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!!!
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
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!
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