We love talking to young people finding their way and doing great things! This episode is no exception! In this podcast, we talk to Andrew Stephens, a recent college graduate and young filmmaker who filmed and produced his first documentary as a senior in College! 27 Deep is a movie-style documentary that follows the players of the 2022-2023 Haverford College men's soccer team. In this year, Andrew and his teammates are repeatedly challenged on the field and off. Nerves and a will to win are tested by this team. The lessons learned span more than just through the season.
You won't want to miss this special talk!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Glenda.
And I'm Lisa.
And we are Two Black Moms and aMic.
Between us, we have six kids,four boys and two girls.
SPEAKER_02 (00:12):
And we're here to talk to you about everything
from diapers to degrees.
Welcome to our podcast.
We're really excited todaybecause today we're going to
showcase another young persondoing some really great things.
Today we have as our guestAndrew Stevens, and Andrew is a
young, aspiring filmmaker.
He just came out with his firstfilm documentary called 27 Deep.
(00:36):
He graduated from SidwellFriends School in the D.C.
area, and he recently graduatedfrom Haverford College.
Andrew, thanks for joining ustoday.
SPEAKER_00 (00:44):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_02 (00:45):
Why don't you just tell us a little bit about your
new film documentary?
SPEAKER_00 (00:49):
Yeah, so 27 Deep is a documentary about my college
soccer team's 2022-2023 season.
It's about family.
It's about overcoming adversity.
It's about taking accountabilityfor your success and all the
highs and lows of a soccerseason.
It's meant to be exciting, butalso meant to tell a real story
about what we learned as playerson the team and as really just
(01:12):
family members as we workthrough these struggles and
experienced a crazy yeartogether.
SPEAKER_01 (01:17):
What was the spark or the idea that led to the
creation of this movie aboutyour college soccer?
SPEAKER_00 (01:23):
So since that was my senior year, initially, I just
wanted to have a way tomemorialize the year.
I knew that there probablywouldn't be a budget for some
type of large production or evenjust a smaller production just
for our team specifically,because Hartford is a D3 school.
So there isn't much allocatedtowards that.
But I did think that it wasgoing to be a great year on the
field.
And I was hoping that we couldhave some way to just
(01:45):
memorialize kind of the journeythat we had coming from COVID
and just the history of theprogram and all that to get back
to where we wanted to be as aprogram.
And so I just kind of with thatidea and I'm just pitch it to my
teammates.
And it kind of went from there.
SPEAKER_02 (01:59):
I thought it was interesting how you wove in the
idea of family.
And you're talking about yourcollege soccer family.
Yeah.
So I was a soccer mom for manyyears and Glenda was also a
soccer mom.
And I can relate to the drama ofa soccer season very, very well.
And while you sit there andwatch the kids going through the
(02:22):
highs and lows, I have to say,you know, the parents go through
it just as much as the kids do.
I mean, we were very, very much,you know, emotionally entangled
with our college.
Right.
Remember, Glenda, because ourgirls played together soccer in
middle school and high
SPEAKER_01 (02:38):
school.
Yeah.
My daughter.
went to Pomona.
And although she didn't go thereto play soccer, it's also a D3
school She played pickup soccerwhile she was there because
while she was here, she wasplaying club soccer until she
graduated from high school.
And she was at your arrival.
She was at Georgetown Day.
So I actually missed when sheleft.
(03:00):
I had an emptiness about thesoccer season because I had been
following her since she was insecond grade.
My
SPEAKER_00 (03:06):
parents were very excited when I was able to walk
onto the team there atHaverford.
Yeah, you've
SPEAKER_02 (03:11):
got a great story.
Your Haverford story.
SPEAKER_00 (03:14):
Yeah, but they were very excited to be able to watch
me play again and just be aDefinitely a little different in
terms of like the coachingdynamic, because I know
SPEAKER_02 (03:26):
a lot of youth parents are very involved.
(03:47):
Thank you.
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (04:12):
Well, a lot of competing things that were going
on behind the scenes in thisstory.
It is a genuine story, but it'sheavily abbreviated.
There's a lot of things that Idefinitely felt like shouldn't
go in the film that happenedduring the season or happened
during the off season.
And ultimately I was trying tokind of boil it all down into
something that people who werethere would understand and say,
(04:32):
I know what you're talkingabout.
People who weren't there wouldsay, okay, like this is still a
very interesting story.
And I was also trying to writesomething that would help the
players who are still there bemotivated and inspired by a
season that wasn't very good andalso follow through with all the
things that we talked aboutdoing as a team in the
offseason, changing our habits,being better about things.
(04:55):
And there were a lot of thingsthat weren't in our control, but
I was trying to insinuate thatthere are a lot of things that
are in your control.
And if you're able to keep thatin mind and take responsibility,
you're going to have a lotbetter chance of success.
I was kind of trying to cutimmediately the idea that you
can just blame someone else forwhatever's happening, even if
something legitimately happenedthat you couldn't do anything
(05:17):
about.
SPEAKER_02 (05:17):
Yeah, because that question to the audience really
can speak to the individual whois listening to the words that
you're saying.
Right.
So I thought that that was quitelike sort of an insightful way
to start the movie.
SPEAKER_01 (05:30):
It sounds like you wanted to target to make sure
everybody had a growth mindset,that they were using strength to
move past whatever obstaclesthey had been enforcing, which
actually is pretty good comingfrom someone pretty young.
You're a senior in college, sosome people don't get to that
point of understanding untilmuch later, and some people
(05:51):
never get to that
SPEAKER_00 (05:52):
point.
I appreciate
SPEAKER_02 (05:53):
that.
And even as an adult, I was likethinking, yeah, you know, who
are my enemies?
SPEAKER_00 (05:58):
A lot of things happened during that year that
kind of forced me to have thatapproach, you know, especially
with being on a college team.
You have a lot of freshmen likeyou, a lot of younger guys who
look up to you.
And a lot of times you want tobe upset about something, but
you have to at least show themthat they do have control over
it.
And, you know, once they growand mature, then they'll say,
OK, like maybe these things wecan't control.
(06:19):
But as long as we as a team worktowards a goal and take
responsibility, then we have achance.
SPEAKER_01 (06:25):
That's really positive outlook, a growth
mindset outlook.
What were one of the bestmoments for you in the film?
SPEAKER_00 (06:33):
I think the end.
It's interesting that you askedthat because obviously there are
parts that I enjoy, but thereare things, some things were
tougher to make than others.
I think more down part to thefilm.
I lived it.
I was there for most of the timethat I was creating it.
I was like, wow, this is tough.
It's tough to watch back.
And I was trying to figure outhow to cut it up, but I'm proud
of how I put those partstogether because they were very
(06:55):
emotional in a lot of ways.
And I know that for myself andmy team, it really took us back
to what that was like.
And you get really intimate.
I knew that the end was going tobe the end when I saw it in the
raw footage when we were donefilming.
So I guess over a year ago, Iwas like, this has to be the
end.
And it was kind of as I go onthroughout the film, I got
better at editing because I wasstill learning all these
(07:16):
processes.
And so that last section where Iwas putting together two games
at the same time and trying todrive home this point, when I
guess...
You're saying you don't want togive away the film.
Well, I'll say this, but thispoint that, you know, if you
want to be the best, if you wantto win a championship,
basically, that you have to beatthe best teams and you have to
take advantage of youropportunities because there'll
be few and far between.
(07:36):
That moment in the season wherewe really broke through or
thought we were breakingthrough, it was unbelievable.
We thought like this was, we'regoing all the way.
