Personal Reflection in Preparing a Film Festival - Essay Example

Personal Reflection in Preparing a Film Festival Name: Course: Institution: Date: CINFEST 2015 was organized in Melbourne University. The festival was scheduled for 19th to 21st August with the Theme, “Hit the Road.” CINEFEST is a student only film festival and it hosts around 300 students from the University. In the three nights, the festival was to provide free entertainment and drinks for those who attended. The opening night party was scheduled for the 19th. The second day was characterized by short films, feature films and inspirational talks from speakers such as Tamas Well during the closing night. Holding the festival is a course work for students and the popularity of the course has been on the rise considering that in 2015, there were 50 students. The main aim of the course is to provide students with skills and experience on how to host a film festival. I was part of the team that was charged with the responsibility of organizing the 2015 CINFEST, which was scheduled to run for three days from 19th- 21st August. This report will provide a detailed reflection of the process of organizing the festival, my responsibilities and the strengths and weaknesses. In addition, it will also provide recommendations which if implemented will provide strategies of improving on the organization of CINFEST festivals in the future. My role during the process of organizing for the film festival was to market hunt for sponsors. Market hunting for sponsorship was aimed at ensuring that the event had enough financial resources that could help in the execution of different activities, which were considered essential in the success of the CINFEST. Market hunting required that I participate in the process of identifying potential sponsors for the festival. For such to be realized it was important that I get involved in in-depth research initiatives. These researchers were to develop strategies that could ensure that more potential sponsors were attracted to the festival. The objective of the market hunting committee was to acquire $500 for the event through sponsorship. I got an opportunity of peaking to serve organizations and groups that I considered as potential sponsors and these included Student Agents and Real estate Agents among others. To be able to attract and get platforms of communicating to thee potential sponsors it was important or the organizing committee through the market hunting committee to develop innovative was that could be used in boosting the bottom line of the festival. The creation of the CINEFEST Facebook page was considered as one of the most attractive vehicles that could ensure that more sponsors supported the event. Market hunters in collaboration with the marketing committee encourage more students to access the page through their mobile phones and use to increase in terms of the number of uses viewing the page attracts. This was considered crucial in attracting more sponsors who viewed the users as potential clients to their products and services. I was also active in the design of interactive wall on the social networking sites. These walls and pages were considered crucial in ensuring that the sponsors were informed of the festival its contribution to the industry and the ways through which the potential sponsors could benefit. One of the ways by which I was able to ensure that the hunting process was successful was in my ability to effectively use my communication and interpersonal skills on both face to face and on the interactive virtual platforms. Effective communication and interpersonal skills provided me with an opportunity of making essential decisions on the best communication approach to ensure that the potential sponsors were stated to the event and that they were willing to finance the festival. I was able to secure assurance from the student agents and from other real estate agents considering that they promised to finance $230 and $270 respectively. Being a market hunter, I was also charged with the role of tabling to the committee the demands of the sponsors. The student Agents that I spoke to were ready to finance the festival on condition that they were mentioned as part of the sponsors of the event. In addition, they also required that a short film about the history of the student body was shown for about 5 minutes on each day of the festival. This in the view of the student Agents was one way of creating awareness on different aspects related to the student body. Real Estate Agents considered the CINEFEST event as a marketing platform for its products and services. This explains way they required the organizing committee to participate in the supply of its brochures and flyers. An addition condition for funding the event was for the organizers to ensure that they were mentioned as part of the sponsorship. In the view of the real estate agents, this was one way through which they could ensure that their companies received the best marketing platform. After the reports on my market hunting the event failed, get any sponsorship because our director said that there was enough money to fully fund the event hence eliminating the need for sponsorship. I consider my skills and experience to have played an essential part in the success of the festival. This was in relation to my ability to mobilize other members of the marketing committee and the organizing committee to ensure that there was teamwork in the entire process. As members of a group I was operating on the belief that it is through teamwork that different committees charged with the organization of the event could ensure that there was a common understanding in terms of the expectations and the eventual success (McCloud 2010, p. 22). Many leadership skills in the marketing committee were also instrumental in the realization of the overall objectives of the event. This is because for the event to be successful there was need for financial support and full attendance by the target audience. The marketing committee was able to realize these objectives by brainstorming and sharing ideas on the best marketing strategies that could be used in as a build up to the event. The decision to use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instgram were considered beneficial in attracting more students and other young people from surrounding communities and on the international platform to the event. Being part of the marketing team, I had the responsibility of creating and maintaining a high reputation of the event and of the institution. This was an important role of the marketing team considering that the type of information chosen could play a role in influencing the eventual attendance of the event. As part of the marketing team that was responding to feedback from potential participants in the event I had the responsibility of communicating and ensuring that all the other members of my team were honest in terms of the type of information communicated. In addition, an analysis of feedback received from the potential participants was also essential in the development of the best possible responses that could be relevant in responding to the needs and concerns of the participants. One of the main strengths of the film festival is that it provides a platform for different genres in the film industry to receive an airplay. This makes CINEFEST an essential platform for film makes considering that it provides a guarantee that there will always be a platform where less popular films can be aired to a large audience of actual and potential customers. CINEFEST is a student organized and attended film festival and this means that it attracts potential film makers and film enthusiasts to celebrate the works of other film makers who are established or upcoming in the industry. The ability of this festival to attract different talents and interested parties has been considered as one way through which a platform for sharing and exchange of ideas between different players within the film industry can be established. Furthermore, the film festival also acts as a networking platform for potential film makers and their audiences. Such an interaction provides these stakeholders with a platform upon which idea sharing can be enhanced. It is also through this festival that the future of the film industry is determined in terms of the ability of the concerned parties to implement the ideas and skills acquired in future production. Cohesion and integration of different individuals has been perceived as a necessity in the development of any the university. My school is home to individuals of different races and languages and this makes it diverse in terms of its population. Cultural differences often divided individuals on the basis of differences in perspectives. The role of the CINEFEST is to enhance cohesion and effective integration among different members of the institution. Being a social event the film festival provides a platform of exchanging ideas and celebrating the differences that contribute to the wellbeing of the institution and that of the students. In terms of weaknesses of the festival, constant disagreements between the management of the festival and the organizing committee have been considered as a major derailing factor. For instance ineffective communication practices employed by the high and the mid-level management was contributing to slow progress of the organization due to their unwillingness to provide full information regarding the available finances for budgeting for the event. An additional weakness was in the inability of the organizing committee and the management of the festival to ensure total fairness in the section of the films that were to grace the festival. This inability arose from the vested interest that different members of the team were able to demonstrate in terms their favorite films. Furthermore, the inability of the members of the of the organizing committee to fully engage the participants and the audience in the selection of the best film that were to be showcased in the occasion was a major contributor to the inability of the festival to satisfy the interest of all the participants in the festival. The inability of the planning committee to engage in effective collaboration was a major contributor to the inability of the festival to realize all its goals and objectives. This was because of different levels of commitment as some members of the team were more committed to the organization of event. This was an indication that the work was unevenly shared making it the responsibility of some of the members of the committee to execute more responsibilities than other members. From this perspective, it is possible to argue that the level of job satisfaction and ability to work with high levels of enthusiasm was varied among different members of the organizing committee. Following the challenges and the weaknesses that were identified during the organization of the event, the following recommendations would be most applicable in the organization of the 2016 CINEFEST festival. The selection of the planning committee should not only incorporate individuals with sufficient ideas on matters related to film but also those with the ability to function effectively as members of a team. This will ensure that the committee is composed of these who are willing and have the skills and ability to engage in the successful organization of the event. The film industry is populated by a myriad of films in the form of documentaries, animations and fiction films. It is the responsibility of the organizing committee to ensure that the film that are to be featured during the festivals are drawn from diverse genres and that they are applicable in relation to their ability to satisfy the diverse interests of the members of the audience. Communication is essential in the realization for a successful film festival. This means that it is the responsibility of the organizing committee to always consider the feedback provided by members of the audience as essential points of action. Failure to operate in accordance to the demands of the audience may lead to some form of decline in term of future attendance. It is also important for the management and the organizing committee to operate in a collaborative manner. This can be ensured through free communication of all the details of the festival to minimize the possibility of neglecting responsibilities or the duplication of roles. Such communication also enables easy and effective development of a successful strategy for the festival. References McCloud, N. Skye. 2010. Successful secrets of festival, concert and special event productions: the ultimate step-by-step guide to festival, concert and special event production. [United States]: N. Skye McCloud. Read More

