Production, Music and Art Direction, and directing in general, continued





Zcat6 : How was the Danny Phantom theme developed?

Butch Hartman : Bob Boyle and I were in Korea in July of 2000. We were there to oversee the early production of "The Fairly Oddparents" so I was checking character layouts and designs, and Bob was overseeing the color stuff. We were basically training the Korean studio in how to make the FOP series. Anyway, we were out to dinner one night at a Korean mall and I stopped in the music store. I bought a CD collection called "Queen's Greatest Hits". It was a special collection that I don't even think you can get in the States. Anyway, I took the CD's back to the Korean studio the next today and listened to them. (Had to, Korean radio is very hard to get into if you don't know the language). Well, I thought I'd heard every Queen song there was up to that point (I'm a huge fan) but on comes this song called "The Invisible Man". It's a great song and it's all about, yes, a man who is invisible. The lyrics were cool, but the coolest part of the song was the awesome bass line right at the top. I wish I could sing it for you now, but, hey, computers aren't THAT great yet. Long story short, I listened to the song over and over, just really digging on the bass line. And the more I listened the more I thought, "Man, I'd love to use this song as a theme song for a show someday'. Seriously, that's what I thought. Anyway, about 18 months goes by, I pitch "Phantom", it gets going and now we need a theme. I wrote a bunch of lyrics and gave them to Guy Moon�then I played him that awesome bass line. I said" I don't care what music you use, just give me a bass line like this". So he did. It's definitely not an exact replica of course, but it's most definitely the same flavor. And my lyrics? Well as many of you know there was another theme for Danny that was written before the current one. This one was a lot more vague about who Danny was and didn't really explain his origin. I thought it was awesome, but the Network wanted me to explain Danny's origin in the title so I had to go and rewrite. And that's how we ended up with the current theme.

Zcat6 : We have heard two versions of the opening theme song. Why was it changed, and will we ever get to see the original video that went with the audio (that you currently have hosted on your official website?

Butch Hartman : I explained this up top. As far as the video goes, I'll see what I can do. But I promise nothing!!

Zcat6 : What exactly does the Art Director of an animated production do?

Butch Hartman : He - or she - oversees the entire "look" of the show. The color, the styling, etc. Making sure the characters look as though they should be standing on the backgrounds. Like they're all part of the same world. For example, we couldn't have Timmy Turner standing in Fentonworks, because it just wouldn't look right. Right now we have an amazing art director in George Goodchild. Bob Boyle was the original art director.

Zcat6 : Regarding other directors, is the person who directs the story and boarding the same person who directs the voice actors during the recording of that particular episode?

Butch Hartman : No. The "animation directors" oversee the timing of the animation and the storyboards. A different person directs the voices. I always direct the Danny Phantom recording sessions. Steve Marmel helped out there for a while as well. But it's never been anyone else but us.

Zcat6 : How are the directors decided for different episodes?

Butch Hartman : It's just a rotation basis. Once a director is finished with one episode they hop on to the next one. Nothing specific determines who directs what. We're on a very tight TV schedule and we gotta get these things (episodes) done!!

Zcat6 : What is "Billionfold" and what is its function in relation to the Danny Phantom series?

Butch Hartman : Billionfold is a corporation formed by my wife and myself. I asked Nickelodeon if I could use the logo at the end of Danny Phantom and they graciously said "yes". The name comes from a Biblical term "hundredfold". Well, my wife and I want to shoot a lot higher than that so my wife came up with the name "Billionfold" And I thought it was great.









The Danny Video games

Zcat6 : There are several different video games currently available that involve Danny Phantom ("Nicktoons Unite", "Freeze Frame Frenzy") and the stand alone Danny game ("The Ultimate Enemy.") How involved were you in the design of each these games?

Butch Hartman : I really wasn't. At least not in any major sense. Video games and other merchandising stuff are usually done by the manufacturer of that particular piece of merchandise. Video games, for example, are basically little movies that require an entire squadron of people to produce them, just like TV shows. What the manufacturers do is show me their basic concept for the game (which is usually a document about 900 pages long - no kidding) and I'll give input in the very early stages, but then it's pretty much up to them to make it happen. It's a huge undertaking, believe me.

Zcat6 : We noticed that certain graphics and still frames from the Danny Phantom: The Ultimate Enemy video game were not derived from any DP clipart or anything we had ever seen from the show (opening image of Danny using Ghostly Wail; Danny Phantom, instead of Fenton, getting the time medallion fused into his chest; "title card" image of Dark Danny; etc.). Who was responsible for the graphic design and art direction for the game, and most of all, where did these exclusive artwork come from and how did they end up in a DP franchise seemingly independent of the show?

Butch Hartman : The video game manufacturer produces this art based on the artwork we supply them from the show .