Like we came back in this game,this team, one of the best teams
in the country at the time.
It was just pure will in thatgame.
And so that's a favorite momentof mine for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (07:54):
And I can see why it would be.
It's a very big growth moment,too.
SPEAKER_02 (07:58):
In the middle of the film, the team captains talking
about how are we going to getover this hurdle?
How are we going to determinewhat the problem is and then fix
it so that we can do better inthe next season?
Right.
So you have the team captainstrying to figure out like what
to do.
And one of the team captains, Iremember saying the hardest
thing is to captain a losingteam.
Yeah.
But what was interesting is thatthey were trying to be
(08:18):
transparent.
They're trying to take in ideasfor improvement and letting
everybody have a voice.
When you were like filming that,how did that make you feel in
terms of their wanting to getbuy in essentially by all the
team members on how on a planfor moving forward to improve
the outcomes of the team?
SPEAKER_00 (08:39):
So like filming the interviews?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I wasn't literally there formost of what they were talking
about, but I'm really close tothose two guys, and I give them
a lot of credit for what theydid because they were put in a
really tough situation wherethey had to, as leaders,
basically do things that you'renot expected to as a captain in
terms of talking to AD and justother external things, and you
(08:59):
also have to keep the teaminspired and motivated because
we came off a really, reallytough year.
We were 4, 8, and 5, and it's aprogram that has high
expectations, We have a lot ofalum who are really invested and
really excited about theprogram, especially like guys
who graduated like 2018, 2019,who won like three conference
(09:19):
championships while they werethere.
There's a lot of pressure whenthose guys were going into their
senior year and they didn't havea blueprint.
I knew that they were goingthrough a lot and just putting
so much energy and time intomaking sure that the next year
would be better.
So when they were talking aboutit in the interviews, I was
like, I believe you 100%.
Because there are a ton ofdifferent competing ideas of
(09:41):
what to do, where to go nextfrom all the players.
And everyone's an individual atthe end of the day.
But we need to be a team.
So you have to incorporate whatpeople are saying.
And even if you give less weightto something at the end of the
day, you still have to take itinto account because people have
friends, people have groups.
within the team.
And even if we're all tight,it's like people are still going
(10:01):
to talk and have ideas.
And I just commend them for howthey handled it and what they
did, because it would have beenreally easy to give up.
Do you think
SPEAKER_02 (10:08):
that kept people emotionally invested in what the
team was doing and want tocontinue to
SPEAKER_00 (10:14):
definitely
SPEAKER_02 (10:15):
push forward?
SPEAKER_00 (10:15):
I think in general, also give a lot of props to
everyone on the team, becauselooking back, everyone played a
unique role in terms of gettingthe team back to a place where
they want to be at.
And they had a good season thisyear.
came up a little short of theplayoffs, but ultimately much
better than the past couple ofyears after COVID.
But really, everyone had to buyin to something that they
(10:37):
weren't used to for the firstcouple of years, because it's
one thing to say, I want to bebetter.
I want us to win this year.
But the question is, are youactually willing to do what it
takes to get you there?
Right.
Other programs are doing a lotbetter, putting a lot more into
it.
We want to be like them, butit's not just magic.
SPEAKER_02 (10:53):
Those lessons are for ever, not just soccer, but
yeah, for a lot of a lot ofthings that people try
SPEAKER_01 (10:59):
to.
Yeah, they're for a lifetime.
Yeah.
You're going to run acrossdifferent people in corporate
America that you're going tohave to work with.
Or even if you maintain holdingyour own company, you've got to
work with other people.
No one does that as a solo.
So learning how to work with theteam and to take voice from
everyone in the team and then tosimulate it and make sure it
(11:19):
works is a lifelong lesson.
And I'm impressed.
SPEAKER_00 (11:23):
I was impressed by them as well.
Well,
SPEAKER_01 (11:27):
Haverford in itself has got an environment that
embraces the uniqueness of theindividual and tries to bring it
together.
So if people are there, they'rethere because they want to be
and they want to be able tocollaborate amongst other
people.
So that in itself is a goodbreeding ground.
So what made you think that you,Mr.
(11:47):
Haverford, could go out and makea documentary?
SPEAKER_00 (11:50):
That's a great question.
There's a few things.
One is, I think, self-belief.
And this is something that Ikind of try to live by and I try
to share with other people.
And I think people will kind ofbelieve it more as we get older
and more experienced.
But I really believe that youcan only be as much as you
believe in yourself.
And other people will onlybelieve in you once they can
(12:11):
tell that you have confidenceand you believe in yourself.
There's a lot of things you canlearn, and especially when
you're young, it's like takechances, take risks.
And I had like a little bit ofediting experience.
I liked music.
And I like stories, I guess.
And so I thought, OK, I'll justsee if I can get the fundraising
for it, do my best to pitch itto my teammates, make it look as
(12:31):
appealing as possible.
And then someone will film itand we'll just see what happens.
I definitely think that lookingback now, if I knew what it
would take to make it, I wouldhave never started it.
SPEAKER_02 (12:42):
Oh, really?
It was harder than you thoughtit was going to be?
SPEAKER_00 (12:45):
Oh, yeah, way harder.
Yeah.
And I was actually thinkingabout this while I was driving
over.
I was like, it's probably goodwhen you're trying to do new
things or really difficultthings to have a healthy level
of ignorance in terms of whatyou're
SPEAKER_03 (12:56):
trying.
SPEAKER_00 (12:57):
I guess I'll put it like this.
If I knew how the season wouldhave gone, I definitely wouldn't
have done it because my wholethought process was this is
going to be a great year.
It's going to be something wewant to watch.
forever.
And like I put it together and Ialso enjoy like entrepreneurship
and just creating stuff, solvingproblems.
And so I was also hoping that itwould be a project that could
help me get going in that areaas well, because Haverford isn't
(13:20):
like a business school oranything like that.
So I was really trying to createmy own way.
That's why I started it.
And I just believe that I coulddo it.
I think also walking onto theteam helped me with that because
that was something that I haddone not that long ago at the
time, still not that long ago,but that had low odds and not
much precedent.
I made it.
(13:40):
So I kind of started to build abelief in myself that just
because it's low odds orwhatever doesn't mean that you
can't accomplish it.
It's just those are the oddsright now.
But as you take your steps, asyou get closer and closer, the
odds increase.
So I think about it.
Like if you ever following asporting event on like ESPN or
something, they have like a gamecast That shows you like win
(14:02):
probability.
And so like, let's say like it'sa basketball game and the team's
down 20.
It'll say like the other teamhas like an 85% chance of
winning.
But people come back from down20, 30 all the time.
And it's just, it's gettingcloser and closer.
The percentage drops and dropsand drops and then it's 50, 50.
But if you just quit at down 20,then you lose.
(14:23):
That's kind of my mindset withthat.
SPEAKER_02 (14:25):
See, the thing is when I watched it, I was
inspired by it.
Like win or lose, it didn'tmatter.
It was taking on the challengeand the effort of trying to turn
it around.
What I've learned in life isthat the process of getting
there matters just as much asthe end result, the outcome.
You can have a great outcome,but if the process is just so
(14:48):
difficult and so toxic, then theoutcome is just like, okay,
fine, that's over with.
Thank goodness.
Let's just get out of here.
I'm going to take my toys and gohome.
But if the process is a goodone, a good and solid, and you
build relationships and you'relearning and you're contributing
and you feel seen and heard, andmaybe you come up short by one
(15:10):
point, or maybe like I get mostof the grant that I want, but
not quite as much.
