Remove ads

RWBY Thread III: Time To Say Goodbye

Reader mode
Stop: So gotta few things that need to be said real quick.
  • Staff Post
    • so gotta few things that need to be said real quick.
    We get a lot of reports from this thread. A lot of it is just a series of people yelling at each other over arguments that have been rehashed hundreds of times since the end of the recent Volume. And I get that the last Volume - and RWBY in general, really - has some controversial moments that people will want to discuss, argue about, debate, etc.

    That's fine. We're not going to stop people from doing that, because that's literally what the point of the thread is. However, there's just a point where it gets to be a bit too much, and arguments about whether or not Ironwood was morally justified in his actions in the recent Volume, or if RWBY and her team were in the right for withholding information from Ironwood out of distrust, or whatever flavor of argument of the day descend into insulting other posters, expressing a demeaning attitude towards other's opinions, and just being overall unpleasant. That tends to happen a lot in this thread. We want it to stop happening in this thread.

    So! As of now the thread is in a higher state of moderation. What that means is that any future infractions will result in a weeklong boot from the thread, and repeated offenders will likely be permanently removed. So please, everyone endeavor to actually respect the other's arguments, and even if you strongly disagree with them please stay civil and mindful when it comes to responding to others.

    In addition, users should refrain from talking about off-site users in the thread. Bear in mind that this does not mean that you cannot continue to post tumblr posts, for example, that add onto the discussion in the thread, with the caveat that it's related to RWBY of course. But any objections to offsite users in the thread should be handled via PM, or they'll be treated as thread violations and infracted as such.
     
    Last edited:
  • Staff Post
    • Remove ads
    [Note] RWBY Director's Commentary (Volume 4)
  • Informational
    • Interesting stuff from the Volume 4 Director's cut

    Volume 4 Director's Cut said:
    RWBY Volume 4 Director's Commentary



    Chapter 1:

    • Kerry talks about how each episode had a 'fuck you' shot, which is a particular shot that was difficult to create across all departments. The opening shot of the Volume was one of these.

    • In a little conversation about how much they've planned in the show, Kerry talks about how they've actually been hanging on to team WTCH (Watts, Tyrian, Cinder and Hazel) since the beginning.

    • Regarding Oscar and his story this volume, Miles and Kerry had more rewrites with him than with anything else in RWBY, trying to figure out the right way to present it. At one point, Oscar's first major scene was going to be in chapter 7, instead of 4.

    • Mentioned in the commentary, but in more detail in the special features, is the fact that CRWBY had a rough start to the volume due to the new production pipeline, which continued for several episodes.

    • "Bad. Landing. Strategy!" was Gray's idea.

    • According to Miles, the Petra Gigas was originally supposed to appear in the Emerald Forest during Volume 1. It was supposed to be a part of the giant nevermore/deathstalker fight, as was a giant Bourbatusk.

    • On that note, they talk about how incredibly different the original 4 episodes of Volume 1 were compared to what we got, and that Fennec and Corsac were originally Volume 1 villains.

    • On the origin of the Geist, Kerry talks about how, at the time Monty was working on the White trailer, he and Miles were thinking of ways for it to make sense, and came up with the idea of a poltergeist Grimm. They say that particular Geist is called an Armor Gigas.

    • The crown on Jaune's shield was first inserted by layout artist Rachel Doda when creating the storyboards. Kerry thought it was a perfect touch and decided to include it in the official design.




    Chapter 2:

    • In regards to the infamous map, Kerry mentions that in one version of the script, RNJR was going to lose the map in a fight of some sort. A similar was also supposed to happen in Chapter 6 involving Tyrian, but decided against it because of how busy CRWBY already was.

    • According to Miles, Jaques is loosely based on Jack Frost, something they try to hint at in the way he keeps his study.

    • Kerry says that writing the final scene of chapter 2 was the first time he cried while writing. Likewise, Miles said he lost his shit while performing mocap for the scene. Apparently everyone who worked on it had a pretty strong emotional reaction to this scene.


    Chapter 3:

    • On the topic of writing RWBY with multiple different storylines all taking place at the same time, Miles called it a 'scary experiment' but is happy overall with how it turned out.

    • Kerry talks about the change from Poser to Maya, and all the new stuff it allows them to do now, but he also talks about how they also changed to something called Pencil (I'm sorry but I really not that knowledgeable with this kind of thing :p), a plugin that they've wanted to use for years to help with the look and style of the show. They initially tried to emulate it using Maya, which is what we saw from the Volume 4 Character Short at RTX, but realised it would be much easier for the technical crew if they just used the original tool, so they changed midway through production.

