This Week In Visions 9/24-9/30

Tasks:

-This week I have started to look into Kick-starter and figure out some incentives for donors. I hope to have this up and running by next week and it should run right up until Visions starts.  (1 hour)

- I also met with the hospitality and development team to discuss more of the larger scale fundraisers, traveling to different colleges to spread the word about Visions and some more restaurant fundraisers for October and the upcoming months. We met for about an hour.

-I was going to set another restaurant fundraiser up for mid-October at Jason's Deli. I am waiting to see how our first fundraiser of the season goes to figure out more details for the next one.

-Extra research and readings for blog (1 hour and 30 minutes)

- I plan to meet with Shannon sometime this week also to get contacts for printers and quotes for flyers. (30 minutes)

Managing Small Projects Questions Answered:

The project of the budget is supposed to achieve the maintenance and upkeep of the budget in order to keep it well-balanced and successful. The results of this project may not be as straightforward as some of the other projects currently, but that is only because most of the expenses are "to be determined". The deliverables for this this project are easily measured and are in the form of money. Whether it be incoming money or receipts. There is a great deal of effort and attention required because financial responsibilities are vital to the survival of Visions. It will also be helpful to know financial budgeting outside of the classroom. For the budget, I believe it is best to have one person in charge in order to avoid miscommunication and miscalculations made by two different people. However, in the circumstances for planning fundraisers, I believe there should be a team to organize these events to make sure they go off without a hitch. The complexity of the project is determined by the willingness and communication of people to work with the entire project, not just the smaller projects, but the big picture as well.

Reading Responses:

This week we had to read Event Budgets: The Basics--And Some Lessons You Don't Want to Learn the Hard Way. The first important question it talked about when discussing the budget was, "Did you make money?" For the case of Visions I would alter the question and say, "Did you make enough money?" Being a non-profit organization we rely on the money we raise to fly in filmmakers from around the world. We wouldn't be able to do this if we didn't raise enough money. Also providing them with lodging and food is super important; and if there is extra room in the budget we would ideally like to provide them with entertainment while they are here in Wilmington. A lot of the points that were being made in the article which I considered to be important. As the treasurer I would like to make sure I do all of these things in a sufficient manner while still contributing to group life. I feel that it is important for the rest of the class to be on the same page as I am with the budget and I hope that they could come to me with any concerns that they might have. Now that our budget seems to have tentative dates and incoming money estimates I am eager and excited to see if our hard work pays off and we exceed our goals!

The second article we had to read for class this week was called Top Ten Tips for Event Management. One of the main points was to know your purpose and how that correlates to the success of your event. We want the Visions Film Festival and Conference to be unique and memorable but, how do we do this? We can do this by having an awesome venue or incorporating different and new activities, for instance the video race. I have not heard of another festival doing anything like this before so that helps us to stand out. Planning is probably the most important stage in event management. Everyone needs to have a role and be effectively pursuing their goals for their small project. We also need to program based off of our mission statement and create a criteria for what we expect this year's festival to look like. Communication is probably the simplest and most efficient way to do all of these things effectively while still managing your time. Also it is extremely important to reflect back and put yourself in the shoes of the attendees. What are they expecting to see? Are they going to be entertained? What do the want to learn from participating in this experience? All of these questions will help to make Visions super successful!

Rural Route Film Festival pt. 2 Interview with Alan Webber

My interview this afternoon was with Alan Webber, the creative director behind the Rural Route Film Festival. I learned a lot of valuable information not only from the directing aspect of his festival but new and interesting directions to consider taking with Visions.

1. How many entries did they get this year? For films make sure to ask them to distinguish between features and shorts.

Approximately 250 total entries were received and at least 150 were shorts in 2013. They tend to get more 40-60 minute films than true features that are over 90 minutes.

2. How many films do they aim to screen each year? How many papers/presentations do they accept? Again, for films make sure to ask them to distinguish between features and shorts.

The festival aims to screen a minimum of 4 new independent features and it typically varies for he amount of shorts they accept. They have the screening of the shorts at the Brooklyn Grange on the rooftop which is awesome and unique. They also had a tribute to a filmmaker this year and a few of his films played at the Museum of the Moving Image. They have never had any paper or presentations but Alan Webber did seem interested in incorporating that into his festival somehow.

3. What is their pre-screening process?

They have a Submission Review Committee. There is an online committee and a hardcopy committee. Submissions are equally distributed between DVDs and online submissions.

4. How many pre-screeners do they have each year?

They had 9 judges on their Submission review committee. Most were local, in Astoria, and there was one in Amsterdam and another in Portland. It is cool to see how these two judges contribute to the festival even though they are not present with the rest of the pre-screeners during the jurying process. 

