Right before autosage, the last thread had a bombshell dropped in that working television voice actors and writers were actively participating in this fan project.A bunch of successful 20-or-30-somethings are helping to make a young teen's dream come true.I think the creator must have a terminal disease or something.
Certainly sounds better than anything I've heard from any other fan project. I haven't heard much, but hey.
Last one, not quite as good.
>>69934So is Azula a vampire or something?
>>69939Your guess is as good as mine. Hm...that wouldn't surprise me though.
>>69939See now, I'd actually watch it if this were the case.Something THAT bad would have to be good.
>>69934 That particular piece of concept art has always perplexed me. It's never been connected with anything on-project and I'm not even sure who drew it. It's just kind of...there.Looks pretty though.
>>69945Too late. You're making vampire Azula canon.I want her sleeping upside down from a rafter in her first scene.
hey hey ret's gokenka surutaisetsu na monoPROTECT MY BALLSboku ga waruiso ret's fightingret's fighting rove
>>69946Damn it man, you're making me want to dredge up that avatar with vampires/gargoyles/werewolves thread!
>>69934what
>>69934That's the great mystery for me. Exactly why this constellation of talent gathered around the brainchild of "Serial Keiffer" of all people. Was it pity? What?At the very least, the knowledge that he's taking a hands-off approach to the project gives me reason to think this could actually turn out pretty cool. The voice acting's surprisingly good. The excerpts below instil tremendous weight into a script that's frankly pretty slight.
>>69934 I'm going with his parents being insanely wealthy, it's also why he's such a brat.That or he has magical powers to compel peoples action.
We've moved to this thread now then? So hey um, Sweettalker, I'm curious. Who're you voicing in DoD?
Maybe they just liked the idea?
I have to throw out made props to Venice, I visisted her dA and really love her art. Also I love Yasora's design in general. Melancholy and flutes are two of my favourite things.
>>69947>Why wouldn't we? Because the idea's such an extreme departure from the source material you profess to be so fond of. Ever hear of or (God forbid) read "Spider-Man: Reign"? DoD feels like that.
Jesus Christ guys, what happened to being ambivalent?Other than Milli, all I can see here is thinly veiled taunting.For shame.
>>69960Did you just call me black?
>>69962I did indeed. Though you should know, the pot was just trying to ham it up.
>>69962Both pot and kettle are nice guys.
Seriously though. Since some of you have just admitted that working on this could actually get you in trouble at your jobs. What was it about this that made you say "Holy Shit! Career be damned, I must be part of Keiffers fan project!" ...and just a heads up. While I understand you're proud of your fan project, telling everyone that this is the single greatest fan project that has ever existed:i.e. Kieffer telling us his project is tantamount to "achieving greatness" and your deviant art page proclaiming this to the "The Best Avatar Fic On The Web" (especially since it isn't even out yet), might be one of the things putting people off. A little humility goes a long way.
>>69958Post a link, please.
Oh hey, Venice, just curious (though I'm sure you wont be able to tell me), since I see you drew this: http://Avatar-The-DoD.deviantart.com/art/Avatar-The-DoD-Airbenders-137199216Please tell me those are flashback airbenders. Please please please don't say DoD is going with the whole "secret colonies of airbenders in hiding" idea.
>>69965Agreed, humility is a virtue.Also, to Sweettalker? Please understand my utter cynicism that keeps me from believing your claim right off the bat, because it's quite a tall drink to down. Ali Wildgoose can get away with fanart and Jetko pics/fics. Rufftoon, one of the lead story-boarders for season 3 had Yaoi of Zhao, but you can't do something fandom-related in your spare time, even when you weren't a part of the original series? Even Dante Bosco threw the Zutarans a bone and did some lines for the Zutara finale, and he had to have known that news would spread like wildfire. I wasn't aware actors of any type even *had* unions, much less VAs.If it is true, though, your union kinda sucks. No employer should jump into an employee's private life like that.
>>69971...wait, what exactly is wrong with that idea? I think it'd be great if Aang had some airbenders left.
