Weekly Update Week 15

    Visions6 is wrapping up, but this last week has been busy nonetheless. We have all been hard at work with the DVD preparation and thank-you notes to send out, and time seems to be slipping by even faster than it did counting down to April 15.
    The last few days have include long hours in the editing lab fixing up the Scholarship winner's presentation, and I certainly wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for my Editing class I had been taking this semester.  There were so many "umm's" and stutters to take out, and matching the footage to the sound was extremely difficult since only one camera had any audio. Some "um's" had to be left in to avoid awkward jump cuts, but I think the overall picture is pretty nice. The slides fit in well with the presentation and gave it a professional look. Although my partner and I could not get our schedules to match up with each other's or the edit lab's ridiculous hours, we were able to communicate through the drive and I got great critiques from fresh pairs of eyes. As far as updating the manual, I had been critiquing my section throughout the semester in bold font and marking anything I felt was false or confusing in red, so I just needed my director's approval to solidify the changes. I think having my own separate copy I kept on my laptop and critiqued throughout the process really helped me make the manual the best it could be, and it saved me from trying to remember things and piling it together in a week. My final act as Awards Coordinator for V6 is filing out the tax forms, which are as confusing as the manual warned me they would be. Luckily I have my awesome director to help me through it! Once those are signed on Tuesday they will be sent out by a separate person from UNCW, and then I guess I hang up my hat as Awards Coordinator.
    Visions has been a crazy, stressful ride but I think everything turned out as best as it could, and I hope all the lessons I've learned transfer over to the next generation of staff members through the Almighty Manual.

Weekly Update Week 14

It is done. I write this post from the Other Side of Visions6. After running around for nearly 24 hours and falling into a small coma over the weekend, I am prepared to reflect on the day. 

What I did at V6: Since I did not have a job to do until the afterparty, I spent most of my day helping out wherever I could. Like everyone else, I picked up and drove some guests to UNCW at 7:30, but then I also returned to pick up another guest who had slept in past their alarm. Unfortunately, we missed the first 30 minutes of Block 1 and the breakfast, but all three of us were able to watch the remaining films in the morning. Exhausted from a poor night's sleep, I tried to stay out of the theater as much as I could and on my feet so I would not doze off. I was able to help Jessica and Devon with the final touches on their video race, and I have to admit as skeptical as I was about leading the group, the Video Race was the highlight of my day. The rest of the day passed by in a blur of "go here" and "help them" until it was time for me to leave UNCW (and the dinner :( ) and pick up After Party things for Kebba. Luckily, my boyfriend was able to help me be in two places at once, or I would never have made it to Hell's Kitchen on time. Blowing up balloons takes FOREVER, and I had  to run downtown to pick up the cupcakes, which involved having Matthew teach me how to parallel park over the phone while I am racing against the cupcake's closing time. Tears were shed. Curses were screamed. All in all, I ended up driving to and from Downtown 4 times that night, and that was without having to pick up guests. After getting a big fat X written on my hand before entering Hell's Kitchen, I was pleasantly surprised to see all my gift bags neatly displayed by the stage thanks to Kebba and Matt. The awards ceremony went well, although I do wish I had taken the frames out of the bags and had the filmmakers take pictures holding them. After the ceremony, one of the winners went up to me to thank me, which was really sweet. One of the awards they received was something they had wanted for a very long time and they were super excited to receive it.

What still to do: Adrienne and I still need to do the Tax forms, which we have a due date of April 26th. The manual needs to be adjusted, and I need to email the sponsors one more time and thank them for their contribution, send the tax forms, and make sure everyone got what they were given.

All in all, I'd say Visions6 was a success.

Weekly Update Week 13

SEVEN DAYS PEOPLE !!!! Woo! Alright, time crunch has begun. This past week, Adrienne and I wrapped up our awards search with super successful results. We heard back from most of the people we were trying to get, but not as many film festivals. Luckily, all awards have been gathered this past week, including a beautiful camera from South Eastern Camera and many books and DVDs. This week coming up, I will put together the baskets for Friday night, filling them up with the framed laurels, gift certificates, books, and any other awards that we have decided on. Grace was nice enough to print out the certificates, as well s drink menus for the after party I designed. It's been a great experience to be able to design more than half the gift certificates we are giving out AND get them form companies. To prepare for the event, I need to go and clean my car before picking up the filmmakers and figure out outfits for the day of and after party (it is awards season, after all). All in all, awards are under control and wrapped up (no pun intended). For next week, I am also focused on James' bake sale and what I am bringing to the table, as well as if there is anything else I can do to help anyone with a  heavier load. This week I will send out another round of thank you's to the sponsors and update them on our festival, and will begin researching the price of all the awards donated to compare with the sponsor's statement for the tax forms. Can't believe it's almost time!

