In the Name of the Story

So Amazing Adventure was originally pitched for Midpoint Review at the end of November in 2012. The panel gave the project a conditional status, meaning there were aspects of the story that needed to be changed in order for it to be approved. In making the changes, one major part of the project, a montage featuring Jeff and Captain Kid's progression through the game, was cut due to time constraints. The project was resubmitted and approved with the rewrites in December that year.

However, after reviewing the project for the first month after approval, and reviewing the short with friends, family, peers, and teachers, it became apparent that the montage was needed in order for the short to make its intended impact on its audience. On a personal note, the reason I created Amazing Adventure was to pay homage to the games of my childhood, and celebrate even the wonkiness, extreme difficulty, and odd characteristics some games of this time would have.

So, in the name of the story, I also creating the new Amazing Adventure Director's Cut. How this project will work is that the thesis project will still be there in its entirety, and the montage will be inserted into the appropriate point in the film (at the end of World 1). A new version of the shot before the cannon will be animated, in where Jeff and Kid go off in a new direction, leading into the montage. The cannon bit will now be the last level of the montage. My ultimate goal is to finish this version of the project for my final review, so that there is only one form of Amazing Adventure out in the world. If not, the thesis portion will definitely be completed, and I will also show what level of production the Director's Cut is in at that time.

So here is the animatic for the Director's Cut of the short: