Hey reader,
I heard you were curious, so here are some reflections.
Day of Event (DOE): Overall, I felt pretty good about my work on the day of the event. The week leading up to Visions was really difficult for me (and my whole department, for that matter.) I'd been working on locking people in for several weeks, but when I started fitting people into slots, sending schedules, and asking for confirmations, I ran into a couple of problems: people dropping out, changes in availability, not enough people agreeing to work in the morning, etc. Trying to combat all of this and cover my bases was a whirlwind, but I really feel like I got everything pretty settled by the day-of. I had to ask for a few volunteers from the class to help cover some morning A/V slots (and they were awesome to agree... though I found that all of the camera volunteers from last year were actually Visions staff members, so having to ask only a few to help this year wasn't so bad.) My volunteers did some awesome work on the day-of. I only had one no-show (his name is Andy Nielson for anybody who's counting!). I think every single one of my people showed up early, and some even started volunteering well before their shift was supposed to begin. They were all really eager, hardworking, and friendly, and I think they did a great job at representing the face of Visions. The registration hustle in the morning created kind of a whirlwind for me, because some of my facilities volunteers were being roped into pass/reg. table duty, so I had to get that covered with the people I had. After the event, I was informed of another gap in volunteers during breakdown in Fisher, while most of us (including me) were driving guests to the after party. I didn't have anyone scheduled to help with breakdown; I think there was a miscommunication that led me to think that nobody was needed during that time. I included info in my manual about combating issues like this in the future - the volunteer coordinator should work with the class directly to ensure that everybody has all of the people they need at the times they are needed. If the class and department heads are aware of all of their options, and everybody approves the schedule, then there should be no issues. I had people look at the final schedule and asked for approval, but I should have done that in person. It's tricky because I didn't have the final final FINAL schedule until Thursday. Hopefully this can be avoided in the future though.
Semester as a whole: I knew going into Visions that it would be a challenge, and maybe that's an understatement now that it's over. A lot of passionate arguments, late nights, early mornings, all-nighters, and stress implosions later, I've made some amazing friends in the class and at the festival, and have experience under my belt that'll be useful for my entire career. In summary: it was hard, but we did a thing, and people had fun, and it was pretty cool.
To infinity and beyond,
~~~Ashley!
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
A day shy of April (3/31 update)
Greetings reader,
It's almost April, and I think we're all getting excited and maybe a little overwhelmed but mostly excited.
Balancing everything is becoming increasingly difficult. This weekend was another one of those weekends where I'm on set all day every day, not really sleeping, realizing at the end of each day that I have plenty of homework that's waiting for me. It's just getting to the point where I love what I'm doing, but I also have to remind myself to do the things that I HAVE to do like sleep, homework, papers, projects, etc... and sometimes I forget that. So, tl;dr, I'm kind of sick again and a little overwhelmed. Yesterday is what I'm calling my second crash day of the semester. I'm sure I'll have at least one more before finals week is over. But guess what, it's ALL GOOD because somehow, as purely exhausted and stressed as I am, I'm still in a pretty great mood. It's the weirdest thing and I don't know how to handle this really bizarre combination of sentiments but I'm not complaining. Also, have I mentioned recently that I love spring? Because I love spring.
Visions! I sent out an email to all potentially interested parties (people who put their name on one of my interest sheets, etc.) I've also had a handful of people directly approach me about volunteering, which I think is really awesome. I gave everyone a final deadline to submit the application - next Monday, the 6th - but encouraged everyone to submit asap because we have so much interest this year. I'm really hoping that a lot of these people submit applications. Between ACE and everyone on the interest sheets, we have way more than enough if everybody were to submit. So, once I get all the applications, I'll sift through and choose the best applicants and send out another google form for availability. That'll be due probably next weekend, so by the beginning of the week of Visions, I'll have a semi-finalized schedule that I'll only make minor tweaks to during the week. These next couple weeks are where the majority of my work really kicks in. It's a kind of tight timeline, but I think if we had too much wiggle room, it wouldn't feel as imminent or immediately relevant for the applicants. I personally think I'm operating on a pretty reasonable schedule with this, and I'm going to do everything I can to compile some awesome volunteers to help us run this festival!
TTFN,
~~~~~Ashley!!!
It's almost April, and I think we're all getting excited and maybe a little overwhelmed but mostly excited.