    • Apparently all the animators were super excited once they learned that Blake was losing her bow, and I can't blame them :D

    • The disturbing noises made by the Seer were, just like most Grimm, made by William Orendorff, but these sounds were actually from Volume 1, and were an audition for what the Deathstalker would've sounded like.

    • Miles talks about how they tried to have Salem feel a bit motherly, and not overly cruel, because she's "better than that" and that she has a certain way of talking to each of her lieutenants.


    Chapter 4:

    • Apparently Yang's eye colour was decided because of Taiyang's and Raven's eye colours. Red and Blue making purple.

    • Burnie is apparently very invested in voicing Taiyang, and takes it very seriously. He would go over the script with Miles and Kerry before recording sessions and they talk about how Burnie will listen to Yang's lines and efforts, and try and make Taiyang's similar, as a way of representing how Yang was influenced by her Father. It's also mentioned that Joel is similar when it comes to portraying Oobleck.

    • When it came to naming all the villages in Anima, they wanted to keep the theme of Mistral being heavily inspired by Eastern influences, so they named villages after the Japanese names for certain flowers.

    • Going back to the 'fuck you' shots, the long shot including RNJR entering the inn and Qrow watching was one of them. Apparently the shot just wouldn't render a number of times.

    • Originally, the inn and the pub were the same building, but were separated when they couldn't figure out how to fit Raven into the scene.


    Chapter 5:

    • Miles says he cried while writing Blake's reunion with her parents, and that the Belladonna's are some of his favourite characters.

    • Fennec and Corsac, as mentioned earlier, were characters originally conceived pre Volume 1, being the 2nd and 3rd Faunus thought about after Blake.


    Chapter 6:

    • In the charity scene, Koen says that there are around 100 different, unique people in the room, each with differing clothing.

    • When describing Henry Marigold to concept artist Erin Winn, Kerry told her to draw a 'posery, imposter Neptune'.

    • When Weiss is yelling and grabbing everyone's attention, there's a version where one waiter doesn't pay any attention to her and keeps walking normally. Dude's gotta get those drinks around.

    • Tyrian's jacket, despite being one of Kerry's favourite design aspects, was a real hassle for the animators and the rigging team, so much so that he was animated without his jacket on, and then would add it afterwards.


    Chapter 7:

    • The original plan with Ozpin was to not reveal him as having anything to do with Oscar until the very end of the Volume.

    • This episode was the first time proper reflections were used in a mirror in any Rooster Teeth production. Before they would simply fake it.

    • Originally the start of Qrow fighting Tyrian was reversed, with Qrow being the one to interrupt Tyrian mid sentence to start the fight.

    • When it came to Tyrian swearing, some thought went into whether they could get around it, originally having him say witch instead. Ultimately, Miles and Kerry decided it was the right time for things to get a bit more mature.


    Chapter 8:

    • Miles says the whole campfire scene was probably the most difficult thing in the Volume to write, simply due to how much they needed to cover. Also, Kerry says more people worked on this scene than any other in the Volume.

    • The two brothers was Miles' idea, and his first major contribution to the series, obviously one of the first parts of the show that was conceived.

    • Miles was the one who wrote the majority of Blake scenes in Volume 4. When she's slapping Sun, Miles only intended it to be soft slaps on the shoulder, so he was quite surprised by the end result.


    Chapter 9:

    • When remodelling all the characters in Maya, they were mostly kept the same in terms of their faces and hair. Yang was the only one who had a significant change done to her hair, and originally Ruby's hair was changed in a way so the lighting would look better and it could move better, but it didn't feel right, so the change was reverted.

    • Apparently there were several colour combinations the were tried with Ilia that "did not work".

    • All the patches of mud on the ground were originally water puddles, but Kerry forgot that while the scene was being animated.




    Chapter 10:

    • One of Gray's headcanons is that the little bit of pink in Ren's hair was done by Nora and that he decided to keep it. Even if it's not true this is totally one of my new headcanons.

    • In the scene with Nora being bullied, Miles jokes about that if you feel bad about it, those other kids likely died the next day. To follow that up, Kerry then mentions that they actually considered to have one of those kids lying face down on the ground in the background during the attack. Damn.

    • According to Miles, they actually described Ren's father in the script as "A handsome Hanzo looking motherfucker".

    • One of the ideas they had that didn't make it into the episode involved Ren's father going to see the mayor. Since he's a hunter, and he had just returned from a hunt, Li was going to talk to the mayor about how they didn't find any animals and it was almost as if they had been spooked away, and that they should get a Huntsman to come and investigate.

    • According to Kerry, Jaune and Ruby's moment was originally going to end with them hugging, but was cut due to time and Kerry not wanting people to "worry".

