Trishtan Williams on Directing Netflix’s ‘Starting 5’ and Humanizing the NBA’s Biggest Stars – Essence

Trishtan Williams, an emerging force in the world of cinema, showcases his passion for sports in the highly anticipated Netflix docuseries. Known for her previous work on projects resembling Stephen Curry and , she has gained a repute for creating deeply human stories about athletes. In , takes viewers behind the scenes of the NBA, offering a never-before-seen have a look at the personal and skilled lives of a few of the league’s best players.

“As a woman who loves sports, it was the perfect opportunity to combine my passion for storytelling and athletics,” Williams says of her involvement in the series. “So when Netflix, SpringHill and Uninterrupted brought it to my attention, it was a no-brainer. I had just finished a project and was grateful that the timing was perfect.”

The documentary guarantees to humanize athletes by showing the challenges they face each on and off the field. Williams’ approach to capturing this vulnerability stems from her ability to construct trust amongst her subjects. “I learned that I have to be honest, honest and vulnerable myself, and this allows them to feel comfortable,” she explains. This trust has resulted in intimate portraits that transcend the surface, offering fans a deeper understanding of the players they idolize.

it also represents a major moment in sports documentaries, as Williams notes that “the NBA has never provided this kind of access before.” Through thoughtful direction and a spotlight on the human element behind athletes’ fame, the award-winning producer will create a documentary that can appeal to each sports fans and those searching for compelling, heartfelt stories.

BEING: gives viewers an in-depth look behind the scenes at the lives of some famous NBA players – confer with me about what inspired you to take on this particular project.

Tristan Williams: Well, what inspired me to take up this project: to start with, as a lady, I really like sports, so I really like creating sports content as a documentarian. It’s a no-brainer when your agent calls and says, “Hey, Netflix has a new project with SpringHill, Uninterrupted, Omaha, and Higher Ground. It features some of the bigger NBA stars to play today. Would this be something you would like to direct?” And I said, “Of course.” And it’s certainly one of those things: we’re at all times very busy, so on daily basis there are loads of great projects coming across your desk, but if you happen to’re already in the middle of a project, after all you have got to let go of every part. So I used to be actually grateful to be free during that window. I literally just finished the project and jumped right into it. So that inspired me. I really like, love, love sports content.

You’ve had previous sports projects under your belt; How did these previous experiences influence your approach to this project?

I did. And after all she is a tremendous person. And before that I did it with Uncle Luke, 2 Live Crew and all the NFL players. But for me, sports have at all times been a staple in my home. I’m a five-yr-old girl. Five girls, no boys. And in our house you’ll think we had boys. My father died after I was six months old, so that you’d think our house was stuffed with men and boys, but they were all girls and all of us loved sports.

What draws me to sports at once is with the ability to discover what’s really going on. Lots of times women are so lost and don’t care about what is going on on, but I do care. And after I was in highschool, I used to be a cheerleader. Of course, with basketball, you are up close and personal. I used to be certainly one of the captains, you have got to know whether you play in attack or defense. And relating to football, the same thing. And that is why it’s exciting, intriguing. The world loves sports, and the opportunity to inform sports content in a narrative space is, for my part, the best space.

There are some big names on this particular documentary series as well, which makes it much more intriguing. But first, how did you construct trust with these athletes to be sure that they felt comfortable being so vulnerable? And how did you even go about capturing these special moments of their lives?

That’s why they call me “your favorite producer”. I’m known for it, whether it’s sports, whatever the genre, I’m your favorite producer. And I believe that is a part of my secret trick to creating people immediately feel comfortable. I’m doing this by just being honest and vulnerable with myself and being open about the process and how we’ll shoot it. This gives them a transparent identity of what we can be doing throughout the process.

