Reaching The End Of Our Own Journey

Daniel and I started this journey to make a great documentary film over a year ago. At first we dreamed of what it could turn out to be, but now, after so many interviews, so many days of filming, we are reaching the end of a long but amazing journey.

When we first discussed the idea for the film, it became apparent to us very quickly how special the film could really turn out to be. Not only were we chronicling an amazing football season, but we were watching so many lives unfold in front of our eyes.

These players will inspire, they will encourage, they will even allow you to truly understand what their lives are like off the field and how important this game is to them.

We are close to the end, and as we near the final day of editing and final production of the project, we will announce the very day that everyone can finally watch the most anticipated football documentary around.

Hold on to your seats folks, because the main event is coming to a Fort Myers theater very soon.

Big Game Upon Us and Big Things Happening with Our Film

Wow, a whole season has past us by with only one game left.  And that game is the biggest in the team history, the 2013 United Cup III Championship.  Daniel and myself will be traveling with the team to Clearwater Fl on June 1st, to document their journey and hopefully end the day with a Championship win.  That would be a great ending to our film.

When we started this Journey in Mid January, I really didn't know what to expect or how this season would end up.  But it has become a special season and we as producers are honored to have been able to capture it, plus no one knows what will happen when you are filming a documentary and nothing is scripted. Like on the eve of the Conference Championship game, Owner Jay Lawrence is hospitalized and the team digs deep and pulls out a win for him.  That is only in the movies.  Or when we are able to be in the mix of some of the greatest games in team history.  Nothing just happens, its our destiny, it was meant to be this way and we are excited to be in the midst of it all.

Just one more week away and we will be documenting our last game and then we will start to focus on our next phase of the film.  Players are being filmed outside of the field of battle, their lives are being chronicled to show just how real their journey is.  Professional athletes have been contacted and some have responded which will make our film so much more real, and Daniel and I are just soaking it all in.

Sometimes when you are working on a project, things can happen very quickly and you lose the feeling of what it was like.  But we are taking this slow, enjoying every moment, every shot, every picture, and making sure to capture the memories.

We are not finished just yet............. The next phase is about to begin.  So Excited.

Nearing the End of a Season and the Beginning of the Story

As we come to the end of the Football season, its been a journey to reach this point.  Some time has been taken to just think about how the story should be told.  Not a lot of writing or maneuvering has been accomplished, but when you have a game that is always changing, capturing the on the field activities most times tells the story that is needed.

The players have battled all season to reach this point.  The team is in the playoffs and fighting for a chance to be called number one in their league.  They have played a full season and have become one unit and now they have entered into the second season to try and bring home a championship.  Some guys have opted to just call it a career, with the pressures of the game and the responsibilities of home just too much to bear, others have had their time ripped from their hands by sudden injuries that just couldn't be avoided.  How can they be when bodies are flying through the air at top speeds and bodies are crashing into each other like two Mack trucks racing down the highway and heading right for each other.  There is no guarantee that at the end of the game there won't be a player pulled off on a stretcher but they continue on hoping to reach their dreams and hoping that the reality of their lives won't stop their journeys.

As we come to the end of the season, and we start to focus on the true stories and lives of these players, we will hope to share a story about these valiant men with their struggles and hard work on how they were able to pull it all together and remain focused on their journeys. A great story is about to be told and we have front row seats.

As We Plan the Next Phase of the Film

As Daniel and I look over the story board at the characters that may be showcased in the film, we struggle with the understanding of what dreams do these players really have.  Does the information we have truly tell the story of each player or do we need to delve even further into their lives?  When you want to put together a great project that tells a compelling story, you need to have all the components and the players are the key to the story.  As Daniel and I contemplate what angle we will deliver we will focus on these key athletes and what makes each tick and which part of their journey stands out the most.

As I have talked with a few players already, the journey's that they share have already given me an idea that our film will truly show people that best side of semi-pro football.  The negative aspect is always what people assume because they are looking at the outside version only, they have not looked within.  Daniel and I have been blessed with the opportunity to look within the walls of the team, to get a great glimpse as to what their everyday lives are like. Which athlete has the biggest dream, or which talent other than football truly inspires them to be successful.  The most important part of the film will be what is it like within the walls of their homes.  Is there pressure to succeed because of the main responsibilities or is the pressure just too much to handle and the inevitable is upon them and that may be that they have to hang up their cleats.

We are truly entering a venue that has not been entered before and what we may discover is a world that no one truly cared to tell. Everyone wants to focus on the negatives of the game, but what we hope to share is the true story of where these athletes hope to go.

Hope you are enjoying this ride with us and the best is yet to come.

Florida Stingrays Host Free Youth Camp and We Were Invited to Share in the Moment

Yesterday morning the Florida Stingrays held a Free Youth Football Camp at their home field.  This is an event that they host each season and sometimes twice in a season.  We were invited out so we could film the camp for our documentary.  It was a amazing day from start to finish.

Since Daniel and I have started this journey, we have been amazed not only of the access we have been given by the team, but by the way the organization goes about their business   Every time there is an event that will help their community there are players that come out and are extremely excited to be there.  Yesterday the star of our poster, #11 Lonnie Smith and #32 Jarvis Battle came out with coaches Chris Morant, James Ingerham and Roy Stabler along with Stingrays owner Jay Lawrence to teach these young men ages 3-15 the basics of the game.  The kids even received a free lunch.

Daniel was there with his camera to record such a special event, not only for the film but to showcase how this local semi-pro football team loves to give back to their community. I was there to take pictures so we could save the memories of such a great day.

