I got a chance to work on a visual effects test for the new live action series!
Like the title says, I got a chance to work on a visual effects test for the new live action series and thought I’d share the experience!
We filmed two test scenes in a huge green screen studio in Los Angeles: one in Lord Ozai’s throne room, and the other in the tundra with Katara and Sokka. All the backdrops were keyed digitally.
From what I gathered, Netflix has reached out to multiple VFX companies to do these sorts of tests, so this was just one company’s bid. Word on set was that Netflix was planning to film most of the show on-location in Vancouver and Hawaii. Somebody also said Netflix wants this Avatar series “to be their own Game of Thrones.”
James Lew played Ozai, Kevin Garner played Sokka, and Kate Buatti played Katara. I’m 99.9% sure they were just stand-ins for the tests, but James Lew sounded like he either auditioned or was planning to audition.
The throne room scene just consisted of test shots of Ozai sitting on the throne (with one leg up, which did not seem very Lord Ozai to me so I hope they don’t actually treat him that casually in the real thing) and standing and walking down—nothing crazy. The oddest thing was that they insisted he wear a hat as the Fire Lord.
Sokka and Katara’s scene had dialogue and some action. They were bickering about Sokka’s boomerang and how they need to hunt for fish when a group of “marauders” spotted them and chased after them. Katara yelled and threw up a wall of ice or something (the bending will be added in post) and then Sokka exclaimed, “Katara, you’re a waterbender!” Katara reeled in shock like she had no idea. Not sure if this is actual dialogue from the official script, but it’s weird to me that Katara wouldn’t always know that she’s a bender, let alone that she would start off with enough power to shield them from three big guys chasing after them.
From what little I saw, I hope Netflix doesn't end up leaning too heavily on green screen backdrops and that they prioritize the real locations. Also hope they don’t twist the story too much, although I know they've said it's a retelling. We’ll see!
Here’s some quick pics I managed to grab from the set and the monitors that showed the live-keying:
Posted Aug 27, 2019, 10:49 PM UTC