--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't have the story finished and ready…" description: "\"I don't have the story finished and ready when we start work on a film. I usually don't have the time. So the story develops when I start drawing story..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/hayao-miyazaki-3768_animation_i-don-t-have-the-story-finished-and-read_1188123.jpg" --- # I don't have the story finished and ready when we start… ![“I don't have the story finished and ready when we start work on a film. I usually don't have the time. So the story develops when I start drawing storyboards. I never know where the story will go but I just keeping working on the film as it develops. It's a dangerous way to make an animation film…” quote by Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/hayao-miyazaki-3768_animation_i-don-t-have-the-story-finished-and-read_1188123.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/hayao-miyazaki-3768_animation_i-don-t-have-the-story-finished-and-read_1188123.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/hayao-miyazaki-3768_animation_i-don-t-have-the-story-finished-and-read_1188123.jpg) > “I don't have the story finished and ready when we start work on a film. I usually don't have the time. So the story develops when I start drawing storyboards. I never know where the story will go but I just keeping working on the film as it develops. It's a dangerous way to make an animation film and I would like it to be different, but unfortunately, that's the way I work and everyone else is kind of forced to subject themselves to it.” [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits his filmmaking process is improvisational, developing storyboards as the film evolves, acknowledging risks but valuing creative spontaneity. **In simple terms:** He creates films by discovering the story while making it. Key Takeaway Allow stories to emerge during creation. Themes creativity process risk animation spontaneity Mood inspirational pragmatic Type interview professional insight When to use this quote - film production - storyboarding - creative workshops Key Concepts Improvisation narrative development artistic freedom Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance spontaneity with planning? - What safeguards can protect a project’s coherence? A Different Perspective Potential for incoherence or budget overruns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animation/) [Animation Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animation-film-2288190/) [Art work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-work/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Drawing Storyboards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing-storyboards-3513132/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Film Develops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film-develops-3513133/) [Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Make Animation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-animation-2314174/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Storyboards Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storyboards-know-3513134/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [You've got to be able to make animation for much less... Less is not the studio's way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-bluth/you-ve-got-to-be-able-to-make-animation-for-much-less-less-is-not-the/) [Don Bluth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-bluth/) > [All people have a photographic memory, some just don't have the film. I do, but it never develops quite right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-people-have-a-photographic-memory-some-just-don-t-have-the-film-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Character, like film, develops in darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yousuf-karsh/character-like-film-develops-in-darkness/) [Yousuf Karsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yousuf-karsh/) > [I was working in a gaming company, but I really wanted to make animation. I didn't really have anything special, no special tools at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makoto-shinkai/i-was-working-in-a-gaming-company-but-i-really-wanted-to-make/) [Makoto Shinkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/makoto-shinkai/) > [It's been my ambition for about 30 years to do a full- length animation film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/it-s-been-my-ambition-for-about-30-years-to-do-a-full-length/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [It's a film made in a very radical creative manner. It was possible because we didn't have to pander to capitalism. I think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/it-s-a-film-made-in-a-very-radical-creative-manner-it-was-possible/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [The biggest problem in countries that don't have a tradition in animation or a film industry, is that precisely, that it's not an industrial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-garcia/the-biggest-problem-in-countries-that-don-t-have-a-tradition-in/) [Raul Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-garcia/) > [How mad would it actually be to do an 'Avatar' type animation film, but about something mundane like a Winn-Dixie cashier's day at work?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diplo/how-mad-would-it-actually-be-to-do-an-avatar-type-animation-film-but/) [Diplo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diplo/) > [Smart Work + Hard Work = Genius!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manish-pandey/smart-work-hard-work-genius/) [Manish Pandey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manish-pandey/) > [“Recluses won’t find purpose living out their days in a sacred bubble. Partake in commerce, start working out, volunteer, go on a mission. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-demarco/recluses-won-t-find-purpose-living-out-their-days-in-a-sacred-bubble/) [M.J. DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-demarco/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [“monotony kills the heart. Ironically, monotony is what keeps the heart working.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soumeet-lanka/monotony-kills-the-heart-ironically-monotony-is-what-keeps-the-heart/) [soumeet lanka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soumeet-lanka/) > [When art works travel from place to place, what you have is the opportunity to engage with the intellect of another person who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/when-art-works-travel-from-place-to-place-what-you-have-is-the/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [I get pretty focused when I start working on something. And I drink a lot of water, way more than most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-woodman/i-get-pretty-focused-when-i-start-working-on-something-and-i-drink-a/) [Nick Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-woodman/) ## More by Hayao Miyazaki > [ “\[pitching the proposal for Mononoke-hime (1997)\] There cannot be a happy ending to the fight between the raging gods and humans. However, even in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/pitching-the-proposal-for-mononoke-hime-1997-there-cannot-be-a-happy/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [Maybe that's what these films are doing. They are my way of blessing the child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/maybe-that-s-what-these-films-are-doing-they-are-my-way-of-blessing/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [I do believe in the power of story. I believe that stories have an important role to play in the formation of human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/i-do-believe-in-the-power-of-story-i-believe-that-stories-have-an/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [I