Thread by @korrasearth

summary of the dana terrace & matt braly interview

link to the video:

because of covid, show writing and communication between people has changed. adapting to working at home is a big change.

they both didn't have much writing experience prior to their shows being greenlit. it was terrifying to step into these new experiences. matt says you've got to fake it till you make it. there was a big learning curve, but they love it a lot.

dana always had trouble communicating and talking to other people, so everyone had doubts in her. but getting to write the owl house gives her so much joy.

matt wrote the script for amphibia s1e11 in one weekend and was really proud of it, but he got so many notes when he turned it in. but he really enjoyed writing the scripts and it felt good when it was done.

luz not wanting to be tied down to a certain track reminds them of how they don't just want to be just an animator, or just a scriptwriter. they love doing it all.

there was lots of studio interference during s1b, lots of conflicting notes from executives and it was hard to finish the episodes. the tone of the first 14 episodes didn't feel like the show. it wasn't until "understanding willow" dana really felt like she was getting there.

matt says they produced the episodes out of order, but looking back doing it linearly would have been the better choice. shows with episode progression rather than standalone episodes need more time to complete.

matt feels amphibia s1e3 stakeout was when the characters started clicking together. it usually takes a few episodes for characters to finally click.

they really wanted their shows to resonate with both younger and older audiences. dana pitched toh as a 13 to young adult show. that was her targeted audience. dana loves making moody stories with angst

they are sometimes told that jokes for kids (being pantsed, a fart joke, etc.) would be the best option, but its not usually what they want. dana says that studios probably wish that toh was more kiddy.

dana thinks it would benefit studios and streaming services to make animated shows for that gap (teens and young adults). matt brings up avatar the last airbender and infinity train as examples. but those shows still need to conform to younger audiences.

they really love seeing the response of people enjoying representation in the show and connecting to the characters. the positive response to lgbtq+ rep especially, since its been shut down by studios so many times.

"lost in language" was when the lgbtq+ rep first got shown when luz blushed at edric AND emira. lost in language was an interesting episode to write

emira and edric always had the same half-lidded eye expression and dana gave a note to give them more expression

they both feel lucky being able to create shows with the representation they wanted as kids (asian and lgbtq+ rep)

eda is dana's favorite character to write because shes in her 40's. she also enjoys writing lgbtq+ rep and says rebecca sugar and noelle stevenson definitely paved the way

variety in characters is important to both of them. matt brings up anne and marcy and how its great that amphibia has two female asian characters that are different from one another

matt says it was a gamble to pace out the introductions of anne marcy and sasha. but it was important to pace out the story and give each character enough time to develop

sasha and marcy's V/A's were almost casted as anne. matt also loved putting video game references in the game. the trio is inspired by matt and his friends

the owl house character proportions are inspired by pokemon trainers, and lots of the creatures in the show are inspired by pokemon.

dana says it's extremely important to have context on why bully characters act the way they do. in reference to amity, it was important for dana to explore her home life and motives. not all villains deserve a second chance, but it's important to have context.

dana has always struggled with writing amity because she is the character dana most relates to.

dana didn't think amity would be so popular, it was a big surprise. she wasn't expecting the reactions to lilith either. she brings up the "cancel lilith" trend. she loves how passionate people are

matt loved reading about and hearing the response on why sasha let go at the end of reunion

dana tried to license a song for the toh season 2 finale but it was very expensive.

she tried to liscense a song from the band "the binoculars" and says we should try to guess which song she wanted to use

rebecca brings up how grom revealing amity's fear of being rejected by luz could also be a metaphor for being outed. dana says that was not planned but the people who relate to that interpretation are valid.

dana says the owl house universe is one she wanted to be free of homophobia, transphobia, etc. it's important to show those struggles people face, but it's also important to portray those things completely normalized. so homophobia, transphobia, etc. don't exist in toh

matt says your interpretations of characters are completely valid. it was not his intention to represent a neurodivergent person with marcy, but he loves the interpretation.

dana takes back what she says in her tumblr q&a. it was not her intention to give luz adhd, but it was her intention to make her neurodivergent (she just didn't know the word for it). dana says luz is canonically neurodivergent!!

they both bring up how close the fandom is with lots of their predictions

matt and dana both edit their own trailers. dana was nervous that they were showing too much but she loved the positive reception. she bring up the hype when amity puts her hands on luz's shoulders.

rebecca brings up when dana said "there really isn't" when someone said there was no heterosexual explanation for that shot

dana shows the new intro card!

"be gay, do witchcraft" -dana terrace

end of thread! this took so long pls retweet lol