Mentioned in this article Teams: McLaren

Have you ever wanted to know what it’s like to be a professional Magic: the Gathering player? Well, take a gander at Enter the Battlefield, a documentary created by fans of the game, all about seven pros and their stories through years of competition. Highlighting each individual and their struggles to make it big—whether it’s growing up, raising a family, or simply being female—ETB is a great insight into what it takes to live as a professional gamer. Interested? Well, take a look.

When I heard about Enter the Battlefield, however, I was interested on what it would take to make such a documentary. So, I got a hold of the creators, Nathan Holt and Shawn Kornhauser—a two-man crew that produced and directed the feature. Both are experienced documentarians, and have over 40 episodes of the Magic-themed web series Walking the Planes under their belts. ETB, then, was a natural progression into a larger stage. Here’s what they had to say about the film, the pro scene, and the game they love.

What initial steps did you take in creating Enter the Battlefield?

NH: Once the project was greenlit, we had to recruit subjects. That process was exhaustive and difficult, but we love the people we ended up featuring.

SK: Choosing our subjects was step 1. We knew that we wanted to showcase the wide array of personalities that make up the Pro Tour,­ not just the best players.

What was the production process like?

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Doing every task with a 2-man crew is not ideal.[/perfectpullquote]

NH: Long and slow. Doing every task with a 2-man crew is not ideal. Everything takes longer. Often times we’d be shooting for our web series at the same time we were shooting for ETB. It was a lot to take on.

SK: It was definitely a huge challenge for us. We had a very minimal crew (just Nate and myself for the most part) and were shooting other projects at the same time as Enter the Battlefield. We had also never taken on a project of this magnitude so we were kind of learning as we went.

What were particular challenges in production? Was anything surprisingly easily?

NH: Upping my game as an administrator was important. Shawn and I are DIY artists from Philly, so the corporate red tape in the film world is pretty new to us, and challenging. It’s hard for me to say anything went easy. We cared so much about every choice and had so many to make and re-make and revise and re-submit and and and etc etc etc. Hearing Magic players from around the world tell me that the film brought them closer to their families—that’s easy. I could listen to that all day.

SK: It’s honestly very difficult to try and highlight an aspect that I would describe as “easy”. We had an amazing composer in Jay Purdy who created a wonderful score for the project. I’m not sure it was easy, but the most fun I had was laying the score in to the editing timeline. Hearing Jay’s music put to our footage never got old.

You use a lot of footage that you’ve filmed over the years for Walking the Planes. How was the process of integrating that footage for film shot specifically for ETB? Would you do so again?

NH: We weren’t making a doc back when Melissa DeTora Top 8’d Pro Tour Gatecrash. But we were there and we captured the moment. There’s no way we could’ve excluded it even though it was shot for a different project. And using old material can sometimes feel fresh. Re-purposing the Pro Tour promotional trailer from 1996 was a blast, for instance.

SK: Re­using old footage we had shot for Walking the Planes just sort of made sense once we figured out our characters’ storylines. The only footage we had of Chris Pikula playing on the Pro Tour was from Walking the Planes footage, so it just kind of fell in our laps.

Who was your favorite person to interview?

NH: Patrick Chapin. He’s completely unique.

SK: Reid Duke was my favorite person to interview. I find his earnestness to be so refreshing.

Whose story did you find most compelling?

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””][Chris Pikula’s] story resonates so much with me.[/perfectpullquote]

NH: Chris Pikula’s. His story has been building for so many years, and triggers so many emotions from him, it creates a marvelous suspense.

SK: Chris Pikula was the first player I suggested we feature in the movie. His story resonates so much with me and it was kind of a no­brainer to include him in the movie. We could easily have spent 90 minutes just on Chris.

The film starts with an introduction to the game. How necessary did you feel it was to include that? Would you include it (or something similar) in a sequel or another similar film?

NH: Very necessary. I want non-Magic players to enjoy the movie. Family and friends of players are most important to me, but random curious Netflix viewers matter too. The game is so complex that describing it in its most basic terms is crucial for the audience to orient itself.

There’s a theme of teamwork, particularly with the Peach Garden Oath members. Do you see Magic as a team sport? Is it possible to succeed individually?

NH: There’s a great tension between collective and individual greatness. Once teamwork became popular at the highest levels, there’s no going back. At the same time, individuals really stand out. Some great players are loners though, such as Shota Yasooka or Shaun McLaren. They can gain a little edge in surprise factor by not sharing their strategic secrets.

