Bryan Konietzko's Blog, page 2

Mike and Brandon walking between meetings from a short while back… We’re moving into a new office…

Mike and Brandon walking between meetings from a short while back… We’re moving into a new office space, transitioning into the next phase of production. Our core team is growing. We’re writing, planning, and testing. Though there’s plenty that’s new for us in this live action process, we’ve been on this long rollercoaster ride twice before and a lot of the climbs and twists and turns feel familiar. Right now, everything seems slow, and we’re itching to speed up; before we know it, everything will be moving too fast and happening all at once. For those who are eager to see this new series and are asking if we have a trailer yet: thank you for your enthusiasm, sincerely, but you wouldn’t want to see a version of this series that was made within 9 months. Too much Hollywood fare is fast-tracked and the results speak for themselves. Thankfully for us and this series, Netflix is committed to doing it right. We’re trying to make something special that will stand the test of time. A live action Avatar series is a daunting, incredibly complex thing to pull off — a fantasy travel show with tons of VFX, CG creatures, martial arts, etc. — and to do it right takes a ton of planning. On both the original series and Korra, when we were at this stage in the production the projects hadn’t even been announced yet. The difference with this Netflix series is that you all heard about it just a little bit after we started. So it will seem like a longer wait, but we can assure you that everyone is making good use of that time so we can craft something beautiful and emotionally powerful. Also so we can make sure Appa is cute. We’ll be starting the casting process before too long, so if you’re aspiring to be a part of this thing, keep taking acting lessons and some martial arts/movement classes. We’ll announce how, when, and where to audition soon-ish. Thanks! Love, Bryan ✨💙✨

Mike and Brandon walking between meetings from a short while back… We’re moving into a new...

Mike and Brandon walking between meetings from a short while back… We’re moving into a new office space, transitioning into the next phase of production. Our core team is growing. We’re writing, planning, and testing. Though there’s plenty that’s new for us in this live action process, we’ve been on this long rollercoaster ride twice before and a lot of the climbs and twists and turns feel familiar. Right now, everything seems slow, and we’re itching to speed up; before we know it, everything will be moving too fast and happening all at once. For those who are eager to see this new series and are asking if we have a trailer yet: thank you for your enthusiasm, sincerely, but you wouldn’t want to see a version of this series that was made within 9 months. Too much Hollywood fare is fast-tracked and the results speak for themselves. Thankfully for us and this series, Netflix is committed to doing it right. We’re trying to make something special that will stand the test of time. A live action Avatar series is a daunting, incredibly complex thing to pull off — a fantasy travel show with tons of VFX, CG creatures, martial arts, etc. — and to do it right takes a ton of planning. On both the original series and Korra, when we were at this stage in the production the projects hadn’t even been announced yet. The difference with this Netflix series is that you all heard about it just a little bit after we started. So it will seem like a longer wait, but we can assure you that everyone is making good use of that time so we can craft something beautiful and emotionally powerful. Also so we can make sure Appa is cute. We’ll be starting the casting process before too long, so if you’re aspiring to be a part of this thing, keep taking acting lessons and some martial arts/movement classes. We’ll announce how, when, and where to audition soon-ish. Thanks! Love, Bryan ✨

TO EVERYONE INTERESTED IN AUDITIONING FOR THE LIVE-ACTION...

TO EVERYONE INTERESTED IN AUDITIONING FOR THE LIVE-ACTION AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER SERIES ON NETFLIX:

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We greatly appreciate your interest and enthusiasm, but we are not yet at that stage in the production.

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There will be an OPEN CASTING CALL, likely sometime later this year. When that happens, we will publicly share the information for how to *officially* apply.

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Until then, please refrain from tagging, commenting, DMing, etc. your auditions — I don’t check that stuff and no one else at Netflix does either. We’re not casting via social media and I don’t want anyone wasting their time and energy. Put it towards working on your audition instead. Good luck!

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Thanks, Bryan

I am very sad to hear about the passing of Steve Hillenburg...

