Because I probably won't post anything upcoming week, I've been working on this, to give you something to talk about untill I post the rest, enjoy reading!
First, I?ve been working behind the scenes on the set of the Northern Water Tribe exterior sets that were shots in on enormous airplane hangar. There were a couple of sets that really formed an entire part of the city, and there were some separate set pieces. Those sets were incredibly beautiful and really detailed. There were small streets that consisted out of ice, two beautiful plazas (one with a big bronze bell), multiple canals, bridges and many buildings. I?ve been mainly filming the battle of the north, where the Fire Nation invaded the city. There also were some parts of the battle that were filmed on the battlements/walls that overlooked the water, but those sets were mainly green screen.
Because it wasn?t shoot chronologically, it?s hard to say what happened when, but this is what I?ve filmed on those sets: citizens running through the streets as the bell is sounded (one mother stands on her balcony looking down on the plaza as she sees her little child being ran over by the fleeing citizens, and Sokka then saves the day by saving the child). As the Fire Nation invades the plazas and the streets, the battle erupts between them and the Water soldiers. The only benders are the leaders of each nation, so there was a lot of martial arts and sword fighting, a lot. A lot of screaming and yelling and people fighting everywhere. If the movie won?t be a big blockbuster, it isn?t due to the fighting. At one point, Sokka runs through the fighting crowd, searching for Katara (who?s been absent the whole time during this battle on the sets of the plazas and streets) and in his run, he takes down tens of guys in one shot. It really took a while to get the perfect shot, but it?s like: running ? tackling ? running ? punching ? running ? boomerang ? running ? bending over so the boomerang hits the guy behind him as it flies back ? running ? avoiding ? kicking ? and that goes on for quite a while. Done very well. The Waterbending parts were difficult to film, because it was just those actors standing on a green tarpaulin slashing their arms through the air like someone with some kind of a mental illness. Aang is also present at the first part of the battle, where he first fights, and then oversees the battle in despair as they seem to lose the attack. Not that much Airbending in those scenes, because he doesn?t fight a lot here. And the coolest thing to do was the part where Appa suddenly appears in the middle of the battlefield. The idea was that when he landed (nothing landed, so that was the problem during the filming, very hard to visualize), everyone around him would being thrown backwards and the ice would break by the impact, and then he would smash some guys with his tail and grabbing on in his mouth so he could throw him away. Wonder how it?ll look on screen.
There were also some Northern Water Tribe scene where it?s just Sokka and some princess talking, and the aftermath of the battle where the main characters walk across the devastated streets and talk about what to do next.
The another where I?ve been involved, was the Air Temple part. The set was built in layers, and was supposed to look like an ancient Buddhist/Eastern temple that was occupied by Fire Nation, who completely destroyed the culture of the Air Nation by using it as an fortress. Beautiful, weathered buildings and courtyards with inscriptions and decorations, covered in the industrial metal, rust and soot. The prayer room was partly outdoors, it?s the place where Aang isolates himself (closes the shutters around him) and meditates. There are signs of war everywhere: skeletons, machinery and debris.
The scenes we shot there, were mainly the scenes where Aang, Sokka and Katara visit the temple. There was a really touching scene where Aang finds out about what happened to his people, and totally freaks out. Later he remembers something someone once said to him about meditating and Avatar stuff, and he decides to lock himself up in the prayer ?room?. He meditates but when he returns to his body, he senses something. He opens the shutters with his staff, to reveal hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers approaching. There?s some incredible fighting, both by Ringer as by his stunt double, and even I was shivering and thinking like: ?Is the Avatar gonna make this?? Also this fight has some great one-long-shot parts, and I think this will be the best fight on screen of the entire movie.
Another part we?ve shot last summer (I thought it was around may) was the most creepy part of the entire film, and the coolest non-action part to film. The cinematographer came up with some cool ideas so it would resemble the part as it was in the show (I?ve seen the last episodes because I wanted to know what we had been doing on set), and it was even better! It was the final scene of the movie, I think (in the show it is), where we follow this ?girl? through the stunningly beautiful yet creepy palace of the Fire Lord with all the columns, torches and firepots and nice decoration. We don?t see her face, and she enters this huge room where the Fire Lord is waiting for her on his throne, surrounded by fire (there was no fire onset, but I heard that it?d be added in post-production). He gives her an important mission that will probably be the storyline of the sequel (which by the way officially greenlighted).
I?ve done all the other Fire Lord-parts, not there were many, but they were cool to do, because we used some cool light- and camera-effects so those scenes would be a cinematographic miracle xD Although Mr. Cliff Curtis has quite a lot of screentime, we will not see his face in the first one, although you might see something of his mouth.
The next part(s) of this report will be posted as soon as I can, but I don?t know when that?ll be, because tomorrow?s the start of chaos!
(There are probably some grammatical errors cause of the hastiness)
If there are questions, post them or send me pm!
