Steven Universe SDCC 2016 Q&A Panel Transcript

This post is intended for those who want to be able to quickly reference something said at SDCC 2016

Note: Questions are summarized. I’ve tried to transcript the answers as faithfully as possible.

-----

Q: Who is Love Like You addressing?

A: (Rebecca): That’s a very good question, but Love Like You pertains to everyone because it’s a huge theme of the show. Any parallels I think that you’re finding between any character to any other character is completely legit. The theme of having to learn to….uhh...oh gosh, there’s so much I can say with this song. When I started...and we only thought it would be 30 seconds long, we had no idea we’d keep it going, it was very much to me about all gems to all humans. Sort of looking at what it is to be adored by someone and being shocked by this. (pause) I think as the song went on, as we were continuing to write it I realized that it was more about how you end up actually feeling like that as a human being when you can’t understand why people care about you and it’s impossible to care about them back. Like truly (care about someone), you can worship someone  and idolize them, but in order for mutual respect to exist you have to respect yourself. And that’s something going on with almost every other character in the show.

------

Q: Knowing what we know about Pearls now, why did Pearl want to go back to Homeworld so badly? (in Space Race)

A: (Rebecca): I think…this is a….I’m trying to think of a…*everyone laughs* I want to give you an answer...umm...but it maybe spoilers *Ian JQ moves it to next question* (Rebecca): That’s a good question.

(Ian JQ): That’s a great question, we just can’t answer it.

----

Q: What’s the process of creating a song?

A: (Rebecca): Well, We usually start when we’re writing the premise of the episodes. We want to integrate what’s going on with the plot and how they’re feeling, so the songs have to be linked, so we’ll be like, we need something here, and when the song starts the character will be feeling like this, and when it ends they’ll be feeling like this and that’s what the song has to do, to tell you. And I’ll sort of take that home and work on it for a long time, or Jeff will or Ben will. We all take turns working on songs for the show. And then I’ll make a demo which I’ll end up sending to Steven (Surasshu) and Aivi, and a lot of the times we’ll board to my scratch before we have the voices, but then once those are in we get into the end* (min/max?) stage, a lot of the times we’ll add poses based on the performances. For instance, when I was drawing Pearl, when you (looking towards Deedee) were belting out, because I couldn’t do it in my demo, so once we had you (Deedee) I was like “oh, she has to go bigger, it has to fit” because it was so big on that line, and then once the animation is done, that’s when we get to really finalize the song, and a lot of the time Steven (Surasshu) and Aivi will help me in advance, to make an arrangement or a drum beat so I can fix them on rhythm. It’s just a big back and forth the whole time, it’s not done until basically the week we finish the whole episode.

(Ian JQ:) Yeah, and you know your demos themselves, they’re like a work of art already (Rebecca): Oh, I don’t know… *everyone laughs*
(Surasshu*): Really, we couldn’t do the songs without the demos, they’re lifesavers, it’s amazing
(Deedee Magno Hall): I often sing with the demo. I often sing with Rebecca’s singing, like we’re together
(Ian JQ:) Surasshu, what is it like when you guys get one of those demos and like, try to work it up into like a full song?
(Surasshu): It really depends on the song. A lot of it depends on which character is singing it because every character has it’s own instrument. So like, Pearl would be piano, so, you know, Aivi does basically all the piano on the show, so that’s why it’s good *audience laughs* and then...so Amethyst is more beat, so I’ll do that song and that’s kind of have how we divide it.

-----

Q: Out of the episodes of the StevenNuke, which one is your favorite to work on?

A: (Rebecca) Oh, working on Mr. Greg was a dream come true for me. I always, always wanted to do a musical. It was so difficult because we don’t get extra time! Every episode we get the same amount of time, so I was taking it home and working on it on the side for months and months in advance working on it with Jeff, but it was so fun.

(Ian JQ): Jeff and Ben, you guys put together a lot of the songs in the musical and I remember you guys got it down to almost a radio play of just all the songs almost back to back. What was that like putting it together?

(Ben Levin): Usually with the writing, we write the outlines and give a skeleton to the storyboard artist but this was a little different, because we really had to figure out dialogue and everything beforehand was going to be sung so we kinda had to collaborate and work back and forth with like, what the songs are going to say and what you want to do with the story

(Jeff Liu): Yeah, and for me as a storyboard artist, I’m drawing the episode in addition to helping write songs, so like being able to do both at the same time was super helpful. Like, we know what the timing is, I know where all the drawings are supposed to go, we can get it done efficiently. And with Rebecca’s song writing and everyone to together it came out great.

