BEFORE FESTIVAL:

Official Information:

Besides checking the main 2009  festival website there are 3 other sources of information you want to use:

Twitter: Currently giving away 2 awards gala tickets + 10 movie tickets. Source of  information tidbits not available anywhere else.

Facebook: Just gave away a festival 4 pack. Should have more promotions leading to and during the Festival.

SMS: Simply text “SDAFF” to 53137 to sign up.  There will be special offers here that won’t be available anywhere else.

Films and Tickets:

In the early days we had to plan our movie going schedule manually.  Now  you can plan it all online and it’s even easier than signing up for college classes!  Remember that many tickets are discounted online.

Direct link to the entire film schedule:

http://sdaff.bside.com/2009/schedule/week

Pay special attention to the ** notes.  They indicate if the filmmaker, actors and/or actresses will be in attendance/doing QA. Also will let you know what movies have their own food and beverage reception (free with ticket!)

THERE ARE MANY FREE MOVIES AT 4PM THANKS TO TARGET!

Want to take advantage of the group discount but don’t have a group of friends to do it with?  There are 81 different organizations co presenting films.  If you or a friend are in any of these groups contact them about what showings they are participating in.  Full group list in the appendix at the end of the post.

During The Festival:

Take the Trolley, Take the Bus:

While there is plenty of parking within Hazard Center you might want to consider taking the trolley there because there’s a stop right in front! Stella Artois is a big sponsor this year and some r

Stalk the Celebs:

As noted above, the official film schedule let’s you know which movies have cast, crew, and/or stars.  Want to try to get some 1 on 1 time with a star? Stay at one of the official festival hotels!  Double Tree Mission Valley and Town and Country Resort Just please don’t be a creep about it and hide in the bushes.  Go read a paper in the lobby and be nice about asking for a photo opp.  Everyone is really happy to be in sunny San Diego for SDAFF.  Except John Cho. That guy’s a douche.

Fan of the internet famous? Check out the YouTube panel featuring:

David Choi

Kev Jumba

Paul Dateh

Eddie Kim (Projekt NewSpeak)

Want more chances to rub elbows with Hollywood? Come to the after parties!

After Party Schedule:

Oct. 15th Thursday:  Opening Night Reception then an after party at Double Tree Mission Valley Poolside + Lobby Bar.

Oct. 16th Friday: Belo in Down Town on E St. There are 6 movies with cast, crew, and film makers in attendance so I would think this would be a good amount of industry in attendance. UPDATED: Guest list available here! CONFIRMED: White on Rice afterparty!

Hosted premium vodka bar for RSVP guests from 9PM-10PM for RSVP guests

$3 Drink specials & $6 Jager shots
Ask your favorite bartender for more info!

VIP bottle specials
$150 Skyy | 2 for 1 pricing on premium bottles
For more info & reservation: Orean @ 619.933.5081

Oct. 17th Saturday: Awards Gala $175 a person but it’s been free to come and look at the silent auction items during the reception so if you go dress up and drop some money on the many deals you can find at the silent auction tables! Almost all of the winners are usually in attendance which makes it the most expensive yet most star studded event.

Oct. 22nd Thursday: SDAFF+ Kollaboration Present: (FB invite) Live Comedy Night (Official Ticket Page)

Starring:

PK

Randall Park (Star of IKEA Heights!)

Monrok

Walter Hong

7:00pm-9:00pm in the theater.

Oct. 23rd Friday: JSix in Down Town I think this is in conjunction with The People I’ve Slept With

Oct. 24th Saturday: Blowfish @ Cannes with Lyrics Born, Zen, Dannu and KeyKool of the Visionaries, KeroOne, and Vox Merger.

Oct. 29th Closing Night: All American Grill 8:45pm-11PM

After The Festival:

There’s extensive media coverage during SDAFF.  To see if you made any of the photos or videos check the buzz room. Also try SpotLight Graphic Design and Photography and of course my own event coverage.

Note: I’ll be updating this guide as I hear of more info.  Send in your own tips via my contact page. See navigation bar above or leave a comment below.

Appendix:

Presenting Organizations:

211 San Diego

AnakBayan San Diego

Asian American Journalists Association

Asian American Repertory Theatre

Anti-Defamation League

Alliance Francaise de San Diego

American Cancer Society

ArtPower! Film at UC San Diego

Association of Korean Adoptees, Southern California (AKA-SoCal)

Barnard Elementary School – Chinese Magnet School

Bayside Community Center

Border Angels

Brotherhood Academics Prosperity Strength (BAPS) at CSU San Marcos

Buddhist Temple of San Diego

Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA)

Chinese School of San Diego

Chong Lee

Chronos Theatre Group, Inc.