    • Miles says that his favourite Grimm was supposed to show up in Volume 4, but unfortunately had to be cut. One day. However, after seeing what Kerry did with the Nuckelavee, he says that it might be his new favourite.

    • Kerry says that the fight from chapter 12 was fully animated before any of the shots from chapter 10 were done.

    • Kerry made a Rensexual joke. We did it! :D

    • The Shione banners were added late in post production of chapter 2 because at that time Miles and Kerry were still writing the last few episodes, and came up with the idea of the banner hitting Ren before they realised that at the time they didn't exist.


    Chapter 11:

    • Recording Tyrian's efforts in this episode was a ton of fun according to Miles.

    • Kerry's "proudest accomplishment of this Volume" was having the photo of Whitely on Jacques' desk be face down after Ironwood slams down on it.

    • Kerry talks about Sun's abs (as you do) and actually reveals that, contrary to popular belief, they didn't remove them, but instead Sun's model was made to be more muscular and they would be picked up by lighting and shadows instead.


    Chapter 12:

    • When talking about the fight, it's mentioned there were several different versions of it. They don't go into detail, but Kerry does mention that Qrow was originally supposed to do something, but Miles reminds him it's something they can't talk about .

    • According to Miles, When William Orendorff was making the screams for the Nuckelavee, he's actually screaming the word 'die'.To add to that, most of the noises made were William pretty much screaming while inhaling, and also running his fingers along his throat to produce some of the sounds. There's some video of it in the special features, it's the coolest/scariest thing I've ever seen.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
     
  • Informational
    • We didn't learn a ton but that's cool.

    I am glad they revealed Ozpin early to be honest, otherwise I would have found following Oscar irritating.

    Also my biggest take away in terms of fun is that the brothers were likely slated to fill Roman's role before he became a thing which is interesting.
     
    An interview with Barbara about RWBY.


    DVDanger: RWBY Volume 4: Star Barbara Dunkelman on Rooster Teeth's anime smash - Screens - The Austin Chronicle
    DVDanger: RWBY Volume 4

    Star Barbara Dunkelman on Rooster Teeth's anime smash

    BY RICHARD WHITTAKER, 3:30PM, THU. JUN. 8, 2017

    There's a stack half-empty pizza boxes at Rooster Teeth. It's not leftovers from a production meeting, but the happy vestiges of a Make-a-Wish visit to the Austin-based online studio. It's all part of Barbara Dunkelman's job as the company's community manager, but it's not her only job around here.

    It seems a far remove from the animated character that has made her famous: the gun-gauntlet-wielding Yang, one of the core characters in Austin-based Rooster Teeth's breakout success anime RWBY (season 4 of the show hits Blu-ray this week). Yet there's more in common between the two roles than it seems.

    The transition from community manager to star (while keeping up her day job, and adding marketing manager and co-manager of Rooster Teeth's annual convention RTX to her resume) might seem unlikely. However, according to Dunkelman, it's all part of the studio's DIY, everyone-does-everything tradition. She said, "A lot of people ask, 'How do you get into voice acting?' and I don't really have a great story for them."

    It all began when RWBY creator Monty Oum showed her a design for a character "with blond hair and big boobs, and he told me, 'how do you feel about playing a Goldilocks-type character in an anime?' I was like, 'That sounds awesome.'" After what she called "an unofficial audition type-of-thing, they just went, 'Yup, this is you.'

    In many ways, the character was a natural fit for her, and it wasn't just the physical similarities. She said, "The guys writing the show, Miles [Luna] and Kerry [Shawcross] and Monty, they knew me very well, and they wanted to transfer a lot of my character traits and personality traits onto Yang." As community manager, she said, "I'd been caring for these millions of kids, I guess, for a couple of years, and they took that aspect into Yang and made her a motherly, caring character, but who also likes to have fun and is very outgoing. So it's the perfect combination of different sides of me."


    "[The Writers] knew me very well, and they wanted to transfer a lot of my character traits and personality traits onto Yang." Barbara Dunkelman on the origins of her breakout character in Rooster Teeth's groundbreaking American anime RWBY (Image courtesy of Rooster Teeth)

    Being so closely identified with the character can be a confusing experience, as people constantly refer to Dunkelman as Yang by accident, or expect the character to change her hair color whenever the actress does. she described her own experience first seeing Yang as a completed animated character in action as "surreal [and] strange. My voice is going to be coming out of that? That's me, and she's way cooler and more stylish than I ever will be, and I can never fight like that, and I never will be able to."