5. Who is typically chosen as a pre-screener?

Pre-screeners for the festival are chosen based off of their experience with the festival in previous years as well as trying to incorporate newer people involved with the festival. According to Alan, for a pre-screener, he mainly wants them to have an apparent knowledge for independent film and an interest in what Rural Route Films is about . He also encourages people from other festivals to help out during the prescreening process. For example, Alan had a woman from the Woodstock Film Festival, in Upstate New York, come to help out this past year.

6. How do they score entries? Do they use a scoring template/rubric? Are there scoring guidelines?

They have a rubric or review form (filled out by at least 3 different people) that includes different categories including technical aspects (cinematography, editing, sound, producing etc.), creative aspects (acting, directing,lighting, overall aesthetics etc.), . They score each section on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the highest. There is also room to make additional comments on each section of the submission review form. There is also another question that is of great importance; "Does this film fit the criteria for our festival?"

7. Do you have a jury after the pre-screening process has ended?

Yes they have a jury after the pre-screening process, in order to discuss which films will make the cut into the festival. They also have to weed out a lot of submissions that do not apply specifically to their film festival.

8. How far in advance do they send out their call for entries? How do entries typically roll in? Early?

Late? In waves?

Call for entries starts in November and typically runs until mid-March. According to Alan, most of the submissions come towards the end of the deadline, aka a week before. However, some of them are submitted early because they wanted to submit the previous year but missed the deadline.

9. How many paid employees do they have each year? How many volunteers?

There are not really "salary" employees for this festival but they do have do have a few employees that make stipends including the directors of the festival and the managers of publicity and social media. It mostly relies on the help of volunteers throughout the pre-production and post-production of the festival.

10. Do you use specific programming, trafficking, budgeting software? Do you like it?

He uses a good-ole spread sheet to keep track of budgeting and expenses. I told him about how Visions was going to be using a new budgeting software and that I would let him know about it once I pay around with it/get the hang of it.

11. What community outreach do you do outside of your festival season to keep your event on the

public's radar and/or to raise funds? (Workshops, mini-festivals, fundraiser dinners, etc.)

Well they go on tour with their festival and they are currently working on that right now. Alan was very interested in trying to showcase the festival at a University as well and would definitely be interested in coming to UNCW. This is an excellent way to keep their festival on the public's radar because it is getting these independent films and the Rural Route Film Festival exposure to whichever locations they travel to.

12. Do you give out swag bags to visiting filmmakers? Presenters? Guests? If so, what type of items

do you include in those bags?

They do give out swag bags to filmmakers and guest that include stuff from their sponsors. Alan talked about some of the merchandise that Burt's Bees donates to them. He loves that they are all natural products and that is what Rural Route Film Festival is all about; the all natural lifestyle highlighted through film.

13. Do presenter/filmmakers pay registration to attend?

The filmmakers do not have to pay to attend the screening but they do have to pay to attend the after party on the rooftop of the Brooklyn Grange. He said this because there is a maximum capacity of people allowed on the roof at once for safety concerns.

14. Are you able to provide presenters/filmmakers with funds to cover travel or lodging?

They try to give as much money to filmmakers who are visiting from out of town but it is hard because lodging is quite expensive in New York and Manhattan. They also give out honorariums to filmmakers who are screening their films and to the international filmmakers visiting.

15. What "perks" do your filmmakers/scholars enjoy at your festival/conference? What else do you

encourage them to do while they're in town? m(Free dinners, tours, exclusive activities…in Wilm,

we'd try to take them to the beach, Screen Gems tour, etc.)

The staff shows a lot of the filmmakers around the Astoria area, even though they are interested in going into the more touristy areas of New York City. They also spend the afternoon one day at the Museum of the Moving Image. The staff tries to collaborate with different restaurants and bars each year to get the community involved as well as promoting the film festival.

16. Do you have special donor perks during the event? Or how do you thank them?

They thank a lot of their donors through advertisements, whether it be from their websites or on the actual pamphlets for the film festival. Rural Route Film Festival tries to give good press to all of their sponsors who help make their event possible.

17. What do they wish they had done differently or better when they were first starting out? What do

you wish you knew then that you know now?

Alan was talking about how when the festival first started they didn't know what they were doing but it ended up being successful (so he was obviously doing something right). "The content of the festival also has definitely improved and could potentially compete with bigger festivals," said Alan Webber. He said he wished he knew this when he was starting out. One thing that he would do better would be to plan around the schedules of films who had NY premieres that were in direct conflict with the festival.

18. If it’s a festival or conference that no longer is in existence…why did it end?

This festival is still running so this question does not apply.

19. Any other ideas or advice that we haven’t thought to ask about?
Alan liked how Visions was concise and only one day, but he also suggested maybe expanding it to various venues. I told him a little more about our festival & conference and he seemed very interested in it. 

