Task Three: Practical Application

1. Arley Hall Reflective Diary

A Classical Serenade
Reflective Diary

Friday 1^stNovember 2013Today we were assigned our roles for our next event. I am Assistant Events Manager. This means that I and one other person will assist the Events Manager in managing all aspects of this event from the planning stages right up to the execution of the event. We were given our brief by the client.

BRIEF:

Charity Event
Concert
Monday 16^th December
Arley Hall
Audience Capacity-100
Title: A Classical Serenade

Concept: A professional and elegant evening that reflects the setting of the house with reference to the Christmas season. An intimate and welcoming environment for the audience.

After this the three of us had a meeting in which we discussed our responsibilities and the things that we would need to organise as soon as possible. The Minutes for this meeting can be found on this blog.

The major decisions made in this meeting were the deadlines for ourselves and also the other department heads. It was decided that the Marketing team would have a much stricter deadline in that by next week we wish to be aware of all their marketing/advertising outlets and by that weekend they must be put into action. This was decided as from a previous event experience we realised that marketing was a real issue and the sooner the event is advertised the better. The event is only a month away and so the public need to be aware of the event as soon as possible. Other departments have approximately five more days to be up to this stage, however we would very much like to hear about their initial ideas and plans.

It was also decided that the lighting designer and set designer, although must work closely will have different deadlines. The lighting designer cannot design lights for a set that has not been designed and so therefore we have decided to set the lighting designer a few days extra. They will be informed of their deadline when the Events Management team has decided both his and the set designers.

Monday 4^thNovemberToday we had a meeting to discuss the beginning of our plans and to discuss initial deadlines with each of the departments. The minutes for this meeting can be found below:

The first decision made by the Events Management team was that we will aim for a deadline of the 2^nd of December for everything to be ‘good to go’ and complete. So that the 2 weeks that follow before the event itself would simply be polishing any final details and having all details confirmed by the talent and by the venue and all department heads. We feel although this is ambitions it is still achievable. If we do achieve it we then have 2 weeks of fine tuning, but if we don’t that 2 weeks will be spent completing deadlines and any unfinished work without it feeling rushed or sloppy.

Another a decision that has been made is that by Friday 8^thNovember all departments must present their initial concepts to the group. Marketing will present ideas for marketing outlets and how they intend on spreading the word for this event. The lighting and set designer will produce concept ideas, hopefully with visual stimuli so that we can get a feel for how the event will look. The FOH team will discuss ideas on how they will greet audience and how the audience will be ‘looked after’. Finally the technical team will discuss their ideas on how the show will technically run.

Although this gives the teams only a week to begin discussing ideas and have an idea ready, we feel as though it is necessary to begin as soon as possible as we have such a short time frame in which to pull this off. Also, all departments will eventually have to communicate their ideas and compromises will have to be made. For example if Marketing decide on a gold coloured theme, yet the lighting and set designers decide on a pink theme, compromise would have to be made and discussions would have to be had and final decisions made. Therefore the deadline is this early so that these discussions can be had.

We agreed that Jordan and the marketing team would begin their campaign on the 15^th November. All posters/websites/forums will be up depending on what strategies they decide upon. We felt this was reasonable as it gives the team a week after presenting their initial ideas to finalise them and put them into action. Also, this gives the team a solid month to begin a campaign and advertise the event.

It was decided that Set and Lighting Designs should be completed by 20^th November. This deadline has been set as we feel it to be very reasonable. It allows them a week and a half after presenting initial ideas/concept to liaise with each other and other departments to finalise an idea and produce designs.

As we have decided that it would be only fair to organise travel for those that we require to be there. We have decided that by the 29^thDecember we will need a list of people and equipment that need to be taken to Arley Hall. This then gives us 3 weeks to organise transport for the equipment that the technical team will have decided upon, all members of the Events Management Team and any additional staff required by the FOH team.

Tuesday 5^thNovemberToday we had a meeting where the Events Manager relayed all information from her conversation with Sheila. The minutes for this meeting can be found below:

Friday 8^thNovemberToday we had a meeting to discuss our process and all departments were to present their initial ideas and concepts. The minutes for this meeting can be seen below:

Major points from the meeting that Myself, Ashleigh and Jordan PS will have to action are:

Due to limited amount of lanterns in stock with other college events running alongside this one, we will have to find out what, if any, lights Shelagh could provide us with. This will also be cost and time effective as we must organise transport for all equipment we take to Arley Hall. The more Sheila can provide us with the better.

