As most people in San Benito County are well aware, the
Hollister Independence Rally is a raucous weekend that draws
thousands of people from all persuasions to the customarily serene
streets of Hollister.
The bikers, beauty queens, burnout contests and beer guzzling
have finally been caught on tape with the release of the official
2003 Hollister Independence Rally video.
As most people in San Benito County are well aware, the Hollister Independence Rally is a raucous weekend that draws thousands of people from all persuasions to the customarily serene streets of Hollister.
The bikers, beauty queens, burnout contests and beer guzzling have finally been caught on tape with the release of the official 2003 Hollister Independence Rally video.
The video was produced by a newly formed company out of San Francisco called Havic Films, LLC, whose partners are comprised of one current Hollister resident and two former residents.
Keith Taylor, managing partner, and Daniel Hernandez, chief financial officer, both grew up in Hollister and now own their own companies. Scott McPhail, creative director and current Hollister resident, came up with the idea for the rally video.
McPhail was able to put some camera crews together and film the 2003 rally, but ran into roadblocks when it came to the intricacies of business, Taylor said.
“Scotty had started the ball rolling and the ball just stopped after he filmed because production costs money,” Taylor said. “So we structured a partnership between the three of us, formed a limited liability company, and it’s Havic Films, LLC.”
The partners worked on turning the 2003 footage into a respectable video, which is 25 minutes long and covers the burnout contest, the drome, the beauty contest and other basic footage of what makes the rally so unique, Taylor said.
Because it was something of a “trial run” as far as filming the rally, Taylor considers it to be more of an amateur video due to factors such as poor sound quality that resulted from the microphones used during filming.
The team combated the problem by overlaying music throughout the video, much of it by The Charlie Brechtel Band, one of the country’s foremost biker bands, Taylor said.
“They had great footage, but I think it could be done a lot better,” he said. “That’s why we’re stepping in this year, and see if we can work out something with the Hollister Independence Rally Committee to see if we will be able to do the next year’s video.”
Taylor is in negotiations with HIRC as to a contract for filming the 2004 video, which Executive Director Bob Beals is pleased with.
“(The 2003 video) is real good and the next one is going to be even better,” Beals said. “We’re looking to mature the rally and this is the kind of tool that can help do that.”
Taylor’s vision for the 2004 video is to create something of a yearbook, he said.
“People are always curious, am I on it, this and that. There weren’t that many interviews this last year due to the sound quality, and it didn’t have any real structure to it,” he said. “So with this next year’s video we plan on getting more involved with HIRC and also with the city board that is planning it.”
Collaboration with Hollister will help Taylor draw up a distinct itinerary for the 2004 rally. McPhail and his camera crews will know exactly where and when everything is happening, and can capture it professionally and aggregately.
Taylor is also deciding whether to do a documentary on the historical aspect of the rally, going back to the 1930s. Hollister was a spot on the American Motorcyclists Association motorcycle races circuit that occurred over the Fourth of July weekend, Taylor said.
Every year bikers came to Hollister for the races, and over the years the Independence Day rally was formed.
“In ’47 these biker gangs really started getting going,” he said. “They had a big gathering and it got a little out of control, but nothing major… it was all in good clean fun and they weren’t being hostile in any way, so far that I’m finding out.”
Rumors that the bikers took over City Hall and the police station were completely blown out of proportion by a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle, which was why the rally wasn’t held again until 1997, he said.
“So us being curious of why we’re making this movie, we want to know the basics of it and why it happened, and put to rest all of the rumors and lay out a good documentary from a fair standpoint,” Taylor said. “We want to make this an official documentary of what really happened in Hollister here in ’47 and put that at the beginning of every Hollister rally to come.”
The length of Havic Film’s contract with HIRC is undecided at this point, but Taylor said he would like to be involved for at least five to 10 years.
Because of the strong ties the three partners have to Hollister, they plan on giving back some of the profits of the video to the community.
Taylor, Hernandez and McPhail all played Little League, so some of the profits will be donated to the Hollister Little League, as well as to the historical society which has helped them with research, and to HIRC, he said.
“We’re prepared to give back to the city, not just take away,” Taylor said. “It’s more of a giving thing, but business is business as well.”
Taylor is very pleased with the 2003 video, but is eager to make the 2004 video the best it can possibly be – not just for his company’s sake, but for everyone involved, he said.
“This rally has to be portrayed for what it is – we want to give it the respect that it’s due,” he said. “It’s an amazing event and we want to cover it for what it is. It’s a community event and it’s a biker’s event.”
The 2003 Hollister Independence Rally video is available through the company’s Web site at www.havicfilms.com, the Hollister Independence Rally Committee, located at 334 5th St., or by calling 634-0777.
