Founding CEO Fiona Bond of Creative Waco and Production & Community Relations Specialist Gabriel Ornelas of the Texas Film Commission talk to Fest Track about intent, creative process and the importance of on the ground meeting and scouting as part of the Deep In The Heart Film Festival in Waco, Texas.
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CreativityTranscript
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00:24 - But can you talk about influencing
00:49 sort of the creative process and being there as a resource,
00:52 both from, you know, the Texas Film Commission,
00:55 but also from Creative Waco, whoever'd like to start.
00:58 - Sure. - Yeah.
00:59 I'm happy to jump in because I think
01:00 what we're trying to do here in Waco,
01:02 and hopefully this is something that other communities
01:04 are doing across the state of Texas,
01:06 is we're trying to very intentionally create
01:09 a community that is very supportive.
01:11 And so one of the things that I know Lewis and Samuel,
01:13 who run the festival, get feedback about all the time
01:17 is how much people enjoy coming to Waco
01:20 and find it unexpectedly a very,
01:24 very fertile ground for making movies.
01:27 One of the things we're very intentional about
01:29 is creating opportunities for people
01:31 who are independent filmmakers
01:32 when they come to the festival
01:34 to be surrounded by the kind of talent and support
01:37 and resources that will help them make their next movie.
01:40 It's not just about showcasing what you've already done,
01:43 it's about creating a community of support
01:47 for your next project.
01:48 And so that's been one of the real wins.
01:50 There are people who come again and again to this festival
01:53 and who've started making their movies in Waco as a result,
01:56 which is a win for our community.
01:59 And that helps to amplify the effects of the festival.
02:02 And of course, that's good for our state as well.
02:05 - Right, and I think our goal,
02:06 or one of our goals with the Texas Film Commission
02:08 is bringing production to Texas, I mean, period.
02:11 And that being said, but it's supporting local efforts,
02:16 supporting organic community efforts
02:18 in terms of providing the resources,
02:20 such as, for example, with our Film Friendly Texas program.
02:23 We have over 175 communities certified statewide,
02:27 and that provides communities with the resources
02:29 to be prepared to create good experiences
02:32 for not just the community, but for the production,
02:34 and to creating those relationships.
02:36 And so that when a filmmaker arrives,
02:38 say it be Waco or El Paso or Amarillo, wherever,
02:42 small communities, large,
02:44 they have a resource that they know
02:46 that already knows who on the ground to speak to,
02:48 that that community is prepared and welcomes them.
02:51 'Cause the idea is for everybody
02:52 to see those shared mutual benefits
02:54 and to be on the same page and moving forward with that.
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03:35 - I think one of the sweet spots of a festival like this
03:38 from our perspective is, Waco is still a,
03:41 it's a fast-growing city, but it's still relatively small.
03:44 So our filmmaking community is very connected.
03:47 And we are able to triangulate between,
03:50 really cutting edge technology that's happening at Bela
03:53 in their film and digital media department,
03:57 with people who are kind of boots on the ground,
04:00 with the Magnolia infrastructure
04:03 and all of the kind of the more mainstream media side.
04:08 And then we have a lot of people
04:09 with very, very specific talent in this community.
04:13 So it's relatively easy to link people pretty quickly
04:18 with very specific skill sets
04:21 that are gonna help them level up
04:23 in what they're planning to do
04:24 for a relatively affordable cost too,
04:27 without having to be a big studio.
04:28 - And I think, with regards to that,
04:31 as far as like,
04:31 that's what we really try and work with communities.
04:33 In meeting some of our film-friendly representatives
04:37 from different communities,
04:38 they speak to the idea of that,
04:40 what that process of really going through that process
04:43 as an exercise as a community,
04:45 bringing the different stakeholders,
04:46 business residents, community leaders together
04:49 to understand what a film production
04:51 is gonna represent for them.