This was a great exercise to do, especially for myself, where I need to work on being comfortable talking to new people involved in the film industry and the festival circuits. I am lucky to have made a great contact with Alan Webber and he told me to come check out his festival next summer if I was going to be in NY still!

Festival Quiz

What did you find most interesting when comparing the festival research materials?

I loved that everyone's festival was completely different. Each festival had quirks about them that made them memorable. For example, I remember that Ally's festival, Indie Grits, incorporated puppetry and family hip hop day into their festival. I wasn't sure as to why but I thought it was interesting and it helped me to remember them specifically. Something I noted was that a lot of festivals did not have a kickstarter account or an indiegogo account. However, I think that both are super handy when trying to raise money for a festival. I asked myself "Why not?" a lot when I was looking at other's research materials.

What sponsor ideas were sparked from the posts so far? Which festival/conference inspired this and why?

Most of the festivals had local sponsors who donated money, which we could easily incorporate into Visions. While some of the larger festivals had major sponsors like Zoe's Kitchen and Jet Blue, the festivals would use this money to fly their filmmakers and/or keynote speakers into town for the festival which I think is great. The Dallas Video fest was one that stood out to me for giving grants to filmmakers to fly them to the festival. This festival looks awesome and I would definitely consider entering a film here.

Rural Route Film Festival

Festival/Conference basics (from withoutabox, event website and news articles):

1.   What time is your interview scheduled and who will you be talking with when you call/skype?

     -I am meeting with Alan Webber via Skype on Thursday at 12:30.

2.   Who started it and who runs it?

     -Alan Webberà festival director

3.   What is the mission of the festival/conference? (copy and paste the first paragraph)

     -The Rural Route Film Festival was created to highlight works that deal with unique people and places outside of the bustle of the city.  Taking in a Rural Route program is like choosing the road less travelled, and learning something new about our constantly amazing world.  Whether it be a fictional backpacking drama set in the Peruvian Andes, a personal/experimental work about life in a Kazakh village, or a documentary about an organic, Appalachian turnip farm, our mission is to screen work about rare people and cultures normally overlooked by the mainstream media.  Our content consists of top quality, cutting edge contemporary and archival work from sources both local and far, far away.

4. How does this compare with their actual programming choices from the past two years? Be specific in describing what they program (mode, categories within mode, niche, Political? Global? Local? Gender? Sexuality? Race? Any themes that you see? etc…)

-The films selected must have a rural theme. It can be a documentary, a narrative or an experimental film. They also select films that have environmental features.

5.   Where is the event?

-Kick Off Party: The Strand Smokehouse in Astoria, NY.

-Screenings: Museum of the Moving Image and the Queens Library (Saturday July 27^th NY premiere of The Sourlandsàfree)

-After Party: Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm

6.   When is the event? (Give dates from last year if not current)

     -August 1^st-August 4th

7.  How do you submit? Snail mail, online, withoutabox, through their site, etc…

            -Receive an application through their website or apply through withoutabox.

8.  When are the deadlines to enter? Early? Reg? Late?

            -Final Deadline: February 1^st, 2013

9.  How much does it cost to enter?

            -For a feature (40 minutes or more): $35

            -For a Short: (39 minutes or less): $15

10.  Who’s eligible, what are the guidelines to enter?

            -All filmmakers welcome. Submission must contain a completed entry form, a digital entry through withoutabox, a short description of how the term “rural” is defined in your work, and a submission fee.

11.  Is there a Student category?

            -There is no specific Student category.

12.  What formats do they except for jurying? DVD, Vimeo, Flash drives?

            -For jurying they accept DVDs of the submission.

13.  What formats do they except for exhibition/screening?

            -If the film is selected for screening, the filmmaker must submit stills in JPEG (size req: 4x6” 300dpi) along with a synopsis and filmmaker bio.

14.   How many films screened at the festival last year?

            -9 films screened during the most recent festival and 8 shorts screened during the after party/Rooftop Farm shorts screening.

15.  How long is a typical shorts block or paper presentation block at their event?

-Approximately an hour and a half to two hours.

16.    How many films or papers do they program per block?

-During the Les Blank program they screened 3 of the great documentary filmmaker’s works: Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe, Dry Wood, and Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers.

17.  How do people register to attend? Is there a cost to attend as a guest?

-Tickets for the Les Blank tribute were $12 and the screenings at the museum were free with the museum admission. The cost to attend the after party/Rooftop Farm shorts was $15.

18.   Look at sponsorship page and see what businesses. Grants and private entities give money to the event. Figure out how many of each kind and note any leads that might be useful to us.

-Some of their sponsors include: Burt’s Bees, Wrangler, Fresh Direct, Jet Blue, Nevada Film Office, Museum of the Moving Image, COFFEED, and the Queens Library. Most of these sponsors were local to the film festival so it would be helpful for us to look into local sponsors for Visions.

