Week 7 Check-In

So March is starting this upcoming week. That’s cool I guess….okay it totally is because then the week after that is SPRING BREAK! But back on topic for now. This week has been one of the longest of this semester. On Saturday and Sunday I went over the films still in consideration and pretty much ended up with the same thoughts I had when watching them the first time. I spent less than an hour on this since I remembered most of them and knew seeing them a second time wouldn’t change anything. On Monday Programming and Operations met at our usual time in PCJ. We once again did not have much to discuss, so my meeting minutes for February have been lacking in points. I’ve tried to make them sound more complex than what they are, but it’s hard taking minutes at a meeting where we’re all cramped in a booth and talking at the same time about different things. On Tuesday I met with Shannon to discuss being a director for Visions7 and was also told I would be the new video race co-coordinator due to unexpected circumstances. This has been quite the adjustment and hasn’t really sunk in yet since I felt like I had just gotten my floaties on for programming. Now I’m pretty much back to drowning, so better get out the swim trunks! I’m actually pretty excited to get started with that this week and see what Devon and I can get done. Tuesday’s class was incredibly long, and even though I left with more than 50 shades of grey bags under my eyes, there was also a slight spark in my eyes from knowing we had compiled the final list of films for the festival. We have some great stuff to show on April 15^th! I was also pretty pumped from hearing the announcement that I would be next year’s programming director. Sweet! On Wednesday Kevin, Daryl, and myself went through the databases again to tweak all of the personal information for our submissions and make sure everything matched up. Yesterday I was fairly busy all day and today I also was unable to call potential sponsorships for the video race. Tomorrow however I do plan on getting in touch with a couple of businesses to see if we can get either a sponsorship or some sort of donation prize for the winners of the video race. Looking to have these things figured out by Wednesday of next week, so we shall see how it goes! Devon also informed me that the official launch date for the video race is March 8^th which was cool to have finalized! Here’s to finally catching up on some sleep from this hectic week though and getting a lot done this next week so that I can enjoy my spring break without being ridiculously busy! 

Week 6 Check-In

Boy it has been a long week, but today is my twenty-first birthday so yay! Definitely helped me push through the week. Programming and Operations only met for about a half hour this week at our weekly meeting on Monday. It was short because we were all already in progress with our current tasks at hand, and there was no need to meet longer than needed. Kevin asked me to update the database before I headed out, and even though I thought I had input all of the films, unfortunately I had missed some. Luckily Daryl realized some had been skipped and added them in to the database. Programming also spent time after class on Tuesday to really tidy up the database and get all of the submissions into the right categories. Overall, cleaning up everything took our department about an hour or so. All of the information was there, it was just jumbled and not laid out nicely. Aside from that, I once again enjoyed discussing films in class. It was nice too how this week we were all pretty certain about which ones deserved to be left in consideration, making for a shorter than normal discussion. This upcoming week is not going to be as quick and will be a tough one. There are however going to be a lot of hard decisions to make. In all honesty, I’ll be happy with whatever ones we decide on, though I am of course biased to the film I worked on. Until next class though, dare I say it – things are pretty calm within my department at the moment. Kevin, Daryl, and myself have been on top of things and have done our best to not fall behind. I’m excited though to move on to other things besides judging films and get into the nitty gritty of programming. I do know that however busy it is going to get from here on out and whatever problems arise, this festival and conference is going to be the best one yet.  

Week 5 Check-In

I realize I said this last week, but ugh! Wasn’t it still January like yesterday? Alright I’ll get back on topic now. A lot has happened since last week. On Monday Programming and Operations had their weekly meeting in the library. It was a short one, but luckily we were all doing what we were supposed to be doing and didn’t have much to discuss for once. That evening I baked my banana bread for the bake sale on Wednesday, and it turned out really well! Made my kitchen smell so good! I got to lead discussion in class again on Tuesday, which was just as fun as last time, though we all left a little more terrible than we were when we came in! Way too many awful jokes…even though they were pretty funny. For the bake sale on Wednesday I was at the table in front of Randall from noon to three. Anthony was hilarious with his salesmanship and everyone responded really well to his tactics. Most of the goods sold and we made our goal, so it was definitely a success! Yesterday we had the Valentine’s Day Party which was so much fun! Even though I left exhausted and my feet didn’t understand the torture I had put them through, I had a blast. Everyone lip-syncing was priceless, and the backup dancers were interesting…..? Oh wait….they weren’t supposed…awkward. Anyway, I have been busy since class on Tuesday, and today I am planning on starting the films for this week and hope to finish them by tomorrow night. I’m so excited about what’s on the list and can’t wait until we start programming what films will actually make it to the festival. Our class is going to have some long, hard discussions when it comes down to the nitty gritty, but by being in this class I am learning about what it means to be an up-and-coming filmmaker as an undergraduate. We’re all in the same boat, so even though we need to be harsh we also need to realize the potential of certain films. I’m definitely interested by what things will be brought up in the next few weeks, and which films will make the final…and which ones will not. 

Week 4 Check-In

Where the heck is February going?! Ahh! First of all, I highly enjoyed leading discussion on Tuesday. We had such a diverse group of films to judge last week, so I knew people might get heated. Though I don’t think I will ever look at meat tenderizing the same ever again….-shudders- On Wednesday I started judging the new set, and once again they’re all very different. Judging films has thus far been my favorite part of this class though. It’s truly fascinating. I tried to finish Round 3 yesterday but got too sleepy, so I’m planning on finishing them tomorrow. Kevin also added a few tasks to my Trello which I am also hoping to knock out tomorrow. Tonight I was sound mixer for a friend’s film and tomorrow night I am going to Jacksonville for a paranormal investigation. A very busy weekend for me, but I will definitely prioritize my assignments to make sure everything is done on time. I plan on too reading the papers on Sunday, even though I’m not necessarily looking forward to that. I am however looking forward to our bake sale on Wednesday and am especially excited for the party Thursday! I didn’t know hardly anyone in Visions when I went to the Halloween party, and I had a blast! This one should be even better since I know everyone in the class! Another busy week coming up, but basically they’re all busy so I really can’t complain. I tend to be more productive when I’m busy, and I don’t have time to think negatively when I have a lot going on. It all works out in the end!