You know, I still feel like Iwon because I learned and it was
like Glenda said, like a growthopportunity.
And at some point, you know, youare going to win.
You're going to get everythingthat you want.
It just might take some time.
So that's what I walked awayfrom watching your movie.
(15:31):
It wasn't like, hope they got towin everything.
No, it was more like the processof getting through a season.
And it's interesting, too,because, you know, I just liked
seeing how the young men, thedynamics between the young men
and the respect towards eachother and just sort of this
joint effort of wanting theprocess to be a and healthy one
(15:52):
for everyone and still get theresult that you all desire.
Yeah.
So in that way, I do think it'sa success.
But I am also a mom.
SPEAKER_01 (16:02):
And you
SPEAKER_02 (16:03):
watched Andrew grow up.
But having been a soccer mom,though, the bad process can
totally mess people up.
No,
SPEAKER_01 (16:13):
it's totally, totally, totally, totally true.
As I'm sitting here and I'mlistening to you, Andrew, I'm
recalling something I heard Ihave a long commute on Tuesdays
and Thursdays.
So I've decided to listen tobooks on tapes.
And the most recent one I'mlistening to is called Hidden
Potential.
In there, he talks about how weshouldn't shy away from failure
(16:34):
because that's where we learn.
When things are hard, that'swhen we learn the most.
If it's easy, then cognitivelyit's not stimulating your brain
or your emotions aren't reallyinto it.
And although it getsfrustrating, sometimes you just
want to cry or you just want tohit a wall or something.
At the end, the potential...
for you to even move forward andmake another one is there
(16:56):
because you've learned so manyvaluable lessons along the way.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (17:01):
Yeah.
And I definitely had momentswhere I just wanted to stop or
just hit my head against thewall.
It was bad because there were somany things I had to learn on my
own throughout the process,whether it was writing a story,
writing narration, getting thecorrect equipment, learning the
editing software.
(17:21):
I remember the first time Iopened up the software, it was
the beginning of my senior yearbecause I was just like, OK, my
plan was that every weekend Iwould edit it a little bit as
the season was going along.
So it would be more manageablethat year.
Got a concussion.
It didn't go as planned at all.
And I did it all in June, July.
But I opened up the software.
(17:42):
I was like, I had no idea whyany of this stuff is necessary.
Like, why do I have like threewindows here?
All these tabs down the rightside telling me these effects.
Like I was lost.
And so learning that it was verytough.
Then, of course, the unexpectedissues that just pop up or
arise.
Yeah.
Like the season going terribly.
What am I going to ask in theseinterviews?
(18:04):
Should I even have interviews?
And things turn around,unfortunately, in the offseason.
But basically, I was like, wewon four games.
How am I going to make a filmthat's interesting or worth
watching even for the guys onthe team?
And I remember talking to acouple of them and I was saying,
this is probably done in August.
And they were like excited forit.
But also, I wish it came outreally before the season started
(18:25):
so we could move on to the nextthing and not just talk about
the sad past, creating themes,all this stuff.
I now know how to do it for thenext time from start to finish,
which is great.
And if I had stopped or nottaken on, I wouldn't know.
SPEAKER_02 (18:39):
And I just have to say, I mean, the writing is very
good.
I mean, you should really patyourself on the back because it
is very, very good.
At private school education.
SPEAKER_03 (18:48):
Political science.
Thanks to mom and dad, right?
No,
SPEAKER_02 (18:52):
but you're writing.
And there's a lot to be said forthat.
The reason I'm saying it's verygood is because it really
captures...
The mood, it captures theexcitement, it captures the
disappointment, and it bringsthe audience to the emotional
state that's taking place atthat time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:39):
to do this.
And so I stress that becausenowadays people don't really
want to write or kids are havinga hard time writing or getting
their messages across or evenbeing taught how to really
write.
So, I mean, that in itself is anachievement.
Yeah, you're tired, but youknow, entrepreneurship is
(19:59):
tiring.
SPEAKER_02 (20:00):
But for you, the end result is exceptional.
I
SPEAKER_00 (20:08):
do want to Give my parents credit for schooling.
That's definitely important.
I've taken kind of my dad'sdemeanor, trying to be as just a
logical, just problem solvingfocus as possible.
And then my mom's diction andrhetoric.
I think the way that she talks,it's a skill.
She can be very diplomatic, alsoget her point across.
(20:30):
And I think word choice isreally, really important.
Yeah.
And being able to talk to peopleof different age groups and
understand how people are goingto react and respond to what
you're saying, that you can getthe message across you want to
say, because sometimes you cansay something that's correct or
whatever but if no one wants tohear it right listening then it
doesn't matter Sometimes it'snot the right time for someone
(20:52):
to hear a message in the waythat you want to say it.
So you have to put it in adifferent way.
And I think that helped me writethe story because the way that I
wrote is the way that I wouldtalk if I was having like a
serious conversation withsomeone who's asking me for
advice or something like that.
That's how I would talk to them.
You know, it's going to be OK.
And, you know, help them alongeither emotionally or thought
process with the problemsolving.
(21:14):
But it is delicate.
It's something that I value asan ability.
Give them credit for giving methat.
Give them the props.
SPEAKER_02 (21:21):
Yeah.
That's right.
Well, I do have to say, we'vetalked about the writer.
The music is really, reallygreat.
We want to maybe play a quickclip from the film so that
people can get a sense of howgreat the music is.
SPEAKER_00 (21:34):
If there's anything we know about sports, it's that
if there's a chance...
There's a chance in this group.
We'll do whatever it takes tosee tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01 (21:55):
How did you decide on the music?
SPEAKER_00 (21:57):
I think the music is a critical part of the film.
To me, the music is probably myfavorite part of the creative
process.
I think it's another way to tellthe story.
It's not just a supplement.
It doesn't just exist in thebackground.
As I went through the chapterwriting process, it happened at
different stages, but I would gothrough, I'd finish editing a
(22:20):
cut, like a draft, like aseven-minute clip, and then I'd
just take my phone, walk aroundthe house, listen to songs on
Spotify, just go through,because in my head I can see
where something goes, but I waslike, does this go with the
story?
Because initially the problem Iran into was that I was letting
the songs dictate what the storywas because I was spending too
(22:41):
much time or I was doing themusic first in my head.
So I was like, oh, this wouldlook good.
This would be great here.
But then I heard it with adifferent song.
I was like, this would also begreat.
And so I had to stop andactually take a step back from
that and make sure that I knewwhat I was saying first.
And then I would go through andpick out the songs.
I used that initially as anoutline, basically.
(23:02):
And then went and hired musicproducers.
I would give them like fivesongs and say, like, make a
sound that's in the middle ofthis.
Like, this is what I'm goingfor.
You got it.
And then they go back and forthand they give me the final
product.
And it turned out really, reallywell.
Yeah, it did.
I got that.
SPEAKER_01 (23:19):
So the skills there is teamwork, management, problem
solving skills.
Dude, you're on your way.
You are on your way.
Yeah, I know.
Well, that's all we can ask foryou.
You know, that's all we can ask.
SPEAKER_02 (23:32):
So what do you want the audience to take away from
watching your documentary?
SPEAKER_00 (23:37):
There's a couple of things besides the family
aspect, the accountability, theteamwork, and then the exciting
parts of the film, just likesoccer being fun.
I think the fact that it reallyisn't, as you said, about the
winning and losing.
It's really about the process ofwhat it takes to win and
understanding what you gainedfrom even the losses.
(23:57):
And even if it's still enjoyingthe wins.
