Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512164
9 6 P E R S P E C T I V E | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 Aaron Sowd: The first time I met Akiva Goldsman, I was working with Will Smith on the set of Winter's Tale. We then worked together again on Titans a few years later. So when I got the call to help storyboard the finale of Star Trek: Picard, season one, right before the holidays, how could I refuse? Akiva wanted me to help him storyboard reshoots that addressed the network notes for the finale, and they were due yesterday, so it was down and dirty and time was of the essence. I set up my drawing station in a producer's office next to his as fast as I could. I hadn't even gotten the Wi-Fi password yet before Akiva popped his head into the office to ask, "You got anything for me yet?" "Nice to see you, too!" I said. The next few days were stressful but fun, and it turned out to be one of the best jobs of my career. I would draw frames as quickly as I could, typically spending no more than 5-10 minutes per frame. Then we would run over to the edit bay and look at what I had just drawn as it got cut into the daily edit. We were adding scenes to solve story problems alongside Pulitzer Prize- winning writer Michael Chabon. He was writing new pages faster than I was drawing, and I had to keep up! I remember (spoiler alert!) Picard originally died on the surface of the planet, but it made more sense to have him die sacrificing himself aboard the La Sirena before they beam him down to the planet. We added a lot of story beats down on the planet with Rios and the soccer ball bomb, choreographed the final space battle above the planet with the orchids and La Sirena vs. the Romulans, ultimately resolving the conflict in a more heroic and dramatic way. Our goal was to simplify and expand things where needed, while minimizing the need for reshoots. We ended up swapping out Captain Janeway for Captain Riker, which was more satisfying for fans given the long history between those two. Later, when we were doing the reshoots at Santa Clarita Studios, I had more time to work and drew more polished frames which you see in this article. I got to walk the sets with the DP and block out the shots between Picard and Jirati aboard the La Sirena. I even got to sit in the Captain's chair! We really do have the best job ever! STORYBOARDS BY DANIEL HYUN LIM A. TITAN BATTLES INTREPID AS SHUTTLE CRASHES INTO THE NACELLE. B. ESTABLISHING SHOT FRONTIER DAY. SEASON ONE STORYBOARDS BY AARON SOWD. C. & H. MS. SOJI AND PICARD COMMUNICATE THOUGH HOLOGRAMS. D-G. ASSORTED STORYBOARDS AND THE FINAL FRAMES SHOT FOR THE SERIES. A B C