CSUSM Asian Pacific Islander Faculty Staff Association

Debbi Spungen

Epsilon Systems Solutions

Eveoke

Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) San Diego

Film School Confidential

Francine Busby Campaign for Congress 2010

Future Rockstars of America

Government Information Office – Taiwan

Hmong Student Association of San Diego

House of China

Immortal Fitness Martial Arts

Intuit APIN

Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego

Japan Film Society

Japan Society of San Diego and Tijuana

Kamalayan Alliance – CSU San Marcos

Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network (KAAN)

Korean American Bar Association of San Diego (KABA SD)

Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles

Lao Hmong Family Association of San Diego

League of Women Voters San Diego

LiNK (Liberty in North Korea)

National Association of Asian American Professionals – San Diego

MAAC Project

Magec

Mingei International Museum

PAWS

Pride Action Commitee (PAC) at SDSU

Persian Cultural Center

Platt College

San Diego Arthouse Meetup Group

San Diego Chinese Historical Museum

San Diego Chinese Women’s Association

San Diego City College – World Cultures Program

SDSU Confucius Institute

San Diego County Democratic Party

San Diego Film Critics Society

San Diego Japanese American Citizens League

Sharp Health Plan

Southwest Airlines

Thomas Jefferson School of Law – Asian Pacific American Law Student Association

UCSD Cross Cultural Center

UCSD Chinese Students and Scholars Association

UCSD Math Club

UCSD Multi-Asian Student Association

UCSD Psi Chi Omega

UCSD South Asian American Awareness Week

USD Trans-Border Institute

U.S. Karate Academy

Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF)

Wee Companions

1 Guests and Their Immediate Company

The greatest factor and yet you only have indirect control over using the other 4 factors.  Most of the time it is safe to assume a guest is motivated to be at your event because they were attracted by what you have to offer.  Sometimes because of trouble at home or because the guest felt dragged out to your event nothing you can do will make them happy. Other times your guest is with a special group of friends that can never have a bad time together.

2 Marketing and Promotions of an Event

This is the factor that gets people in the door and into your event.  This includes any communication with potential guests in any media.  Your target market for an event might be as small as a few family and friends for an intimate wedding to everyone in a regional area for a national touring act, and you must be able to cater your marketing and promotions plans accordingly.  Also, in either case the marketing and promotions of an event can help set the mindset of your guests to expect what you’re offering at an event.

3 Venue and Environment

The venue is where you’re inviting your guests and the enviroment is everything a guest will be interacting with. While both terms are almost enterchangeable, I use both to help plan an event.  Choosing a venue involves questions like, what is their capacity?, status with guests? and how much parking is availble? Manipulating the enviroment is for getting people to act in a certain way. Do you want people to stay hovering around a silent auction table? To stay in a certain area for a certain time, to mingle, or to sit down and listen to a speaker? This can all be accomplished, no matter to the venue,  with strageic placing of chairs, dividers, decorations, and other environmental modifications.

4 Staff and Entertainment

It’s easy to think that events are outside the customer service industry because event planners think on the macro level till the day of the event.  I have seen many people give off the attitude unintentionally that attendees should “bask in the glory of my production values.”  Even if a guest is in their favorite venue seeing their favorite artist, a bad experience with staff or an unprofessional performance from the night’s entertainment will often result in bad PR.  I often recommend doing a site check like a secret shopper when choosing a venue.  You may discover that you would want more of your own staff handling the guests or that you can pull resources elsewhere without worry.

5 Security

Security is a precarious balancing act between  guests feeling safe to feeling uneasy about security, to actually safety of guests, and keeping people out of your event that are uninvited.  For example, some people may seek out seedy looking bars in search of adding a little edginess to their night but in reality are actually still in a very safe neighborhood.  One time while doing sound for a formal charity event we were attacked by event crashers.  Sometimes, a venue may have their own security concerns that you have to adress for them as it is not taken care of in house.  If not well thought out in advance security issues can quickly eat your event budget or bring it to a screeching halt.

Over the life of this blog I’ll be covering these 5 event factors extensively.  If you have any questions about any of them please leave a comment below!