    Even before the show, Dunkelman was a star within the extensive RT community because of her engagement with fans online. The first clue that this new role was going to be something different was RTX 2013: Even before the show had debuted, cosplayers had made costumes just from the trailers and concept art. She said, "That's when we all knew something special was going on. But for me personally, I'm used to signing autographs as Barbara. Whenever I would sign with somebody like [RT founders] Burnie [Burns] or Joel [Heyman] or Gus [Sorola], it would always be, 'Oh, I have this Red vs. Blue poster for them to sign.' Sometimes they would have me sign that or sign something else, and at RTX that year they started bringing RWBY posters that they only wanted me to sign, and not Joel and not Burnie. 'Wait, what, you want me, and not this guy?' That was very surreal, very eye-opening."

    Four years on, and she's in the even more surreal position of having action figures and merchandise based on the character based on her. She noted, with a slightly embarrassed pride, that her parents collect one of everything, while she also collects all the fan art that she is sent. "There's this piece a girl called Natty did for me. It's a picture of me as Yang, so it still has all the Yang clothes and hair, but it's my length, and she's got blue eyes. It's just this beautiful portrait."

    The addition of RWBY, with four female protagonists, changed the perception of Rooster Teeth as a guy-gamer environment – although Dunkelman stressed that, with the success of strong female characters like Tex in Red vs. Blue, that was a perception, not the reality. However, she added, "I think that we're discovering a lot more that we really do have a strong female audience. Maybe they're a little less quiet than they were before, but they're definitely out there."

    "To have to place myself in that mindset was challenging, but I think the most fun I've had doing (Yang's) voice, I guess just because I got to get out of my comfort zone."
    The loyal fanbase has seen some major changes in the characters over the first three seasons, with Yang undergoing one of the most dramatic and shocking at the end of season three when she lost her arm. That's something that was planned well ahead: Dunkelman said, "I was warned about that, just so I wouldn't be taken by surprise when I read the script." However, she tries to stay as spoiler-free as possible, watching the completed episodes as they go online, at the same time as the fans.

    During recording for season 4, that was easier than ever, as the four leads went their separate ways: Ruby (Lindsay Jones) is off hunting Grimm, the uncanny monsters that stalk the land; Weiss (Kara Eberle) has returned to her aristocratic family, while Blake (Arryn Zech) undergoes a surprising reunion. Meanwhile, Yang is left brooding after her defeat and loss, and is forced to absorb some hard truths about herself before she can help bring the team back together.

    In a season where all the characters show a different side, it's a particularly vital crossroads for Yang, and for Dunkelman as her voice. She said, "Going into this season, having to do her completely differently than I've ever done her before, and have this mentality of loss and hopelessness. … To have to place myself in that mindset was challenging, but I think the most fun I've had doing her voice, I guess just because I got to get out of my comfort zone."

    Yet it's exactly that struggle, filled with the idea that there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel, that has helped bond fans to the show. Dunkelman said, "There's been a lot of fans saying that RWBY saved their lives, or Rooster Teeth saved their lives, because they were able to find something that made them smile when they couldn't smile, or it brought them into a community when they had no friends. Things like that affect me all the time. Even if we can do that for one person, that makes it all worth it, and the fact that we can do it on a global scale is the biggest honor that any of us can have."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I daaaaawed a little bit at the part where her parents buy one of each Yang merchandise that gets made. They must be so proud of their little girl. :):):)<3<3<3
     
    Last edited:
    Remove ads

    new ep is up
    Also just noticed that the color scheme of Sun's controller is the same as an N64 controller even the 4 yellow buttons coincide with the 4 Yellow C buttons.
     
    Last edited:
    Chibi Velvet is the best thing since sliced bread. :lol

    Edit:


    I hope its actually canon that Faunus with extra ears have a wider range of hearing. After all aside from maybe horned or cat-tailed Faunus they really seem to get the short end of the stick compared to monkey tail Faunus who basically get a third arm/hand, Chameleon Faunus that get cool ninja powers, Scorpion Faunus that get a extra set of deadly weapons, lizard faunus that get regeneration, etc.
     
    Last edited:
    [News] Interview with Barbara Dunkelman (Mithical Entertainment)
  • Informational
    • Another interview with Barbara
    Mithical Entertainment Interviews: Rooster Teeth's Barbara Dunkelman! - Mithical Entertainment

    Fans of the Rooster Teeth series RWBY, indeed, with the company in general, are no doubt familiar with our guest today: Barbara Dunkelman. Following the success of the Internet Box podcast, Barbara joined the Rooster Teeth family in 2012 as their very first Community Manager. Since then, her role has grown to include Program Director for RTX, as well as a sweet little side gig known as "Voice Acting". She's helped to bring the fiery character of Yang Xiao Long to life since 2013, and in light of Volume 4's recent release, agreed to answer a few questions for us!

