Daniel Fagan, a history graduate student, completed an internship with the Arizona Historical Society. The Society needed assistance in organizing 16mm film footage that dated back from 1956 through 1979. His interest in the internship came from his desire to become a film historian and this provided him with the opportunity to gain exposure to working with different film media and have access to some of Arizona’s history. The footage contained images of Phoenix and the development of the city, including the changing skyline, Sky Harbor Airport and the opening of Big Surf Waterpark. Other film footage showed actors and actresses when they were in town shooting for movies. 

Fagan began by taking inventory of the film reels that were available and created a spreadsheet that placed them in chronological order. He then began work on preserving the contents of the film by converting the footage into digital media and having it cataloged. He hopes to use the digital media and film to allow Phoenix residents and other members of the public to view the footage as it contains history of the area and how it has changed throughout the years. It also demonstrates the social and culture aspects of Phoenix and how they have developed. Fagan feels that by creating a digital version, it has the ability to reach a broad scale and does not have to be centralized to a small audience compared to if it was just the one 16mm film.

One of the biggest takeaways he had from the internship was the importance of preserving film. If the film from the Historical Society had not been preserved, a piece of Phoenix history would have been lost and could not be shared with the public. He has also seen the importance of proper film presentation to allow future generations to view them and be able to gain insights into the history of their city.