There’s no doubt Avatar is huge. Like, Titanic huge.

Even before James Cameron’s mainstream masterpiece was released, the buzz was hard to ignore. Everything was top secret, from the characters to the world designs and — probably — the exact shade of Na’vi blue.

In the lead up to the hard release date of Ubisoft’s James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game, Film Production grad Kevin Shortt took the reins as Lead Scriptwriter, charged with delivering a storyline that would satisfy what would soon be a legion of Avatar fans.

Talk about pressure to perform.

As we recently blogged, Kevin and Writing for Film & Television instructor John Meadows were quickly immersed into the world of Avatar and worked directly with Cameron’s staff and some of the film’s stars.

Kevin graciously made some time to answer our questions about the demands of writing the game adaptation of one of the biggest films in recent history.

Could you start off by talking about what you currently do at Ubisoft?

Kevin: I’m a scriptwriter and story designer at Ubisoft Montreal. I’ve been with the company for over three and a half years. I started as the Lead Scriptwriter on Lost: Via Domus, then I wrote for Far Cry 2.  And now I’ve just completed James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game.

What was your role on the game adaptation ? Can you explain how you collaborated with Cameron’s team on this project?

Kevin: I had two other writers on my team, Ethan Petty and John Meadows (a VFS Writing instructor).  The collaboration with James Cameron was pretty good. I had several meetings with Cameron and his team at Lightstorm Entertainment. My main contact was the film’s producer, Jon Landau and Cameron’s brother, Dave Cameron.

I joined the project late after they’d already been two years in production so I didn’t have a lot of time, but having access to Jon and his team helped to break the story quickly. I flew down there and spent two days working just the story. And they were very open about sharing assets. I saw about 40 minutes of the finished film in full 3D months before anything was shown publicly. So despite all the secrecy around the project, it was clear they viewed us as full partners in the project.

Going back a ways, what do you remember about your time at VFS? Was there a particular experience that put you on this career path?

Kevin: I wouldn’t say there was one experience that set me on my path. My whole reason for going to VFS was to get into scriptwriting and filmmaking. So the entire experience confirmed my love of storytelling. When I think back on my time at VFS, mostly I recall the other students I hung out with. I remember lots of arguments, cliques, bitching about instructors — like every school, really.

I do remember the first time we filmed our final film project at the school. It was a script I’d written and directed. This was the first time I’d had such an organized ‘premiere’ for a film. My mother and grandmother came out from Ontario to see it. It was a big deal for a tiny 10-minute film. The film hasn’t aged well, but the night itself is still a good memory.

Could you talk about your breaking-in story? What was your first industry gig, and how did you get it?

Kevin: My very first gig was a low budget music video. I can’t remember the band or the song. I was about a week out of VFS and I just started hitting up all the local production houses with my thin CV. One of those production houses was MuchMusic. Just by chance, I ran into cinematographer Danny Nowak in the hall (I didn’t know him at the time). He was prepping for a shoot the next morning. And there I was, an eager kid looking to do ANYTHING.

So I spent my weekend hauling around lighting equipment. All for free, of course, but I didn’t care. I had met Danny and proved that I was competent. That slowly led to other small gigs that paid and those gigs gradually got bigger. My story isn’t unique. I hear again and again how people broke into this business through persistence and some timely fluke. I don’t know anyone who actually got a job by mailing off their CVs and waiting for the calls.

In the early 2000s, you started working for companies like Blast Radius and Tribal DDB Canada. How did you utilize your filmmaker’s skill set in these positions?

Kevin: Both those companies were a lot of fun. In both instances, I was brought on specifically because of my film and scriptwriting background. By this time I’d already worked on several TV series but was growing tired of film and anxious to move into interactive storytelling. For both companies, I helped them to create interactive projects that relied heavily on film and on story. For Tribal DDB, I led a project for BC Dairy. For that I ended up writing and directing several short funny vignettes targeting a teen audience. The campaign went on to win several international awards. I’m proud of that work.

What advice would you give to prospective and current VFS students who might want to follow a similar path?

Kevin: You mean move into video games? My key piece of advice: play video games. It seems obvious but it’s amazing how many writers I meet anxious to break in but who’ve never played any games. It’s absolutely key that you play a lot of games with strong stories, and start to understand if you even like games. Storytelling in video games can be very limiting compared to film or novels. You’re giving over control to the player. So a writer needs to understand what that means, what limitations are created. The only way you can really learn that is by playing games.

After that, you’ve either decided you hate video games, in which case you stop reading this and go back to film, or road maintenance or whatever you’re into. Or you find you’re excited by the challenges the medium presents and you want in. I suggest you team up with a programmer and start creating low-budget games that can showcase your talents. The indie scene is very much alive in video games. You don’t need triple A graphics to prove you can do this. If you’re passionate for this and you can create something unique, the big developers will find you.

Thanks for your time, Kevin!

For an inside look at James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game, check out this video from Ubisoft.