Steamboy, The Movie and Its Storyboard Book
Last term when Chocobo first taught the basics of storyboarding, he showed us some clips off Steamboy and its corresponding storyboards (and we see how storyboards ultimately affects the final version that was the full animation) that was compiled into this book:
He had the book too at that time, but weren't allowed to borrow it 'coz it's Spencer's property (especially since Spencer signed his BIG name in there on the front page itself), and Chocobo feared that something'll happen to it once it gets into students' hands (y'know), so
while it all had caught my attention, it was out of my reach, so to speak.
Last week, I saw it in TOA's library, sandwiched between two chunky books.
I immediately grabbed it and pored over it the next few days.
NOW I understand what Chocobo was saying when he said that
a good storyboard, will tell the story in its frame on its own,
even if the original author/artist is not around to explain it to you.
He'd said that when he was reviewing (as well as explaining to the class) my storyboard during the last class last term.
I hadn't really gotten it, but after going through Katsuhiro's Otomo's book, now I know.
The book is fully in Japanese (including the scrawls and notations), and
despite the rough sketches of certain frames,
I had understood the sequences of events,
and towards the middle part onwards,
I just breezed through as though I'm already watching the animation itself,
because the story had become EPIC!!! and AWESOME!!! and
feel very kan chiong and
OHHHHHHH It's hard to put it in words!
What I can surmised is that,
The storyboard draw myself into its story itself.
And by the end of it,
I have the GREAT urge to watch the full animation version.
JUST so to see whether the storyboard visuals matches the full animation version.
(yeah I know the animation is a good 7 years old, but still!)
That's the power of a good storyboard --- its frames let you see and feel and experience the story, even without the animatics effects.
And Chocobo had shared the Steamboy animation with us, and a good term later, I finally watched it today.
And then...somehow, it doesn't really draw me much into the story as effective as the storyboard would (or maybe it's just me with, y'know, my quirky habits).
But the story, its essence, is pretty much the same.
Which meant, the vision of Katsuhiro Otomo, is 95% realized, as
I as the audience as feel the story and settings and some of the human emotions.
[Steamboy], while it has a simple storyline (basically involving the differences between father and son and all set in the steampunk-version of Great Britain), it had a philosophical core about man vs science, and
the one scene that moved me, was the final collapse of their creation (Steam Tower), and the sinking of the carousel horses (that had represented the Steam Senior's great dreams).
That scene is also somewhat a parable --- that it's okay to dream big, but don't let the dream become a beast you can't tame later on, or else it'll destroy everything you've worked on.
Now I know --- that --- there's always a fine line between perfection and destruction.
And often we crossed it without us knowing.
On a lighter note, the other draw of Steamboy is of what I had thought is a half-mechanized being (steampunk version! IT'S SO COOOOOOL!!!) based on the storyboard, but after watching the animation now I know he's still human, but only with a machinized right arm and leg (which brings to mind, EDWARD ELRIC!)
But hey, Edward Steam is still cool on his own, so I've got no complaints XD;
(same name summore, I had wondered whether it's homage to FMA...idk)
Only that, unlike Elric, Edward Steam is delusional and slightly mad (after an unlucky accident), somewhat power-hungry (but because he got deceived),
but
what makes him cool (for me, anyway),
is the way he reveals his machinized arm (all cogs and gears!!!)
and jams it into this whirring-cogs-and-gears-device,
to finally fly the whole giant structure called the Steam Tower.
It's little gems of scenes like this, that makes Steamboy good to watch :D
That, and the flying scenes,
the army of robots and ship convoys,
and all those handsome steampunk menagerie.
*sighs in bliss
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Speaking of dreams, I've got another destructive one.
I think my soul's trying to tell me something, but I don't know what.
I'm keeping my eyes and options open.
-L