    With RWBY now entering its 5th Volume, what would you say is the most exciting or interesting thing you've been able to do specifically because of RWBY as opposed to your other work at Rooster Teeth?

    The most exciting thing is getting to travel to so many conventions for my work in RWBY, and getting to travel with my fellow cast members of the show. It's crazy to see how big RWBY has become all over the world, and having fans want to meet us solely for our work in RWBY. Getting to go to these events and be in the presence of other famous voice actors and actors is very surreal, and it's unbelievable that we're held in a similar regard.

    What aspect, if any, of Yang, do you find yourself most drawn to or relating most strongly to?

    The thing I relate most strongly to with Yang is her care for those she loves. I've always cared strongly and passionately for people in my life, and would do anything for them, just like Yang. I also feed off the energy of those around me, and admire the outgoing, charismatic personality that Yang has, and try to emulate that in my every day life.

    In the previous volume, Yang suffered one of the first lasting injuries that a main character has taken in RWBY. What were your thoughts when you found out Yang was going to lose her arm?

    It's going to sound weird, but I was actually very excited when I heard Yang was going to lose an arm. I knew it would shake the audience and be a huge moment in the show, but I was excited for the changes it would cause in Yang and getting to experience the character in a completely different way. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I look forward to see how she'll get stronger.


    On a related note, as of Volume 4, Yang is dealing with her teammates running off to the four corners of Remnant as well as PTSD. Has this change affected your process for voice acting?

    It has definitely affected my process in voice acting. I'm so used to voicing Yang in a manner where she is happy, surrounded by her friends and team mates. To be able to place myself in that mind set was always easier. However, now, I have to try to get myself to a place where I feel alone, scared, shaken, and defeated – luckily, not a feeling I'm used to. It's changed a lot about how I think of the character, and has made me respect her more.

    Finally, what's your favorite Yang-related pun you've made or heard?
    I've heard so many… it's hard to pick just one. I've heard plenty about her arm; being disarmed, armed and dangerous, giving someone a hand, etc. It cuts so deep!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
     
  • Informational

    • Full soundtrack's out.
    EDIT: Nevermind, I jumped the gun. It appears they're just reminding us to pre-order it to get the four songs already released if you do so. Actual release date is still this Friday.
     
    Last edited:
    Remove ads
    Wasn't the meta reason for the "combat skirt" tech more or less a hand wave on why the skirts on the girls didn't were not properly animated due to limited tech so other basic actions such as walking/running etc were not really do able?
     
    Last edited:
    Sucal said:
    The world hasn't recovered since Nora shattered it
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Wait, when did that happen?

    Tython82 said:
    Wasn't the meta reason for the "combat skirt" tech more or less a hand wave on why the skirts on the girls didn't were not properly animated due to limited tech so other basic actions such as walking/running etc were not really do able?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Maybe, but IIRC Monty also said that he didn't liked the Pantyshot trope.
     
    ElMariachi said:
    Maybe, but IIRC Monty also said that he didn't liked the Pantyshot trope.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    If that was what he'd said it'd have been kind of hypocritical of him considering his earlier work. He just wanted his first serious work to have fight scenes that weren't full of gratuitous panty-flashing without sacrificing the skirts themselves. Plus, they weren't really sure what exactly the demographic for RWBY would be, which is also why there's a minimum of swearing (which is very outside the norm of Rooster Teeth productions).
     
    An update on RWBY Appearing on Japanese TV.

    夏アニメ『RWBY』サンテレビ・AbemaTVでも放送決定 | アニメイトタイムズ
    translation said:
    From 7th July, the animation "RWBY Volume 1-3: The Beginning" which is scheduled to start broadcasting at TOKYO MX. It has been decided that it will be broadcast on Sun TV, AbemaTV!

    VOLUME 1 in 2015, VOLUME 2, 3 in 2016 was made Japanese dub version, the topic was introduced from the United States 3D CG animation series "RWBY". RWBY Volume 1-3: The Beginning this time reedited the RWBY VOLUME 1-3 to TV format. For Japanese dubbing, popular voice actors such as Saori Hayami, Yoko Hikasa, Yu Shimamura, Ami Koshimizu and others are participating.

    ● What is the "RWBY" series?
    3DCG WEB animation series produced by the North American image studio "Rooster Teeth". The main staff consists of members who love animation in Japan, and the number of series playbacks on YouTube is over 100 million. Current version, VOLUME 4 is being distributed on YouTube.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top