As we watched the players interact with the young boys, we saw another side of these giants.  On the field they are monster, beasts that are looking to take out their opponent and score the big hit or touchdown, but on this one day, these giants, became gentle men just looking to have the opportunity to share their knowledge of the game with these young men.  We learned very quickly the inside dreams of these players, where they have been and where they wish they would have ended up.  But at the end of the day as they shared a pizza with these boys, you could see the happiness in the players eyes as they now created new friendships that will last a lifetime.

Producers of Film are Interviewed on Amateur Football Weekly

Tonight Director Daniel Herrera and myself were guests on the Amateur Football Weekly Radio show hosted by Mark Trueblood.  Mark is a former football player and amateur football team owner and has ventured into a new phase in his life and this radio show has been a huge success this first season. Mark focuses on the semi-pro football world, the makers and shakers of the game and also the top teams in the State of Florida. I know Mark from when I co-ran the Florida Stingrays with Jay Lawrence last season. Mark was the co-owner of the Southern Amateur Football Association which the Stingrays were apart of.  Mark and I have built a good relationship since our days of running the organizations and when he heard about our film, he was excited about having us on to talk about our project.

In the interview Daniel gave a great perspective of how he used his other project "Immokalee USA", which is still showing on the Documentary channel, to help mold the many changes that took place in the migrant worker camps in Immokalee and probably all over this country.  Daniel also touched on the many aspects as to how our film can be a catapult to educate the many people who probably do not have any knowledge of game and life of semi-pro football.

When it was my turn to speak, Mark gave me a great question, "How did you get involved in this project and what will it do for this level of football?", well my first points were that when Daniel first brought the project to my attention, it wasn't anything that I was looking for and I was mostly focusing on contributing to the sports blogs that I had been given the opportunity to write in.  So initially the project didn't intrigue me, but when the new football season was about to roll around, Daniel approached me again and I had a different point  of view.  Since I had some knowledge of the game while running the Stingrays last season, I had an inside look into what these players face on and off the field. The journeys that each player has taken and where are they trying to get back to or even go.  So after really researching the story and realizing that no one has ever told the story the way Daniel wanted to present it, well it was a no brainer, it was a story that I felt had to be told and I would be honored to be apart of it.

I feel that once we are done with our film, our story will be one that many people will finally see the true lives of these players and many more people even players or former players will be able to relate to the journey.  I am excited about the film and very anxious to finish it, but I know we have a lot of work to do before we can get to that point, but I feel confident that when we are ready to put our stamp of approval on the film, anyone that watches it after that, will be very pleased with the results.  You never know it may even change a few lives along the way.

Thank you to Mark Trueblood for believing in our journey of producing this film and want to give us the opportunity to share about it on his show.  Mark is a true class act and we are grateful we had this opportunity.

You can hear our interview by following the link below.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/afdnetwork/2013/03/14/amateur-football-weekly--season-1-episode-8

Local News Station, Wink News, Visits With The Stingrays Very Early at The Field

I received a call from Jay on Monday that Wink News, who is one of our local news stations, contacted him to see if the team would meet one of their reporters and crew at the football field at 5 am today.  At first I thought Jay meant 5 pm, but I was wrong.  He said they would showcase the team during their early morning show.  After speaking with Jay, I called Daniel and told him we had to make sure we were there.  I didn't have to say much because we knew this was a great opportunity to film the event and add to our work in progress.  Daniel agreed and we discussed everything that we needed take and be ready.

After last minute preparations last night,  I set out to go to sleep early to be well rested for what I knew was going to be a very long day.  I just didn't anticipate that the excitement would take over my mind and I wouldn't be able to sleep much.  You see ever since Daniel welcomed me on this journey, I have visioned what it will all be when we are finished and each day we grow closer to that.  So much has happened and it gets exciting each day that we are working on this great project.  We have received nothing but excitement from everyone that we have shared this with including the Stingrays.  From the coaches to the players everyone has welcomed this idea and they are excited for what is to come.

Even going back to our photo shoot for the poster.  Daniel and I talked about the vision we had for the poster, but I really didn't know if what we shared would actually become a reality.  To see the finished product brings goosebumps to my arms. Doug Heslep who was the photographer that brought our idea to life, just truly did magic with our poster. The results are just what we thought it could be. Also,  the stand-ins for the poster and also the Stingrays QB (Lonnie Young) were just so gracious and understanding with Daniel and Doug as they both did what was needed to frame the shot.

Now getting back to this morning, well I arrived at the field at 4:40 am to be greeted by Stingrays Head Coach Chris Morant.  My job today was to get photos of the behind the scenes, behind the scenes shots, in other words, take a picture of Daniel filming the news reporter and cameraman filing the team. I was able to capture the moment not only with my Nikon D3000, but also with my Samsung Galaxy S3 which I believe takes the best shots of the two.

The news crew arrived around 5:15 am and were greeted by the anxiously awaiting players.  But the news lady,  Vanessa Ruffes,  showed up with more enthusiasm than most of us had that early in the morning and just jelled so well with the players.  She participated in some drills, interviewed Jay, the coaches and some players and just had a great time with everyone.  She mentioned about our film numerous times which was a great plug for us and even got Daniel on camera a few times. I eventually had to leave but I got home with enough time to watch their final segment interviewing Coach Morant and once again plugging the film.

So all in all not only was it a great day for the Stingrays but it was a great day for Journeymen the Film.  We received the attention that we needed and now we turn our focus on continuing to share about our film and share the journey that so many of us are traveling on now.