(Ian JQ): Deedee, you have an interesting perspective on this, because this is a bunch of cartoon people trying to write a musical, but I mean, you *know* musicals. What was it like to step into doing a Steven Universe version of the musical?

(Deedee Magno Hall): Oh my gosh, like I said before, I am so thrilled whenever music comes my way because that’s just what I love to do. I’ve been singing ever since I can remember, so the fact that the show is musical makes me soo so very happy. But yeah, what I love about Rebecca’s music and the way that she writes, it’s unpredictable in a way that the inflections and the notes are up and down, so I love that I have to really really concentrate when I’m learning your music (looking at Rebecca) because it’s not predictable, it’s not like a lot of typical musical theatre or old school musical theatre songs might be. It’s such a challenge and a wonderful challenge, I love it.

*Rose cosplayer steps up to mic*

(Deedee): ROSE!!

-----

Q: (to Rebecca) How do you feel about the leaks online?

A: (Rebecca): Augh…um...Oh gosh...I can’t contro-...This is too big... this is new for me. I come from making independent comics and nobody cared if any of it leaked, if any future pages leaked no one would notice *laughs*. I think this is so...um, I really want everything to be a surprise. Please stay off the internet right now.

*audience laughs*

-----

Q: How did you pitch the show to Cartoon Network?

A: (Rebecca): Well, when I was working on Adventure Time, they asked me if I had any ideas of my own. And I really started with the character Steven, because I knew if I was going to work on something for a long time I’d always want it to be personal to me and something I really care about and Steven is based on my little brother. I really wanted it to be sort of a Sci-Fi Fantasy show, but at the core always about this relationship with my brother and that’s really how I presented it. So I feel so lucky that I got a chance to expand on it. I mean once the crew came together, it just grew into really it’s own thing, I mean I had a lot planned out in advance, but it really took on so many of the personalities.

(Ian JQ): I would say like, uh, everybody would bring their own sort of...you know it all came out of this core emotional relationship that you had with your brother, and we all brought those relationships that we all had to the show, and everybody builds on that stuff. You hear that come out in the songs and also the voice acting as well.

(Rebecca): Yeah, and even when I was doing comics, when you start a project I think leaving it open to change as you change as a person is really helpful. I think you can see how the show has evolved. I love how the show is consistently inconsistent in every sense, in the way everything looks and I mean, I wanted it to be a chance for us to figure out what we wanted to do and then do it and then change what we wanted to do and then do that, so I think that’s also really...we just sorta followed everything into a new place. Thank you for your question

Q: Are you ever surprised by the stories you’ve been able to get, and do you ever get any pushback?
A: (Rebecca): Oh, well there’s always...there’s always pushback. You know, I think I have been surprised at just how personal I’ve been able to make these stories and I’m always ready to fight for what I want to be included in this show and I do. So it’s been really interesting to see the response and just realize what...what I wanted to say with this. And as I realized...oh, how do I explain this...There are things that are really worth fighting for and I think that’s what the show is about!

-----

Q: So I was wondering, can the Gems rap and if so can we get an episode where they rap?

(Note: they kinda spoke over each other a lot and there’s no high quality recording released yet. Will edit this when I can hear it better)

A: (Zach Callison): Cookie Cat!

(Estelle): This is Pearl...back together *audience laughter*

(Zach Callison): I would challenge the two of them (Deedee and Michaela) to rap, because we’ve (him and Estelle) done our part, like I’m done rapping

(Ian JQ): I mean, Steven rapped about an ice cream sandwhich in the first episode. You might want to watch the show. *collective OOHHHHH from the audience*

(Rebecca): Do you mean “is there a rapping culture on Homeworld?” Because that’s a very...that’s totally unexplored, that is a very interesting thought

(Ian JQ): Intergalactic hip hop culture. We might get there, thank you for the question

(Rebecca): Really, thank you

(Deedee): I want to rap....

-----
Q: Why doesn’t Steven go to school?

A: (Rebecca): Steven is homeschooled. He’s got a lot of gem things to learn that only the gems would know how to teach him

(Ian JQ): I think Greg really is getting him online courses. I think that’s canon, that’s not just a song lyric

(Zach Callison): And as Michaela mentioned, this question also pertains to real life. I’ve been homeschooled since the 4th grade, until I graduated high school. So we and Steven are alike in many ways.