Balancing everything is becoming increasingly difficult. This weekend was another one of those weekends where I'm on set all day every day, not really sleeping, realizing at the end of each day that I have plenty of homework that's waiting for me. It's just getting to the point where I love what I'm doing, but I also have to remind myself to do the things that I HAVE to do like sleep, homework, papers, projects, etc... and sometimes I forget that. So, tl;dr, I'm kind of sick again and a little overwhelmed. Yesterday is what I'm calling my second crash day of the semester. I'm sure I'll have at least one more before finals week is over. But guess what, it's ALL GOOD because somehow, as purely exhausted and stressed as I am, I'm still in a pretty great mood. It's the weirdest thing and I don't know how to handle this really bizarre combination of sentiments but I'm not complaining. Also, have I mentioned recently that I love spring? Because I love spring.
Visions! I sent out an email to all potentially interested parties (people who put their name on one of my interest sheets, etc.) I've also had a handful of people directly approach me about volunteering, which I think is really awesome. I gave everyone a final deadline to submit the application - next Monday, the 6th - but encouraged everyone to submit asap because we have so much interest this year. I'm really hoping that a lot of these people submit applications. Between ACE and everyone on the interest sheets, we have way more than enough if everybody were to submit. So, once I get all the applications, I'll sift through and choose the best applicants and send out another google form for availability. That'll be due probably next weekend, so by the beginning of the week of Visions, I'll have a semi-finalized schedule that I'll only make minor tweaks to during the week. These next couple weeks are where the majority of my work really kicks in. It's a kind of tight timeline, but I think if we had too much wiggle room, it wouldn't feel as imminent or immediately relevant for the applicants. I personally think I'm operating on a pretty reasonable schedule with this, and I'm going to do everything I can to compile some awesome volunteers to help us run this festival!
TTFN,
~~~~~Ashley!!!
Monday, March 23, 2015
3 weeks! (3/24 update)
Hey reader!
Personal update: Same, really. School continues to get harder, life continues to be excellent despite. I was on set all weekend last weekend! The best kind of sore is the kind on a Monday after you've been on set all weekend. I love learning from the best and contributing to awesome projects. I love things that remind me why I'm a film major, and there's a lot of that going on lately.
Visions update. Grasp this (she implored, mostly to herself:) One month from today, Visions will have been over for four days. Weird! So, as if it weren't already, it's safe to say that it's crunch time. So, exciting stuff. We officially made the volunteer application live this weekend. I also spoke to both 205 classes and went over the application/involvement options during an ACE Films meeting last week. Ready for some whopping numbers? I passed around some name/email sheets in the 205 classes JUST to gauge raw interest. I have a total of 47 names from those classes ALONE, not including the 30+ members at the ACE films meeting (several of which have already filled out the form.) If I'm not mistaken, that means that over half of the 201/205 students expressed interest. Now, I know that not everybody who put their name down will end up committing, but I feel great about that number right now because it puts me over the goal. I anticipate having more applications than slots. Mariana Johnson's class asked me several questions about volunteering and Visions in general. I felt pretty good about my pitches and, for right now, I'm calling it a success. Next on the docket (within the next few days!) is to send an email to interested parties with the link to the form. After speaking to my department, I think I've decided not to push as hard with the volunteer campaign on social media and elsewhere. I want to open the opportunity up to seniors or others who are interested/have not yet had the opportunity. While I want to get the best volunteers possible, I don't want to make it sound like I NEED more people, only to turn half of them away.
Salutations from a random cold and rainy night amid a host of beautiful March spring days,
Ashley!
Personal update: Same, really. School continues to get harder, life continues to be excellent despite. I was on set all weekend last weekend! The best kind of sore is the kind on a Monday after you've been on set all weekend. I love learning from the best and contributing to awesome projects. I love things that remind me why I'm a film major, and there's a lot of that going on lately.
