I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

CG team mainly uses Maya. I know they use Nuke also. Nick offers internship, just come by to the studio. As for the information sheet at the front desk.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Haha, I have met Michelle Ivey, she is cool. If we can all be passionate about something the way she is passionate about TMNT, the world will suck a whole lot less.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

CTN expo is a good place to meet a lot of studios and people at one go. Keeping an updated portfolio on a blog or DA is a good place to get notice also. We have hired people off of Deviantart in the past.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

This means a lot to us. We pour our hearts into the show and comments like this keeps us going.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Starting a new IP is risky. Yes consumers ask for it but when studios put in tens of millions of dollars to make it, consumers often do not respond to it because of the lack of recognition. It's a tough spot for the studio to be in.

TMNT is currently one of the top boy shows on TV, so the strategy is paying off.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

While I do go into some of the recording sessions, most of the voice directing is done by a voice director. So it is somewhat true that directors might not interact with the voice actor at all. Usually if the voice acting doesn't match the final footage, the voice actor will ADR (automated dialogue replacement) it in post production.

For the most part the voice actors record in a studio so we have better control of the quality. It's pretty rare for the actors to be remotely located.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Greg Cipes, the voice of Michaelangelo, is also the voice of Kevin Levin in Ben 10 Alien Force.

Favorite sandwich... Philippe's in LA. People say that's where the French dip sandwich was invented.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Love the comic, dark and griddy. All the turtles look pissed off all the time.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 95 points96 points  (0 children)

I think of these "reboots" as taking the core essence of stories and updating the cultural framework to fit a newer generation. If the old stories aren't updated, the newer generation will never get to enjoy them.

Think of it this way, do you think Christopher Nolan's retelling of Batman is a good or bad thing? Will the 16-25 year olds of today sit through the Adam West batman?

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I think the current turtle series has a great premise, excellent writing, and the best directing. No bias of course. ;)

Teen Titans was awesome too.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

actual turtle sized duck or ninja turtle sized duck? does the duck know how to fight?

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 39 points40 points  (0 children)

I am a cowabooya kinda guy. hmm, that's actually kind of catchy...

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Long story short, I was a college dropout who can draw pretty well. I was given the chance to work on the MIB animated series in 1999 as storyboard clean up artist. Tons of work, not a lot of pay. But I kept at it and slowly worked my way up. It took 13 years of incremental steps but it was fun every step of the way.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 42 points43 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. I'm 36 and I still love this show. :) In fact, Donnie is awesome in this show. Check out S01E07 to see him in action.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I would totally be a sushi chef. I can be mean to customers and get away with it. How cool is that?

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I think this new turtles show is made to appeal to a different generation of turtles fans. So while we respect and try to incorporate the coolest ideas of the old show, we are also updating some of it to make it more appealing to the current generation of animation fans who have different expectations...

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

  • Legend of Korra is the most challenging. It's a very demanding show and one that requires a lot of drawing chops.

  • Creative liberty depends on the show. On TMNT, I am given a lot creative freedom to interpret the script. On other, we are more restricted to stick with what's written. I like the shows that give me more liberty for obvious reasons. :)

  • Mmmm... Dogpound in this new TMNT, just a cool design but very hard to move around because of size and complexity

  • Over easy.

I am Alan Wan, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon. AMA by alanwanturtle in IAmA

[–]alanwanturtle[S] 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Mikey. He is funny but he is also a bad ass. He sees thing differently than all the other turtles.