Week 12: Check In

The past two weeks have been pretty hectic, but in a good way! Everything is coming together and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! After weeks of constant communication with all the guests, I am super excited to actually meet them face to face. The T-Shirts came in this week and so have all the items for the swag bags. This upcoming week Simone and I will pull all of it together to be ready for the day of. This week has consisted of finalizing guest logistics and the driving schedule for the weekend. At first I was kind of worried because we were going to need a ton of drivers, but luckily all the directors pitched in and I feel more comfortable with the driving schedule. This past week Hayley and I met with Michelle to discuss overall theme and aesthetic pertaining to décor the day of. Hayley and I are drafting a budget and will begin gathering those items this week. This week Kevin and I met with Dr. Sue to talk about us moderating the Keynote Address and get some advice. She gave us a lot of feedback on the structure and our roles as a partnership. We are meeting with her again this week to go over more specifics of what we should actually say during the block. Kevin and I will also start working on the screen for the instillations this week!

Week 10: Check In

Well, last time I talked to you I was just a little swag bag girl. In case you aren’t caught up, I am no longer coordinating swag bags, but instead moving up to Co Hospitality Director! This past week I have been super busy with familiarizing myself with the job, getting spreadsheets and information organized, and communicating with the filmmakers and scholars. It has been a stressful week because of the short deadline to get all of the information from the filmmakers and scholars. I sent the Welcome Letter to everyone on Saturday giving them a week to respond with the requested information for marketing and the program. A main thing we need is a list of guest names with complimentary badges for registration. Responses are slowly trickling in and hopefully everyone will submit before the deadline! I have had to work a lot with Zoe this week in regards to marketing schedule and when the line up should go live on the website. At first, I was very overwhelmed with the job but now that I have all of the information organized and I am more familiarized with the job I am excited for the upcoming weeks. Spreadsheets have slowly turned into my own little art canvases.  

Week 8-9 Check In

Well, Spring Break has come to an end and I am ready to finish out this semester, while beginning the countdown for summer break (53 days, 21 hours, 32 minutes, and 19 seconds). Over spring break, the astronaut ice creams were shipped so that was exciting (I have been very tempted to eat them, but have remained strong!). I have also worked on contacting to get Moleskine notebooks donated, but still no luck. I have been contacting other companies besides Moleskine and other carriers of the product. After the lectures on how to adult, I have been working on getting my LinkedIn set up because I think that will be an excellent tool when I begin looking for jobs and opportunities in the near future. Right now it is pretty bare, but I hope to continue adding and tweaking it throughout the year. Most of the work for swag bags has already been completed and all that is left is buying, packing, and distribution. Therefore, I am excited to help others out with their jobs and anything they might need. I’m hoping to help Adrienne with tasks because it will be great preparation and experience for next year in Visions7. The more I help her and see what she is working on the better prepared I will be for next year as development director.

Week 7: Check In

Spring Break and the halfway mark are right around the corner, making Week 7 the longest one yet. As far as programming after last week, I’m excited of the films that were selected and I can’t wait to see which filmmakers get the traveling grants. On Friday I got an email from Ben, the Astronaut Ice Cream Shop CEO, that they would be happy to contribute 50 packages for Visions6! I was super excited when I got this email because I have a gut feeling the ice cream will be a huge hit for the swag bags. I have contacted Moleskin pertaining to the storyboard notebooks, but their website stated that sponsorships and donations will take a 4 weeks for a response. I will still try to get ahold of them or other companies that sell similar products so hopefully the notebooks will work out. However, if the notebooks aren’t attainable, this will be a great idea for Visions7 and they will be able to get the ball rolling early enough for Moleskin to review the submission. Once I get all the donations confirmed, I just need the big bucks to start popping tags! With Week 7 under my belt, I can finally see Spring Break as the light at the end of tunnel. Until next week, signing off!

Week 6: Check In

Week 6! By the end of this week, the budget will be finalized for swag bags and then the fun of buying begins! After finalizing all the content within the bags and the overall look of them, Im really excited on how they will turn out. In the mean time, I have been trying to get in contact with the Astronaut Ice Cream Shop, but they are hard to get ahold of. Last night Shannon suggested the good idea of getting Moleskine Storyboard Notebooks donated to the Swag Bags. I just finished all the information Moleskine requires to submit if interested in sponsor and partnership. I really hope Moleskine responds soon and say they are happy to work with us. However, while I wait for their reply, I will continue contacting other companies who sell Storyboard notebooks because they will be a great feature to the swag bags. By the end of this week, I will submit the list of movies to the Etsy store that makes the movie pins so she can begin working on our order. Overall, I have been getting things ready for once the budget is finalized, I can begin the next step of purchasing for the swag bags. I am also continuing to further contact with companies for donated items.

Week 5: Check In

Well, it looks like it is that time of the week again! The bake sale and Valentine’s party last week were super fun and I am glad I got more time to get to know everyone. I am impressed on how much money we raised with the treats, party, and Indiegogo campaign. I can’t wait to see the final outcome over everyone’s hard work. I just left our weekly department meeting and I’m really impressed of all the work and creativity going into everything. Tomorrow I’m going to present my different budgets to the class in hopes of getting more money! After looking at what other film festivals do for swag bags, I have finalized all my budgets and am just putting the final touches on them. My main focus this week has been contacting the Etsy store that makes movie pins and Astronaut Ice Cream. I have been in communication with both companies and conversing on what my vision is for the swag bags (no pun intended). Outside of the swag bag world, I have been continuing to help Rebecca and James for an after party venue. I have been getting in contact with venues, like Hops Co. and Ziggy’s. Sadly, due to maximum capacity, price, and location, these options will not be able to work. However, we will continue to search for a venue… this process is really late and should have already been planned. But overall, I am excited for what this next week has in store. I just hope no one else gets sick and everyone remains healthy!