are awesome. |
| Ben | He-he-he does help on the show, as well. |
| Jeremy | Thanks, Steve. |
| Ben | [Elongates "Steve" for a few seconds.] What's up, Steve? [Bryan laughs.] |
| Jeremy | And then, what's up to Aran... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Aran Tanchum. |
| Jeremy | [Laughs.] And Aran Tanchum, foley-foley master. |
| Bryan | And uh, his foley walker. |
| Jeremy | And-and Vincent, Vincent "Walker"! |
| Bryan | Vincent "Walker". |
| Jeremy | The foley walker. |
| Bryan | He's a walker. |
| Ben | And then our-our also mixer, as well. |
| Jeremy | That's right. Adrian... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah. [Laughs.] |
| Jeremy | C'mon, quick! [Ben chuckles.] |
| Bryan | I don't know his last... |
| Jeremy | Sorry, Adrian. |
| Mike | [Refers to Adrian's last name.] Ordóñez. |
| Jeremy | You gotta-you gotta be friends with us for a decade [Mike laughs.] before [Ben laughs.] we learn your last name. |
| Bryan | Yeah, takes ten years. So, the other... |
| Ben | [Interjects.] Adrian's awesome. |
| Jeremy | He's awesome. |
| Bryan | The other big challenge... |
| Ben | [In the background.] He's my bro. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | ... was uh, getting the music to balance with the wall-to-wall sound effects in the-in the bending matches. |
| Jeremy | We've been-we're a lot more uh, I feel like we're a little more restrained musically this-this uh, with this series. You know, like we'll do full scenes without music, or a lot more sparse... |
| Mike | Oh, especially with the... [Ben affirms.] |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Oh, alright, I thought you meant that like a bad thing. |
| Jeremy | No, no, no, a good thing. |
| Bryan | I thought you were trying to start somethin'. |
| Jeremy | No, no, it's a-I-I, I'm a-I really like it that way, uh... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Like, is this really the time or place? |
| Ben satisfyingly gives off a loud, low-pitched burp, much to the amusement of Jeremy and Bryan. | |
| Bryan | Alright. Apparently, Ben thinks it's the time and the place for burping! [Jeremy laughs.] |
| Ben | That wasn't me, I don't... [Mike and Bryan laugh.] |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Did some airbending right there! Bad joke, sorry. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | It's alright. |
| Ben | [Refers to the music cutting out during Korra's slow motion takedown of Tahno.] Yeah, this was one of the first scenes where we just did no music for a lot of it. |
| Bryan | Well, k... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | ... y-y-sorry. I get so excited [Mike, Byran and Ben chuckle.] to talk. [Refers to Shiro Shinobi's off-screen commentary on the match.] Uh, because we also had a commentator, and you know, the-it was just so much [Ben affirms.] to balance this time, so much to fit. So... [Jeremy affirms.] yeah. [Ben chuckles; refers to Korra and Tahno's one-on-one fight on the elevated platform.] I st-storyboarded this little part between Korra and Tahno. |
| Jeremy | [Refers to Korra and Tahno pacing around the edge of the platform as they wait for the other to make the first move.] It's like the first dance of death. |
| Ben | The ot-the other thing about, you know, these were the one of the first episodes we did of Korra, and I'm not sure they could've really existed had it not been for Avatar, in terms of developing what the waterbending would already sound like, [Jeremy affirms.] uh, what the firebending would already sound like. You know, I have this platform to go off of, and that really helped. If this had been, you know, first episode of a whole new series, I-I might ha-I might have died. [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] |
| Bryan | Now, when you... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] True. |
| Bryan | ... I think it was episode, the one right before this, uh, 105. I th-you told me like how many tracks you used [Ben gives an affirming murmur.] when you did the-those uh, the three pro-bending matches. [Ben affirms.] Do you remember? |
| Ben | It was like-I think it was like two-hundred and seventeen tracks. [Bryan laughs.] |
| Jeremy | [In a fawning tone.] You're my hero! [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] That's insane. |
| Ben | Wait, were you talking to me? Or were you... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Yeah. |
| Ben | Oh, cool. |
| Jeremy | You shredder. |