>>69973I've seen a small synopsis saying Aang's kid is the last Airbender now that he's dead, so they'd be contradicting themselves, or rewriting a plot point. Also, Mike and Bryan have both said Aang was the last Airbender. They've also said that any kids he has with Katara could be an Airbender, Waterbender, or neither, so while he's not the final Airbender, he was the last.Thus, a hidden colony of Airbenders breaks the show's explicit and established canon, something that is generally avoided by projects that try to be sequels, and aren't Zutara, like this one, or Gaang Jr.
>>69965 >Kieffer telling us his project is tantamount to "achieving greatness"Well, Kiffer does tend to get a bit grandiose sometimes. I will assure that no one on the project thinks this is the next best thing since urinal cakes(though it may seem like that by the way that we advertise). I guess thats just the way Kiffer decided to go in order to build hype, and its mostly worked, for better or for worse.
Things like the Screen Actor's Guild do exist and they do technically disallow members from working with producers that don't have an agreement with the Guild. Sometimes, especially for anime VA work, people do it anyway and the SAG doesn't seem to care, but I can understand someone not wanting to risk it.
>>69976With great hype comes great backlash.
>>69975 But just because they were never shown in the show doesn't mean that the potential for other airbenders was there in the Avatarverse. Mike and Bryan chose not to explore that possibility in series, but maybe they just didn't have the time, given how quickly they had to wrap things up in the 3rd season? (And besides, it's not like they didn't leave any plot holes unfilled, i.e. where in the world is Ursa??) I personally would have felt so much better for Aang by the end of the series if he'd had some airbenders alongside him.
>>69980You appear to have missed this vital point.>Also, Mike and Bryan have both said Aang was the last Airbender."Word of God" says that Aang was the only remaining Airbender as of the original series.
>>69980Well, I get what you mean, and I can understand the sentiment, but they specifically said he's the last Airbender, either in an interview, or one of the books. It's pretty much the Word of God trope by defenition. It's just like Jet's death, there's no alternative, and it sucks bad, but that's how it is. The major plot hole related to this might be "What happens when the Avatar cycle returns to Air?" which presumably would fall to one of Aang's descendants, but the Air Nomads were gone.Anyway, about the VA thing.That's understandable, I just don't know if the SAG would have anything to gain by interfering with a personal/private matter, one not involving any money changing hands.Mari mentioned this example to me earlier, but David Cross did some VA work for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a non-union cartoon, under a pseudonym. He admitted it later in an interview, but the SAG didn't really seem to care, or even react.Maybe the risk being there is enough of a reason to avoid it, but would they really bring the hammer down on DoD if they frequently don't care about actual paid work that's aired on TV? Like I said before, we didn't hear about any problems with Dante Basco throwing the Zutarans a bone.
>>69939From the looks of things, a vampire of the Dio Brando variety.
>>69983WINSLOW!You know what you must draw.
>>69976> the next best thing since urinal cakes...wait, what?
>>69946Vampzula is the best!
>>69989
>>69991I disagree. I believe this picture is best
>>69986 You know, urinal cakes. The little round pink things you throw in the urinal to make it smell not terrible. Genius really...
>>69996 They are fun to pee on in public urinals.It's like a little game. Especially when you are pished.
A title like 'The Dawning of Darkness' WOULD make more sense if it was a story about a VampAzula.
Oh, I see we've moved. Awesome.That Azula drawing was done before I joined DoD. It really has absolutely nothing to do with the storyline. >>69958 Aw, thanks! <3And, uh, since someone asked: http://venicegirl.deviantart.com/>>69971 No worries. Yes, those are flashback airbenders.
>>70001>That Azula drawing was done before I joined DoD. It really has absolutely nothing to do with the storyline. So it's on the website, why? There ought to be more of your art up there since it's also good and a much better representation.Hey, I have a question. Since DoD allegedly already has professional voice actors and writers...who's animating?
>>69991Azula's face here makes me exceptionally happy.