(Deedee): And he’s very smart *audience laughter*

(Zach Callison): The only difference is my mom got me my courses, not my dad. She was my teacher.

-----

Q: Are you guys satisfied with the 11 minute segments you get or do you wish you had more time?

A: (Rebecca): I like the format because I like that the episodes are **dense**. I really like making them dense. There are definitely times when you want things to be- actually we have a half hour special coming up. *audience cheers* It’ll be our first half hour special and that one really needed time to tell the story we wanted to tell. But I like that they’re short

(Ian JQ): Yeah, I remember early on the whole brain team deciding that we’d like to take every episode and really just make it about one thing. Explore what that one thing means characters and not have to-

(Rebecca): Not do an A plot B plot

(Ian JQ): Yeah, not do all this extra stuff. Really making these dense, dense character stories

-----

Q: If Steven followed in his dad’s footsteps and tried for a music career, what artist would his music most sound like?

A: (Zach Callison): I feel like he would have to take some sort of inspiration from Greg’s music, so it would have to be rock of some sort...umm...I don’t know. That era of music is actually the one I’m least versed in

(Deedee): Maybe he’d go a little folk?

(Estelle): I don’t know, I think he’d- I mean...this might be a little too grown but, *pause for audience laughter* I think Steven could be Guns N’ Roses. It’d be amaazing. You could se-no no no no, **Bon Jovi**.

(Zach Callison): That’s the one! That’s the one! (puts on his Steven voice) *I’m wanted...I’m wanted!* That’s my karaoke song, no shit

-----

Q: Pearl is into sword fighting, but her weapon is a spear? Are Gems assigned a weapon when they’re made or can they change it?

A: (Rebecca Sugar): There is a difference between weapons that they can manifest and the material weapons that they use. Pearl has a lot of swords, but they’re all material and she can’t manifest them. I think similarly the placement of their gem...umm...your weapon is sort of who you are. And that’s part of who she is, but she’d also want to use anything she can to fight so I think that’s why she has an affinity for swords. Probably would want to use anything* (can’t hear this last part clearly yet, it sounds like she says something else)

(Ian JQ): Yeah, but those material weapons are pretty mysterious, right?

(Rebecca): Where do they come from? *laughs*

(Ian JQ): Maybe we’ll find out. I don’t know

-----

Q: By any chance are they going to make a movie in the near future?

A: (Rebecca): It’s something that I would really, really like to do...umm…*long pause* *audience laughs* Yeah, I’d really love to do that.

(Ian JQ): Let’s just say yes. *Rebecca laughs*

-----

Q: When is Steven’s Birthday?

A: (Ian JQ): Oooh, his canon birthdate

(Rebecca): It’s August 15th, it’s my brother’s birthday. Because canonically the episode aired in January, nowhere near August 15th. But I feel like he’s certainly a Leo


-----

Q: How has the music influenced the writing and vice versa. For example, was Sardonyx’s music influential to her character?

A: (Rebecca): Yeah, well, the fusions especially interesting because we’ll have the sounds for each individual character and when we started the show, we would talk a lot about how each character should sound and how they are the way they are. Like we decided Pearl would be piano. There was some ragtime, like a sorta...some looseness to Pearl and a subversiveness to Pearl that is so painted and different but also part of her classical sensibility. And the other thing else that’s in terms of writing fusions is that they are a new character made of these characters, so we always have to find a third thing that’s not just the two laid on top of each other, but is the influence of both instruments. One of the most interesting things to try was Ruby and Sapphire because we had to *deconstruct* somebody's music. Do you guys want to talk about that?

(Ian JQ): Yeah, Surasshu, what is it like when you create these new character sounds?

(Surasshu): A lot of times what we do is we kinda...rather than thinking about the actual sounds, we think about why those sounds exist for those characters, so like, Garnet is very rock solid, but she’s also a little futuristic.

(Ian JQ): So it’s sort of a thematic thing

(Surasshu): Yeah. Rather than thinking about like “oh this is piano so we gotta have more piano when the fusion comes up” it’s more like “why is there piano in here?”

(Ian JQ): As an example, what was it like to put together Sardonyx’s sound?

(Aivi): So we thought about how Pearl and Garnet might influence each other, and musically how that might take hold also. We felt that Pearl’s sort of ornateness in her music would pull Garnet’s sounds to be more showy. And Garnet’s confidence would sort of influence Pearl’s delicate piano to be really strong and bombastic. So it turned into the Sardonyx theme having more of those elements together.