| Ben | [Laughs.] No, it was uh, it's-it's tough, it's tough, 'cause I don't work in Pro Tools, so I have to uh, transfer all this stuff to another program to deliver it, and... those are our fun days. [Mike laughs.] |
| Jeremy | No. |
| Ben | [Brief pause.] But I do love the pacing of these, these pro-bending, uh, battles, are really cool. I think it's just constant, you know, it's work, [Bryan affirms.] which I really like. |
| Bryan | Well, you-you did an awesome job. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Ben | Oh, thanks. [In a mock deadpan tone.] Thank you. Thanks. [Bryan laughs.] |
| Jeremy | [Laughs.] I lost a... |
| Ben | [In the background; refers to the shot of Mako, Bolin and Korra getting hit by Tahno's rock-infused water blasts, the shot zooming in on Korra and becoming slow motion as the rocks inside the water hit her chin.] Sl-slow motion... |
| Jeremy | ... couple of years, but job well down. [Laughs.] |
| Ben | Can you guys get me like a android arm so I can keep mousing, and doing it? |
| Bryan | I know, your-Ben's arm has been falling apart from all of his uh... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Wow. |
| Jeremy | Ben's arm. |
| Bryan | ... computering. |
| Jeremy | Ben's wrists, my hip. |
| Ben | I just computer so hard. [Jeremy and Mike laugh.] |
| Bryan | Dude knows how to computer, [Ben laughs.] with the best of 'em. |
| Ben | [Laughs; refers to Tahno, having knocked the Fire Ferrets out with his illegal move, challenging anyone else to fight him.] Oh, Tahno. |
| Jeremy | Uh-oh. |
| Ben | He's so dreamy, isn't he? |
| Bryan | [Refers to the eery, distorted, bass sounds that play as the Equalist infiltrators pull up their masks and put on their electrical gloves, with Tenzin sensing their presence just before they attack him and Lin.] This part was cool, [Ben affirms.] some really cool sound. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, I like this whole section. |
| Bryan | Yeah. |
| Ben | Yeah. |
| Bryan | I feel like, something about Korra... it like provided more opportunity for like abstract sound design. |
| Jeremy | Definitely. Musically, too. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Ben | Cool moment. Yeah, this is a cool moment where Jeremy and I came together 'cause there's some cool bass, uh, sweeps going down, and some weird uh, tripped out like ambient sounds, [Refers to the music becoming more prominent as Tenzin sees the Equalist about to attack Lin.] and the music's rhythm comes in with the... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Stringly sounding... [Makes an escalating "whoop" sound.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. |
| Ben | [Refers to the Equalist electrocuting Tenzin.] Boom. |
| Jeremy | Uh-oh. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the multiple electrical sounds that play as the Equalists ambush the metalbending police in the arena.] Lots of electricity in this uh... |
| Ben | [Refers to the "Chi Blocker" theme playing.] And there's some music. When... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Oh, yeah. I love this music. |
| Ben | ... when it comes in-oh, I know, when it comes in at this little thing. |
| Bryan | [To the beat of the "Chi Blocker" theme.] Dun-dun de-de dun, de-de-de-de dun, de-de dun. |
| Jeremy | This is like in-it's 6/5 or something, I can't remember. |
| Bryan | You do some crazy like time signatures and syncopation, right, Jeremy? |
| Jeremy | Yeah, you guys let me do that. It's, you know... |
| Bryan | Let you? I want you to. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, well, yeah, [Ben chuckles.] well, it's-it's nice because a lot of times, you gotta just stick to the really clear stuff. |
| Mike | I don't keep track of your time signatures, man. [Ben, Mike and Jeremy laugh.] You could be all 4/6 or 8/12 over here. |
| Jeremy | You... [Laughs.] |
| Mike | [Interjects.] I don't know. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | 10/11? |
| Jeremy | You guys let... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I don't care. |
| Jeremy | You let me fly man. [Mike and Bryan laugh.] Sweet. |
| Ben | [Laughs.] You should log your time signatures. |
| Mike | You should be like... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Totally. |
| Mike | [In a mock stern tone.] You can only use 2/4 time! [Ben and Jeremy chuckle.] That's it. |
| Bryan | [In a mock defiant tone.] I will not work on a show with [Ben and Jeremy chuckle.] 5/7. I don't even know if that's real. |
| Jeremy | Ah, it's not. [Laughs.] |