OK, this is long, but hopefully it answers most of the questions posed:The original DoD script was ... not great. I showed it to a writer friend of mine for some laughs, and I was surprised when he said it had potential. He took the ideas and ran with them, added comedy and brightness and life to the characters, and the end result was a script that was actually more than halfway decent. I like it, anyway, and I'm pretty picky.We're taking part in this for several reasons:One, an animated fan piece with separate actors, writers, and animators was something we'd never seen before,Two, after looking at Avatar: The Last Airbender, we all fell in love with its world and mythology and characters, and like you, hated to see it end,Three, we like seeing amateurs grow in talent through this project. Who knows, some of these people might become professionals later on. They're really quite good. Four, we're pretty small potatoes in our own worlds, but in DoD, our bit of knowledge makes us gods ;) Our opinions are taken seriously and we actually get creative input into characters, plots, and advertising. We even get to take on roles we never get to in real life! I've never directed actors before, but I get to do it here.I know that the character promo with Kienya doesn't have audio quality nearly as good as the others, but she was using a different kind of recording program at the time and I hated to leave out the main character. The actress may rerecord it, though.I'm voicing Azula and Katara.Azula is NOT a vampire, to my knowledge. Some of the artwork you see on the DA site are just concept pieces that get taken out of the storyline. The characters have There is no hidden colony of airbenders, at least not to my knowledge. Some of the storyline goes back in the past to explain the future, however. So there are some airbender monks in the show, but they've been gone from the world a long time. Advertising is just that -- advertising. We hope that rampant fandom will keep us around when Viacom demands that we take down our work. It IS an amateur project, however, and while we're proud of it, it is a learning work in progress.>> Things like the Screen Actor's Guild do exist and they do technically disallow members from working with producers that don't have an agreement with the Guild. Sometimes, especially for anime VA work, people do it anyway and the SAG doesn't seem to care, but I can understand someone not wanting to risk it.THIS. While SAG may not care, producers DO, and I can tell you from experience that my own director would kick my ass if he knew I was spending so much time on a "side project", especially since I've signed a contract saying I wouldn't do exactly that without prior permission. And if he or the company decide to make a big stink about it, I could lose my SAG membership. Which means a LOT.
Ur, I meant to say "The characters have changed since then." In my unfinished sentence. Which you probably noticed. Sorry about that.
>>70008>he original DoD script was ... not great. I showed it to a writer friend of mine for some laughs, and I was surprised when he said it had potential. He took the ideas and ran with them, added comedy and brightness and life to the characters, and the end result was a script that was actually more than halfway decent.This makes a lot of sense now. Based on what I've seen of Kiffer's online profiles, "comedy and brightness" would need to come from outside sources.Anyway, this all sounds really cool, and I wish you the best of luck with the project (and avoiding your boss's wrath).
Any new test animations or anything?
>>70016We're working on a new trailer with one of the "villian" characters, although it won't contain much animation, from what I've been told. The new prologue should be out.... soon! "Should" is the operative word here.>> A bunch of successful 20-or-30-somethings are helping to make a young teen's dream come true.>> I think the creator must have a terminal disease or something.ROTFLMAO
>>70020i hope you got the dude who did the gaang jr trailer.
>>70020That's cool...>"Should" is the operative word here....but I'm more worried about the relative term "soon".
>So it's on the website, why? There ought to be more of your art up there since it's also good and a much better representation.I think it's because our website's art gallery hasn't been updated in... well, forever.It's still concept art, no matter how old it is. Besides, we are keeping a few of those designs (with some modifications).Our deviantart account is where we regularly update with our art now: http://avatar-the-dod.deviantart.com/
>>70008Thanks for the info! I think I'm actually looking forward to this now. Can't wait to see what you guys come up with.It's set me to wondering...do professional industry types usually skulk about the internet looking for fan-series ideas to moonlight their skills for? Because goodness knows we've got at least a half-dozen milling around the place...
>>70020PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY ONE OF THE CHARACTER'S NAMES IS JILLIAN.I mean, fuck, everything else I'm totally fine with, impressed, even, but JILLIAN?! Why would you give a character in an ancient, Asian setting a modern American name? WHY?!
>>70030Not usually, no :D But I can tell you that quite a few "showbiz types" will visit fansites to see what people are saying about them... I mean, that's a pretty hard temptation to resist. I know at least 2 actors who frequent their fansites on a regular basis -- to bash the hell out of them. "[This actor] sucks, nothing he does is good, how can you like him," etc., etc. He loves to see people come to his defense.