-----

Q: Steven Universe has a lot of woman empowerment and LGBT themes. What inspired you to include these themes in the show?

A: (Rebecca): Well, in large part, it’s based on my experience as a bisexual woman. I think there are a lot of ways that I...err...how do I put this....these themes have so much to do with who you are. There is this idea that these are themes that should not be shared with kids, but everyone shares stories of love and attraction with kids. So many stories for kids are about love and...it really makes a difference to hear stories about how someone like you can be loved and if you don’t hear those stories it will change who you are. It’s very important to me that we speak to kids about consent, we speak to kids about identity, that we speak to kids about...oh, there’s so much to say *laughs* *long pause* I...I want to feel like *I* exist and I want everyone else who wants to feel that way to feel that way too.

-----

Q: When you first started the show, did you (Rebecca and the VAs) know the character’s backstories or did you learn with the audience?

A: (Rebecca): Oh a lot of that came together when we worked on the show, it was a mix. Like, I knew all the fusions, I knew about Garnet, all that stuff was planned. Some things were planned some things weren’t, I was really interested in sort of the superficial ideas, like “oh Pearl’s spear and Garnet’s gauntlets will be a big hammer” and I didn’t know her personality yet, but I really wanted that hammer. *audience laughs* But then when the team came and we just talked about how we felt about all these characters, like a lot of Amethyst’s backstory grew as we were working on the show as a team. It just sort of happened naturally that we realized “oh she’s definitely, of the original Gems, pre-Steven, the youngest just in personality” and sometimes things would just click into place like the Kindergarten episode.

(Ian JQ): And a lot of that came together with influence from Micheala as well.

(Rebecca): Yeah, also getting to know everyone kinda changed everything I think.

(Michaela Dietz): Yeah, like, I certainly didn’t learn Amethyst’s backstory along with the audience, but I didn’t learn it, you know, as early as Rebecca because I’m not in her brain. *audience laughter* Just learning a little bit before it. for me I’m adopted so I can definitely tap into that part of her storyline which goes back to the Kindergarten.

(Ian JQ:) I remember like, there’s all these little like, affectations from the characters that came out of working with the the cast, like when we found out that Zach can speak Italian. We’d start throwing in all these things like *arrivederci* *laughter* We just want to hear Zach say that!

(Zach Callison): I mean, when else will I get to practice? Nobody speaks Italian in California

(someone in audience shouts something in Italian and Zach responds)

(Ian JQ): Hey Ben, I was wondering if you could speak on what it was like, because I remember a lot of times in those writing group discussions, we would literally just be like “ooh, let’s do this really cool thing” and then you would have to like, turn it into an actual story, what was that like?

(Ben Levin:) Yeah, that’s a lot of what the writing would be like. I specifically remember with Cat Fingers, when you (Rebecca) came to me with a drawing of the cat on the finger and you were like “it could eat a grape…” *everyone laughs*

(Rebecca): *laughs* (can’t hear her over audience) -that it would eat...that’s horrible, but…

(Ben Levin): You’ll come in with a scene, you’ll come in with an idea and we’ll try and just talk and build out a story from that. It’s always you’ll come in and you’ll be like “ok, I got this theory”. You’re famous Rebecca line is “I’ve got a theory” *laughter*

-----


Q: Where do you guys get your inspiration?

A: (Rebecca): Oh, everything. Everything that happens

(Ian JQ): Life and love and all of it, right?

(Rebecca): Yeah, all of it. *laughs* Ian’s a big inspiration

(Ian JQ): Rebecca’s a big inspiration

(Rebecca): and I’m so inspired by everyone around me. I think just going to work and being with all these really talented artists and all these people I really love and admire and I get to be around all the time inspire me. Surasshu and Aivi inspire me. We always talk on skype because we’re not in the same place and we end up talking for a long time after we’re working. Yeah, so...My team!


-----

Q: We’ll we be seeing any new Gems in the upcoming episodes?

A: YES!

-----

Questions they skipped over

-Will there be an episode about how the Diamonds came to supremacy?

-Will we ever get more backstory on characters like Jasper and Lapis and Peridot?

-(Asking for her little brother) Will any more powers for Peridot be revealed? (Rebecca: Say hi to your brother for me, that’s a really good question)

-Are we going to see more of Homeworld?