19. What are their sponsorship levels and incentives for each level?

-EVEREST CLIMBER LEVEL SPONSOR: $10,000 and above

            (Limited to two non-competing businesses)

            All Desert Oasis Level Sponsor benefits, plus:

                        · 1 Full page ad on inside cover of Festival Program (2,500+                                          circulation)

                        · Display of sponsor’s banner, poster, or sign inside festival venue                                                (1,200+ attendees)

                        · Company logo screened on private title card before each show

                        · Company logo placed at top of all advertising and promotional                                         materials

                        · Company logo on title page of Festival Program

                        · Company logo on front of Festival Postcard (25,000+)

                        · 8 VIP passes to all screenings

- DESERT OASIS LEVEL SPONSOR: $5,000

            All Crop Harvester Level benefits, plus:

                        · 1 Full page ad in Festival Program (2,500+ circulation)

                        · Link to company website placed in all email newsletters (12,000+                                    circulation) all year throughout offseason tour

                        · Company logo linked from Festival Homepage to company’s website

                        · Company logo on Tour Program for 20-city tour (1,000+ circulation)

                        · 4 VIP passes to all screenings

- CROP HARVESTER LEVEL SPONSOR: $2,500

            All Forest Level benefits, plus:

                        · 1 Half-page ad in Festival Program (2,500+ circulation)

                        · Thanked from stage during film introductions

                        · Company logo screened on title card with other sponsors before each                               show

                        · Company logo on Festival Postcard (25,000+ circulation)

                        · 2 VIP passes to all screenings

- FOREST RANGER LEVEL SPONSOR: $1,000

            All Gardener Level benefits, plus:

                        · Company name on all advertising and promotional materials

                        · Company name on Festival Postcard (25,000+)

                        ·2 passes to all screenings

- GARDENER LEVEL SPONSOR: $500

                        · 1 Quarter-page ad in Festival Program (1,500+)

                        · Company logo linked from sponsors page of Festival Website to                                      company’s website

                        · Company name on sponsors page of Festival Program

                        · Link to company website placed in all email newsletters through festival                          wrap-up (12,000+ circulation)

                        · Product placement opportunities

20.  Did they have a kickstarter or indiegogo? What incentives did they have for each level of donor?

-They did have an indiegogo account and some of the incentives they had for donors were a Burt’s Bees product, a copy of the “Best Shorts Films” DVD from the 2003-2008 festivals, exclusive posters, a festival pass for the 2013 festival, a round-trip plane ticket and a few others.

-They also had a kickstarter account in 2011 where the incentives were very similar to that of this year’s indiegogo account.

21.  What kind of non-traditional film/video events have they had before? Things like Installations, 'Visual Soundwalls,' VJing etc.

-Rural Route Film Festival has live music throughout the entire festival during breaks of features. They want their audience to be enriched by this rural culture and to escape from the city life for a few hours. They also utilize an outdoor projection for one of the screening blocks.

22.  Are there ways in which they have expanded the typical film screening event? How have they branched out from sitting in a dark room in front of a screen?

-I found it interesting that they do their main shorts block screening at the after party on a rooftop barn in Brooklyn. It deviates from the typical film screening theater.

23.   Is the layout easy to navigate? What makes it easy?

-The website is super easy to navigate I had no problems trying to find what I was looking for. All of their main tabs were informative and helpful for my research.

24.   Is the layout difficult to navigate? What makes it difficult?

-The layout is not difficult to navigate at all, much easier than that of Artivist’s webpage.

25.   Can you find the information you are looking for on the homepage or via a link on the homepage?

-Yes I found everything I needed from the webpage or via a link from the webpage. The only thing that I had to look up outside of the webpage was if they had an indiegogo or kickstarter account, which was very easy to find.

26.  Aesthetically, what catches your eye? What's cool about it?

-I like the subtle rural elements to the page, like the tractor but for the most part the webpage is very plain.

27.   Aesthetically, what doesn't fit in? What makes it look bad? 

-I would have liked to see more incorporation of color into the webpage to make things more exciting. There is a great deal of white in the webpage.

28.   Should there be more information? Is the page too bare?

-There was plenty of information provided on the webpage, I never felt like I was struggling to find the answers to the research questions that I needed.

29.  Should there be less information? Is the page too busy?

-I do not believe that this website was too busy either, it seemed to have the right amount of information on each page without overwhelming me.

30.  What would you do differently if you were to redesign this website?

-I would definitely try to make the page more modern looking. The fonts were a little boring so I would update those as well. I would also try to incorporate more art and graphics on the webpage. That would also help to bring in some more color.

31.  What would you keep the same if you were to redesign this website?

-I like the incorporation of a lot of the trailers to the films and that the website actually had an achieve of the previous years and the films they screened during previous festivals.