>>70037 We actual discussed this in the other thread starting here---> >>66522 and continuing down for a bit.
>>70037>>70040And despite the "consensus" we reached, I'm still wondering that, too. Please remember my words, a name like that seriously breaks the naming conventions of the world. Reducing believability in your work will remind people that it's a fan project in a big bad way.I know Venice already said they voted on a possible name change, and the notion didn't pass. I say "vote again." It's terribly distracting, a name like that, and will dog the project. I know some audio's probably already been recorded, or a script already drafted, but even Ji Lian would work better, they could say "Ji" as a nickname and the like.And I'm sorry, but saying the parents gave her a weird name on purpose is a bit of a lame cop out. Zappa's kids have weird names, but the kids themselves are quite the characters, just read Zappa's autobiography, they're a product of who they were raised by. That said, if you all go the "Jillian's parents were weird" route, would you be willing to have that as a constant running gag? Would it be something that really defines this character? Can it be something that doesn't get old, fast, or doesn't interfere with the narrative?To balance out the criticism a hair, I'll add some good news. I've decided to take Sweettalker and her buds' words and figure you guys are probably legit. So I'm actually curious now that I know not to knee-jerk dismiss the whole thing as ridiculous since you've got some professional consideration going into this.
>>70043 I know. And trust me, we tried. We were coming up with different name possibilities and being very vocal about it on the forums. There's nothing more we can do.At this point in time, change won't be happening.I try to not think about it and press on...
>>70045Well that's disappointing and a half, what exactly stopped the change? I can't think of any good reason to have kept the name, since nobody outside of the project has any knowledge of the story or character. Had they simply already recorded lines using that name?
>>70045In all fairness, the names in Gaang Jr are a little silly (though they do fit with the setting), and if we suddenly wanted to make them less derivative, it would be hard at this point. (But I guess in our case we've already "released" a fair amount of stuff, while DoD is still all in development.)
>>70045That's just....No.Why not name an Earthbending Sifu "Bruce"? That would fit in with the Avatar Universe just as nicely.
>>70050Man, whenever someone says Bruce I get visions of either Mr. Wayne or that Monty Python sketch.In this case it's the latter. Now I want to see a Sandbender with a pith helmet, khakis, and an Aussie accent so thick you could take a machete to it.
>>70051Crack tubes!
>>70045 You're still in development, stop being so silly and just CHANGE IT.
>>70069We're not in development. We're in the middle of production.And we're working on the issue, thanks. Keep your shirts on.
>>70069And it takes more than one person's notion to "just change it". There's quite a few people on staff. The character development team alone is a dozen people.
>>70077 I can't believe some kiddy's generic emo fanfic could spread like that.
>>70050
>>70080Hello, Lee Jun Fan, fancy meeting you here!
>>70077Are you serious?>>70078Fucking seconded.
Alright, let's not let this whole shebang deteriorate into name-calling again. If they haven't been able to reach a consensus on changing the name, that's that. At least the problem is one that is known.Looked through the DeviantArt, and I will give credit where it is due: you guys are certainly much more organized than we are with Gaang Jr. (though I think that's at least due to the more lax playroom-floor attitude being taken with Gaang Jr.).One question, and one suggestion. First off, what're the Four Nation Boxes about? Maybe I just didn't look long or hard enough, but I couldn't tell.And my suggestion is the same one I gave to Gaang Jr. back when we were still in single-digit threads; this project could seriously benefit from a Wiki. It would help keep everything organized and give new people a dandy place to get in on the ground level.Also, I can't get that Bruce the Sandbending Sifu idea to leave me alone. CURSE YOU, MURPHY!
>>70077Sounds like too many cooks.
>Looked through the DeviantArtYeah, so did I. Where I saw this:"Avatar-The-DoDThe Best Avatar Fic On The Web"Classy, y'all. Classy.