| Ben | [Refers to Shiro Shinobi being threatened by an Equalist, giving a play-by-play of how he is being threatened, and how he is wetting his pants.] This part's fun, right there. |
| Bryan | Well, I want 5/7 next season. [Ben chuckles.] |
| Jeremy | Um, hmm. |
| Ben | See, he's always-it's demanding. |
| Jeremy | You're right about that. [Ben chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Get-get working on that, that's your next impossible task. [Ben and Bryan laugh.] |
| Jeremy | [Laughs.] I'll just call it 5/7, but it'll really be 15/16. [Bryan and Ben chuckle.] |
| A brief pause in commentary as the episode fades to black, the commentary resuming as the episode fades back into the events in the pro-bending arena, the commentators' voices returning to their usual pitch. | |
| Mike | Alright, we're back. |
| Ben | Oh, man. |
| Mike | Okay. Uh, so Jeremy, d'you wanna talk a little bit about like how you, how you go about coming up with the themes, and actually like, you know... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Mapping it out. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Mike | ... orchestrating the-the whole thing, and... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Um... |
| Mike | ... 'cause, for me, it's a bit-a bit of a mystery. I don't know, we... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Me too. |
| Mike | ... we send you off, you come back with amazing music, and... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Aw, thanks man. I... |
| Mike | ... it's a... |
| Jeremy | ... I don't know, I feel like I, every time I'm re-you know, reinventing the wheel, to be honest. But, um, a lot of it is just sort of getting in character like an actor or something, you know? And once I'm-once I'm really f-what I mean is like I have to feel it, I have to feel what's going on. And that's when the stuff comes, and like a melody or a rhythm or something comes. And if it's like a melody, you know, I'll just sing it and sing it, and start harmonizing it and playing with different ways to harmonize it. Or it could be a rhythm, or even like a texture or something. You know, there's a lot of different musical elements in Korra. Uh... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] And then do you write it all down, like on, you know, musical sheets and stuff... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Uh, I'll-I'll... |
| Mike | ... for the-for the musicians, or... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Yeah. And if it's a-it's like a theme I use a lot, I'll write it in a notebook, just like the melody with the-the chord symbols over it, you know? [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] Just like a quick redu-reduction of it. Um, and then yeah, we um, and our assistant um, uh, Andrew Prahlow... helps-helps us um, with the notation 'cause it's a really time-intensive job. Um, so, he-he, you know, we have like hundreds and hundreds of pages of-of music, which is-any-any show would. [Mike affirms.] You know, it's just ton-because you have separate players and they get separate music, and, so you wind up with, you know. So many trees have died because of this. |
| Ben | You should mention all the people you record. |
| Jeremy | Oh, um, well, you can't really, you know... |
| Ben | [Interjects.] I mean-I mean types of instrument. |
| Jeremy | Right, right. Well, we-okay. [In a mock secretive tone; sighs.] I cannot discuss that. No um... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Should we... [Laughs.] |
| Jeremy | Yeah, we should talk about Hong. Hong Wang, [Mike affirms.] who's incredible. He's a Chinese musician, and he's like, he's just such an asset. |
| Bryan | He's like a multi-instrumentalist, and... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Right. He plays uh, all the string instruments, you know, mat-like an erhu, jinghu, um, a matouqin. Wi-um, he plays the wind stuff, like dizi, and bawu, and xiao, and um, qin. And um, sometimes we-we bring in percussion instruments from-sometimes to bring Chinese percussion instruments, but usually it's the-the wind a-and the um, string instruments. |
| Bryan | And wasn't there kind of a, like a happy... like accident where-er, just a... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Um, well, he-he just... |
| Bryan | ... this serendipitous thing where he knew uh, he had studied jazz, so when we-when we tried to infuse it with like a Chinese... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] That's right, he did study jazz. Um... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah. Like... |