04:52 And how they actually,
04:53 it creates this bridge and communication within themselves
04:56 that they can see it's an economic impact,
05:01 but it's also relationship building within that community
05:03 so that when a production does arrive, it's successful.
05:06 But that being said, within the community itself,
05:09 it also extends beyond just not just film production,
05:11 but to other areas that they can apply that as well.
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06:08 - Well, and when we have small groups coming into town,
06:22 one of the things I love is to take them
06:23 to our Sheriff's office.
06:25 Sheriff Parnell McNamara has been an advisor
06:27 on several films,
06:29 has been at the Oscars, - He's been the basis of--
06:31 - He's been the basis of several films,
06:32 and seeing his office, it's like going into
06:36 an incredible museum of law enforcement in this state.
06:41 There are all kinds of gems
06:45 that are completely unique to our community,
06:47 and when we're talking about tourism
06:49 and that interactivity, I mean, obviously,
06:51 those are absolutely gold when it comes to filmmaking,
06:56 but there's a really lovely reciprocal relationship,
07:00 I think, between tourism and film,
07:02 because when people see a movie
07:04 that is powerful in their lives,
07:06 they want to go to that place.
07:08 So it itself kind of generates this sense of pilgrimage
07:12 to places that are special,
07:14 and then it tells the stories of our community
07:17 that we would want to tell to the rest of the world, too,
07:19 so there's this kind of,
07:20 I really love that positive cycle that is generated.
07:23 The film festival itself brings people here
07:26 who would never have come to Waco, Texas
07:28 without the film festival as the catalyst,
07:31 and that has sparked all kinds of things
07:34 for our community and for them.
07:36 So there's, coming physically to a place,
07:41 I think, does something that nothing else can do,
07:44 and we really missed it during the pandemic,
07:46 and I think that kind of, for me,
07:47 that really amplified just how important that is
07:51 to have physical presence at something like this.
07:54 It's not the same if it's virtual,
07:56 even though we have the technology
07:57 to make that a really powerful experience, too.
08:00 - It's not the same.
08:00 - Not at all. - It's just not the same.
08:01 - It's not the same.
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08:05 the film festival, it's really important.
08:10 It's a place where people can come together,
08:12 and it's a place where people can share their stories,
08:15 and it's a place where people can connect, too.
08:18 And I think that's what's so important.
08:19 I think that's what's so important.
08:21 - I think that's what's so important.
08:22 I think that's what's so important.
08:23 - I think that's what's so important.
08:24 - I think that's what's so important.
08:24 - I think that's what's so important.
08:25 - I think that's what's so important.
08:26 - I think that's what's so important.
08:27 - I think that's what's so important.
08:28 - I think that's what's so important.
08:29 - I think that's what's so important.
08:29 - I think that's what's so important.
08:30 - I think that's what's so important.
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08:34 - It keeps going up.
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09:23 - With a film festival, us having the,
09:26 as the Texas Film Commission,
09:27 having the opportunity to get in front of,
09:30 you know, 30 or 40 filmmakers as we did
09:32 on this locations tour earlier,
09:34 and share with them that we are here,
09:36 we are here as a resource.
09:37 We have this large database that highlights
09:40 all of different parts of Texas,
09:42 from individual businesses to that phone booth
09:45 that you may not find anymore.
09:47 Just it's like, and it's,
09:48 they are located within all these different communities.
09:51 And just having that opportunity for us to share with them
09:54 so that they can make their,
09:55 make, do their work in Texas,
09:57 because Texas is such a diverse state in terms of,
09:59 from the geographics to what you find without Texas,
10:02 throughout Texas, the cultures.
10:04 And as we're speaking here,
10:06 as far as even just within the individual communities,
10:09 having as the Texas Film Commission,
10:11 having the opportunity where we can really celebrate that,
10:14 help support that, but then also benefit.
10:16 And then on the backside of that,
10:18 see for the state as a whole,
10:19 see the economic impact.
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