As I learned myself a while ago, these individuals are extremely wealthy, their schedules are extremely tight, in order that they don’t need you to be of their face every second. If you’ll be able to very directly and clearly state what the goal is for the day, what the goal is for the month, what the goal is for the yr, and you keep on with it, you gain that trust because you are not there and then you definately overdo it. It’s like, “No, we’ve got this.” You also should trust yourself as a director and say, “We’ve got the scene and it’s done,” in order that they do not feel overwhelmed. And that is the way you gain trust. Be honest and then they may simply love you. They said, “We didn’t even know you were here, Trish. We forget that you are here. You are like family.” So a part of the pre-production process is talking it through so it’s really clear what the expectations are and sticking to them.

Having something of a primary-hand account and being very involved, were there any moments while attending to know these players that impressed you?

There were a lot of them. First of all, after we watch them get drafted and hear how much money they make, and oh my god, it’s crazy. We could only dream of earning such an amount. But what number of games are there in a season?

82.

82 games, right? He’s busy. I mean, you actually watch them on the plane every other day and we’re just as drained. So imagine you get off the plane, you have got to go to training, and after training you have got to go to therapy, then you have got to go to training, then you have got to go to this viewing to review the tapes, and then you have got to deal along with your families. That’s so much. And I do not think we actually humanize them because when the media looks at them, we analyze every little thing, and then you have got to show around and live as much as those expectations, it’s so much. I believe what I’ve learned is that they do a fantastic job of sticking together, going on the market every night, playing at the highest level you’ll be able to play at, coping with scrutiny, good or bad, and coping with their competition. family, coping with teammates. That’s so much. So I actually have a brand new respect for them and I believe the world can have a brand new respect for them too.

The series provides a very good balance between players’ skilled and personal lives. Because their lives are so busy and there’s a lot going on, how do you and the directing team determine which facets of their lives to focus on in the show?

So inside your story you’ll be able to discover what is going on on of their world that yr and what’s the focus. So you are attempting to keep on with it, because it isn’t an art to cover every part, because from a plot perspective it gets messy. It’s throughout the place and it isn’t a suspenseful story that the viewer can relate to. So if you discover what is going on on of their lives and what they should follow, that is form of their story.

When you joined the project, you worked with firms like SpringHill, Netflix and several others. What was it like working with such a various and influential team?

Incredible. I mean, you are coping with the better of the best. You’re coping with loads of bosses because these are the big bosses here and everyone wants this project to win. But in the end it was peaceful. It was literally a smooth and seamless production, I believe, from start to complete. It was certainly one of the easiest productions I actually have ever been involved in. And I prefer to say I’m still running a very good production, but truthfully, I believe every part went easily with all the big events.

As a Black female director and producer in the industry, how did your perspective shape the way you told this story? ?

I say lead. I’m an exquisite woman, right? You are in a male-dominated space. So for my part, lead with respect and lead with grace and that can only get you to this point. Literally that is the very first thing if you’re in an area of this size: just at all times be a girl, understand why you are on this business and stay focused, especially if you’re playing sports. I believe my approach to male athletes is that I cope with their wives. My approach is to cope with their counterparts and that is my first ally. He’s my best friend. This is the one that gives me access to the house. I do know the whole schedule because 9 times out of 10 their wife or girlfriend has their schedule and that is your best friend. That’s why, as a director, I’ve at all times been desperate to use it in every program I’ve ever played in. I cope with women first and then allow women to achieve access to their counterpart because that could be a level of respect for me.

You talked about this slightly bit earlier, about humanizing players. Beyond that, what do you hope viewers take away from this documentary?

You have to know that the NBA has never provided the sort of access before. So we are literally watching something extremely historic. Listening to the players on the court as they play, being of their homes, being on planes, being with them – you have never seen this before. So the audience will walk away, as I said earlier, with a newfound respect for these players and with slightly more grace as we have a look at these players and have a look at them, because again, people prefer to say, “Oh, they’re making thousands and thousands of dollars. They higher do it, they need to do it. And it’s like, all of us have jobs and all of us have expectations of how we should always do our jobs, but we’re human.

That’s why I believe the media is tough, and I believe it will allow the world to melt up slightly bit and be like, “Oh, LeBron says real things too. Anthony has an actual life. Oh, Sabonis, oh, Jimmy. You will learn a lot that you’re going to have a lot compassion for them and love them much more. It will make people love the NBA greater than what they already love.