| Jeremy | [In the background.] Um... |
| Bryan | ... 'cause that was like the big challenge, like, "oh, how do we get these Chinese instruments, but playing sort of American-style jazz?" [Jeremy affirms.] but you got this guy who-who had kind of bridged both disciplines. |
| Jeremy | Yeah, yeah, and wh-what I-what I did was um, record the Dixieland ensemble first, and then overdub Hong. [Bryan gives an affirming murmur.] And so, um, some of it was him just playing off the melody, like-like a-like the trumpet player does in the Dixieland ensemble, and some of it was him just sort of doing little impro-improvised phrases. Um... |
| Ben | [Interjects.] And he found us from Avatar. |
| Jeremy | From-yeah. |
| Bryan | Oh, really? |
| Jeremy | Yeah. |
| Bryan | Actually, I didn't-I don't-I don't think I knew that. |
| Jeremy | Yeah. [Ben gives an affirming murmur.] Yeah, he contacted us. |
| Ben | He emailed. |
| Jeremy | And uh, and he... |
| Ben | [Interjects.] It was like, "do you want any instruments?". [Laughs.] |
| Jeremy | He actually uh, it was like a LinkedIn [Laughs.] message, or something. |
| Bryan | Oh, really? |
| Jeremy | And then I ignored it for like three months. |
| Bryan | That's what I do. [Jeremy affirms.] |
| Mike | I always ignored LinkedIn, man. |
| Jeremy | Yeah. [Mike laughs.] I know, it's annoying. |
| Ben | Thing for everything. |
| Mike | At least there's some cool, you know... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, it paid off. |
| Jeremy | But because of Hong, now I ha-can never cancel my account. [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | Tha... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Thanks, Hong. |
| Bryan | Thanks, LinkedIn. [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] So, this is... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Brought to you by LinkedIn. |
| Bryan | ... [Refers to "The Rally" theme that plays as Amon and the Equalists depart from the pro-bending arena, up until Lin saves Korra after the arena's ceiling breaks.] some, this is a really awesome theme that sorta starts here and pretty much carries until the end, right? |
| Jeremy | Oh yeah, [Bryan gives an affirming murmur.] this is uh, this is-we call this "The Rally", I think, right? It's a variation of "The Rally". [Bryan and Mike give affirming murmurs.] And uh... it's become like a real recurring theme. Um, who knows if it'll be-you-but I'm sure-I-it'll probably, [Bryan affirms.] I think it'll survive through the life of the show. We'll see if it makes sense, but... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] I mean, to me, like, repeating music is a good thing because if it's-if you are into a series, and you, you know, even if you're not really paying attention to the music, like you'll feel, like you're saying, like you feel that emotion, [Jeremy affirms.] and that kind of... that... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] And it sort of deepens the narrative a little bit, [Bryan affirms.] you know? Because you-you-it's like you recognize that world, you know it, [Bryan and Ben affirm.] you know what's going on. |
| Bryan | Yeah, I think, you know, you get such an emotional response from music, and uh, when it's a theme that you already have some sort of a-kind of emotional connection with uh, it-it just-yeah. I feel-I feel like it-it's just money in the bank, I love it. So, I'm always... I mean, it's challenging because even if you are reusing a theme, I know you have to get it to fit, [Jeremy affirms.] you know, the new scene and stuff. But still, I-you know. |
| Jeremy | But the nice thing is that you're not constantly creating from scratch, [Bryan affirms intermittently.] and-not to-not only because it's really exhausting to always create new ideas, but your ideas get deeper, and they-they de-they develop, you know, as you reuse them and as you come back to them, and-and they-they start to tell a story. You know, like the way they're developing, or the way they're-the variation, you know. And then there-then there's like a whole bunch of different versions of it, and the-that are really specific; and-and it becomes a language, basically. And that's like-that's really fun, and-and-and-so, it's-it's, you know, you know what exactly kind of what needs to happen when you look at a scene, once you have en-enough of the musical language in place. |