The Events Management Team will also be organising a visit to Arley Hall on the 14^th November. It has been requested that all departments go, especially the department heads. This way all of the team can view the space which they will work with on the night, and also, we can meet with Sheila in person to discuss some details. Meeting with Sheila will be more beneficial as by keeping contact with her just over the phone, could get far too impersonal and we could find out more from her in a conversation face to face.

With regards to visiting the hall; we decided that we will organise lifts with students and teachers to the hall. Organising the mini bus would be too expensive and also may take too much time. With only a week’s notice, it may have caused a problem. A member of the team drives and two teaching staff agreed to take the team.

After the marketing team presented an initial design concept, it was unanimously agreed that the font used was not suitable for the event. The Events Management Team has decided that they will have till the 12^thto make some changes. This gives them 5 days to change the font and also add in the colours from the lighting designer’s concepts. We suggested that come the 12^th they present us with three or four ideas that we can vote on. This way it isn’t just the Events Management team making decisions. The whole group can decide.

Tuesday 12th November

Today we had a meeting to discuss the price of the tickets and to decide on a design concept colour and font. The Minutes for this meeting can be seen below:

As the Marketing team had presented the group with an array of ideas, and certain members of the group preferred certain fonts. We decided it would be best to vote. We did so and the majority vote won. A font and colour scheme has now been decided. Voting was the best way to decide on a concept as this way, everyone’s opinion has been listened to and statistically if the majority in a room of 15 prefer one font and colour, it is more likely that this will be the case when we must sell 100 tickets.

With regards to ticket price, a price has been decided of£7.00 a ticket with a reduced price of £5.00 for a child’s ticket. This has been agreed as the price is almost half of what other Arley events are. This will ensure we sell all 100 tickets and this way we can charge for mulled wine and mince pies to again further our profit. Although it has been under discussion that we also stagger the price for OAP’s or students, we decided against this as the event is aiming to raise money and awareness for charity and as only 100 tickets can be sold, this wouldn’t be a problem and wouldn’t need to use the marketing ploy of reducing ticket prices.

Wednesday 13^thNovemberAs Ashleigh is unable to attend Arley Hall tomorrow, therefore myself and JPS will go on her behalf and speak to Sheila to iron out some details. However, as Julie is not able to take anyone in her car due to other commitments, only Mark and John’s car is available. Therefore, as not everyone is now able to go, I had the responsibility of deciding who would go. It was imperative that Matt and Joel attend as they’re designs are reliant in them seeing the space so they will be attending. Gemma as FOH manager will need to go to see the car park also she can make staffing decisions and see the house itself so she knows how she can manager her staff in terms of waiting on. Jordi stated that he would like to go as Technical Manager so he can be aware of power outlets and where equipment would be stored, and insisted that his assistant Drew join him. These people, plus JPS and I now fill both cars.

Although it would have been beneficial for all the team to go, the decision for the marketing team not to attend was simply because their job is now, almost at its end with the campaign ready to start. Therefore their roles do not require looking at the physical space of the Hall, and any queries they may have for Sheila can go through me or JPS.

Thursday 14^thNovemberAs Ashleigh was not able to attend Arley Hall today. Jordan PS and I were in charge of organising the trip to Arley. That morning Anna from marketing approached me and insisted that for the posters and programmes, pictures needed to be taken and she would like to go.

I explained that yesterday travel arrangements had been made and there was no longer any space left in the cars. I asked if it were possible for anybody else to take the pictures, however she explained that she was the only member of the group who had taken photography and also she needed shots from outside the house, and everyone going would be inside talking to Shelagh.

Understanding this, I had to make a decision on who could be replaced on the trip. I noted that Drew was not necessarily important to the trip on this day as his role is simply lighting operator, and as Jordi was going he could get all necessary details for his team. However I felt that if I simply told Drew he was not going this would come across as oppressive and I did not want to make Drew feel uncomfortable. Therefore I planned to inform the group that it was Vital Anna go and ask if anyone would be willing to let her go instead of them. Hopefully Drew would understand that his presence on the trip was not as important as Anna’s and would nominate himself, therefore avoiding any awkward encounters.

