I believe that this is one of my final, if not final, blog post for Visions Film Festival & Conference. This week, I have been working on editing my part of the Visions6 DVD and updating the manual with what I've learned from this semester. Starting last class, I began editing my section of the Development manual. I am adding information from my experience throwing the Valentine's Day Party and everything leading up to the after party.
In regards to the after party, my updates will include the venue, catering, decorations, and all of the work and collaboration that went into the night. I will also include all the things that went well and what can be improved on. Going back over blog posts also help me not to forget to add important information in the manual that may have slipped my mind.
On Sunday, Simone and I met in the edit lab to edit the footage of Katie Comfort speaking at the conference block. There wasn't any in-camera sound from two of the shot sources, which made it really hard to sync. Nevertheless, I was able to since video and sound and Simone and I began the process of cutting Katie's presentation down to around twelve minutes. I wanted to take out as many "umms" and "uhs" as possible, which helped me shave down some time, but it was hard and unnatural feeling to cut down on too many of them.
Overall, I think that this week has been very efficient and I am excited to have this DVD be finished! I am so proud of everyone who has worked so hard within Visions6!
Monday, April 25, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
Week 14: Spring Semester
Last Friday was the big day! All of our time, dedication, and hard work finally paid off in the sixth annual Visions Film Festival & Conference! I couldn't have been prouder of the staff, volunteers, and guests that helped make Visions6 a reality. Like everyone on staff, I had responsibilities throughout the day, including duties at the registration table, moderating the conference block, and running the after party.
The registration table went really smoothly. Hayley's way of organization helped with time efficiency and overall appearance of the table when looking to hand out badges. There wasn't a moment of total chaos. If there wasn't a prepared badge, we quickly and easily made a badge for the guest in an appropriate manner. Overall, working the registration table was easy thanks to Hayley being so prepared.
Grace and I met together as well as with our assigned mentor-professor, Kase, to prepare for moderating the conference block. Kase made many great points, including having questions prepared that all could answer as well as individual scholars who weren't asked as many questions from the audience. This advice came in handy when moderating. The scholars had amazing presentations and were asked great questions during the Q&A, but one scholar wasn't asked any questions. Grace was able to ask her a question and include her into the discussion. It helped make the Q&A inclusive to all of our scholars.
In preparation for the after party, I was expecting to have a bigger number of people help me set up. Unfortunately, I didn't have the number of people I expected to have but in the end we made it work! Samantha, a member of the Development and Fundraising Department, left around 7:30 pm to pick up the dessert, cupcakes and fresh fruit, as well as helium-filled balloons. At 9pm, Michelle brought Tyler, Hayley, and I downtown to Hell's Kitchen. The bar was still open until 10:30ish to the public, so we did a lot of the set up in the back. It was a little hard to try to set up some of the things in the back, but we had to set up all glow stick items since they only last so many hours. But if something can be set up before getting to the after party location, make sure you do it, because you're probably not going to have a lot of time. People arrived to the party early; at 10:35ish, we already had about 10 guests. This added to my stress, but once I was able to stop setting things up in the back, organize decorations in the front the way I wanted them, and dim the lights, the venue looked great!
The drink menu was a hit and really helped with sales, which was a concern of mine since the venue was free and they wanted to make sure that they made money that night. I also went around with glow sticks and passed them out to all of the guests to create the "galaxy"-like atmosphere. The DJ, Free Waterfall, was a hit! A lot of people told me that they liked what he played and that they wanted to use him. It was a little hard to herd the crowd out of the bar at the end, but I realized that I should have given them an earlier warning of when the party would be down. I only let them know about 5 minutes until the end of the party. There are a few things that I would have improved on, such as making sure we had a camera for the step and repeat solely, and not used for interviews, but no one seemed to mind and took plenty of photos on their own. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, which is what really matters in the end.
The registration table went really smoothly. Hayley's way of organization helped with time efficiency and overall appearance of the table when looking to hand out badges. There wasn't a moment of total chaos. If there wasn't a prepared badge, we quickly and easily made a badge for the guest in an appropriate manner. Overall, working the registration table was easy thanks to Hayley being so prepared.
