BallsOfSteel

An moment of pinball history… freshly released “New Old Stock” on YouTube, after a decade.

If you are a pinball tournament fan or competitor, you will see many recognizable faces.

Unfortunately, this tournament was dominated by the sub-par title, Roller Coaster Tycoon. I am a competitor myself, and I acknowledge that I am a bit strange. Given that, I think that’s why I couldn’t help but think whether the players were actually playing the game the way it was intended or if they decided to time out most of the modes on the game. I couldn’t really tell from the video series. I wonder if any of the players remember.

It’s a good thing that now the Pinball Expo tournament is run by Trent Augenstein, a perennially top ranked player. The event runs much better now than what you see here in the video.

Balls of Steel is an independent, unfunded documentary short about the world of competitive pinball. We’d hoped to get funding for something feature-length, and we used this video as our pitch. We got some meetings, but no money. So, a decade later, here it is. On YouTube.

Part 1

In part 1 of 3, we are introduced to the pinball subculture, tour the Stern Pinball factory, and meet our protagonist Sean “the Storm” Grant at the Pinburgh 2001 match play tournament.

Part 2

In part 2 of 3 we get to know our protagonist, Sean “the Storm” Grant, and watch him try to qualify for match play at the 2002 Pinball Expo in Chicago. (Plus go on a random “traveling man” date in the process.)

Part 3

In the 3rd and final part of this indie doc short, Storm sweats it out to see if he keeps his spot among the qualifying players, and then moves on to what he considers his forte, match play. Will he put up or shut up?

Balls of Steel is an independent, unfunded documentary short about the world of competitive pinball. We’d hoped to get funding for something feature-length, and we used this video as our pitch. We got some meetings, but no money. So, a decade later, here it is. On YouTube.