SK: At this point it is very very difficult to compete with the Magic “super­teams” as a solo player. It’s possible to get up to speed in constructed formats, but the amount of knowledge these teams share in regards to the limited format is really hard to keep pace with as an individual.

“The Misplay” is a notable part of the film, and is presented almost like a big play in traditional sports (The Catch, The Butt Fumble, etc). Do you see more potential for this kind of storytelling… maybe a series?

NH: Very cool idea for a series! There have been some epic moments throughout the years. In Episode 3 of Walking the Planes, we spend time talking to Patrick Chapin about how he jedi-mind-tricked Uri Peleg in the finals of the World Championship. It made for a neat segment and I could see doing more of that.

You also highlighted Melissa DeTora frequently throughout the film. How important was it to you to show gender diversity?

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Imagine a world where young girls can grow up feeling like they’re capable of anything.[/perfectpullquote]

NH: Incredibly important. As the Magic community becomes more welcoming to women, the potential for growth is exponential. Imagine a world where playing Magic is a hot date, and not a negotiation between bickering partners. Imagine a world where a Magic event feels like a real party, where you can meet all kinds of people and maybe get someone’s phone number if you’re lucky. Imagine a world where young girls can grow up feeling like they’re capable of anything, where entire sectors of entertainment and competition no longer reject them based on their gender.

The most rewarding feedback I’ve gotten about our coverage of Melissa is that young girls watch her and want to be like her. She walks the walk. The impact can’t be overstated.

SK: Showcasing an elite female player was a high priority for us. Not only was showing such a huge milestone for Pro Magic an appealing thought in itself, but Nate and I are very much interested in making competitive Magic a more welcoming environment for female players.

How important is it to tell the story of the players of Magic? What advice would you give to those seeking to tell those stories?

NH: Because I think community is more important than winning a game, I think player stories are incredibly important. That’s been our job from Day 1. If others wanna make video content to tell these stories, I’d tell them what I tell everyone: make sure your audio sounds good. We’re not the most skilled technicians, and our audio could be better, but we’re smart enough to know it’s the most important element of video production.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]If I were to give advice to others trying to tell similar stories I would encourage them to spend a lot of time interviewing different people.[/perfectpullquote]

SK: This has been our focus since the very first tournament we covered ­ Pro Tour Philadelphia in 2011. Magic is a game played on a table, and the cards generally get to be the center of attention. But sports become popular when the viewers become knowledgeable about their athletes and players ­ not their tools. Getting viewers at home excited about hearing pro Magic players’ stories is an important next step in Magic’s growth as a competitive game. If I were to give advice to others trying to tell similar stories I would encourage them to spend a lot of time interviewing different people. Learning how to get a subject to be comfortable on camera is more difficult than you think. Once you can get someone to open the floodgates it should be easy from there (well, not easy…but at least your project will have a chance of not being terrible).

How was the film received?

NH: Extremely well! I can’t count how many Facebook messages I got that gushed over ETB.

SK: Overall we are very pleased with the response we’ve gotten. I’ve also encouraged viewers to offer constructive criticism and have gotten some really great feedback to keep in mind for next time.

Any things you would change now seeing public feedback?

NH: We wish we had prioritized getting another international player other than Shahar. We were dealing with a lot of logistical challenges, but that hurdle would’ve been worth jumping over.

What’s the one biggest takeaway you want viewers to have?

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]These are complex individuals who don’t often get an opportunity to tell their story.[/perfectpullquote]

NH: I want the viewers to experience Magic as a community and a culture more so than a game and collectible. If you walk among us, you know.

SK: I want viewers to form a connection with the players we featured. Whether it’s getting a deeper understanding of why Owen Turtenwald is hyper­competitive, or what is really behind Patrick’s desire to win the World Championship, or how conflicted Chris PIkula is about managing his passion for Magic and his love for his family. These are complex individuals who don’t often get an opportunity to tell their story.

Should there be an ESPN 30 for 30 about Magic?

NH: Of course! There’s even a huge backlog of ESPN footage from when the game was on TV in the 90s!

SK: Absolutely. There are so many juicy stories about the early Wild West days of Magic that I would love to see covered in a 30 for 30.

What was the funniest moment to happen while filming?

NH: Coaxing Patrick Chapin to rap on camera was hilarious and tense.

SK: Trying to keep a straight face when Patrick Chapin threw some fried chicken into the microwave at 9:00 am was pretty challenging.

Will there be a followup? What are the next steps to continuing this story?

NH: Stay tuned…(wink wink)