Basketball County: In the Water
Kevin Durant Documentary (2020)
Basketball County: In the Water is a 2020 SHOWTIME documentary that examines the swell of top basketball talent coming out of Prince George’s County, Maryland. Since 2000, PG County has pumped out 25 NBA players and more than a dozen WNBA players, including Kevin Durant, Quinn Cook, Victor Oladipo, Michael Beasely, Rebekkah Brunson, and Marissa Coleman. The documentary aired on SHOWTIME in May 2020, and was later brought to Hulu. Green Buzz Agency was brought on the project as the post-production lead to build the story out of the directors’ existing footage and create the foundation of the film’s narrative structure.
STRATEGY
In the edit, our team pushed the documentary to stylize the sport of basketball in a way that had never been done before. We distilled over 100 interviews with homegrown PG County players and members of the community, to extract the documentary’s core narrative.
Carefully tracing the journey of the region and its players, we dug up archival footage to stitch together into the film’s interview bites and b-roll footage. We incorporated specialized motion graphics and dynamic sound design to stylize the game of basketball in a way that complemented the realness of the people of PG county. Using light leaks and speed ramps, our team dramatized archival and stock footage to transform the documentary into a cinematic experience. With high-skill edits and original graphics, our cut was clean and elevated the documentary’s technical creativity.
SOCIAL IMPACT
Through the lens of the game, we follow the origins of Prince George’s county during the 1968 riots, the crack war, and the ways basketball emerged as a powerful tool for achieving equity and opening the doors to education for generations to come.
The documentary struck a chord for PG County natives, with many posting on social media about their experiences during the SHOWTIME premiere. Features in Forbes, the Washington Post, and Esquire highlighted the film’s ability to carve out its own niche amidst a crowded field of basketball documentaries.