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!
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