There are a lot of competing,well not competing, but themes
that I think are weavedthroughout.
And I try to sandwich it allwith the opening monologue and
closing monologue.
Pia's talking about the hero ofyour story, the villain of your
story.
Because I felt like it wasinconclusive without those
parts.
Because, you know, it is greatto talk about, like I said, the
family, taking accountabilityfor your success, overcoming
(24:21):
adversity, all these greatthemes.
But since the story is notchronological and not about the
season itself, the question is,what is it about?
I think it really is aboutbelieving that you can have
control over your own destiny,regardless of what you want it
to be.
In the beginning, it's like,Maybe the villain of the story
(24:41):
is me.
And then at the end, it shouldbe, okay, if I'm the villain, I
can also be the hero.
It's kind of a battle withyourself.
And I mean, sports are like thata lot.
SPEAKER_01 (24:51):
Life is like that, my
SPEAKER_02 (24:52):
friend.
Is there anything you would dodifferently if you were to do it
again?
SPEAKER_00 (24:59):
Yes, definitely.
Since I learned a lot of lessonsalong the way in terms of
producing a film.
I realized that there areprobably certain things that I
should have done up front interms of like participation
waivers or like contracts,things like that, so that it
would just run smoother on theback end.
Creatively, I don't know if Iwould do anything different.
(25:20):
I think that if I had a happierstory, then I could do different
things.
I would probably use differenttechniques.
But given what I was workingwith and what was happening and
all the competing interests, Iwould say, that I had to deal
with because it was for theplayers.
It was for a small group of guysthat had a lot invested in the
story.
It was also for the parents andthen the alum and then just
(25:42):
people in general wereinterested in the story.
And so I was trying to speak toeveryone at the same time.
So I could have gone deeper intoone thing or talked about
something more, but this wasprobably the best that I felt
like I could do.
And I was happy with it in theend.
There's times where you're like,this isn't good.
This isn't what I want.
You have to just stop and sitback and watch it.
(26:04):
Okay, let's stop it.
SPEAKER_02 (26:06):
Well, I guess it's like a professional concert
pianist who's like performingand they're like, darn, I miss
that note.
They're saying to themselves.
Meanwhile, the audience is like,that was beautiful.
I would
SPEAKER_01 (26:19):
never notice.
Because we didn't know that youmissed that.
We're just there to enjoy whatwe're listening to or the story
that you're trying to tell.
I just think it's incrediblethat you took something that you
love to do and you made a moviefrom it about your lessons going
through.
I'd be a proud mama.
SPEAKER_02 (26:40):
Wow.
So what's next for AberaPresents?
SPEAKER_00 (26:44):
Hopefully another film soon.
They're trying to figure outkind of what the next steps are
for the company, I guess, versusmyself, because there's
definitely two different things.
When I actually created thecompany, I kind of just did it
because I felt like I shouldhave a name on the film.
I was like, this is aproduction, so there should be a
production company behind it.
(27:04):
versus just myself and thenwhatever else goes on there.
And then I felt like it would beeasier for me to kind of
separate parts of separatingbusiness from like, I guess, the
rest of my life.
Yeah.
Just trying to decide what makesthe most sense going forward for
myself and then hoping to domore films like this with an
actual budget and get to Netflixand beyond as soon as possible.
(27:28):
I guess that's the goal.
SPEAKER_01 (27:29):
Yeah.
I really like the name.
How did you come up with thatname?
SPEAKER_00 (27:32):
The way I came up with it was I just shortened the
word aberration.
SPEAKER_01 (27:36):
Oh, huh.
SPEAKER_00 (27:37):
And so that's how I went with Abera because, you
know, I felt like, and I guessit's a continuation of answering
your question of what I wantpeople to take away from the
film.
Well, I believe in the guys thathave heard, but they can get
their championship soon.
But I think it's kind of aboutbeing an aberration in the
making.
And I know the word aberrationis normally kind of used in a
(27:58):
negative connotation, but it cango either way.
And in this way, I'm using itpositively because the Google
definition is like unwelcomeanomaly or something like
SPEAKER_02 (28:07):
that.
Well, I call it a pivot from thenorm.
That's what I'd like to get.
SPEAKER_00 (28:12):
But essentially, I'm just trying to create
aberration.
I just try to think as big aspossible, have a vision.
stick to it and believe thatjust because I haven't done
something yet or I don't have aclear path that it doesn't mean
it's not attainable.
I've learned enough times by nowthat it is attainable.
And eventually I'll start to beable to see it more clearly as
(28:33):
long as I keep pushing in theright direction.
That's what I think I would liketo highlight those stories where
people have something that'sbrewing and not everyone knows
about it yet.
Or maybe they even don't reallyknow what they have, but I can
see it.
SPEAKER_01 (28:46):
That's very cool.
Yeah, I like that.
I like that a lot.
Yeah, steal that name.
Oh, I'm sorry.
It's probably alreadytrademarked.
Did you trademark
SPEAKER_00 (28:54):
it?
It's not
SPEAKER_01 (28:55):
trademarked yet.
SPEAKER_02 (28:55):
That's one of your improvement topics.
Put the legal stuff first.
Where can people find your film?
SPEAKER_00 (29:02):
It's on YouTube right now.
If you just search 27 Deep, itshould come up.
It's on my YouTube channel.
Avera Presents.
A-B-E-R-R-A Presents.
And yeah, I mean, like it,subscribe to the channel, share.
SPEAKER_01 (29:16):
We're going to put a link to it when we put out this
podcast.
That's right.
And send it around to people,have them look at it.
And even little kids, this wouldbe a good message to see
different things.
You know, just even if it's notthe whole thing, just bits and
pieces of it.
And I mean, I can see schoolsbenefiting from showing your
(29:39):
film.
SPEAKER_02 (29:40):
Yeah, and see, another thing about the film,
too, is that there's a, youknow, diversity in the player
makeup.
Right, yeah.
Which is, you know, so you seethese sort of diverse boys going
through this painful period
SPEAKER_00 (29:52):
together.
That's kind of also one of theother stories, just how the guys
represent themselves.
You know, I don't talk aboutthat, even though that is
something that I thought aboutactually writing into the
narration.
But I think that the way thatthey handle themselves in the
interviews and just throughoutthe season was great.
Because, you know, I'm
SPEAKER_02 (30:09):
always waiting for somebody to say something
multicultural team yeah therewas um yeah boys of color on the
team and you know i'm alwayswaiting for somebody to say
something but i didn't hear itthat
SPEAKER_00 (30:20):
was a blessing i did a lot of editing but people no
one really no one cursed at allon the field that was different
SPEAKER_02 (30:28):
the boys were respectful of each other
SPEAKER_00 (30:30):
yeah yeah that's what i look for yeah it was good
it was very good
SPEAKER_01 (30:33):
You went to a liberal arts school and you made
a documentary.
You're less than 25 years old.
That's right.
Here's a young black male who'sout there doing stuff.
Doing good things, yeah.
Making the world better.
Yeah, making the world better.
And we need that.
We do need that.
And we're here to encourage youas much and however we possibly
(30:53):
can.
Thank you.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (30:55):
This has been a great talk.
And we want to thank you forjoining us today,
SPEAKER_00 (31:00):
Andrew.
Thanks for having me.
UNKNOWN (31:03):
It's great.
SPEAKER_02 (31:03):
Be sure to check us out on our website,
www.2blackmomsandamite.com,where we hope that you'll
subscribe.
You can also hear this and ourother podcasts on Google
Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio,Amazon Audible, and Podchaser.
