Week 15 Check In

During the last week of Visions we have still been busy.  While the Festival is over this year, we still have to complete the DVD.  Each member of the class will help to edit all the conference blocks.  I helped Samantha edit Garrett Spake’s conference block.  It was a bit difficult because the two different angles we had of him during the conference had completely different lighting so the cuts did not flow smoothly.  We color corrected the best we could.  Also, due to the audience being included in both camera angles, while the cuts on Garrett were fixed (to fix the ums…), the audience allowed the viewer to notice the cuts because they did not match.  However, it looks pretty good.  I just think next year there should be better camera work during Visions to allow for a better DVD.  Perhaps more angles and better lighting will help the editing options. This last week I also updated the volunteer manual.  Shannon said the volunteer manual was a bit extensive and she was right.  I reformatted the entire document and also simplified it.  This took a few hours, but it is now easier to follow.  I also included examples of all my documents within the manual in order to help the next volunteer coordinator.   Next week, for the Visions final we get to finally relax and go to DeFy Gravity.  I am so excited to have one more extravaganza with the Visions6 staff!  It sure has been a rollercoaster this year, but I have enjoyed the ride.

Week 14 Check In

So, last week was the festival and all I can say is WOW!!!!  I honestly had the time of my life.  I was smiling the entire day.  It was such an amazing experience to put faces to all the films and papers we have been talking about all semester.  All the filmmakers were amazing.  The scholars were as well.  I made some good friends and had a lot of laughs.  Everyone was so impressed with the festival and how well it was put together.  They were blown away.  It was nice to be congratulated for all of our hard work.  Friday was a long day yet I did not want it to end.  I got to school at 7 am and helped Hayley set up the registration desk.  Then my volunteers started coming in one by one.  Most of them were on time.  Some of them had to be reminded a few times to be at their post at specific times but most of the volunteers were no trouble!  I did have a couple volunteers not show up and one left in the middle of her shift.   Even so, I was able to get the shifts covered by other helpful volunteers and all went smoothly.  The after party was a blast.  I took selfies with all the filmmakers and scholars there.  I could not stop smiling.  Believe it or not, I was sad when 2 am came.  This experience has opened my eyes and made me want to become more involved with festivals.  Not just going, but working them.   With everything wrapped, I am not sure what we will be doing the rest of class but I am sure we will be tightening up loose ends in order to help the next Visions.  I will be sending out thank you emails to all volunteers.  They were all so great!  I am so so so glad I got to be a part of Visions6.  I will remember it forever!

Week 13 Check-in!!!!

Well it is the week of Visions and boy have I been busy!  I have been working with Simone the last couple weeks trying to tie down the final schedule for volunteers.  We ended up using mostly ACE members and Visions7 students for volunteers.  I think we will have a really good group full of enthusiastic students eager to help and to experience the inner workings of running a film festival.  The schedule was a bit tricky to figure out with all of the individual schedule restrictions, but Simone and I figured it out.  We met at the library and discussed different options.  There was only one issue with volunteers so far which caused me to switch a few schedules around.  However, I think everything is now set.  I sent out the acceptance letters to all of the volunteers and included a schedule of the entire day as well as their specific shifts and contact numbers.  So far, I have not received any question emails back from volunteers so I think my message was clear.  If not, they all now have my phone number so they can reach me with ease.  I also sent out the not accepted letters, which was tough.  However, the people that weren’t accepted as volunteers still have a couple years at UNCW so hopefully they will get the chance next year.  I made sure to express how much I wanted them to all still attend the festival so hopefully they will all come!  Tomorrow is my last presentation to the class about volunteers in which I plan to go over the schedule and make sure everything is crystal clear.  It is going to be an insane week and I am so excited.  I cannot believe it is finally here and we get to see all of our hard work in action.  I am confident that this years Visions festival is going to be excellent.  Here we go!