Grace and I met together as well as with our assigned mentor-professor, Kase, to prepare for moderating the conference block. Kase made many great points, including having questions prepared that all could answer as well as individual scholars who weren't asked as many questions from the audience. This advice came in handy when moderating. The scholars had amazing presentations and were asked great questions during the Q&A, but one scholar wasn't asked any questions. Grace was able to ask her a question and include her into the discussion. It helped make the Q&A inclusive to all of our scholars.
In preparation for the after party, I was expecting to have a bigger number of people help me set up. Unfortunately, I didn't have the number of people I expected to have but in the end we made it work! Samantha, a member of the Development and Fundraising Department, left around 7:30 pm to pick up the dessert, cupcakes and fresh fruit, as well as helium-filled balloons. At 9pm, Michelle brought Tyler, Hayley, and I downtown to Hell's Kitchen. The bar was still open until 10:30ish to the public, so we did a lot of the set up in the back. It was a little hard to try to set up some of the things in the back, but we had to set up all glow stick items since they only last so many hours. But if something can be set up before getting to the after party location, make sure you do it, because you're probably not going to have a lot of time. People arrived to the party early; at 10:35ish, we already had about 10 guests. This added to my stress, but once I was able to stop setting things up in the back, organize decorations in the front the way I wanted them, and dim the lights, the venue looked great!
The drink menu was a hit and really helped with sales, which was a concern of mine since the venue was free and they wanted to make sure that they made money that night. I also went around with glow sticks and passed them out to all of the guests to create the "galaxy"-like atmosphere. The DJ, Free Waterfall, was a hit! A lot of people told me that they liked what he played and that they wanted to use him. It was a little hard to herd the crowd out of the bar at the end, but I realized that I should have given them an earlier warning of when the party would be down. I only let them know about 5 minutes until the end of the party. There are a few things that I would have improved on, such as making sure we had a camera for the step and repeat solely, and not used for interviews, but no one seemed to mind and took plenty of photos on their own. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, which is what really matters in the end.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Week 13: Spring Semester
This is the week! This weekend is all about preparing for the day of the event! It's finally here! I have bought almost all of the party decorations. After class last week, Tyler, Carson, Anthony and I went to Hell's Kitchen to meet with the the bar's technician, Glen, to find out how the electrical system is wired. They were able to learn a lot about the tech set up and came up with a game plan for the video installation. They told me that I needed to order a RF modulator off of Amazon for their tech set up. I ordered the modulator with the BB&T gift card and the payment went through and it all seemed well. I checked on it again and Amazon stated that the payment didn't process correctly, which I think was because of the gift card. Wanting the modulator to get here before the after party, I ordered the piece with my card. This is definitely something that I want to note in the manual because it is really important for the sake of the event for things to arrive on time and if I didn't check the process of the modulator's shipment, then I wouldn't have seen that it didn't ship. The staff always needs to be on top of all online purchases.
I also spoke with Samantha and we made a game plan for how to pick up items the day of, such as cupcakes, so that they can be received to us before the cupcake store closes and before the after party starts. I'll be spending the remainder of the week making sure that I truly have everything I need, all questions about the after party are answered, and that everyone knows where they need to go. I am really excited for the night!
Monday, April 4, 2016
Week 12: Spring Semester
With only two weeks until Visions Film Festival & Conference, I have had my eyes set on the after party. This week was all about finalizing the details at the after party location, confirming the DJ, and having meetings with different departments to make sure that everything is set.
I met with the owner and manager of Hell's Kitchen this week to go over how the night will go for the after party. I am working directly with the manager with catering at the location, decorations, the drink menu, and the tech. The owner offered his tech guy to come and meet with Carson and Tyler so they won't have to guess how the set up in Hell's Kitchen works but be told directly.
After emailing Free Waterfall, he agreed to DJ the after party. I let him know via email the location and the hours of the after party and once he agreed, I asked to have a phone conversation with him in order to relay the space theme of Visions and how we would like music that matched the theme, was perfect to listen to while networking, and able to have people dance to. He also has all of his own equipment, from speakers to a mic, so we don't need to provide any of that.