If you like what you hear, wehope you'll give a great review.
(31:24):
Hey,
SPEAKER_01 (31:26):
thanks for joining us today.
This is Glenda.
And this is Lisa.
Two black moms and a mic, andwe're signing off.
Hi, I'm Glenda.
And I'm Lisa.
And we are Two Black Moms and aMic.
Between us, we have six kids,four boys and two girls.
SPEAKER_02 (00:12):
And we're here to talk to you about everything
from diapers to degrees.
Welcome to our podcast.
We're really excited todaybecause today we're going to
showcase another young persondoing some really great things.
Today we have as our guestAndrew Stevens, and Andrew is a
young, aspiring filmmaker.
He just came out with his firstfilm documentary called 27 Deep.
(00:36):
He graduated from SidwellFriends School in the D.C.
area, and he recently graduatedfrom Haverford College.
Andrew, thanks for joining ustoday.
SPEAKER_00 (00:44):
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_02 (00:45):
Why don't you just tell us a little bit about your
new film documentary?
SPEAKER_00 (00:49):
Yeah, so 27 Deep is a documentary about my college
soccer team's 2022-2023 season.
It's about family.
It's about overcoming adversity.
It's about taking accountabilityfor your success and all the
highs and lows of a soccerseason.
It's meant to be exciting, butalso meant to tell a real story
about what we learned as playerson the team and as really just
(01:12):
family members as we workthrough these struggles and
experienced a crazy yeartogether.
SPEAKER_01 (01:17):
What was the spark or the idea that led to the
creation of this movie aboutyour college soccer?
SPEAKER_00 (01:23):
So since that was my senior year, initially, I just
wanted to have a way tomemorialize the year.
I knew that there probablywouldn't be a budget for some
type of large production or evenjust a smaller production just
for our team specifically,because Hartford is a D3 school.
So there isn't much allocatedtowards that.
But I did think that it wasgoing to be a great year on the
field.
And I was hoping that we couldhave some way to just
(01:45):
memorialize kind of the journeythat we had coming from COVID
and just the history of theprogram and all that to get back
to where we wanted to be as aprogram.
And so I just kind of with thatidea and I'm just pitch it to my
teammates.
And it kind of went from there.
SPEAKER_02 (01:59):
I thought it was interesting how you wove in the
idea of family.
And you're talking about yourcollege soccer family.
Yeah.
So I was a soccer mom for manyyears and Glenda was also a
soccer mom.
And I can relate to the drama ofa soccer season very, very well.
And while you sit there andwatch the kids going through the
(02:22):
highs and lows, I have to say,you know, the parents go through
it just as much as the kids do.
I mean, we were very, very much,you know, emotionally entangled
with our college.
Right.
Remember, Glenda, because ourgirls played together soccer in
middle school and high
SPEAKER_01 (02:38):
school.
Yeah.
My daughter.
went to Pomona.
And although she didn't go thereto play soccer, it's also a D3
school She played pickup soccerwhile she was there because
while she was here, she wasplaying club soccer until she
graduated from high school.
And she was at your arrival.
She was at Georgetown Day.
So I actually missed when sheleft.
(03:00):
I had an emptiness about thesoccer season because I had been
following her since she was insecond grade.
My
SPEAKER_00 (03:06):
parents were very excited when I was able to walk
onto the team there atHaverford.
Yeah, you've
SPEAKER_02 (03:11):
got a great story.
Your Haverford story.
SPEAKER_00 (03:14):
Yeah, but they were very excited to be able to watch
me play again and just be aDefinitely a little different in
terms of like the coachingdynamic, because I know
SPEAKER_02 (03:26):
a lot of youth parents are very involved.
(03:47):
Thank you.
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (04:12):
Well, a lot of competing things that were going
on behind the scenes in thisstory.
It is a genuine story, but it'sheavily abbreviated.
There's a lot of things that Idefinitely felt like shouldn't
go in the film that happenedduring the season or happened
during the off season.
And ultimately I was trying tokind of boil it all down into
something that people who werethere would understand and say,
(04:32):
I know what you're talkingabout.
People who weren't there wouldsay, okay, like this is still a
very interesting story.
And I was also trying to writesomething that would help the
players who are still there bemotivated and inspired by a
season that wasn't very good andalso follow through with all the
things that we talked aboutdoing as a team in the
offseason, changing our habits,being better about things.
(04:55):
And there were a lot of thingsthat weren't in our control, but
I was trying to insinuate thatthere are a lot of things that
are in your control.
And if you're able to keep thatin mind and take responsibility,
you're going to have a lotbetter chance of success.
I was kind of trying to cutimmediately the idea that you
can just blame someone else forwhatever's happening, even if
something legitimately happenedthat you couldn't do anything
(05:17):
about.
SPEAKER_02 (05:17):
Yeah, because that question to the audience really
can speak to the individual whois listening to the words that
you're saying.
Right.
So I thought that that was quitelike sort of an insightful way
to start the movie.
SPEAKER_01 (05:30):
It sounds like you wanted to target to make sure
everybody had a growth mindset,that they were using strength to
move past whatever obstaclesthey had been enforcing, which
actually is pretty good comingfrom someone pretty young.
You're a senior in college, sosome people don't get to that
point of understanding untilmuch later, and some people
(05:51):
never get to that
SPEAKER_00 (05:52):
point.
I appreciate
SPEAKER_02 (05:53):
that.
And even as an adult, I was likethinking, yeah, you know, who
are my enemies?
SPEAKER_00 (05:58):
A lot of things happened during that year that
kind of forced me to have thatapproach, you know, especially
with being on a college team.
You have a lot of freshmen likeyou, a lot of younger guys who
look up to you.
And a lot of times you want tobe upset about something, but
you have to at least show themthat they do have control over
it.
And, you know, once they growand mature, then they'll say,
OK, like maybe these things wecan't control.
(06:19):
But as long as we as a team worktowards a goal and take
responsibility, then we have achance.
SPEAKER_01 (06:25):
That's really positive outlook, a growth
mindset outlook.
What were one of the bestmoments for you in the film?
SPEAKER_00 (06:33):
I think the end.
It's interesting that you askedthat because obviously there are
parts that I enjoy, but thereare things, some things were
tougher to make than others.
I think more down part to thefilm.
I lived it.
I was there for most of the timethat I was creating it.
I was like, wow, this is tough.
It's tough to watch back.
And I was trying to figure outhow to cut it up, but I'm proud
of how I put those partstogether because they were very
(06:55):
emotional in a lot of ways.
And I know that for myself andmy team, it really took us back
to what that was like.
And you get really intimate.
I knew that the end was going tobe the end when I saw it in the
raw footage when we were donefilming.
So I guess over a year ago, Iwas like, this has to be the
end.
And it was kind of as I go onthroughout the film, I got
better at editing because I wasstill learning all these
(07:16):
processes.
And so that last section where Iwas putting together two games
at the same time and trying todrive home this point, when I
guess...
You're saying you don't want togive away the film.
Well, I'll say this, but thispoint that, you know, if you
want to be the best, if you wantto win a championship,
basically, that you have to beatthe best teams and you have to
take advantage of youropportunities because there'll
be few and far between.
(07:36):
That moment in the season wherewe really broke through or
thought we were breakingthrough, it was unbelievable.
We thought like this was, we'regoing all the way.
Like we came back in this game,this team, one of the best teams
in the country at the time.
It was just pure will in thatgame.
And so that's a favorite momentof mine for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (07:54):
And I can see why it would be.
It's a very big growth moment,too.
