Veteran Production Assistant Michael De Chant and in-demand cameraman Doug Gritzmacher team for the acclaimed new documentary, Soldiers of Paint. Released to coincide the upcoming anniversary of D-Day, the Netflix release tells of one of the most thrilling paintball battles ever staged. Join 4,000 participants as they restage D-Day, the notorious 6th of June invasion of Normandy. Instead of bullets, it's paintball; instead of the French coast, it's Oklahoma. And, every year, it's any man's game, which means the Germans could win! Staged on a 700-acre battlefield owned by the grand-son of a veteran of Omaha Beach, this yearly battle of paint is fought as a tribute to all veterans. These paintball soldiers take "gung ho" to an all-time high, utilizing real tanks and airplanes for this epic fight.
Read our interview after the Jump...
For both of you, is this your first film?
DOUG : Mike and I have collaborated on several short films. Our most recent, “Bone Mixers”, is about an unlikely group of diverse people united by the game of dominoes. People from all different backgrounds—Czech Republic, Cuba, Iraq, Venezuala, Jamacia—gather once a week to play dominoes together. They bring with them elements of their respective cultures, so you have Americans eating aki and saltfish, a traditional Jamacian dish, while listening to salsa music on the stereo. The film played in several film festivals and won four awards and a grant. We found a similar dynamic with the Oklahoma D-Day game, where people of all different economic and social backgrounds are brought together in the middle of rural Oklahoma to play that game.
Why did you choose this particular subject to make a movie about?
DOUG : As filmmakers we first look for subject matter that provides a rich mix of engaging characters, dramatic story, and natural humor. We found all those elements and more in the "Oklahoma D-Day" event. Paintball just happens to be what brings all those elements together, but it also allowed us an opportunity to break the documentary mold. We wanted to make a documentary that had action, suspense and drama like you might find in a narrative action-adventure film and the paintball battle at "Oklahoma D-Day" had all that, too. Having gone through the battle multiple times now ourselves, we can safely say it is one of the most intense experiences we've had. To capture that excitement for you, the viewer, we embedded 11 cameramen in various units within the battle with two cameramen in the command centers. Each of our characters experienced very personal storylines of their own throughout the battle and our cameras were there to capture it all, which allowed us to create a moving, emotional, and riveting documentary.
MICHAEL: We were also really impressed with the community that we encountered when we first visited the event. They surprised us with how open and welcoming they were to a couple dudes from Washington DC who wanted to make a movie about them. For us, the epic “Saving Private Ryan” esque battle action at OK D-Day was going to be a pivotal part of creating a ground breaking doc but we also knew that to have a real story, we needed people – the compelling characters and personal stories that are critical to a good documentary. We saw that in the people we met the very first time we went to Oklahoma and that sold us on paintball as a subject matter.
The movie was shot primarily in Oklahoma, is that right?
DOUG : The game takes place in Oklahoma, so we spent a lot of time shooting there. But there is a lot of game played off the field during the 364 days leading up to each year’s game. So that meant traveling to and shooting at the places where our main “characters” lived and spending time preparing for the battle. Some of these locations included Chicago, Florida, New Orleans, Wichita, North Carolina, and Missouri.
What's the goal in Paintball? To 'paint' the opponent?
DOUG : It depends on the game. For Oklahoma D-Day, the goal is to amass more points than the opponent by the end of the game. Points are awarded to the side that captures specific “objectives”, such as Omaha Beach or Colleville. Points are also awarded for tank “kills”. But to kill a tank and capture an objective, lighting up your opponent’s troops is a necessary part of the game. Once you are hit by a paintball you are “dead” and required to sit out in a “dead zone” for about half an hour. The more troops on the other side you can hit, the easier it will be to take or hold an objective.
MICHAEL: A lot of small scale paintball games are built on the “capture the flag” concept: Through strategy and attrition – two teams battle each other to take a flag that is held at the far end of each of the team’s side of the field. At Oklahoma D-Day, there are “objectives” across the entire 700-acre battlefield over a course of an 8-hour day. These objectives are also time based – so for example the Allies need to take “Pegasus Bridge” by a certain time in the morning to get the points that are available. If the Germans hold off the Allies up to that time expiration, they get the points. Each of the objectives has a flagpole that flies the color of the team that controls it: If held by the Germans, the flag is red – and if held by the Allies the flag is blue. The objectives also typically hold strategic importance, so even though points are no longer available, the teams usually leave a force behind to secure the objective from being re-taken.
The movie is much more than a paintball movie, wouldn't you say?
DOUG : Absolutely. I personally don’t play paintball and have no interest in shooting a gun of any kind, yet I made this movie! We were inspired by such films as “Murderball” and “King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”. The latter film is about an average joe who decided to try and get the all time high score in Donkey Kong. On the surface you would say, oh that’s just a film for video game fanatics, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In actuality, it’s the story of a man pursuing a dream, or a claim to fame, to find something that makes his life, in his eyes, meaningful. That’s something we can all relate to. We found a similar dynamic with Oklahoma D-Day. Yes, it involves paintball, but paintball is just the element that allows us to show larger, more universal themes that we can all relate to. Our goal was to make a film that appealed to paintball and non-paintball players alike. Since the film’s release we have gotten several messages from non-paintball players and wives whose husbands dragged them to see the film, on how surprised they were at how much they enjoyed the film.
MICHAEL: Yes. I see “Soldiers of Paint” as a true American tale. The paintball battle is indeed epic and entertaining but to me this event and the people who make it happen each June represent some of the best qualities in what it means to be American. Through his blood, sweat, and tears the event owner, Dewayne Convirs, has defied the odds against him to build this ultimate destination event – where men, women, and children of all races and nationalities convene for a week every year in rural “fly over” America. Yes, this community is united by their love of paintball and competition to win but what’s more is that they are equally united in their desire to have fun and to honor those who have sacrificed for their freedom.
Have you any plans to make another movie together?
DOUG : As we have learned throughout the making of this film, filmmaking is multi-step process. The final step of which is marketing and promotion. So to be honest we are still making this film and haven't had a chance to think about making another one.
MICHAEL: It’s funny - we’ve had a couple fans ask us if we’re going to make a “Soldiers of Paint 2”! My first thought is that I’m honored that they liked our movie enough that they’d want to see a sequel! But after the epic journey that we’ve been on to finish this film I truly don’t see that happening. As filmmakers we’re always looking for that next compelling idea that may just inspire us to grab our cameras - but until then, we continue the work to market and promote “Soldiers of Paint” (1)
Buy "Soldiers of Paint" here : http://www.soldiersofpaint.com/#!buy/mainPage
Please Leave A Comment-
Comments