However, when the groups were assembled, Drew was absent and all attempts to reach him were to no avail and Jordi said that he could not go due to work. Therefore Anna could go, however I asked Jordi to arrange another member of his team to go to Arley Hall and speak to Shelagh. He nominated Sophie and Sophie agreed to attend.

The team went to Arley Hall and we will relay all information back to the rest of the group in tomorrow’s meeting. The minutes with our meeting with Shelagh can be found below:

Friday 15^thNovemberToday we had a meeting to discuss every department’s progress and to relay all information back to the group that was acquired from yesterday’s visit to Arley Hall. The Minutes for this meeting can be seen below:

One Major decision that had to be made by our team was when Anna insisted that it be vital to go back to Arley Hall to take pictures with Mark. However as we have discussed with Shelagh, the Hal is very busy and yesterday was our only chance to visit the Hall before the event. Also, as the event is so close by and the Marketing Deadline for posters to be up is only a couple of days away, we suggested that she use the green screen in college, take pictures of mark and super impose him on to the advertising products. She agreed to do this. Although it would have been beneficial and would have looked better, we really didn’t have the time, and had Anna given us more notice we could have asked Mark to wear his suit for yesterday’s visit and the pictures could have been taken then.

Also, we insisted that by the 30^th all departments give us a final draft of who/what they are taking to the hall. So we can begin to arrange travel for staff and equipment. If Travel arrangements are made sooner rather than later, this could be cheaper, and if not, the sooner we know, the sooner we can infirm Shelagh should any changes have to be made.

Monday 18^thNovember 2013Today we had a meeting to further discuss our progress and address an issue that Mark and Rachel had. The minutes for this meeting can be found below:

A major decision made in this meeting was regarding what image if any should be used on the posters and flyers for the event. It was unanimously agreed that some form of image should be used and we decided on a picture of Mark with the Orphan(s) he helped on his previous visit to Moldova. This was decided as it was becoming Apparent that through the marketing of the event that it isn’t being emphasised that the event is for charitable purposes. Therefore this solved the issue of having a lack of image; this would also show an image of our performer and highlight the charitable purpose of the event.

Monday 25^thNovember 2013Today I was informed that our set designer had not produced initial concepts in the meetings I missed due to absence. As the set designer is not only designing the set for this event, but also the college’s winter showcase. Therefore as we are already behind, I decided to step in and assist Matt to facilitate the smooth running of the event. Matt gave me the dimensions of the staging he wished to use, and I used the house’s blue prints that Shelagh had emailed Ashleigh to see if this was possible. Looking at the plans for the room, the set that Matt had wished for will not fit in the room. Therefore I had to produce a scale drawing to show Matt that it was not possible to use 9 pieces of the staging we have in stock. Therefore I have decided to change this and use 6 pieces of rostra as I believe this will accommodate both the choir, Mark, and the piano and their creative needs. These drawings can be found below.

This will also be followed by set ideas, we will be using white felt to cover the legs of the rostra acting as snow. These will be back lit with fairy lights and small Christmas trees will be strategically placed to further the Christmas feel.

Tuesday 26^thNovember 2013Today we had a meeting to discuss deadlines that were not being met and we asked departments who were behind on deadlines, why this was the case and what each manager could do to overcome this. I feel it was important for this meeting to behold as we draw closer to the event; tasks need to be completed at a much faster pace. After looking at tasks that should be completed I have taken one task from each department to help alleviate the stress of that department’s manager. By taking one task from each department, this won’t ruffle any feathers by people inferring that one department is being offered more help than others.

I will assist the technical team by taking a stock check of the amount of lanterns we have in college. I will assist the FOH team by helping them find appropriate raffle prizes. I will also be aiding the marketing department by editing the footage that will be played through projection. This video will also be played to the staff at staff briefing as this has been confirmed by The Principle. It is important we go to Staff Briefing as last time this gave us a high amount of publicity from staff and generated a lot of interest.