| Bryan | Yeah, I know what you mean. Definitely when it's a theme you're familiar with but you hear a different development; [Jeremy affirms intermittently.] maybe it was-usually a kind of positive theme, [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] but it takes a dissonant, kind of unsettled turn. That al-that lets you know, like, "oh, wait!". S-you know, there's like a-there's a-a-a change here, and going somewhere we haven't gone. |
| Jeremy | Exactly, or if it's, you know, sparser and more exposed, or something. |
| Ben | [Refers to the Equalists' attack on the pro-bending arena, and Amon taking away the Wolfbats' bending.] I gotta say, just watching this show, it reminded me, one of the things I love about this show is just how dark it is. [Jeremy affirms.] It's so much darker than Avatar. [Bryan laughs.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] It is a bit-eh, it's definitely a little darker. |
| Ben | There are some moments it's just shockingly dark in an awesome way. |
| Jeremy | Well, see, it's a lot more mature, you know? A lot more mature. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Mike affirms.] It's intense. I mean, for me, visually, it's nice to have this kinda urban setting, and-and uh, a little bit more of a noir [Ben affirms.] vibe to it. [Refers to Korra and the Lieutenant fighting close quarters atop the pro-bending arena's glass ceiling.] Um, I just want to point out the amazing fight... uh, staging by Joaquim Dos Santos here. |
| Jeremy | Awesome, cool. [Ben affirms.] |
| Mike | Yeah, this whole sequence... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Yeah, this is... |
| Mike | ... pretty-pretty awesome. |
| Ben | You got a sequence... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] It's one of my favorites [Ben affirms.] of the season. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] Is a cra-this-105 and 106, the previous episode and this one are just-I mean, they're relentless. [Laughs; Ben gives an affirming murmur.] They were relentless on everybody; like, it's just action, action, action, action. The previous episode was like a, kind of a comedy, love triangle one, and then, [Jeremy affirms.] this one's just like... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] Well you, the range of tone you guys, you know, produce is s-so, so great. |
| Bryan | Well, thank you. |
| Jeremy | It's so dynamic. |
| Bryan | Thank you. [Jeremy gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Mike | Thanks, man! |
| Jeremy | It's got it all. |
| Mike | [Refers to Korra and Lin working together to fight the Equalists, saving each other's lives several times.] I also love this episode 'cause it's like the first time Beifong and Korra are teaming up, sort of. [Bryan, Jeremy and Ben affirm.] You know, like putting awa-putting aside their differences. |
| Bryan | Or realizing just how similar they are. [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Jeremy | That's right. [Laughs; refers to Mako and Bolin embracing Korra after the battle.] I almost don't want to talk, I just to watch this stuff. [Bryan laughs.] Almost. |
| Mike | Yeah. [Laughs.] |
| Ben | [Brief pause.] Sometimes, I do watch these things, and I don't know how that amount of work gets done in, what, two weeks? |
| Jeremy | Yeah, two... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Oh yeah... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Oh, you guys, yeah... |
| Bryan | ... 'cause you guys have two weeks for each one. |
| Mike | That's crazy. I don't know either. [Mike and Jeremy laugh.] You guys are magical. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Ben | I'm good at mousin'. [Bryan laughs.] |
| Mike | Keep hitting that mouse, over and over. |
| Ben | Hit that mouse hard. [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Ben laughs.] |
| Ben | [Laughs; refers to the Track Team credit.] I saw our names. |
| Jeremy | [Refers to the end credits theme.] And I love how different the end credit music from the other, um, Avatar. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | Yeah. I actually feel like it kinda reflects that-I mean, I love the kecak thing from the old series, [Jeremy affirms.] but-but this kinda has a more uh, mature tone, [Jeremy and Ben affirm.] or something. You know, just-not... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] More subtle. |
| Bryan | Nothing against kecak, but uh... |
| Jeremy | [Interjects.] It's a little more subtle, you know, [Bryan affirms.] subdued. |
| Bryan | It's nice. |