Future of Star and Shadow - Aug 17th 2007

From The Star And Shadow Cinema Wiki

How to make the cinema run smooth-ish-ly:

A few weeks ago, a large group met to discuss roles and responsibilities in the cinema and came up with ideas for how to try to make things run smoothly. We divided up areas into more manageable sized tasks, which essentially broke down the things that need to get done to make the cinema run well (though we will most definitely have missed things out, and to keep this a bit shorter not gone into too much detail always). Most of these things currently get done, but in a not always clear and slightly haphazard fashion.

Hopefully, this is a good start in making the processes clearer, so that individuals can identify things you’d be happy to take on and we can between a larger group share the responsibilities. So individuals can concentrate on one thing, knowing other areas are being looked after.

The summary below is what Holly and Ilana drew up from the points and the suggestions that came out at the meeting. Usually the suggestions are a role for one or two people to lead on or a team/group. Some of the roles and teams already exist, so this just explains them, some are newly identified.

We’ve come up with a two part proposal for how to make this all work:

Part 1:

People take on roles that they are happy to and want to do, and that we have a meeting in 6 months time dedicated to discussion of how these things are going, change roles, make new ones, scrap pointless ones etc. We’ve put names of both people who already do certain roles, have said definitely that they are taking on a role and those that are more tentative. Anyone is welcome to get involved in whichever bits they’d like. Even if there are 2 names already, there can always be 3 or 4 people working on something. Please respond to this email or come to the next general meeting if you’d like to take something on.

The idea of a coordinator is someone who is aware of responsibilities in a certain area and can enlist other volunteers to help with those jobs. It breaks down the responsibility for the overall cinema. It doesn’t mean coordinators have to do everything on the lists.

Part 2:

Looking at the notes, it seems to make sense that the main areas could each have a slot in the fortnightly general meetings. That wouldn’t necessarily mean the people involved have to be at each meeting, but that there is time to think about each one if necessary (or skip if nothing to say that week) – so coordinators and others can share information and ideas, and also it’ll provide a structure for the meetings.

If it sounds a bit formal, its just for ease and clarity. Any time tasks get too onerous we’ll have to think about how to reinject the fun. The aim with this is that shared responsibility means less stress for everyone and more fun all round.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The areas we have identified are:

Health and Safety

Building Maintenance

Building Operations

Office

Finance

Fundraising

Budgeting

Publicity

Audience Development

Bar Team

Volunteering and process

Programming including Gigs and Private Hires

Technical

Health and Safety:

Roles:

• Team or designated person to take responsibility for H+S including regularly checks on fire alarms etc

• One or two people to act as Health and Safety coordinators, to inform other volunteers of these issues not to do them all themselves. (Keith?)

Responsibilities:

• Awareness of policies and procedures in place – license, fire, health and safety, security.

• Build this in to induction for new volunteers.

• Do Risk Assessments – for temporary events as well as general

• Coordinate training e.g. first aid, fire safety. Look into cunning ways to get cheap training – e.g. scout groups, volunteer centre.

• Collate list of people with CRBs – necessary for working with children/vulnerable adults. Train up more – again find cheap source of doing this

• Things that need to done and kept on top of e.g. glowy strips in cinema

• Cleanliness all round – particularly bar and toilets plus any trip/slip hazards in public areas.

Building Maintenance:

Roles:

• One/two Building Maintenance coordinators (Mat)

• Team of maintaining types to be called on as and when needed

Responsibilities:

• Organise schedule and people to do maintenance tasks – make a list of skilled /willing people

• Liaise with building control

• Maintain the building – check for problems arising

• Draw up manual/notices for how to maintain building – cleaning, notifying of broken things etc.

Building Operations

Roles:

• One/two coordinators (Bill)

Responsibilities:

• Functionality of building – what is in which room

• Improvements, cleaning, tidying.

• Security

• Bins, recycling, waste management

Office:

Roles:

• Initially: one/two coordinators to set up the office to be workable.

• One office coordinator for rotas and maintenance.

• Rota of office volunteers

Responsibilities:

• Daily duties include: Post, email, phone calls, answerphone messages, passers by, deliveries, update website.

• Someone in everyday is ideal. Make a rota for office cover. Fortnightly/weekly rota or as works.

• Offices processes and resources document – complete and make accessible (print+wiki)

• Keep equipment working

• Get office supplies

• Maintain and make filing systems, lists of couriers and specific info for any of these.

• Good systems for sharing info about office between volunteers – e.g. diary.

Administrative stuff (beyond daily office asks)

Roles:

• One or two coordinators to keep on top of things

• A few people to take on jobs as and when necessary (currently Christo, Ilana, Mat, Debbie)

Responsibilities:

These could all come under other areas in long run but currently are kept separate

• Licensing,

• Insurance,

• Responding/dealing with authorities

Finance:

Roles:

One area that has a system in place that is pretty much working is bookkeeping, cash handling and petty cash – Laura and Clara and Ilana cover this and work together.

• Bookkeeping – Laura and Clara.

• Banking and petty cash – Ilana

• Cheque signatories – currently same as in the Side old days – need to be updated.

