V4 Reflection

What did you think it would be like?  What surprised you about you? the Festival? the guests?  What would you do differently?  Do the same?

Although I knew I'd be doing a ton of work the day of the event, I kind of underestimated how little I'd be able to actually attend the events.  I only got to see the keynote and then I was off and running planning catering, checking on VR, decorating, freaking out, whatever.  But actually to be honest everything went better than I expected.  All the guests were super cool and got along pretty well with each other (I think), and they all seemed pretty excited to be here.  Good vibes.  No major catastrophes.

Same:  Screen Gems tour around 3 PM and dinner around 7:30 PM seemed like a good itinerary for Thursday.  Honestly, I'd even choose Blue Surf again.  I thought the space was great and everyone seemed pretty happy with the food/drinks/Fuzzy Peach.  Breakfast and dessert on the first floor is good, but I'd actually double the amount of food we get for breakfast and halve the amount of food for dessert.  I liked the guest dinner in the Kenan Courtyard.  Everyone seemed to like the Swag Bags - I think money used for stickers and logo bags is well-spent.  We looked good.

Differently: Send out e-mails to accepted artists earlier so PR can be sure to have their information earlier.  Don't forget to do the DVD forms!!  Jesus.  VR outside makes it hard to hear instructions, but I really liked the setup so we should figure out a different way to do this.  Make more decorations and Swag Bags before the day before/day of Visions.  Make sure gas is filled in my car.  Check that Christmas lights work before you set them up all pretty like and plug them in and nothing happens and you have to switch strands at the last minute... Talk with PR about the step and repeat so it doesn't get in the way of your pretty Hosp decorations all day.  Keep closer administrative check on After Party and Video Race.  In general, do everything less last-minute.