Visions update. Grasp this (she implored, mostly to herself:) One month from today, Visions will have been over for four days. Weird! So, as if it weren't already, it's safe to say that it's crunch time. So, exciting stuff. We officially made the volunteer application live this weekend. I also spoke to both 205 classes and went over the application/involvement options during an ACE Films meeting last week. Ready for some whopping numbers? I passed around some name/email sheets in the 205 classes JUST to gauge raw interest. I have a total of 47 names from those classes ALONE, not including the 30+ members at the ACE films meeting (several of which have already filled out the form.) If I'm not mistaken, that means that over half of the 201/205 students expressed interest. Now, I know that not everybody who put their name down will end up committing, but I feel great about that number right now because it puts me over the goal. I anticipate having more applications than slots. Mariana Johnson's class asked me several questions about volunteering and Visions in general. I felt pretty good about my pitches and, for right now, I'm calling it a success. Next on the docket (within the next few days!) is to send an email to interested parties with the link to the form. After speaking to my department, I think I've decided not to push as hard with the volunteer campaign on social media and elsewhere. I want to open the opportunity up to seniors or others who are interested/have not yet had the opportunity. While I want to get the best volunteers possible, I don't want to make it sound like I NEED more people, only to turn half of them away.
Salutations from a random cold and rainy night amid a host of beautiful March spring days,
Ashley!
Monday, March 16, 2015
ONE MONTH AWAY!!! (a St. Patrick's Day update: week of 3/17)
Hey reader!
Happy spring! It's not official, but it pretty much is. I've been wearing shorts for two weeks now, so hopefully I can retire PANTS until November now. Shorts >>>>>>>>>>> Pants.
Personal update: SCHOOL IS GETTING HARD!!! I mean, it's been hard ALL semester. But we're like a month and a half away from the end of the semester and there are so many impending papers and projects and tests and all I wanna do is make some films and go swimming. So it's getting increasingly stressful but love pretty weather so that's pretty much making everything okay.
Also, I'm so excited for Visions! Attending/projecting for Visions last year was such an adrenaline rush (as film festivals are), but being behind the scenes is going to be A FATAL BLAST OF ADRENALINE!!!
Volunteer update: We decided to launch the campaign this week instead of the week before spring break, to reduce the social media flux for different campaigns (like registration, video race, etc.) I think it's better anyway because, if we recruited TOO early, people are more likely to forget and make other commitments before the day gets here. Last week, I emailed Dr. Johnson and Dr. Bose, the two 205 teachers this year. I'm announcing the campaign in their classes tomorrow and next Monday. I hope to get a lot of volunteers from those classes! They're an important demographic for Visions. I also just sent an email to the ACE heads to establish needs with them, and hopefully to attend one of their meetings to go over some things in detail.
Campaign launches soon, and I can't wait!
Off to bask in the 70 degree weather (for 5 minutes, before I start studying for tomorrow's midterm),
~Ashley!
Happy spring! It's not official, but it pretty much is. I've been wearing shorts for two weeks now, so hopefully I can retire PANTS until November now. Shorts >>>>>>>>>>> Pants.
Personal update: SCHOOL IS GETTING HARD!!! I mean, it's been hard ALL semester. But we're like a month and a half away from the end of the semester and there are so many impending papers and projects and tests and all I wanna do is make some films and go swimming. So it's getting increasingly stressful but love pretty weather so that's pretty much making everything okay.
Also, I'm so excited for Visions! Attending/projecting for Visions last year was such an adrenaline rush (as film festivals are), but being behind the scenes is going to be A FATAL BLAST OF ADRENALINE!!!
Volunteer update: We decided to launch the campaign this week instead of the week before spring break, to reduce the social media flux for different campaigns (like registration, video race, etc.) I think it's better anyway because, if we recruited TOO early, people are more likely to forget and make other commitments before the day gets here. Last week, I emailed Dr. Johnson and Dr. Bose, the two 205 teachers this year. I'm announcing the campaign in their classes tomorrow and next Monday. I hope to get a lot of volunteers from those classes! They're an important demographic for Visions. I also just sent an email to the ACE heads to establish needs with them, and hopefully to attend one of their meetings to go over some things in detail.
Campaign launches soon, and I can't wait!
Off to bask in the 70 degree weather (for 5 minutes, before I start studying for tomorrow's midterm),
~Ashley!
Saturday, February 28, 2015
It's MARCH! (a 3/1 update)
Hey reader!
Personal update: Semester is still hard; upcoming midterms are stressful. But the peak of my stressfulness right now is registration. Trying to tetris all the classes that I NEED plus the extra classes that I just really really WANT into perfect little non-overlapping blocks for the next two semesters is starting to feel extremely overwhelming and almost impossible. I have a couple of drafts that I'm hoping will work... but wow: registration has never punched me this hard before. Also, spring break is almost here, which is terrific! I think we all need a break.