Weekly Update Week 12

 

ONLY TWO MORE WEEKS TIL VISIONS 

Alright people, count down has begun! With only 12 days left until the event, the development department is...completely under control. James' bake sale is all set to go for the 11th, and the flyers I made for it are being printed this week, along with some cupcake name cards and drink menus I made up for Rebecca. Adrienne and I have finally heard back from the elusive companies, and awards are practically perfect! We actually have more than we need, I think! This past week, Adrienne and I had another one on one meeting and figured out the last of the awards we need, as well as what we will still need to purchase. This week, Adrienne will get the money from Zoe and purchase the bags on Amazon, and I will buy the frames at the dollar store because Amazon is crazy expensive when it comes to frames. The rest of the sent-in awards should arrive by this coming Friday (8th), and all the certificates are gathered and ready to print. I am still waiting to hear back from one company, but otherwise we have heard back from almost everyone we wanted to, except some film festivals. This coming week will have me preparing for the day, including purchasing little things, like a table cover for the after party, and preparing my dessert idea for James' bake sale. Adrienne and I will probably have another meeting together to make sure we are on the same page, but so far we've been on target and on time with everything. It feels great to be at the other end of award gathering, and seeing a successful pool. Who knew you could gain so much when you just ask? In other news, Adrienne and I present this week, and we have a very special throwback theme for everyone to enjoy.  

Weekly Update Week 11

18 more days 'til Visions6!
     Wow, time is flying by. Seems like just a week ago it was January and we had all the time in the world. This past week, I presented an Awards Update that detailed our new sponsor, Digieffects,  as well as my ideas for the use of the "awards budget." Unfortunately, my manual did not actually explain how the budget works, and we had quite a few kinks to work out before Adrienne and I got any money to play with. This set us back  quite a bit, and I will be sure to be very clear in my manual update that the next awards coordinator should ask for at least $50 cash to make up the award baskets so they are not paying it out of pocket. Although no one remembers what the past award baskets look like, I am confident that the silver bags and tissue paper will be sufficient as well as harmonious to the space theme. Everything is currently sitting in my room waiting to be presented, and all the award certificates have been collected and are ready to print on nice paper. I have even finished making up 3 award certificates for two companies that were unable to present one of their own. All sponsors have confirmed their donation as well as how to redeem the offer if not obvious, and are happy with the updates I send once a week.
     Although all award categories have items, Adrienne and I are still hard at work and continuously email, call and visit potential sponsors. At this time I am still awaiting responses from 4 companies, and will be sending out another wave of follow ups on Wednesday. This week Adrienne and I will have another 1 on 1 meeting to keep up with where we are at as well as go out together to visit some more companies. Once the 4 companies answer me by the end of the week, Adrienne and I will go ahead and purchase whatever we need, from frames to smaller awards for Audience Choice, so they arrive in time.
    I have also recently updated the contact list for next year's coordinator, making sure all the contact info is there as well as color coordinating it, so I'm not rushing to fix it at the end of the semester.

     In the art department world, I have been assigned the Spring Bake Sale flyers and have already come up with my first draft, which is currently in my folder awaiting inspection. The poster follows Michelle's color palette and art deco theme, but I still incorporated my signature stary night sky.

Everything is going fine and I am happy with where everyone in my department is at with their responsibilities. Visions6 is going to be great!

Weekly update Week 10

    This past week and seeking coming has/is extremely busy for me in the Development department. The Art Department has asked that awards be "done" by the end of the week, or at least next Tuesday, so that all the logo integrated stuff can be finalized, and I couldn't be more grateful for Adrienne's support right now. She and I have been pulling out all the stops trying to secure the last 3 award categories, Scholarship and Audience choices, and we have had so many 1-1 meetings it's practically become a normal part of life. Unfortunately, we are both hitting dead ends and have had a hard time getting answers from the countless emails and phone calls we have sent out. I have even faced my fear of approaching strangers and have asked shops in person for donations, but I'm still waiting on their responses. We have about 5 -10 more places to ask before Friday, and she has told me to send out follow up emails everyday until the last 3 online contacts answer. If all else fails, I have created a budget proposal to purchase the remaining awards and will be presenting it on Tuesday.

    Although the rest of the awards have be found, I still have work to do with them. Tonight, I am sending each sponsor an email to thank them again for their support, confirm how the certificates can be redeemed, and send them links to our updated sponsors page. For some companies, they were unable to send me certificates and asked if I would create them, and have been working on that on the side. I still have every confidence that awards will be on point and we can pull it together in the time we have left, but April 15 is getting soo close! I am super excited to be putting the bags together though - finally, a tangible job! I have been to the dollar store and taken pictures of bag options and frames, so I'm all set to get the show on the road! 

Weekly Update Week 9

This first part isn't a true update, but I needed to say something somewhere and I figured this would be a nice place to do it.

My mom just reminded me (and I COMPLETELY did not remember this), but I got into UNCW despite missing the deadline (and being out of state). What does this have to do with anything? Because, precious readers (or just Beth - hi Beth!) when you ask for something, you shall receive. As  an awards coordinator, something I've been having to do is literally ask people for things. Actually, that's about all I do. At first, it was uncomfortable. How could I ask strangers to give me free stuff? What if they said no? What if they said no and held secret meetings about how stupid they think I am? What if they said no and held secret meetings about how stupid they think I am AND sent me a scathing message that scarred me for life? The fear was stifling.

But the point is, good things come out of asking, even if the answer isn't the one you were hoping for. I sent out more emails this past week, and one so far came back with honestly just the words "yes of course!" Does it get much better than that?

I have always been a scaredy cat, too afraid of the word 'no' to ask for toys, my turn, or a raise, but working for Visions has helped that a lot. Who knows - maybe I'll be able to answer a phone call or talk to strangers without a weird high pitch child's voice by the end of the semester.