like underwater life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/i-like-underwater-life/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [Prizes do not mean anything to me. I think it is more important to make a child aware of the existence of a weird…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/prizes-do-not-mean-anything-to-me-i-think-it-is-more-important-to/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [No matter how many WEAPONS you have, no matter how great your TECHNOLOGY might be, the world cannot live without LOVE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/no-matter-how-many-weapons-you-have-no-matter-how-great-your/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [The principle I adhere to when directing, is that I make good use of everything my staff creates. Even if they make foregrounds that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/the-principle-i-adhere-to-when-directing-is-that-i-make-good-use-of/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [There are so many ships in the animation sea that are computer driven, that I think we can have at least one that's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/there-are-so-many-ships-in-the-animation-sea-that-are-computer-driven/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/any-woman-is-just-as-capable-of-being-a-hero-as-any-man/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [What you mean by 'peace' is nothing more than the endless repetition of human folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/what-you-mean-by-peace-is-nothing-more-than-the-endless-repetition-of/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [Almost all Japanese animation is produced with hardly any basis taken from observing real people, you know. It's produced by humans who can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/almost-all-japanese-animation-is-produced-with-hardly-any-basis-taken/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [Some people spend their lives interested only in themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/some-people-spend-their-lives-interested-only-in-themselves/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [Watching John Lasseter's films, I think I can understand better than anyone that what he's doing, is going straight ahead with his vision and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/watching-john-lasseter-s-films-i-think-i-can-understand-better-than/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [Cut off a wolf's head and it still has the power to bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/cut-off-a-wolf-s-head-and-it-still-has-the-power-to-bite/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [All my films are all my children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/all-my-films-are-all-my-children/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) [Explore all 122 Hayao Miyazaki quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) ## More Animation quotes > [If I'm doing a voice-over session, like animation or something, and I'm doing three different voices, you've gotta separate them. You've gotta find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-adlon/if-i-m-doing-a-voice-over-session-like-animation-or-something-and-i-m/) [Pamela Adlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-adlon/) > [I was always into cartoons and animation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nonito-donaire/i-was-always-into-cartoons-and-animation/) [Nonito Donaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nonito-donaire/) > [What's unique about Disney Animation, many of the films have this perennial quality about them. They don't seem like old films, they still seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/what-s-unique-about-disney-animation-many-of-the-films-have-this/) [Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/) > [I was always tinkering around with stuff but nothing serious at the time. I was doing animations and drawing like crazy, but I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-vangaalen/i-was-always-tinkering-around-with-stuff-but-nothing-serious-at-the/) [Chad VanGaalen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-vangaalen/) > [In feature animation, cartoony or exaggerated animation is almost taboo. There is this precedent that if you do that kind of stuff people won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genndy-tartakovsky/in-feature-animation-cartoony-or-exaggerated-animation-is-almost/) [Genndy Tartakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genndy-tartakovsky/) > [CGI has fully ruined car crashes. Because how can you be impressed with them now? When you watch them in the '70s, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/cgi-has-fully-ruined-car-crashes-because-how-can-you-be-impressed/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [To this day I over prepare. I draw storyboards for every scene - chicken scratches so crude that they amuse and horrify the crew.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/to-this-day-i-over-prepare-i-draw-storyboards-for-every-scene-chicken/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [I was invited to join the MGM cartoon department. But if I'd started work in animation I'd have had to take a cut in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-was-invited-to-join-the-mgm-cartoon-department-but-if-i-d-started/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I took a lot of influences from Studio Ghibli, which is the Japanese animation studio that made 'Spirited Away' and 'Castle in the Sky.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hewlett/i-took-a-lot-of-influences-from-studio-ghibli-which-is-the-japanese/) [Jamie Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hewlett/) > [I've worked in animation for a long time. I started in Spain and I wanted to make feature films. That desire to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-garcia/i-ve-worked-in-animation-for-a-long-time-i-started-in-spain-and-i/) [Raul Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-garcia/) > [If you were to look at an old 'Betty Boop' cartoon or an 'Out of the Ink Well' animation, there are many things about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-seibert/if-you-were-to-look-at-an-old-betty-boop-cartoon-or-an-out-of-the-ink/) [Fred Seibert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-seibert/) > [Animation has always been about technology. You can't have animation without technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-wedge/animation-has-always-been-about-technology-you-can-t-have-animation/) [Chris Wedge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-wedge/) > [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Tigress is my alternate personality, especially with children. I love animation because you get to do things you don't normally get to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-yuh-nelson/tigress-is-my-alternate-personality-especially-with-children-i-love/) [Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-yuh-nelson/) > [With live-action I think we'd have lost the universal appeal of the Persepolis story. With live-action, it would have turned into a story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/with-live-action-i-think-we-d-have-lost-the-universal-appeal-of-the/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) [Browse all 837 Animation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't have the story finished and ready when we start work on a film. I usually don't have the time. So the story develops when I start drawing storyboards. I never know where the story will go but I just keeping working on the film as it develops. 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