>Looked through the DeviantArt, and I will give credit where it is due: you guys are certainly much more organized than we are with Gaang Jr. (though I think that's at least due to the more lax playroom-floor attitude being taken with Gaang Jr.). Then again, DoD requires a great amount of organization. Or else chaos reigns. Haha.But I like the fact that Gaang Jr doesn't need to be quite as organized. It is a free-for-all, after all.>First off, what're the Four Nation Boxes about? Maybe I just didn't look long or hard enough, but I couldn't tell.You'll be seeing them in Episode 1... and perhaps in something sooner.>...this project could seriously benefit from a Wiki.Yes, we think so too. We have one, but we've pretty much done nothing with it. I think we're going to get it up and running...
>>70347>>Are YOU fast enough to see this Ghost Bump?Why yes, ghost bumper, yes I am. Now for content, uh... how about that DoD guys?
>>70348No noose is good noose.
http://www.uncleyo.com/uy2009/2009/11/10/fan-based-avatar-group-discovered/"As I often say in my act, American fan cliques have a habit of celebrating their loves by taking in their beloved source material, and rework it somehow.I’m talking about how fans can dress like Pokemon in tuxedos, creating a gothic-lolita version of the Akatsuki from Naruto, and how groups like DoD can exist.I’d like to call your attention to a fan-based creation based on the acclaimed series Avatar: The Last Airbender. By taking the series 50 years into the future, they are able to play with the most important two words in fanfic-writing: “What If?”They can be found here, still in their germination stage, but loaded with potential.The group is called Avatar: The Dawning of Darkness. They work for no profit, they work from home using flash animation, and their dedication is astonishing. Depending on how they treat their world, both their original characters and pre-existing ones from Avatar itself, their season may turn out to be more accurate than whatever M. Night Shyamalan."
>>71005>...their season may turn out to be more accurate than whatever M. Night Shyamalan."than whatever M. Night Shyamalan... what?C'mon man, don't leave us hanging! I think Uncle Yo has ADD.
>>71005That's not a review. That's a tweet about a 5-second peek at still no information.
>>71022Yeah, but they got noticed by Uncle Yo.The Uncle Yo!...Who the fuck is Uncle Yo?
>>71023Hes pretty famous if you go to a lot of comic cons. look him up on youtube, hes hilarious.
I think it's hilarious he linked to their YouTube video.Get it?Be...because all their shit is unorganized...heh...and...right? And they have like 9 websites and forums?...I thought it was funny.
>>71029 The run like 9 websites? Why so many?
>>71071Because overexposure is the only substitute availible for quality and content?
>>71072 So your saying that theres no why their fan fic can be any good, but they expect everyone to love it just because its animated?
Just relax and have have a bowl. In the words of spongebob, "If you try it, you'll love it." lol.
>>69948lmao that song
>>71079This is the most nonsensical promotional material I have ever seen for an internet project, and yet I am endeared.And I'd gladly have a bowl if you gave me one.
>>71083 *Hands you a bowl*
You know, seeing any professional talent at all come to support this thing makes me wonder what would happen if someone tried to make a fan project that wasn't overly ambitious and actually had a decent concept behind it.
>>71085 Well why dont you try and see?
>>71085 define decent concept?
>>71086Because we're not professionals, nor do we happen to know any? I'd have loved it if somebody had browsed through something of mine and said "hey, wanna do more with it?" out of nowhere, but it really is something that's rather unusual, you have to admit. I guess we'll have to see where it goes, but I wonder what would have happened if they'd picked a different project to do this with.
>>71089 i must have misunderstood what you said.
>>71090I didn't say it, that was some anon. Maybe by decent concept they mean a concept that Sweettalker didn't show to her friend out of "get a load of this!"My first beef was that Kieffer killed off Aang because he thought he was a pussy for not killing Ozai.
>>71091 I wouldnt go as far as calling Aang a pussy, but a lot of fans were unhappy with Aangs decision. everyone is entitled to their own opinion i suppose.
>>71093>I wouldnt go as far as calling Aang a pussy-Yeah, but the original creator of DoD did. He also thinks Aang wasn't a true prodigy, especially compared to Azula (despite lore saying Aang is the youngest Air Master since Yangchen.)Personally, I think it was the right decision to make, and to think otherwise is missing the point of the story and missing the point of Aang as a character.
>>71094 well to each his own.
>>71092WHATS YOUR SECOnd one? (Caps oops)