SPEAKER_02 (07:58):
In the middle of the film, the team captains talking
about how are we going to getover this hurdle?
How are we going to determinewhat the problem is and then fix
it so that we can do better inthe next season?
Right.
So you have the team captainstrying to figure out like what
to do.
And one of the team captains, Iremember saying the hardest
thing is to captain a losingteam.
Yeah.
But what was interesting is thatthey were trying to be
(08:18):
transparent.
They're trying to take in ideasfor improvement and letting
everybody have a voice.
When you were like filming that,how did that make you feel in
terms of their wanting to getbuy in essentially by all the
team members on how on a planfor moving forward to improve
the outcomes of the team?
SPEAKER_00 (08:39):
So like filming the interviews?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I wasn't literally there formost of what they were talking
about, but I'm really close tothose two guys, and I give them
a lot of credit for what theydid because they were put in a
really tough situation wherethey had to, as leaders,
basically do things that you'renot expected to as a captain in
terms of talking to AD and justother external things, and you
(08:59):
also have to keep the teaminspired and motivated because
we came off a really, reallytough year.
We were 4, 8, and 5, and it's aprogram that has high
expectations, We have a lot ofalum who are really invested and
really excited about theprogram, especially like guys
who graduated like 2018, 2019,who won like three conference
(09:19):
championships while they werethere.
There's a lot of pressure whenthose guys were going into their
senior year and they didn't havea blueprint.
I knew that they were goingthrough a lot and just putting
so much energy and time intomaking sure that the next year
would be better.
So when they were talking aboutit in the interviews, I was
like, I believe you 100%.
Because there are a ton ofdifferent competing ideas of
(09:41):
what to do, where to go nextfrom all the players.
And everyone's an individual atthe end of the day.
But we need to be a team.
So you have to incorporate whatpeople are saying.
And even if you give less weightto something at the end of the
day, you still have to take itinto account because people have
friends, people have groups.
within the team.
And even if we're all tight,it's like people are still going
(10:01):
to talk and have ideas.
And I just commend them for howthey handled it and what they
did, because it would have beenreally easy to give up.
Do you think
SPEAKER_02 (10:08):
that kept people emotionally invested in what the
team was doing and want tocontinue to
SPEAKER_00 (10:14):
definitely
SPEAKER_02 (10:15):
push forward?
SPEAKER_00 (10:15):
I think in general, also give a lot of props to
everyone on the team, becauselooking back, everyone played a
unique role in terms of gettingthe team back to a place where
they want to be at.
And they had a good season thisyear.
came up a little short of theplayoffs, but ultimately much
better than the past couple ofyears after COVID.
But really, everyone had to buyin to something that they
(10:37):
weren't used to for the firstcouple of years, because it's
one thing to say, I want to bebetter.
I want us to win this year.
But the question is, are youactually willing to do what it
takes to get you there?
Right.
Other programs are doing a lotbetter, putting a lot more into
it.
We want to be like them, butit's not just magic.
SPEAKER_02 (10:53):
Those lessons are for ever, not just soccer, but
yeah, for a lot of a lot ofthings that people try
SPEAKER_01 (10:59):
to.
Yeah, they're for a lifetime.
Yeah.
You're going to run acrossdifferent people in corporate
America that you're going tohave to work with.
Or even if you maintain holdingyour own company, you've got to
work with other people.
No one does that as a solo.
So learning how to work with theteam and to take voice from
everyone in the team and then tosimulate it and make sure it
(11:19):
works is a lifelong lesson.
And I'm impressed.
SPEAKER_00 (11:23):
I was impressed by them as well.
Well,
SPEAKER_01 (11:27):
Haverford in itself has got an environment that
embraces the uniqueness of theindividual and tries to bring it
together.
So if people are there, they'rethere because they want to be
and they want to be able tocollaborate amongst other
people.
So that in itself is a goodbreeding ground.
So what made you think that you,Mr.
(11:47):
Haverford, could go out and makea documentary?
SPEAKER_00 (11:50):
That's a great question.
There's a few things.
One is, I think, self-belief.
And this is something that Ikind of try to live by and I try
to share with other people.
And I think people will kind ofbelieve it more as we get older
and more experienced.
But I really believe that youcan only be as much as you
believe in yourself.
And other people will onlybelieve in you once they can
(12:11):
tell that you have confidenceand you believe in yourself.
There's a lot of things you canlearn, and especially when
you're young, it's like takechances, take risks.
And I had like a little bit ofediting experience.
I liked music.
And I like stories, I guess.
And so I thought, OK, I'll justsee if I can get the fundraising
for it, do my best to pitch itto my teammates, make it look as
(12:31):
appealing as possible.
And then someone will film itand we'll just see what happens.
I definitely think that lookingback now, if I knew what it
would take to make it, I wouldhave never started it.
SPEAKER_02 (12:42):
Oh, really?
It was harder than you thoughtit was going to be?
SPEAKER_00 (12:45):
Oh, yeah, way harder.
Yeah.
And I was actually thinkingabout this while I was driving
over.
I was like, it's probably goodwhen you're trying to do new
things or really difficultthings to have a healthy level
of ignorance in terms of whatyou're
SPEAKER_03 (12:56):
trying.
SPEAKER_00 (12:57):
I guess I'll put it like this.
If I knew how the season wouldhave gone, I definitely wouldn't
have done it because my wholethought process was this is
going to be a great year.
It's going to be something wewant to watch.
forever.
And like I put it together and Ialso enjoy like entrepreneurship
and just creating stuff, solvingproblems.
And so I was also hoping that itwould be a project that could
help me get going in that areaas well, because Haverford isn't
(13:20):
like a business school oranything like that.
So I was really trying to createmy own way.
That's why I started it.
And I just believe that I coulddo it.
I think also walking onto theteam helped me with that because
that was something that I haddone not that long ago at the
time, still not that long ago,but that had low odds and not
much precedent.
I made it.
(13:40):
So I kind of started to build abelief in myself that just
because it's low odds orwhatever doesn't mean that you
can't accomplish it.
It's just those are the oddsright now.
But as you take your steps, asyou get closer and closer, the
odds increase.
So I think about it.
Like if you ever following asporting event on like ESPN or
something, they have like a gamecast That shows you like win
(14:02):
probability.
And so like, let's say like it'sa basketball game and the team's
down 20.
It'll say like the other teamhas like an 85% chance of
winning.
But people come back from down20, 30 all the time.
And it's just, it's gettingcloser and closer.
The percentage drops and dropsand drops and then it's 50, 50.
But if you just quit at down 20,then you lose.
(14:23):
That's kind of my mindset withthat.
SPEAKER_02 (14:25):
See, the thing is when I watched it, I was
inspired by it.
Like win or lose, it didn'tmatter.
It was taking on the challengeand the effort of trying to turn
it around.
What I've learned in life isthat the process of getting
there matters just as much asthe end result, the outcome.
You can have a great outcome,but if the process is just so
(14:48):
difficult and so toxic, then theoutcome is just like, okay,
fine, that's over with.
Thank goodness.
Let's just get out of here.
I'm going to take my toys and gohome.
But if the process is a goodone, a good and solid, and you
build relationships and you'relearning and you're contributing
and you feel seen and heard, andmaybe you come up short by one
(15:10):
point, or maybe like I get mostof the grant that I want, but
not quite as much.
You know, I still feel like Iwon because I learned and it was
like Glenda said, like a growthopportunity.
And at some point, you know, youare going to win.
You're going to get everythingthat you want.
It just might take some time.
So that's what I walked awayfrom watching your movie.