Volunteer update: I'm about to launch the campaign! I had some fun this weekend drafting a little google form for the volunteer application. It was an interesting process, because it started as a very basic and simple thing that evolved into what I think is a more complete glimpse into their personalities! See, my job is not only to wrangle some volunteers, but to cast them appropriately. I feel like what I ended up with is a reasonably brief form that can give me a nice sample of what my applicants' interests, skills, and personalities are like. In our departmental meeting this week, we also talked numbers on the volunteers the Operations department will need, which was a very helpful process to be a part of. On the docket: I definitely have some emails to send to the ACE leaders and the 201 teachers. Might also consider putting together some social media things over spring break to attract interest.
I guess I can't really do programming updates anymore, but as a general Visions commentary, it's starting to feel kind of more imminent than it used to. I think that we'll all really start to feel it after spring break.
That's all for now. Happy March!
Ashley
Personal update: Semester is still hard; upcoming midterms are stressful. But the peak of my stressfulness right now is registration. Trying to tetris all the classes that I NEED plus the extra classes that I just really really WANT into perfect little non-overlapping blocks for the next two semesters is starting to feel extremely overwhelming and almost impossible. I have a couple of drafts that I'm hoping will work... but wow: registration has never punched me this hard before. Also, spring break is almost here, which is terrific! I think we all need a break.
Volunteer update: I'm about to launch the campaign! I had some fun this weekend drafting a little google form for the volunteer application. It was an interesting process, because it started as a very basic and simple thing that evolved into what I think is a more complete glimpse into their personalities! See, my job is not only to wrangle some volunteers, but to cast them appropriately. I feel like what I ended up with is a reasonably brief form that can give me a nice sample of what my applicants' interests, skills, and personalities are like. In our departmental meeting this week, we also talked numbers on the volunteers the Operations department will need, which was a very helpful process to be a part of. On the docket: I definitely have some emails to send to the ACE leaders and the 201 teachers. Might also consider putting together some social media things over spring break to attract interest.
I guess I can't really do programming updates anymore, but as a general Visions commentary, it's starting to feel kind of more imminent than it used to. I think that we'll all really start to feel it after spring break.
That's all for now. Happy March!
Ashley
Sunday, February 22, 2015
A Triple Twosday Update (2/22)
Greetings reader!
Personal update. So many things happen every single week. Like, a month's worth of things happen in the span of 7 days this semester. It feels very surreal to think that it's only been a single week since my last blog post. I took on a third job, just for this weekend really, doing a literary review for a Geography professor. I don't know, it just really flatters me and I'm just so bad at saying no to people who ask me to work on their projects. I also had my second official sleepless all-nighter of the semester a few days ago. I feel miraculously fine for how bad I am to my body on a pretty regular basis. Also, the Oscars are tonight! I'll try to call it: while I'd personally probably vote for Birdman, I think Boyhood will take home best picture. Now that this blog is published though, I probably jinxed it.
Volunteer update. Not a lot has changed since last week. I'm excited for the week when I can stop saying that (spoiler alert, it's really soon!). Google form is in the works. Hoping to attract more volunteers at upcoming events. I plan to arrange to talk to the 201 and 205 classes about Visions and volunteer opportunities because I personally think that they are one of our most important demographics. I don't know, I have a kind of special place for giving advice to young film majors and I would be really thrilled to think that I present them with an opportunity to get involved in this festival and it does something for them in the long run. On a similar note, I'll also be helping present during our Moviemakers and Scholars thing, so I'll give the same blurb there!
Programming update. It is finished. It was extremely difficult battle and I really can't deny how invested I was in the entire process. Final programming day was such a rollercoaster: ecstatic to devastated, full of energy to purely exhausted in a matter of minutes. It was sometimes confusing and sometimes frustrating, but we have a final list and I'm pretty proud of us. And now, I can't WAIT to meet these people.
Now, off to do more research and watch the Oscars! Signing off for now--
~~~~~~~~Ashley
Personal update. So many things happen every single week. Like, a month's worth of things happen in the span of 7 days this semester. It feels very surreal to think that it's only been a single week since my last blog post. I took on a third job, just for this weekend really, doing a literary review for a Geography professor. I don't know, it just really flatters me and I'm just so bad at saying no to people who ask me to work on their projects. I also had my second official sleepless all-nighter of the semester a few days ago. I feel miraculously fine for how bad I am to my body on a pretty regular basis. Also, the Oscars are tonight! I'll try to call it: while I'd personally probably vote for Birdman, I think Boyhood will take home best picture. Now that this blog is published though, I probably jinxed it.
