Verde Valley News – For more than a decade, the Prescott Film Festival has drawn movie hounds to the YC Campus with its unique blend of cowboy and international cinema, expert workshops and silver screen events. But, in addition to being a great time, the Prescott Film Festival also acts as a resource for local student directors, screenwriters and documentarians to learn about the historical and business aspects of filmmaking and production. The Prescott Film Festival exists as an outreach arm of Yavapai College’s School of Film & Media Arts, which trains students in the artistic, journalistic and technical frontiers of film, video and broadcasting.
“At FMA we believe that story is at the heart of creating content.” Helen Stephenson, PFF Founder and Director of the School of Film & Media Arts, says. “Whether someone is creating a short film, feature, documentary, commercial or a YouTube video, story is what gets people’s attention.” The Prescott Film Festival, she says, runs on the same philosophy: “The tag line for the festival is ‘Movies that Move You.’ When we select films, we look for great stories that evoke emotion. Our students learn how to do that from the ground-up.”
Since 2015, Yavapai College’s School of Film & Media Arts has endeavored to train student artists, screenwriters, journalists and technicians in the craft of telling stories on video and film. Today, FMA offers four certificate programs – Film & Media Production; Media Editing & Post-Production; Writing for the Screen; and Script Supervision – to train students in the latest techniques, familiarize them with state-of-the-art equipment, and prepare them for work on either side of camera in the booming industry of video storytelling.
FMA courses cover a wide range of topics, from Pre- and Post-Production to Content Creation, Podcasting, Sound Design, Citizen Journalism and Stop-Motion Animation. The program’s storytelling focus allows students to get hands-on experience with the latest industry-standard equipment, including Black Magic Cinema, RED and Sony A7 cameras. The overarching goal is to train the next wave of video storytellers – directors, cinematographers and screenwriters – as well as a new generation of camera operators, editors, sound designers, grips and production assistants.
The Prescott Film Festival plays a prominent part in that education by bringing industry expertise on campus. “Attending the festival gives students the opportunity to see independent film firsthand, on a big screen, the way nature intended!” Stephenson says. “There are also many guest filmmakers attending, giving students the opportunity to network and ask questions.” The festival also screens its best student films – this year’s Student Film Showcase is Wednesday, July 17 at 1 p.m. – which gives young filmmakers a chance to write, shoot, edit and present a story to a festival audience.
For further information on Yavapai College’s Film & Media Arts Program, contact Helen Stephenson at (928) 717-7184 or helen.stephenson@yc.edu. Classes start August 17 for Yavapai College’s Fall 2024 Semester, and enrollment is already open. For further information on academics, class availability and scholarship opportunities, please visit www.yc.edu.
