Unfortunately I did not have a chance to volunteer directly. The wine tasting was held at the Hassayampa Inn, where I work, on the day that I had to work. Although I was not able to be in the room when it happened, I did help the clean up process afterward. Although all cleaning is a necessity, most times it is not looked forward to, and while doing it can be taxing, but cleaning up after an event is important because it shows the community that the people taking part in events are not just slobs there to take advantage of the town they are in, the cleaner the place is left, the better the impression is left on the people and community the event is being held, the messier the areas are left the more negative impression that is imprinted.
Making independent films is a lot of hard work as well as stressful. I did learn that money is a huge issue when trying to make an independent film. Because there is a lack of a budget from any studio, all of the budgeting comes out of pocket from the director, and even if the director has a cast of nothing but friends, which is nice because they don't demand pay, there is still the cost of traveling to and from the set, as well as food cost for while they are filming. And when the product is finally finished, there is the cost of trying to get the film recognized by really anyone who can play it. I would love to learn how the independent film makers take their films and have them shown at film festivals. That part was unclear when talking to a couple of directors. They told me all about how they made their films, where they shot their films at, who was in it, how they knew those people, but I never did get to learn about how they gain entrance into a film festival. Another thing I would like to learn is the film festival process, by this I mean, how is it that they decide what films to choose from. I'm sure that they have a huge list of movies from independent film makers, so how do they decide which should be shown and which to overlook? To start I could go and talk with the person in charge of the film festival, but that would depend on their availability. After that step I really don't know where to go to answer these questions.
There is a huge importance that comes with a film festival. First and foremost would have to be to the community. In a community as small as Prescott, there really is not a lot of choice of what you get to see on "The Big Screen." There is only the one movie theater in Prescott Valley, Harkins, which chooses only the biggest titles to play, other than that there is nowhere else to view these independent films. Now, a big player in town where one could go to find these movies, would be Hastings, but even then they only carry the independent films that have made it to the main stream. So, with all of this in mind it is very important that the film festival comes, because without it these films are unknown in smaller communities like our own. They give the people a chance to see films that are not big hits at the box office, and to support the independent film makers by word of mouth, telling their friends about their movies, and supports the "little guy" rather than the corporation, allowing the independent film makers a chance to get their movies out in the open and who knows what studio representative will be around to pick them up under their title?
I will most definitely see more independent films in the future. The movies I saw, one short and one feature, were actually very entertaining. The short was a little iffy, there was no plot to be seen, but the special effects were very well done, the explosions looked like actual explosions, not just an explosion just chopped in and was apparent. The feature that I saw was very good, it captivated me throughout the whole time, and I never once looked at my watch, which I do frequently at Harkins while watching a movie there, sad but true. The only places that I can think of to see these movies is in Flagstaff and Phoenix, unfortunately two hour drives both ways, but well worth it, making a day trip out of it, I'm thinking, would be the best way.
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