(15:31):
It wasn't like, hope they got towin everything.
No, it was more like the processof getting through a season.
And it's interesting, too,because, you know, I just liked
seeing how the young men, thedynamics between the young men
and the respect towards eachother and just sort of this
joint effort of wanting theprocess to be a and healthy one
(15:52):
for everyone and still get theresult that you all desire.
Yeah.
So in that way, I do think it'sa success.
But I am also a mom.
SPEAKER_01 (16:02):
And you
SPEAKER_02 (16:03):
watched Andrew grow up.
But having been a soccer mom,though, the bad process can
totally mess people up.
No,
SPEAKER_01 (16:13):
it's totally, totally, totally, totally true.
As I'm sitting here and I'mlistening to you, Andrew, I'm
recalling something I heard Ihave a long commute on Tuesdays
and Thursdays.
So I've decided to listen tobooks on tapes.
And the most recent one I'mlistening to is called Hidden
Potential.
In there, he talks about how weshouldn't shy away from failure
(16:34):
because that's where we learn.
When things are hard, that'swhen we learn the most.
If it's easy, then cognitivelyit's not stimulating your brain
or your emotions aren't reallyinto it.
And although it getsfrustrating, sometimes you just
want to cry or you just want tohit a wall or something.
At the end, the potential...
for you to even move forward andmake another one is there
(16:56):
because you've learned so manyvaluable lessons along the way.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (17:01):
Yeah.
And I definitely had momentswhere I just wanted to stop or
just hit my head against thewall.
It was bad because there were somany things I had to learn on my
own throughout the process,whether it was writing a story,
writing narration, getting thecorrect equipment, learning the
editing software.
(17:21):
I remember the first time Iopened up the software, it was
the beginning of my senior yearbecause I was just like, OK, my
plan was that every weekend Iwould edit it a little bit as
the season was going along.
So it would be more manageablethat year.
Got a concussion.
It didn't go as planned at all.
And I did it all in June, July.
But I opened up the software.
(17:42):
I was like, I had no idea whyany of this stuff is necessary.
Like, why do I have like threewindows here?
All these tabs down the rightside telling me these effects.
Like I was lost.
And so learning that it was verytough.
Then, of course, the unexpectedissues that just pop up or
arise.
Yeah.
Like the season going terribly.
What am I going to ask in theseinterviews?
(18:04):
Should I even have interviews?
And things turn around,unfortunately, in the offseason.
But basically, I was like, wewon four games.
How am I going to make a filmthat's interesting or worth
watching even for the guys onthe team?
And I remember talking to acouple of them and I was saying,
this is probably done in August.
And they were like excited forit.
But also, I wish it came outreally before the season started
(18:25):
so we could move on to the nextthing and not just talk about
the sad past, creating themes,all this stuff.
I now know how to do it for thenext time from start to finish,
which is great.
And if I had stopped or nottaken on, I wouldn't know.
SPEAKER_02 (18:39):
And I just have to say, I mean, the writing is very
good.
I mean, you should really patyourself on the back because it
is very, very good.
At private school education.
SPEAKER_03 (18:48):
Political science.
Thanks to mom and dad, right?
No,
SPEAKER_02 (18:52):
but you're writing.
And there's a lot to be said forthat.
The reason I'm saying it's verygood is because it really
captures...
The mood, it captures theexcitement, it captures the
disappointment, and it bringsthe audience to the emotional
state that's taking place atthat time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:39):
to do this.
And so I stress that becausenowadays people don't really
want to write or kids are havinga hard time writing or getting
their messages across or evenbeing taught how to really
write.
So, I mean, that in itself is anachievement.
Yeah, you're tired, but youknow, entrepreneurship is
(19:59):
tiring.
SPEAKER_02 (20:00):
But for you, the end result is exceptional.
I
SPEAKER_00 (20:08):
do want to Give my parents credit for schooling.
That's definitely important.
I've taken kind of my dad'sdemeanor, trying to be as just a
logical, just problem solvingfocus as possible.
And then my mom's diction andrhetoric.
I think the way that she talks,it's a skill.
She can be very diplomatic, alsoget her point across.
(20:30):
And I think word choice isreally, really important.
Yeah.
And being able to talk to peopleof different age groups and
understand how people are goingto react and respond to what
you're saying, that you can getthe message across you want to
say, because sometimes you cansay something that's correct or
whatever but if no one wants tohear it right listening then it
doesn't matter Sometimes it'snot the right time for someone
(20:52):
to hear a message in the waythat you want to say it.
So you have to put it in adifferent way.
And I think that helped me writethe story because the way that I
wrote is the way that I wouldtalk if I was having like a
serious conversation withsomeone who's asking me for
advice or something like that.
That's how I would talk to them.
You know, it's going to be OK.
And, you know, help them alongeither emotionally or thought
process with the problemsolving.
(21:14):
But it is delicate.
It's something that I value asan ability.
Give them credit for giving methat.
Give them the props.
SPEAKER_02 (21:21):
Yeah.
That's right.
Well, I do have to say, we'vetalked about the writer.
The music is really, reallygreat.
We want to maybe play a quickclip from the film so that
people can get a sense of howgreat the music is.
SPEAKER_00 (21:34):
If there's anything we know about sports, it's that
if there's a chance...
There's a chance in this group.
We'll do whatever it takes tosee tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01 (21:55):
How did you decide on the music?
SPEAKER_00 (21:57):
I think the music is a critical part of the film.
To me, the music is probably myfavorite part of the creative
process.
I think it's another way to tellthe story.
It's not just a supplement.
It doesn't just exist in thebackground.
As I went through the chapterwriting process, it happened at
different stages, but I would gothrough, I'd finish editing a
(22:20):
cut, like a draft, like aseven-minute clip, and then I'd
just take my phone, walk aroundthe house, listen to songs on
Spotify, just go through,because in my head I can see
where something goes, but I waslike, does this go with the
story?
Because initially the problem Iran into was that I was letting
the songs dictate what the storywas because I was spending too
(22:41):
much time or I was doing themusic first in my head.
So I was like, oh, this wouldlook good.
This would be great here.
But then I heard it with adifferent song.
I was like, this would also begreat.
And so I had to stop andactually take a step back from
that and make sure that I knewwhat I was saying first.
And then I would go through andpick out the songs.
I used that initially as anoutline, basically.
(23:02):
And then went and hired musicproducers.
I would give them like fivesongs and say, like, make a
sound that's in the middle ofthis.
Like, this is what I'm goingfor.
You got it.
And then they go back and forthand they give me the final
product.
And it turned out really, reallywell.
Yeah, it did.
I got that.
SPEAKER_01 (23:19):
So the skills there is teamwork, management, problem
solving skills.
Dude, you're on your way.
You are on your way.
Yeah, I know.
Well, that's all we can ask foryou.
You know, that's all we can ask.
SPEAKER_02 (23:32):
So what do you want the audience to take away from
watching your documentary?
SPEAKER_00 (23:37):
There's a couple of things besides the family
aspect, the accountability, theteamwork, and then the exciting
parts of the film, just likesoccer being fun.
I think the fact that it reallyisn't, as you said, about the
winning and losing.
It's really about the process ofwhat it takes to win and
understanding what you gainedfrom even the losses.
(23:57):
And even if it's still enjoyingthe wins.
There are a lot of competing,well not competing, but themes
that I think are weavedthroughout.
And I try to sandwich it allwith the opening monologue and
closing monologue.
Pia's talking about the hero ofyour story, the villain of your
story.