Week 12 Check In

During class last week we went over the volunteer schedule that I made.  It helped having the entire class look at it and sign up for shifts during the festival.  At first, I calculated that the festival would need 40 volunteers to cover everyone's needs, however, after Visions6 staff signed up we only need 30 volunteers.  Some of those 30 volunteers will be V7 staff and I have been working with Zoë to see who exactly will be available from V7.  The application for volunteering went out on April 1 and was due by April 3.  A lot of people who signed up to volunteer did not get the application back in time but we still got a good turn out.  Today, April 4, I met with Simone and went over everything that needs to be done for the festival.  I cannot believe it is here in just two short weeks!  The next thing on the list, as far as volunteers go, is to schedule specific people to each shift.  Simone and I plan on working on that this Thursday.  After the schedule is complete, I will make a list of who will be having what volunteers at what times the day of so no one will be confused.  I will also make an emergency contact list so everyone will have everyone's numbers just in case there is an issue.  On the day of the festival I will be at the registration desk when volunteers are scheduled to arrive and help them to their specific areas.  After that I will be making rounds to make sure everything is going smoothly.  Each volunteer will have my cell number to contact me if needed throughout the day.  I think I have a pretty solid plan for the day of the festival and everything seems to be coming together.  I can't wait!

Week 11 Check In

This week I worked a lot with Simone on creating a solid plan for recruiting volunteers for Visions6.  I enjoy working with Simone.  She is always willing to help me with all the questions and concerns I have.  Which, I have a lot because I am trying to do the best job possible.  This week I focused on making a schedule for the volunteers for the day of the festival.  Making a schedule is hard work!  I feel bad for my boss's at work who have to make schedules all the time.  After about 3.5 hours, I think I have made a schedule that covers each departments needs.  I spoke with Hayley about how many volunteers I was able to have and I think we are in good shape.  Tomorrow March 29, I plan on presenting this schedule to class to make sure that I have covered everything and that they are happy with the way the schedule looks.  After everything is confirmed I will be able to give Hayley a complete head count.  Simone is working on making google forms for applications for the volunteers.  We discussed that it would be best to start sending these out to people that are interested on April 1.  This way, we can get through all the presentations this week and everyone will have a chance to apply.  As always, I continue to keep up with the volunteer email and add interested people to my database.  I am hoping that once presentations are over, I will have more emails.  Unfortunately, I don't think that GMU will be participating as far as volunteers go.  I have emailed the Heather (the contact for GMU) a few times and she has not gotten back to me.  I will be discussing this with the class and make sure that those who wanted GMU students for volunteers will be okay with UNCW students.  I think everything is coming together and that all of this hard work will pay off!

Week 10 check in

This week I have been keeping tabs on the volunteer email.  I have actually been getting quite a few people that have sent emails inquiring about volunteering.  One person was not a student and I told her that she would have to be a student to volunteer.  However, I did tell her that she should definitely come to the event.  It is exciting to know that people in the community have seen the website and want to get involved.  I think that the festival will be full of interested people not only at UNCW, but also those in the community and around the world.  This week, I also confirmed the different types of volunteers needed for each department (film student, ACE, GMU, UNCW student).  All the directors filled out a Google sheet that I made on the drive.  I have been trying to contact GMU about volunteering but I have not heard back.  Hopefully they are still interested.  I plan on emailing my contact for GMU again but I do not want to annoy her!  This week, I will continue to check the volunteer email and also come up with a schedule for the event.  This schedule will focus on the volunteers.  So far, I am thinking four-hour shifts but I will go over it all with my new director Simone.  I was supposed to present at ACE today (March 21), but sadly Kebba said the ACE meeting was canceled.  I plan on attending the meeting next week (March 28) and I will present to the ACE members with Zoë's new presentation.  The schedule also needs to be formed and I will be working on that as well and I will go over it with Simone in our meeting that we plan on having on Mondays.  There is a lot to do this week but with Simone's help I think all will be well and in order for the event!