Christian Filmmakers

I’ve heard of this style called ‘steampunk’ - apparently it’s retro/Victorian mixed with classic sci-fi/speculative.

I am interested in writing a short in that setting - but I want to be sure of what I’m getting into, i.e., that steampunk doesn’t mean anything that I don’t know about. 

What I have learned is that it’s typically a steam-based society, it’s very Victorian with sci-fi technological additions (blasters, an obsession with gears & cogwheels, other things as well), and a very gritty, often browns, oranges, and dark blue color grading. I classify City of Ember as a steampunk film.

Am I correct? If not, how am I wrong?

Is there anything I should know about writing a short in that style?

Thank you!

I’m fairly confident that there are no intrinsically unlawful or offensive elements underpinning steampunk - not sure if that’s what you’re asking, but there you have it!

Lots of gears, lots of steam, and you’re good to go!

Cheers,
Calix

(...steampunk is highly underutilized in film these days…)

Oooooh. This is like ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘Princess Mononoke’ and ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ and other Japanese films? Someday I think Pixar will make a film like this.

Calix Lewis Reneau wrote:

I’m fairly confident that there are no intrinsically unlawful or offensive elements underpinning steampunk - not sure if that’s what you’re asking, but there you have it!

Lots of gears, lots of steam, and you’re good to go!

Cheers,
Calix

(...steampunk is highly underutilized in film these days…)

Yes, that is basically what I was asking. Thanks!

Though if anyone knows if there are any rules to keep it in genre, that’d be cool.

Yeah, I don’t see much steampunk in movies! Just City of Ember…which is probably not ‘true’ steampunk anyway because it’s not very Victorian. I want to write more in that style. First this short…then we’ll see what else.

From Wikipedia, a list!

1958 The Fabulous World of Jules Verne
1979 Time After Time
1984 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
1986 Laputa: Castle in the Sky
1994 The City of Lost Children
1999 Wild Wild West
2001 Atlantis: The Lost Empire
2001 Metropolis
2001 Vidocq
2002 Turn A Gundam
2003 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
2004 Howl’s Moving Castle
2004 Steamboy
2004 Van Helsing
2005 The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
2006 The Prestige
2009 Sherlock Holmes
2010 The Anachronism

1) I like Steamboy; it’s very spot-on re steampunk.

2) If you love film in any way, but don’t know the work of Hayao Miyazaki, you’ve got to watch him - amazing!

3) The much reviled film The Golden Compass, not on this list, has a lot of steampunk about it, as does the wonderful film Stardust.

4) The game Bioshock is also a kind of variant.

6) Brazil is not steampunk, but should be!

Cheers,
Calix

(...I love steampunk…)

Nathaniel, I haven’t heard of (except Howl’s Moving Castle, which I only have heard of because I saw a copy of the book on a library table one day…) any of those films, so I don’t know what you mean. When you said “Japanese”, I wondered if you might be thinking anime…?

Calix, haven’t seen any of those films either—only heard of a couple, and only by title. But if all the steampunk films could be put on a list that short, then it’s definitely time for some more. :D

So City of Ember isn’t on the list…must not be a ‘real’ steampunk film. (despite having a lot of steam and a lot of gears…)

Oh, are you aware that you skipped from 4) to 6) on your post there? 

Can I ask what appeals to you about steampunk? (‘you’ being both Calix and any lurkers… :D)

Are there any types of plots that are part of the steampunk style? Or is it just a setting that I could put anything I want to in?

Figure I might as well find out as much as I can about it before plunging in to write this short (my scriptfrenzy script fizzled, I’m still working on it, but it is not going to be done by April 30th…and I need to write a few short pieces. )

The ancient Dwemer ruins and artifacts in The Elder Scrolls video game series are the epitomé of steampunk, IMPHO.  <grin>

(right-click and select “View Image”)

Neat poster! (haven’t heard of Elder Scrolls, but that’s a recurring theme with me anyway… :D)

Hmm, that reminds me of Myst, slightly! (I have played a little bit of the original Myst) I wonder if that was steampunk…I cannot remember.

Steampunk is a genre of rebellion, actually, which is why it appeals to me.

Steampunk usually incorporates the loner genius who can cobble together amazing devices using everyday objects and tools and materials.

Steampunk combines a forward-looking ethos of freedom and self-determination while stripping away the layers of technology which currently enslave us (such as this interwebbers through which we’re pretending to communicate.)

Steampunk uses a very visceral form of power - stream - and large mechanical devices, which ironically “feel” more natural and organic than the plastic-coated world we now live in.

Steampunk appeals to my tinkerer!

Cheers,
Calix

Steampunk also has a sense of deep underlying passion and dedication.  It takes a long time and a lot of the aforementioned attributes for a tinker to fit all those cogs and gears together and build a world out of it.

It also usually has some roots in time - many steampunk artifacts or environments being termed “ancient.”  There’s almost always a bit of rust.

The ancient factor can be bent, though, as seen in films like Sherlock Holmes and The Prestige (the two of the above list that I’ve watched).

Da Vinci was steampunk.  <grin>

As with any genre at all, Steampunk has its own facets of unlawfulness. You can stay in the lawful realm just fine, but you might want to tread carefully in your research…

—
Jordan

(Who is still on vacation, so this’ll probably be his only post until sometime next week. )