Wednesday 27^thNovemberToday I created the video that will be shown at staff briefing and will be shown via projection at Arley Hall. As Mark has already visited Moldova, footage was taken of this trip and I used this to create the video. As the filming had to be done covertly, the quality of the film is not great, however by slowing shots down and putting a black and white filter over the footage using Adobe Premier Pro, I managed to overcome the ‘cheap’ feel the footage had to it. I also decided to add narration into the video, as research into these videos (similar to Children In need or Comic Relief) shows narration in the saddest videos. As this will be shown to people we want to donate money, making them feel sorry for the children of Moldova is the best tactic and I feel the video does this. Screen shots of the editing process and the completed video can be seen below.

We were also given the tickets by the reprographics department today and we discussed how this be approached to the cash office. I suggested that paying audience members can have the choice to either pay at the cash office or by card over the phone and they should also have the choice of collecting their ticket or having it mailed to them. Anna from marketing suggested this would b54e too much work and too short notice for the cash office. However, I made the point that not all 100 guests will be having their ticket mailed to them as the majority of our audience are from the college so they can collect their ticket. But audience that ring up should be asked if they would like their ticket mailed to them and then we will take the ticket from the cash office and Mail it ourselves. This way, it alleviates any stress for the staff at the cash office and we ensure that audience members have a ticket reserved.

I created a spread sheet that can be issued to the cash office when people book tickets. This can be seen below.

Tuesday 3^rdDecember 2013Today we had a meeting to discuss our progress. The minutes for this meeting can be seen below.

One main discussion point that was discussed in the meeting was the price of raffle tickets. It was finally decided that the tickets be sold at £5 a strip. Although this may seem expensive, as the event is a charity event, and the prizes that have been collected are all at least £40 so we believe that a paying audience member will be willing to donate £5 with the chance of winning one of these great prizes.

It was also decided that the raffle will open ASAP to staff currently at the college that may not necessarily be able to attend the event. This was decided as it will increase our profit and as the aim of the event is to raise money for Moldova this seems the most sensible decision. It was also agreed that the raffle be drawn after the event, although this will mean the FOH team will have to work hard to get contact details of each audience member, this would also increase the amount of money we will get which is ultimately our goal.

We also set a deadline today for this Friday for all our raffle prizes to be collected. The sooner this happens the sooner the raffle can be advertised, which will again boost our income.

We also discussed what glasses we will be serving drinks in. Although glass would look aesthetically better, the ideal provider can only give us 40 glasses, and this would mean the remaining glasses may not be of the same size. This aesthetically would not suit the theme of the event being a ‘classical serenade’ and would also be difficult when measuring equal quantities of drink to paying customers.

Friday 6^thDecember 2013Today we gathered all of our prizes for the raffle so that the Marketing team could begin to implement this when advertising further.

After a short discussion with the group we decided to action some points today as we are so close to the event and we still have so much to do. Ashleigh and myself checked ticket sales today and we are only half way through the tickets we need to sell in order to sell out. We noticed that no member of senior management within the college had purchased a ticket. We deduced that this was more likely that they are far too busy within their college day to do this. We then decided we would send personalised invitations to senior management. This would add as another reminder and would possibly give them an incentive to attend as they received such a personal invitation. I created these letters and sent them. An example letter can be seen below:

Jordan PS Also completed the relevant risk assessment today. This can be seen below:

Risk assessment arley moldova 2 from paupop12

It was also decided that the FOH team should play ambient Christmas music before the show starts and during the interval. It was decided that Sophie would be in charge of this, and due to time restrictions I agreed to assist in this. We both decided that we would not use classical music, as this was being sung during the show but we would also not play mainstream Christmas Music as this would not fit in with the brief. We found a classical Christmas Album featuring the voices of Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald etc. This will be downloaded over the weekend and given to the technical crew come Monday.

We also discussed the dress code for the event. It was unanimously decided we would wear all black (smart) with a hint of red. This was decided as we all agreed we have smart blacks from our experience in production arts so no one would have to go out and purchase an outfit. And the hint of red ties the outfit in with the Christmas theme of the event. This also gives the Events Management team a hint of uniformity as we will all look similar and so should any member of the audience have a query we will be easily spotted.

Monday 9^thDecemberAs the event is now only a week away, Myself and Rachel are becoming concerned with the amount of work that needs to be done. Jordan gave us a deadline for Wednesday for the Scrolls/programmes to be printed. So we must then organise for them to be hand tied with ribbon. However, as the person that was in charge of obtaining the ribbon has not done so, I have no decided to take on the responsibility of doing this. Also, the interval music has not been downloaded so I have done this myself to. Sophie O’brian has also agreed to make Christmas cakes, however as the FOH team have yet to confirm this with her I did this myself and she agreed to make 20 with us.