Responsibilities:

• Making payments/signing cheques

• Good records help with programming/funding applications

• Update group regularly with financial info, balances, takings

• VAT report

• Need people to be able to understand and explain financial reports to plebs!

• Banking

• Dedicated responsible people

• Systems need to be clear and transparent – collective responsibility and no possibility for blame

• Support for money handling / cash responsibility on an evening. Ideally 2 people cash up together. Make cashing handling an item on volunteer induction/training sheet.

• Bookkeeping

• Liaise with accountant

Fundraising/Budgeting

Roles:

• Coordinator for Participatory budgeting – (Alan ?)

• Coordinator for funding – applications/reports – (Christo?)

• Regular forum meeting – quarterly? – dedicated to fundraising/budgeting leading to individual action tasks

Responsibilities:

• Applying for grants

• Developing other fundraising strategy – e.g. venue hires, membership structures, consultancy

• Develop and work with participatory budgeting system – see info from planning session

Publicity

Roles:

• Publicity has a team that meet regularly once a month. Currently tasks below and others shared by this team. The team needs more volunteers with experience and interest and time.

• Publicity tasks break down into smaller jobs and individuals take on one/two a few tasks.

Responsibilities:

• Design brochures/posters etc

• Collate brochure text (Becca currently)

• Update website

• Think about identity

• Press releases

• Listings – other publications to get in

• Weekly email

• Accessing/distributing professional posters

• Coordinate leaflet/poster distribution

Audience Development:

Roles:

• Audience development email group of interested, active individual. Simon volunteered to coordinate group. May turn into a group that meets.

Responsibilities:

• Exit questionnaires

• Diversity of programming – e.g. children/teens, local community, ideas like ‘buy friend film for their birthday’ to get broader ideas and people in

• Ask for suggestions from interest groups

• Broader north east than Newcastle – e.g. Durham, Sunderland

• Welcome sign in other languages.

• List all volunteers languages to aim for possible web/brochure translations. Investigate grants to do this too.

• Liaise with publicity re new ways of reaching audiences and maintain e.g. web forum stuff (myspace, Ouseburn wiki)

• Develop invite links with other orgs e.g. student film socs. BME orgs, older people e.g. equal arts

• Make people feel like lots of people diverse groups want to use it – so nice (not dull) aesthetic

Bar Team

Roles:

• Email group set up for anyone interested in being on bar team. Team to meet as and when necessary, with a starter team meeting in September.

• Bar coordinators for regular tasks. Two people would be ideal. Ilana currently does this (Phipps?)

Responsibilities:

• Bar team / coordination – separate from working on bar, this team is about stocking, managing bar issues.

• NB: Bar staffing comes under volunteering

• Bar team responsibilities: developing stock ranges / developing bar area – designing shelves, organising stuff behind the bar / getting stuff e.g. tills / develop systems as necessary e.g. stock taking/ licensing

• Coordinator responsibilities: Stock ordering, Keeping up stock levels. organising stock room/ cleaning systems for all volunteer bar staff to use.

Volunteering and process:

Roles:

• Team now meeting weekly to develop good understandable systems for all volunteer involvement, especially new ones and processes for cinema functioning.

• Holly and Laura coordinating procedures

• Craig point of contact for new volunteers

Responsibilities:

• Group setting up systems – volunteer information pack, rota for volunteer shifts, office rota, folder for volunteer details and training sheets, volunteers agreement, skills audit, volunteer opportunities and development, signing up system.

• Volunteer care, comments, grievances

Programming

Roles:

• This has a team that meets once a month already. Open group for any interested programmers to join

• Gig coordinator – Pauline.

• Art exhibitions / Atrium(big space) coordinator.

• Private hire coordinator

Responsibilities:

• Make sure programme is marketable (e.g. festivals, seasons, specials).

• Coordinate with other cinemas, be aware of other programming around not just cinema,

• Come up with good ideas (e.g. buster keaton season with music!).

• Scheduling when things are shown including other non film activities.

• Book films, liaise with distributors,

• Support broad range of programming people,

• Research films,

• Understanding about film rights,

• Liaise with office volunteers re film delivery/collection.

• Programmers take ownership over films/nights so they work to make them good nights. E.g. Cinema of the world has been a good example. Programme take on responsibility to make sure whole event works – ordering, receiving film, staffing, return of film, publicity, website so that things all run well.

• Gigs: now have a coordinator – Pauline point of contact for promoters clarifying responsibilities and agreement but also part of prog team. Developing S+S gigs as well as outside promoters. Monitoring balance of films/gigs so not swamped by music but have enough and a range of styles.

• Private hires and Atrium/big space need coordinators to work with the team to be point f contact and to make sure these are included in schedule for volunteers.

Technical:

Roles:

• One /two coordinators plus small team (Mat, Simon)

• Hire coordinator?

Responsibilities:

• Servicing maintaining equipment.

• Training in technical jobs for volunteers who want it.

• Equipment hire /use within the building

Star and Shadow future:

Responsibilities:

We need to start discussion about this – uncertainty of keeping the building. All need to keep this in mind.