Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521244
Not every set was suitable for production on the Volume. We needed an entire village to shoot several scenes and then light on fire for the end of the episode. This was considered for the Volume but it was becoming increasingly clear that we were trying to do too much in that space. It's also a great idea every once in a while, to get off the stages and away from the studio and do it the old-fashioned way. Location found a gravel quarry about thirty miles from Vancouver. It was an active quarry but we were headed into winter, so it was a slow time for them. We had a concept that was based on a traditional Japanese village. The idea was to have elevation and to see mountainous terrain. To make things easier for construction, Marshall McMahon designed four different hut kits. A lot of the parts were standardized so they could be mixed and matched. This was definitely considered a very remote location and not an easy build. The show opens with a man running through a long series of back alleys. He's being chased by soldiers. He needs to use every trick in the book to get away. This required a very big, elaborate set build. We did this during a period of additional photography, so I had a TON of flats that I could repurpose to make these alleyways. We could also add walls to create dead ends and diversions. This was truly a recycled set in every way. We created molds to make interlocking cobblestone roads for the entire set. Since the source material was a cartoon, we had a bit of leeway. Things COULD look less authentic A B A. KYOSHI VILLAGE. BUILT SET ON LOCATION IN VANCOUVER IS A GRAVEL PIT. SET PHOTO. B. KYOSHI VILLAGE CONCEPT DRAWING BY LAURENT BEN-MIMOUN. C. FIRE NATION BACK ALLEYS PLAN. D. FIRE NATION BACK ALLEYS. MODEL VIEW. E. FIRE NATION AIRSHIP ON GREEN SCREEN. FULL BUILD. SET PHOTO. F. FINAL ALLEY BUILD ON STAGE. NO VOLUME. SET PHOTO. G. AIRSHIP CONCEPT DRAWING BY RAY LAI.