So the Lakers win another NBA championship. I haven’t always been a fan, but I’ve got to admit it was really fun to watch Kobe Bryant this season. He seemed to have an almost maniacal determination to win another championship. People compare him to Michael Jordan and, while they’re both incredibly talented, you get the feeling that what really separates them from the pack is how badly they want to win.
Along those lines, a great documentary to check out is Spike Lee’s Kobe Doin’ Work (Netflix). Bryant gave the filmmaker unprecedented access to his life for one game. He’s mic’d up, 30 cameras follow him, and coach Phil Jackson lets the crew into the locker room before the game, at halftime, and after the game too. Here’s a preview:
It’s fascinating to watch even though the game was a blowout. Also, there’s a great storytelling lesson here too: Tell a story about less. See, the impulse is to go for a grand tale. In this case, it’d be to prove how great Kobe is by profiling his entire career or trailing him for an entire season. Along the way, you’d interview teammates, experts, etc. And you’d come up with a pretty generic piece.
By focusing on just a single game, Lee put a magnifying glass on how Kobe plays. Cameras trail his every move so during every timeout and every play, you get to see and hear how Kobe guides his teammates. It completely changes the way you view both the player and the game. There’s no filler or outside input. It’s just a laser focus on this one subject during this one day.
Sometimes it’s easier to get a big message across if you narrow your scope. It’s what we tried to do with our Behind the scenes at 37signals series which presented a look at one week of 37signals’ Campfire usage. Not as exciting, perhaps, but the idea was similar: To tell the big story of how integral Campfire is to us, it was best to focus on a short period of time. Sometimes the perfect way to explain a universal truth is through an individual example.
Also, if you watch the documentary, Lee is incredibly loose with how he asks his questions. It means that Kobe is really relaxed and open with his answers too. If you’re ever doing interviews, it’s something to note: Go in with stiff questions and you’ll probably get stiff answers. Go in loose and you’re more likely to get your subject to open up and admit things to you they probably wouldn’t otherwise.
Wells
on 15 Jun 09Kobe Doin’ Work was, uh, borrowed in concept from Zidane, a movie following Zinedine Zidane through a game with Real Madrid against Villareal. You may like that as well, though I’m guessing that a basketball version is a lot more interesting to watch than a defensive soccer player standing around most of the time.
Austin Kleon
on 15 Jun 09Just watching the clip, I’m struck that in 2/3 of the promotions, Kobe mentions play and fun.
Love this quote:
woodhouse auto
on 15 Jun 09That is really true. You have to have fun and play at your work, or it becomes a job. The trendsetters, those who think big and deliver don’t see it as a job.
Jeremy Raines
on 15 Jun 09I thought Kobe Doin’ Work was incredibly boring. Maybe if you’re not a basketball fan it holds some interest, but otherwise it offers no heretofore unseen glimpses into Kobe’s sphinx-like personality.
I think your point is valid. But Kobe needs the grand story treatment, someone asking and digging out answers about his weird childhood, young superstardom, struggles with Phil and Shaq, the rape trial, skipping the Olympics, then finally joining Team USA and winning gold and an NBA championship. This film is just one game of Kobe Acting for Spike.
Killian
on 15 Jun 09I think the doc was very interesting. It was boring at times but I would have loved to see MJ in a similar piece.
The telling moments are when Kobe is explaining something he did on the court that he should probably justify as ‘I was caught up in the moment’ instead of trying to put it in some false context. For instance: when was his arguing with one of the refs: “are you sure, are you sure?”.
In my opinion where documentary’s are really compelling is when the subjects ‘forget’ that the cameras are there, when they are responding to real events and sort of block out the fact that they are on film. It is painfully obvious throughout this one that Kobe knows he is on film and he is going out of his way to talk to his teammates and communicate better etc…
Maybe the documentary actually helped him self-reflect though- maybe he improved his communication skills because he thought more about how he would be perceived with his usual style of play….. hmmm meta-meta-meta
Chad Jaggers
on 15 Jun 09Although I am not a Kobe fan, I enjoyed watching this documentary. Kobe’s work ethic and mental toughness, in my opinion, is what sets him apart from others.
This showed how a typical game day is for an NBA player and is something that I have always wanted to see. The fact that it features a snapshot into one of the best players days makes it even better. I’m sure Professor K liked this as well.
A football fanatic
on 15 Jun 09Zidane was an attacking midfielder, not a defender.
not a hater
on 16 Jun 09i realize this may come across wrong—but how can you not see that kobe’s act was a bit contrived? i agree with matt’s premise – and i totally agree that kobe is talented, driven, and committed. and i’m glad he won the title w/out another alpha dog. he deserved it and i’m glad he silenced the critics.
but please!! this “documentary” was a thinly veiled PR stunt. anyone who follows sports and the nba closely could see through it. i believe spike is a supremely talented filmmaker – but in this endeavor he was a fawning sycophant.
kobe is to be admired for many things but this film was insulting to a savvy sports fan.
now is when everyone slams me for an honest opinion. i guess i asked for it.
Landon
on 16 Jun 09I am not huge Kobe fan by any stretch of the imagination, but the documentary did provide some interesting insight into the daily life of a NBA superstar. However, I have to agree with some of the previous comments in that, Kobe’s actions were most likely scripted to an extent.
Anonymous Coward
on 18 Jun 09Simmons hates Kobe so I hates Kobe.
naaa I don’t hates anyone. I just wouldn’t want him on my team.
This discussion is closed.