Because I felt like it wasinconclusive without those
parts.
Because, you know, it is greatto talk about, like I said, the
family, taking accountabilityfor your success, overcoming
(24:21):
adversity, all these greatthemes.
But since the story is notchronological and not about the
season itself, the question is,what is it about?
I think it really is aboutbelieving that you can have
control over your own destiny,regardless of what you want it
to be.
In the beginning, it's like,Maybe the villain of the story
(24:41):
is me.
And then at the end, it shouldbe, okay, if I'm the villain, I
can also be the hero.
It's kind of a battle withyourself.
And I mean, sports are like thata lot.
SPEAKER_01 (24:51):
Life is like that, my
SPEAKER_02 (24:52):
friend.
Is there anything you would dodifferently if you were to do it
again?
SPEAKER_00 (24:59):
Yes, definitely.
Since I learned a lot of lessonsalong the way in terms of
producing a film.
I realized that there areprobably certain things that I
should have done up front interms of like participation
waivers or like contracts,things like that, so that it
would just run smoother on theback end.
Creatively, I don't know if Iwould do anything different.
(25:20):
I think that if I had a happierstory, then I could do different
things.
I would probably use differenttechniques.
But given what I was workingwith and what was happening and
all the competing interests, Iwould say, that I had to deal
with because it was for theplayers.
It was for a small group of guysthat had a lot invested in the
story.
It was also for the parents andthen the alum and then just
(25:42):
people in general wereinterested in the story.
And so I was trying to speak toeveryone at the same time.
So I could have gone deeper intoone thing or talked about
something more, but this wasprobably the best that I felt
like I could do.
And I was happy with it in theend.
There's times where you're like,this isn't good.
This isn't what I want.
You have to just stop and sitback and watch it.
(26:04):
Okay, let's stop it.
SPEAKER_02 (26:06):
Well, I guess it's like a professional concert
pianist who's like performingand they're like, darn, I miss
that note.
They're saying to themselves.
Meanwhile, the audience is like,that was beautiful.
I would
SPEAKER_01 (26:19):
never notice.
Because we didn't know that youmissed that.
We're just there to enjoy whatwe're listening to or the story
that you're trying to tell.
I just think it's incrediblethat you took something that you
love to do and you made a moviefrom it about your lessons going
through.
I'd be a proud mama.
SPEAKER_02 (26:40):
Wow.
So what's next for AberaPresents?
SPEAKER_00 (26:44):
Hopefully another film soon.
They're trying to figure outkind of what the next steps are
for the company, I guess, versusmyself, because there's
definitely two different things.
When I actually created thecompany, I kind of just did it
because I felt like I shouldhave a name on the film.
I was like, this is aproduction, so there should be a
production company behind it.
(27:04):
versus just myself and thenwhatever else goes on there.
And then I felt like it would beeasier for me to kind of
separate parts of separatingbusiness from like, I guess, the
rest of my life.
Yeah.
Just trying to decide what makesthe most sense going forward for
myself and then hoping to domore films like this with an
actual budget and get to Netflixand beyond as soon as possible.
(27:28):
I guess that's the goal.
SPEAKER_01 (27:29):
Yeah.
I really like the name.
How did you come up with thatname?
SPEAKER_00 (27:32):
The way I came up with it was I just shortened the
word aberration.
SPEAKER_01 (27:36):
Oh, huh.
SPEAKER_00 (27:37):
And so that's how I went with Abera because, you
know, I felt like, and I guessit's a continuation of answering
your question of what I wantpeople to take away from the
film.
Well, I believe in the guys thathave heard, but they can get
their championship soon.
But I think it's kind of aboutbeing an aberration in the
making.
And I know the word aberrationis normally kind of used in a
(27:58):
negative connotation, but it cango either way.
And in this way, I'm using itpositively because the Google
definition is like unwelcomeanomaly or something like
SPEAKER_02 (28:07):
that.
Well, I call it a pivot from thenorm.
That's what I'd like to get.
SPEAKER_00 (28:12):
But essentially, I'm just trying to create
aberration.
I just try to think as big aspossible, have a vision.
stick to it and believe thatjust because I haven't done
something yet or I don't have aclear path that it doesn't mean
it's not attainable.
I've learned enough times by nowthat it is attainable.
And eventually I'll start to beable to see it more clearly as
(28:33):
long as I keep pushing in theright direction.
That's what I think I would liketo highlight those stories where
people have something that'sbrewing and not everyone knows
about it yet.
Or maybe they even don't reallyknow what they have, but I can
see it.
SPEAKER_01 (28:46):
That's very cool.
Yeah, I like that.
I like that a lot.
Yeah, steal that name.
Oh, I'm sorry.
It's probably alreadytrademarked.
Did you trademark
SPEAKER_00 (28:54):
it?
It's not
SPEAKER_01 (28:55):
trademarked yet.
SPEAKER_02 (28:55):
That's one of your improvement topics.
Put the legal stuff first.
Where can people find your film?
SPEAKER_00 (29:02):
It's on YouTube right now.
If you just search 27 Deep, itshould come up.
It's on my YouTube channel.
Avera Presents.
A-B-E-R-R-A Presents.
And yeah, I mean, like it,subscribe to the channel, share.
SPEAKER_01 (29:16):
We're going to put a link to it when we put out this
podcast.
That's right.
And send it around to people,have them look at it.
And even little kids, this wouldbe a good message to see
different things.
You know, just even if it's notthe whole thing, just bits and
pieces of it.
And I mean, I can see schoolsbenefiting from showing your
(29:39):
film.
SPEAKER_02 (29:40):
Yeah, and see, another thing about the film,
too, is that there's a, youknow, diversity in the player
makeup.
Right, yeah.
Which is, you know, so you seethese sort of diverse boys going
through this painful period
SPEAKER_00 (29:52):
together.
That's kind of also one of theother stories, just how the guys
represent themselves.
You know, I don't talk aboutthat, even though that is
something that I thought aboutactually writing into the
narration.
But I think that the way thatthey handle themselves in the
interviews and just throughoutthe season was great.
Because, you know, I'm
SPEAKER_02 (30:09):
always waiting for somebody to say something
multicultural team yeah therewas um yeah boys of color on the
team and you know i'm alwayswaiting for somebody to say
something but i didn't hear itthat
SPEAKER_00 (30:20):
was a blessing i did a lot of editing but people no
one really no one cursed at allon the field that was different
SPEAKER_02 (30:28):
the boys were respectful of each other
SPEAKER_00 (30:30):
yeah yeah that's what i look for yeah it was good
it was very good
SPEAKER_01 (30:33):
You went to a liberal arts school and you made
a documentary.
You're less than 25 years old.
That's right.
Here's a young black male who'sout there doing stuff.
Doing good things, yeah.
Making the world better.
Yeah, making the world better.
And we need that.
We do need that.
And we're here to encourage youas much and however we possibly
(30:53):
can.
Thank you.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (30:55):
This has been a great talk.
And we want to thank you forjoining us today,
SPEAKER_00 (31:00):
Andrew.
Thanks for having me.
UNKNOWN (31:03):
It's great.
SPEAKER_02 (31:03):
Be sure to check us out on our website,
www.2blackmomsandamite.com,where we hope that you'll
subscribe.
You can also hear this and ourother podcasts on Google
Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio,Amazon Audible, and Podchaser.
If you like what you hear, wehope you'll give a great review.
(31:24):
Hey,
SPEAKER_01 (31:26):
thanks for joining us today.
This is Glenda.
And this is Lisa.
Two black moms and a mic, andwe're signing off.
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