One of the ways by which I was able to ensure that the hunting process was successful was in my ability to effectively use my communication and interpersonal skills on both face to face and on the interactive virtual platforms. Effective communication and interpersonal skills provided me with an opportunity of making essential decisions on the best communication approach to ensure that the potential sponsors were stated to the event and that they were willing to finance the festival. I was able to secure assurance from the student agents and from other real estate agents considering that they promised to finance $230 and $270 respectively.

Being a market hunter, I was also charged with the role of tabling to the committee the demands of the sponsors. The student Agents that I spoke to were ready to finance the festival on condition that they were mentioned as part of the sponsors of the event. In addition, they also required that a short film about the history of the student body was shown for about 5 minutes on each day of the festival. This in the view of the student Agents was one way of creating awareness on different aspects related to the student body.

Real Estate Agents considered the CINEFEST event as a marketing platform for its products and services. This explains way they required the organizing committee to participate in the supply of its brochures and flyers. An addition condition for funding the event was for the organizers to ensure that they were mentioned as part of the sponsorship. In the view of the real estate agents, this was one way through which they could ensure that their companies received the best marketing platform. After the reports on my market hunting the event failed, get any sponsorship because our director said that there was enough money to fully fund the event hence eliminating the need for sponsorship.

I consider my skills and experience to have played an essential part in the success of the festival. This was in relation to my ability to mobilize other members of the marketing committee and the organizing committee to ensure that there was teamwork in the entire process. As members of a group I was operating on the belief that it is through teamwork that different committees charged with the organization of the event could ensure that there was a common understanding in terms of the expectations and the eventual success (McCloud 2010, p. 22). Many leadership skills in the marketing committee were also instrumental in the realization of the overall objectives of the event.

This is because for the event to be successful there was need for financial support and full attendance by the target audience. The marketing committee was able to realize these objectives by brainstorming and sharing ideas on the best marketing strategies that could be used in as a build up to the event. The decision to use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instgram were considered beneficial in attracting more students and other young people from surrounding communities and on the international platform to the event.

Being part of the marketing team, I had the responsibility of creating and maintaining a high reputation of the event and of the institution. This was an important role of the marketing team considering that the type of information chosen could play a role in influencing the eventual attendance of the event. As part of the marketing team that was responding to feedback from potential participants in the event I had the responsibility of communicating and ensuring that all the other members of my team were honest in terms of the type of information communicated.

In addition, an analysis of feedback received from the potential participants was also essential in the development of the best possible responses that could be relevant in responding to the needs and concerns of the participants. One of the main strengths of the film festival is that it provides a platform for different genres in the film industry to receive an airplay.

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