February 19th - February 25th

So, we are getting closer to that time! We just finished programming last week, and we distributed the awards. I have got to say that I am honestly pleased with the selections we have for this year’s festival. As for the Programming and Traffic Department, we are still in the process of finalizing the setup notes. As soon as it is finalized, we will send it to Sandra Jackson (ACE/Lumina) and Nick. This past week, we sent out acceptance and rejection letters to the films. So, since programming is practically over, we now how to start shifting our attention to traffic, and ironing out the logistics for the day of the event. We are still pushing for entries for the digital arts competition, and we are hoping to receive submissions for those before the deadline. By March 14^th, Programming and Traffic will have reviewed all of the final paper, presentations, and film materials so that we are prepared for the day of the event. Enjoy your spring break everyone!

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons

13 Ways of Looking at Bill Murray

            Pro: Interesting and engaging topic

            Con: Lack of structure, poorly written, use of poor language, no indication of a

good presenter/presentation

Gravity

            Pro: Topic is recent and would keep people in their seats

            Con: Over-researched

Ghosts in Japanese Films

            Pro: Interesting visuals/topic, would be great for a presentation

            Con: Spelling errors

Irreversible & Techniques of Looking

            Pro: good structure, strong argument

            Con: Content may be uncomfortable for audience

Murders Unavenged

            Pro: Interesting topic, could make for an even more interesting presentation

            Con: Unclear argument

Storybooks and Female Empowerment

            Pro: Paper would fit programming-wise, especially because of Kiva

            Con: Not as much research as it could have included

Blues Brothers

            Pro: Interesting topic to me (since I am a fan of Bollywood)

            Con: Overall, was just not that impressive

Orson Welles

            Pro: Contributes to the theme of Visions4 (makes sense programming-wise)

            Con: Orson Welles is a topic that has been covered for decades

Boys Will Be Girls

            Pro: refreshing topic, well researched

            Con: None that I can think of

Cinema du Corps

            Pro: Strong argument, good structure

            Con: None

Multi-screen Film

            Pro: Interesting topic, Could make for a great presentation/good visuals

            Con: Argument is vague

Unfilmable Lightness

            Pro: Well-written, well-researched

            Con: None that I can think of

February 5th - February 11th

Hey guys, so I think we dodged a huge bullet today when UNCW announced that we would only have a delay for class tomorrow. That’ll show the snow/ice!! But in all seriousness, having classes cancelled tomorrow would have thrown us through another loop that we could ill afford. Having two classes cancelled in the first five weeks of the semester would have thrown a lot of things off, and it would make everything difficult to catch up, seeing how we are still trying to catch up. Right now, we are scheduled to debate the remaining films tomorrow, and I am truly excited to talk about some of my favorite films that I saw in this bunch. Earlier today, Matt posted the papers that we have received so far in order for the class to get a head start just in case we did not have classes tomorrow. We are scheduled to receive the UNCW student papers by March 16^th and this would give us a few days before we discuss them in class. 

We are now heading towards the final stages of programming over the next few weeks, and we will then need to shift our focus to trafficking and begin rehearsing for the event in April. I cannot wait for the fundraising events. I am disappointed that the weather affected the bake sale, but it is pleasing to hear that we will have the same location for the same times the following week. The BYOFF (Bring Your Own First Film) will be an amazing event, and the people to whom I have mentioned this are very excited about it, and they are contacting their friends from high school to find copies of their movies!

January 29th - February 4th

So, blog post #3. Last week was a crazy week for many reasons. It didn’t help that we missed class on Wednesday because I think that had put us behind and hopefully after this week we will be back on track. Programming and Traffic was still able to upload the films to Google Drive and notify everyone via Facebook. A couple weeks ago we (Programming and Traffic, Operations, and Creative Department – Channing) met with Sandra Jackson of Lumina and we discussed the layout and structure of the Visions Film Festival and Conference. It was in this meeting that I got a really clear idea of what will be required of me on the day of the event, as far as assisting in the presentations and assisting the projectionists. After the meeting, I sat down with Programming and Traffic and rewrote the contract with Lumina, restructuring the layout to fit the schedule of this year’s schedule and to edit personnel and equipment information. For some reason though, this kind of stuff like rewriting and restructuring a contract was somewhat enjoyable to me. I don’t know what it is, but I was not dreading it at all. Anyway, I can’t wait until this week when we debate the student abstracts and films!!