I am very sad to hear about the passing of Steve Hillenburg after a battle with ALS. SpongeBob was obviously a huge presence during my many years at Nickelodeon (all the way back to the Zim days), and throughout the American TV animation industry. I only had a few brief interactions with Steve over the years, but he was always humble, and very kind to Mike and me. The last time I saw him was a couple years ago at a nice group lunch with some mutual friends from the SpongeBob crew. I was a definite outsider in the bunch, but Steve graciously picked up the whole bill. When I was recruited by Eric Coleman to pitch a series in 2002, he told me he wasn’t looking for the “million dollar idea,” rather, he was looking for people like Steve Hillenburg — in their creative capacity, and also in how they could run a production and work in a positive, collaborative manner. I have great respect for Eric and he always spoke of Steve in the highest regard. My condolences to Steve’s family, friends, coworkers, and many fans.

Lisa and I had to say farewell to Gunther last night. He outran...

Lisa and I had to say farewell to Gunther last night. He outran his cancer longer than any vet or oncologist ever thought was possible, over 15 wonderful months. He went peacefully with the two of us by his side. I’ll have more words another day. For now, I just have a heavy heart struggling to let go of his amazing soul.

I’ve been collaborating with my good friend Benjamin Wynn, aka ...

I’ve been collaborating with my good friend Benjamin Wynn, aka electronic musician @deru (and sound designer from Avatar & Korra), on a series of three music videos for his incredible upcoming album, Torn In Two. I came up with these statue scenes, initially doing 2D concepts. During this process, I took a ZBrush class from @xandersmith_design at @conceptdesignacad so I ended up digitally sculpting and posing the figures. Xander helped out too with a bunch of technical stuff that is beyond my meager skill set, and he also posed the last scene in this clip based on my 2D version. EFFIXX did an awesome job texturing, lighting, and rendering the figures and environments, doing the camera moves, and dealing with my many nit-picky notes.

Go to www.deru.la to see the full video in 4K/2K and hear the rest of his powerful track. In it you’ll also see some great compositing from my other old friend, Andy Dill (who worked on the Avatar main title sequence), and vfx by Nico Sugleris. Ben shot some incredible drone footage and edited all three videos — the next 2 will be available on Vimeo & YouTube soon. Deru’s new album is a monumental achievement and I’m honored to have been a part in visualizing some of it.

I wrote it yesterday and I’ll write it again (and again): it’s...

I wrote it yesterday and I’ll write it again (and again): it’s been an absolute pleasure working in the room with Mike again. @michaeldantedimartino

We’re only in the *very early* stages of development on this live-action adaptation, and right now it’s just a crew of us two, with some great execs and staff at Netflix helping us formulate the production plan. This is a recent photo from my private studio I’ve rented since the end of Korra, but I’ve already started packing it up, moving my music gear home, and getting ready to move a bunch of my furniture and books into our new offices at Netflix very soon.

BIG NEWS. Very excited to be able to share this. And very...

BIG NEWS. Very excited to be able to share this. And very excited to be working with Mike again on this simultaneously new and old adventure. Give him a follow too if you haven’t already, as we chronicle this journey: @michaeldantedimartino

Here’s our quote from the press release:

“We’re thrilled for the opportunity to helm this live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We can’t wait to realize Aang’s world as cinematically as we always imagined it to be, and with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build upon everyone’s great work on the original animated series and go even deeper into the characters, story, action, and world-building. Netflix is wholly dedicated to manifesting our vision for this retelling, and we’re incredibly grateful to be partnering with them.” — Bryan Konietzko & Michael DiMartino

Huge thanks to John Staub for this beautiful concept art. https://www.artstation.com/dustsplat

More later, but for now: https://deadline.com/2018/09/avatar-the-last-airbender-live-action-series-netflix-1202467089/

Love, Bryan

Cropped Appa WIPs. I’m pretty much over the idea of ever trying...

Cropped Appa WIPs. I’m pretty much over the idea of ever trying to paint things in a “finished” manner. I just want to learn how to make my unfinished stuff look… well, finished.

Recent things on paper.

Recent things on paper.