Volunteer update. Not a lot has changed since last week. I'm excited for the week when I can stop saying that (spoiler alert, it's really soon!). Google form is in the works. Hoping to attract more volunteers at upcoming events. I plan to arrange to talk to the 201 and 205 classes about Visions and volunteer opportunities because I personally think that they are one of our most important demographics. I don't know, I have a kind of special place for giving advice to young film majors and I would be really thrilled to think that I present them with an opportunity to get involved in this festival and it does something for them in the long run. On a similar note, I'll also be helping present during our Moviemakers and Scholars thing, so I'll give the same blurb there!
Programming update. It is finished. It was extremely difficult battle and I really can't deny how invested I was in the entire process. Final programming day was such a rollercoaster: ecstatic to devastated, full of energy to purely exhausted in a matter of minutes. It was sometimes confusing and sometimes frustrating, but we have a final list and I'm pretty proud of us. And now, I can't WAIT to meet these people.
Now, off to do more research and watch the Oscars! Signing off for now--
~~~~~~~~Ashley
Sunday, February 15, 2015
A mid-February update (2/16)
Greetings reader,
Personal update: school and homework-wise, this is the least busy weekend I've had since the semester started! I started this week extremely sick and extremely stressed, recovering from a late Sunday crash. I powered through my 3 heavy class days, slept for 12 whole hours on Wednesday night, and woke up on Thursday still a little sniffly, but feeling overall amazing. I had a wonderful little weekend. As of right now, as I type this blog update at 2AM on 25 degree Sunday night, I feel spectacular about classes and life in general. If you're reading this, I hope that you do, too.
Volunteer update: The Valentines Bake Sale, which was last Wednesday, was a success! We made almost $400. In other, potentially objectifying words, we made a whole person. I worked for a couple of hours in between classes at the Cameron tent, and we got some pretty good business. I put out a volunteer interest sheet at each table and got one signup per table, plus a third signup from Emma's friend. I'm glad I have a few names already, because I wasn't expecting too much at the bake sale. The film kid mixer is really where I hope to hook some interested volunteers.
At our departmental meeting, Adam also suggested that I consider creating a facebook volunteer page that I could invite interested parties to, and post updates on when I'm sending important emails, opening the google form, etc. I think it sounds like a good idea, and I don't think it can hurt anything even if it doesn't attract much interest, so I'm going to put it on my agenda for next week. Also on the agenda for next week: prep a google form for volunteer interest. I'll have at least my department, if not the whole class, approve it before launching it in early March.
Programming update: this week is final decisions, and it's gonna be an absolute doozy. And I'll leave it at that for right now.
Signing off for now,
Ashley
Personal update: school and homework-wise, this is the least busy weekend I've had since the semester started! I started this week extremely sick and extremely stressed, recovering from a late Sunday crash. I powered through my 3 heavy class days, slept for 12 whole hours on Wednesday night, and woke up on Thursday still a little sniffly, but feeling overall amazing. I had a wonderful little weekend. As of right now, as I type this blog update at 2AM on 25 degree Sunday night, I feel spectacular about classes and life in general. If you're reading this, I hope that you do, too.
Volunteer update: The Valentines Bake Sale, which was last Wednesday, was a success! We made almost $400. In other, potentially objectifying words, we made a whole person. I worked for a couple of hours in between classes at the Cameron tent, and we got some pretty good business. I put out a volunteer interest sheet at each table and got one signup per table, plus a third signup from Emma's friend. I'm glad I have a few names already, because I wasn't expecting too much at the bake sale. The film kid mixer is really where I hope to hook some interested volunteers.
At our departmental meeting, Adam also suggested that I consider creating a facebook volunteer page that I could invite interested parties to, and post updates on when I'm sending important emails, opening the google form, etc. I think it sounds like a good idea, and I don't think it can hurt anything even if it doesn't attract much interest, so I'm going to put it on my agenda for next week. Also on the agenda for next week: prep a google form for volunteer interest. I'll have at least my department, if not the whole class, approve it before launching it in early March.
Programming update: this week is final decisions, and it's gonna be an absolute doozy. And I'll leave it at that for right now.
Signing off for now,
Ashley
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