Exclusive Interview: Rooster Teeth’s Miles Luna, Kerry Shawcross, and Monty Oum.

As both a fan and regular reviewer of Red vs. Blue, I must say that it was a true pleasure getting the opportunity to talk to some of the creative minds behind that and other Rooster Teeth shows.

Since last Tuesday was the release of the RVBX: Ten Years of Red vs. Blue box set, and tonight is the Season 11 finale, we thought this was a perfect time to present our interview with Miles Luna, Monty Oum, and Kerry Shawcross, as they reflect on where Red vs. Blue has been, and when we should expect to see it go in the future.

Oddly enough, Miles Luna, writer/director of Season 11 (as well as a writer for Rooster Teeth’s RWBY) actually started out as simply a fan of the show.

“The first episode of Red vs. Blue I ever saw was Season 3’s The Best Laid Plans,” he said. “I had no idea what it was, but I knew it was funny.”

He later got hooked in college after watching the entirety of a friend’s box set of the show in one week. “I loved it, and two years ago I got an internship with Rooster Teeth doing machinima and audio editing and basic intern work. From there I managed to get into writing, and now I’m the writer and director of Season 11.”

Humble beginnings for the show’s current main mastermind, but then again, perhaps it’s fitting given the humble beginnings of the show itself.

“I don’t thank anybody could’ve predicted what Red vs. Blue became,” Miles said. “The founders always say it started off as videos that they made to make their friends laugh. And then all of a sudden there were fans all around the world that were watching it, quoting it, and wanting more of it. From there it just grew.”

It grew not only into a more popular show, but also into a more mature, plot-driven series, with deep characters and complex back-stories. With so much change in Red vs. Blue’s past, how do they plan each season?

“Bernie [Burns, show creator & co-founder of Rooster Teeth], Matt [Hullum, co-founder of RT & current CEO], and I all sat down, and we plotted out the points we wanted to hit throughout Season 11,” Miles explained. “We knew where we were going to start and we knew where we wanted to end, and from there they turned me free to fill in the gaps. Obviously we don’t have it down to the episode, but we’ve thought several seasons ahead and where the story is going to take us, and we’re really excited to get there.”

Perhaps if the Rooster Teeth crew had accepted my offer of a few ice-cold beers that I had brought to the interview, I might have been more successful in obtaining some future story leaks. Alas, the trio was tight lipped.

“Absolutely not!” Miles said when I asked him to spill some secrets. He explained that the fans’ desire to know what is coming next is what makes this season (and the past few) so great, and what separates them from the initial bunch. “A lot of the action-heavy, dramatic stuff – the stuff that a lot of the fans are really interested in – was a flashback sequence, a retelling of an origin story of Project Freelancer. So people could theorize and figure out what was going to happen in the upcoming episodes [in the past]. With this season, it’s just a million question marks, and no one knows what’s happening because it’s all new territory. I love it, I think it’s great, and I love that the audience has no idea what’s going on at the end of an episode.”

Although changes can be new and exciting, some metathesiophobics may be upset with the more major modifications, such as the elimination of main characters like Church.

“Everybody’s like, ‘Where’s Church? Where’s Church? Where’s Church?’” Miles said, referring to fans that write to the show’s creators. And he can sympathize. “It’s hard to say goodbye to characters. Church and Carolina, and the whole Freelancer arc had a really nice wrap-up and really nice closure.” However, he did leave the door open for a possible return. “We know that Church and Carolina are off doing other adventures. Maybe we’ll get to see those adventures; maybe those adventures will be brought to us. You’ll just have to keep watching to find out.”

But not all changes are bad, because the phasing out of some characters allows for others to step into the spotlight.

“People would argue that Church was the main character of Red vs. Blue,” Miles said. “But it kind of shifted to Agent Washington very slowly over the course of the Recollection.” And for good reason too, as Miles explained. “I think Agent Washington is a really cool character and a good balance of what is old and new Red vs. Blue.”

This balance has really defined the show lately, and it was something the creators touched on numerous times – even when naming their favorite episodes.

“Season 8, Episode 10 [entitled “This One Goes to Eleven”] with the infamous Tex fight against the Reds and Blues” was Miles’s favorite, he said. “Because that was probably the best balance of action RvB and Blood Gulch comedy. It was the absolute perfect mix.”

Monty Oum (Rooster Teeth animator) agreed, adding, “I can actually go back and watch it and still laugh and be entertained. It’s a lot of character and comedy amidst action.”

As an animator, Monty also shed some light on one of the biggest changes in Red vs. Blue’s history: the shift from strictly machinima graphics to pre-rendered character animation. “It’s a continual growth and evolution,” Monty explained. “I would put in a sparse few important [pre-rendered] scenes in season 8. Then in season 9 we grew the team and split the season in half,” with the CGI and machinima representing two entirely separate and different eras of the storyline. “And then season 10 – the biggest season of them all – was a constant back-and-forth of animation, where they eventually met at the end and merged.”

What else is better now?

“We’re getting new story,” Monty said, echoing Miles’s earlier comments. “For the longest time we were caught up in filling in holes of what people hadn’t seen. Now it is fresh ground and we’re seeing actual new development for the characters.”

There was also a shift from the early Halo humor, to something that is unique to the show.

“We keep the Halo-based humor to a minimum,” Miles said. “Because if you’re not a big video game player we still want you to be able to enjoy the show.”

Besides, as Monty and another Rooster Teeth big gun, Kerry Shawcross, both pointed out: there’s no need anymore. “This far in, all the jokes are about the characters now,” Monty said. “Season one would be the most Halo-based humor, because you’re really exploring the world. Like, ‘This is a Warthog? No, it really looks like a puma.’”

Kerry added, “At this point we’ve got enough of our own material inside of the world that we don’t really need to focus on the Halo jokes.”

As our time wound down, the guys were quick to express their love for doing conventions like Comic Con.

“I’m mainly here because I really enjoy hanging out with the fans,” Kerry said. “We try to meet everybody who comes to our booth. The more we can talk to people, the better.”

Miles agreed. “I love meeting the fans because everybody is super nice and super awesome,” he said. “And I love it whenever we have a panel, because conventions are essentially our time to say, ‘here’s something we’ve been working on for a really long time and something we’re really proud of.’ And we get to show it off and we get to see people’s reactions firsthand.”

Plus, events like these have their perks, as Monty interjected. Like “hot cosplayers, and then going to parties after the Con with hot cosplayers.”

Before we departed, I had to know: how long can we, the fans, expect there to be new episodes?

Kerry Shawcross summed it up nicely: “One thing we feel about all of our projects, at the entire company, is if people keep watching it, we will keep making it. If people want more, we’ll give ‘em more.”