Although these responsibilities are not mine, Due to how close the event is and how some members have done so little, I have done this so that tasks be completed on time for the event.

Monday 16^thDecember 2013 (A Classical Serenade)This morning, as registers had not been written up and transport had not been organised, I had to intervene and do this. As it was not only our events management team that were going, it was also an array of first years who were crewing and aiding the FoH team in the event, we were responsible for their travel. Certain members of the team had not handed their permission slips to Rachel, and So I had to chase the students up, making them sign this slip with a code of conduct. An example of these documents can be seen below:

SCANNED PICTURES OF CONSENT FORMS/ CODE OF CONDUCT

Also, as we were responsible for taking people to and from Arley, it was our job to ensure that no one was left behind at any of the venues. Therefore I made a register I would fill out before we left for Arley and before we lefty at the end of the concert. This would detail that they were present on the minibus and how they were making their way home from Arley. This working Document can be seen below:

SCANNED PIC OF REGISTER

I was also in charge of assigning people to certain minibuses and cars so that everyone was accounted for, a list of names can be seen below and how they were transported to and from the event. I used this on the day of the event to ensure that everyone arrived and left Arley Hall safetly in our care.

When we arrived at Arley we followed an itinerary of the day’s events to ensure that all would be set up for the audience’s arrival. As Jordi and the technical team began to organise the stage and technical aspects of the show, and the Front of House team began discussing how car parking would work, Myself and Jordan took the responsibility off the set designer to set out lanterns in the driveway as he was busy with other set related issues in the hall. However when we did this we realised that he had not brought enough lanterns, of the 20+ we have in stock he only brought 10 which did not look aesthetically pleasing at all, as they were just mounted on the steps of the house. Therefore a discussion had to be had about how the lanterns would be set out.

At this time we were also informed that the Front of House team had forgotten the audience counter, the jugs for mulled wine and juice, black card to mount posters on and other FoH related equipment. Jordan also stated that we needed an XLR jack and possibly more extension leads. As Julie would be driving the minibus back at 4pm to pick up IB students, we decided to use this time to collect what was forgotten. I liaised with each member of the team asking them to make a note of anything that was left behind at college that may be needed now, and I wrote these in my phone so that they were not forgotten. A screen grab of this list can be seen below:

We decided that everything that could be done without the forgotten equipment should be done then, and when I and Julie returned we could finish any jobs that needed finishing.

Myself and Ashleigh decided to set up the raffle table as the FoH team were very busy setting up the mulled wine and other refreshments.

As the event was underway, and all team members were in costume/uniform there were decisions that had to be made throughout the night by myself and the Events Management team.

As the night began, members of the choir requested a copy of the programme. However as only 100 were printed, this only accounted for members of the paying audience so by giving some to the choir, which was necessary as we stated from the start we wished to keep the choir happy, we would be down on the amount we had and so could not give each audience member one. We then determined that certain tickets were purchased on behalf of children, and so we decided that when Toby of Front of House would issue the audience at the door with the programmes, he would only do so to the adults in each party. This way all audience members who would be interested would know what songs were next and when they would be played, and so did the choir.

I and Jordan Potsig-Simpson also checked the sound and quality of the computer screens that were playing the video that I had made. The volume was crucial, as at the start of the event the choir were singing carols on the staircase, and so the volume had to be muted. However during the interval we decided they would be placed on full volume. However as the Christmas interval music I and Sophie had burned onto a CD was also loud, we didn’t want either to be drowned out. So we set each screen to the volume ‘75’setting which was loud enough for people stood by the screen to hear but no so loud that it drowned out the Christmas Music playing through Arley’s PA system.

2. Evidence of the Arley Hall Event

 

 

 

 

3. The Arley Hall Budget

 

 

 

It is a vital part of any event that a budget be set and adhered to. This was especially important as this event was to raise money for charity so losing money on the event was not an option. The above spread sheet details the costing of the event, which department were responsible and how we broke even. For example many of the costing's were also donations from those responsible for providing it. This way no money was lost and all money made through ticket sales and on  the raffle could be given to our charity.