Where Do I Begin.... (Introducing Myself and my Upcoming Project: Story Mode)

My name's Evan.

I'm a video editor and musician from Toronto, Canada, and while these have both been my passions for a long time, a few months back, I took a sabbatical from editing after a string of projects left me emotionally drained.
I had tried to go the commercial route, and had lost sight of the thing that made me want to be an editor in the first place.
It just wasn't fun anymore. I gave up on freelance work, got the standard struggling artist barista job, and left my Adobe suite alone to gather dust.

Today I hit the point where I've had enough. I can't just stand around and let life pass me by without creating and adding to it. I'm ready to start making videos again. But this time I'm going to make the stuff I'm passionate about. Something I think there might be a demand for, at least, it's something I wish was already out there.

I'm an avid video gamer, but there's only so much time in the day. I love games that deliver on story and scope and sometimes I wish there was a way to experience them as a film. All over Youtube there are "Video Game Movies"; where someone has taken all of the cutscenes of a game and just stitched them together. But that won't cut it. You're missing what makes the game special; all the big moments, reveals, and the spectacular boss fights.

Otherwise, there are the walkthroughs, where someone plays the entire game in front of you. But a game's pacing is dependant on you playing the game, not watching it. So, along with the help of some friends, I'm taking it upon myself to make something new. I'm employing more traditional film-making and machinima techniques, to create a sort of hybrid film/game experience. The first of which will be focusing on Bungie's Destiny series.

I'm using a camera hack to "film" my friend's character using cinematic angles, and combining that with a more narrative approach to editing. The final "film" will have a tight pace, while showing off all of the hard work that went into the design of the game, and its story elements that are often overlooked.

This isn't the first time I've worked on something like this. Late last year, I was tasked with making a video explaining story connections between Ubisoft's Watchdogs and Assassin's Creed games. Instead of making the typical explainer video you'd find littering Youtube, I took the narrative approach, opting to show instead of tell. Part of the connection was made through a text-only item, so I went as far as directing a friend in voice-acting to really sell the video. You can watch the short vignette below.

I loved working on this video. And I'm excited to dive back into this sort of work.
Destiny is just the start. I already have plans for more games, like The Evil Within and Mass Effect.

What do you think? Is this something you'd like to see made? Are there any games you'd want to see given this sort of cinematic video treatment? And where do you think I should host these videos? (With the state Youtube's in, I might be opting for Twitch. But that's a story for another post)

Follow me @churchy for progress on Story Mode and other projects I'll have coming up!