The Director's Cut is an alternate version to the already released film (Trauma, a visual story) The Director's Cut was later released in March 2024. It includes 4 minutes of additional content, an alternate ending and intends to focus more on the traumatic parts of the film. It was also the original cut initially for the film before the video was cut down to preserve time.
Filming for (Trauma) took seven months to complete, a big reason why filming took so long was because Jones needed to wait until the weather was right for some of the locations he filmed at. The Coastal Mountains of British Columbia saw its first major snowfall the day he filmed the mountain backdrops.
As explained in the video, the film is set in Seattle, Washington and it's surrounding area. But Jones only filmed about 10% of his scenes in Seattle. He explained that he chose to film primarily further north in British Columbia for his lake and mountain scenes. And just south along the Oregon coast. Because he liked those locations much better than Seattle's surrounding areas.
Much of Jones's works features his close friends and family. (Trauma) stars Ellie Jones. She is Elijah's cousin, and her portrayal in this film was meant to mirror some of childhood trauma Jones experienced when he was around her age.
Jones wanted to incorporate the culture and the aesthetics of the Pacific Northwest. He filmed at Pike Place in Seattle for the salmon throwing scenes. And also filmed in Queen Anne Seattle, a neighborhood in north Seattle that has views and backdrops of the Seattle skyline and the space needle. For the scenic shots, Jones filmed primarily in British Columbia and Oregon for the scenic portions of the Pacific Northwest.