EPTWhat made you to make this movie?
I've been a big fan of Starcraft (and all of Blizzard's games) for a very long time. So when MLG came to DC last October, I went and saw all of the amazing energy and excitement. Since I'm a filmmaker, my first thought on the drive home was, "There's a movie here." Before the end of the weekend I'd started doing my research and putting together proposals and ideas. I had contacted SirScoots a month or two later and everything just went from there.
Why did you chose EG as THE team to follow?
There are a lot of reasons for choosing EG. First is that despite Starcraft 2 being a relatively new competitive scene, EG has been in e-sports for a very long time. All of the players were veterans of either Brood War or another game, so I knew they had very interesting stories to tell and that they were serious about this as a career. I'm also interested in the business side of a professional team, and EG is a great case study of that side of things. Overall, they had a good variety of personalities, they're all very articulate and interesting, and I knew that they would make a great story. On the personal side, they are my favorite team so they were naturally my first choice.
A lot of people make kickstarter page for their project? Did you expect
to gather 10k you needed in 7 days? Also, did you get in touch with a
person who donated 5,000 by himself?
I actually only just woke up to see that, I'm still floored and a bit speechless! I haven't contact him yet, but I will be soon.
Kickstarter is definitely the popular thing to do, which actually was something that made us a little wary of it because we didn't want the Starcraft community to see us as just another set of people with their hand out. But crowdfunding is one of the best things to come to independent documentary. It's an amazing tool to help us connect with our audience and the people who want to see our film no matter where in the world they are. The film community has really embraced it because it helps us connect with each other as well.
We had no idea that we would reach our goal in the first week. After we did well in our first two days, my goal was just to get to halfway in the first week (which is still remarkable). I'm so incredibly grateful to the SC2 community for believing in our film. Of course, the fight isn't over just because we reached our goal. We intentionally made our goal only a fraction of the budget, so now any money raised can go towards post-production.
What was the best experience for you so far?
Right now, it's meeting our Kickstarter goal! But with the actual filming, there are so many wonderful moments to choose from. We started at PAX East, where we met iNcontroL and SirScoots for the first time. I think that stands out because it was the moment when I knew this was actually going to happen. There are moments that stick out for me for each player though, they are all so fantastic and really funny. I also really love that I have this chance to work with the crew that I have. It's always a thrill to be working on a film with talented people that you are also friends with.
Besides EG members, who will we be able to see in the movie? Other pros
or maybe team managers?
That's definitely the plan. At the next few events we'll be approaching more people from other teams and their managers. I have a wish list of who I would like to talk to. We're also talking to tournament organizers about what goes into a big event like this, and I'm planning to talk to casters and e-sports journalists as well.
We also are talking with different people that work for EG and not just their players. I'm interested in every aspect of what makes a team work, so I want to know about the behind the scenes work as well.
You are the first person who's making an SC2 movie and apparently
knowing the game? Do you play SC2?
I do, though certainly not at this high a level. I started playing Brood War in 2000, usually playing 3v3s with my friends and playing the campaign. I took a bit of a break from playing myself, but I got sucked into the competitive scene in South Korea through listening to my husband watch Tasteless' commentaries. For me, I'm such a fan of everything Blizzard makes that I always pre-order the Collector's Edition and SC2 was no different. It came out the same week as my birthday, which was an awesome present. I tend to love Blizzard because of the lore and the story, so I focused more on the campaign. Of course, making a movie about Starcraft has really cut into my play time.
Most of our crew also either played Brood War or plays SC2.
You made quite a few films. Can we see them somewhere online? Or buy
any of them?
At the moment, sadly nothing of mine is readily available. My two most recent films are still being sent around to film festivals and my hope is that they will be available soon. Although you can see the trailer for my most recent film here: http://www.vimeo.com/20218757 My other films are a mixed bag, some were made on very old technology so I just haven't put them in a format that could go online. I started this crazy dream back in 1998, so we were working on VHS tapes and linear editing systems at first. It's something that's on my list of things to do, but I get so excited about making new films that it keeps getting pushed back.
You are currently 1 out of 4 movie makers who're tackling the topic of
Starcraft. How do you feel your movie differs from the others?
I think the easiest thing to point out is that we're all very different people and different directors. We're all going to be drawn to the aspects of Starcraft that we find most interesting. For me, I want to know how a team works, how this works as a career, and how exactly do these guys manage to chase this dream. I think that I'm getting more into the business side of things, and I have a very specific focus.
I actually think that the films are all going to work well together because if somebody sees one and wants to know more, they have others to go to.
We all know you're covering the US and Korean scene, but how about
Europe? Are you planing to go there?
I would absolutely love to go to Europe to cover a tournament there. It just becomes a matter of funding and timing, so we've had to make priorities and Europe is on our wish list. If we find the funding and the timing works out that we could travel to see EG compete, then we'll do it. We just don't know for sure if that will happen, so I don't want to get people excited about it if we're unable to go.
Have you visited any barcraft?
We have! We're mostly based in Washington, DC and there's a great Barcraft group here. We were able to go out for the opening night of Season Two of the NASL. I can personally testify that the Terran drink is the best one. We had an amazing time, and we did get to film some. We're hoping to get back to another one, the only problem is a lot of the time when there is a Barcraft we are at the event they are watching. But it looks like we'll be able to go to more of them. It was such a great time, and the people are really amazing.
Thanks so much,
Mary
