'Life in the O: Behind the scenes with the 2003-04 Windsor Spitfires '

Director: Matthew McAvoy Production: Oak Ridge Films Corporation Country: Canada Year: 2005 Language: English Type Documentary Cast: 2003-04 Windsor Spitfires including Ryan Donally (Calgary Flames), Ryan Garlock (Chicago Blackhawks), Cam Janssen (New Jersey Devils), Mitch Maunu (Chicago Blackhawks), Steve Downie (Philadelphia Flyers), Cal O'Reilly (Nashville Predators).

This documentary film follows the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires from training camp through to the playoffs and the end of their season. The Ontario Hockey League is part of the Canadian Hockey League which is one of the top producers of future NHL talent in the world. The dream of the players is to make the NHL. This is the first step.

The documentary is a detailed inside look at the life of a player during an OHL season. The film documents on-ice and off-ice life focusing on the hard work, the determination as well as the friendships and the memories that these young men experience throughout the season. Whether it is the long hours in the gym or practicing on the ice, spending long weekends on a bus traveling from game to game across Ontario and Michigan , whether it is the heartache of a teammate being traded or the overall loneliness of being away from home at the age of 16-20. In this situation some players excel while others struggle.

Live the dream, experience the ups and downs and have an inside look at the future NHL stars of tomorrow.

This is their story.

In the Media:

Beckett Hockey Magazine: Volume 16, Number 4 (June/July 2005) pg 12

WATCH THIS!

LIFE IN THE O: Behind the Scenes With the 2003-04 Windsor Spitfires

DIRECTED BY: Matthew McAvoy

Ever wonder what it takes to become a pro hockey player? Director McAvoy enjoyed and unprecedented level of access to the Ontario Hockey League's Spitfires for the entire 2003-04 season and used it to create a nearly three-hour long documentary on one critical step in the journey to the NHL.

McAvoy's camera follows the team from training camp to the disappointing playoff dismissal. Along the way, the viewer experiences everything as the players do, from between period pep talks to injury rehab, from the long bus rides to shared dreams of making the show, and from the joys of a big win to the loss felt when a teammate is traded.

There's nothing slick or artificial about this film, nothing that overly reeks of being set up to evoke a particular reaction from the viewer – a trait that derails the legitimacy of so many modern docs. Instead, you're literally the fly on the wall, seeing things the way an average fan has never had the opportunity to do before. Painful, funny and real. Life in the O delivers on promise of the title. Check it out.

OHL Tough Guys .com (posted February 21, 2005 )

February 21, 2005

LIFE IN THE O DVD

WHAT?
This Thursday (Feb. 24th) a new and exciting product will be made available to OHL fans for the first time. "Life in the O" is a DVD documentary film written, directed, and
produced entirely by Windsor born and bred filmmaker Matthew McAvoy .

In "Life in the O", McAvoy traces the path of the 2003/04 Windsor Spitfires hockey club
from the opening day of training camp through the season and right into the final night's
post-season awards banquet.

More than 34 hours of raw video was amassed during the time McAvoy spent with the team. That footage was edited down to the almost three hours that are seen in the final product.

WHO?
As mentioned, McAvoy is a Windsor born and bred filmmaker. He is the founder and
president of Oak Ridge Films. His relationship with the Spitfires is a long one - having attended games regularly since the 1990-91 season.

WHERE?
The documentary "Life in the O" was filmed entirely on location…or should I say locations? This film takes place in every hockey location imaginable: the rink, the dressing room, the billets' home, the street, and the bus just to name a few. McAvoy's access to the club and its players/officials is unprecedented to my knowledge and genuinely gives the viewers the feeling of actually having been there as events unfolded.

WHEN?
McAvoy's footage begins in August of 2003 as the team comes together for the first time. Piece by piece, he follows the team through the fall and winter into the new year 2004 and down the stretch run of the season as the Spits battle for the eighth and final playoff spot. Though it is well known now Windsor did in fact secure that position, only to be ousted in four straight games by the London Knights, the movie does not end there. Instead McAvoy's story soldiers on with the GM's season-ending comments and the owner's end-of-season team banquet.

WHY?
Who better to tell why this DVD was created than the filmmaker himself? This from
the official Oak Ridge Films press release:

"The documentary is a detailed inside look at the life of a player during an OHL
season. The film documents on-ice and off-ice focusing on the hard work, the
determination, as well as the friendships and the memories that these young men
experience throughout the season. Whether it is the long hours in the gym or
practicing on the ice, spending long weekends on a bus traveling from game to
game across Ontario and Michigan, whether it's the heartache of a teammate being
traded or the overall loneliness of being away from home at the age of 16-20. In
this situation some players excel while others struggle."

CRITIQUE
Having never seen an OHL based documentary (save for a little something done by CBC's Fifth Estate some years ago) I really had no idea what to expect when I cracked open the DVD case for the first time last night.

Whereas some documentaries are produced as a daily log of events from start to finish, McAvoy elected to present his film more as a linked series of vignettes - short scenes or glimpses - into the life of the Windsor Spitfires hockey club.

At first, I found this choice to be somewhat distracting. Being a strictly chronological thinker, I wasn't sure I liked the fact some scenes flipped from early to mid to late in the season. However, as the film played out, I began to see the creativity in McAvoy's way of putting his thoughts - and therefore his vignettes - together…and I liked it.

All in all, this documentary film is a real groundbreaker. While the NHL and other professional hockey leagues garner most the media attention, true hockey fans know where the real hockey passion is at - the Ontario Hockey League. This is what McAvoy attempts, and succeeds, to show in this film.

AVAILABILITY
"Life in the O" will also be available in the Spits' gift shop and in the Spits' office.

For those OHL fans outside of the Windsor area, "Life in the O" can be ordered via Oak Ridge Film's eBay store.

In either case, the cost of this documentary is just $20 taxes included.