I have met with Carson this past week to go over what the banner on the website will look like. I also wrote up a description of the after party for the website. I had Zoe approve it and then it was sent to Carson to be put on the website. I met with Samantha to go over the art that is needed for the after party. She designed the drink menu, cupcake labels, and signs to promote the hashtag for EventsTag. I have also been in communication with Mariah about decorations and what we can use at both Visions Festival & Conference and the after party. We also came up with a game plan to use the glow-in-the-dark galaxy mason jars at both locations and to last! Overall, I have had a very productive week!
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Week 11: Spring Semester
During Easter Break, I completed tasks in regard to the After Party. One of my main goals was to secure entertainment, catering (including food and dessert), as well as tech for the day of the event. I scheduled a call with Kelsey, the manager of Hell's Kitchen. I wrote up a list of questions to ask her so I could make sure to get everything covered in our phone call:
1. Television Tech: I asked her to update me on whether we could use the televisions in the bar and she told me yes. We would just need to be able to put the televisions back the way we found them. In order to find out exactly how those televisions work, I asked if I could have a member of my team come down and check out how the televisions are set up and she told me that would be fine.
2. Entertainment: Kelsey said Hell's Kitchen is totally available to have a DJ but we will need to bring all of our own tech, from the speakers to turntables.
3. Catering: I officially placed the Hell's Kitchen order with Kelsey and was able to get a total that I could add into my purchasing spreadsheet, which is located in the V6 After Party folder of the Drive. I also made the changes to the cupcake order and received the invoice to pay for them. All information regarding purchasing can, to repeat, be found in the Google Drive.
4. I also received confirmation to use outlets as well as the projector light.
On the lines of entertainment, I contacted Aaron about VJ/DJ with a techno/space theme and he said that the most space sounding DJ that he knows is Free Waterfall. He gave me his contact information. I also decided to bring up to the class the option of working with a previous DJ and having him customize a very spacey-themed playlist. Overall, I am very excited and believe that it will be a great event!
Monday, March 21, 2016
Week 10: Spring Semester
I have had a pretty busy week but I am happy that many of the details of the after party are winding down! Finalizing the budget has been quite fun and informative! During our departmental meeting, I had my department go through my budget for the after party and see if they approved of it all. I explained each item's use from decoration to catering. They helped me change up the catering list a bit to account for people with a variety of taste buds. With their finalization (which worked out well because I really wanted other people's opinion), I put in the request for the cupcake order for dessert with Hot Pink Cupcakes and I ordered a Kaleidoscope Projector Light from Spencer's Online. I also emailed Hell's Kitchen's manager to inquire on when I should put in the catering order. The rest of the purchases will be made in stores.
A member of my department also asked me for my advice on how to ask approach people for donations and it felt really nice to be needed by my department, which I think is something that we should all take into account moving forward in Visions and any similar work. Being there for your department makes you feel wanted as well as helps your team out!
A member of my department also asked me for my advice on how to ask approach people for donations and it felt really nice to be needed by my department, which I think is something that we should all take into account moving forward in Visions and any similar work. Being there for your department makes you feel wanted as well as helps your team out!
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Week 9: Spring Semester
Last week was Spring Break so I didn't make a post. I see after reading my fellow classmates blogs that I should have for the previous week. I apologize but I will move forward from here and speak of what I have done over the break! I was excited for all of the fun party planning (especially decorations) for the after party. I really wanted to stay more on a space/galaxy theme for the party rather than just icons of famous aliens or sci-fi characters. With that in mind, looking for decorations was challenging but fun. One of the my favorite finds is the Kaleidoscope light projector that I found on Spencer's Online. It is a fairly small and inexpensive light that creates out of this world colorful light design on walls. I think it will be perfect for the after party. Upon inquiring about bands/performers for the night, I asked the class as well as my contacts in the concert committee of ACE. Both contacts offered me a few names, which led me to my top choice: The Smoothrays. I have contacted them to see if they are interested in performing but since they are also UNCW students, they may take a little after Spring Break to respond. I also met a local band called UNITY who I checked out online. They are very eager to play events in Wilmington, which is great for us to work with. Due to Hell's Kitchen being free, they want us to purchase some food for the party from them in order to make something out of it. I have been working with the manager Kelsey on details about the after party and she has been helpful.
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