Recession-proof budgeting?

Wednesday the 23rd of September was the day for an outing with the internship team, to the Square Meal events. After waking up really early I still found myself running on my two-inch heels to be on time. The free, pre-booked Addison Lee car was already awaiting outside the office. My last colleague arrived –also running. Maybe we should have made it a marathon to Old Billingsgate Walk. We were ready to go and chatted happily to one another. I decided to involve the driver a bit so he would not feel like the male outcast. After the second question we discovered he was grumpy and so an outcast then. Thankfully our journey ended five minutes later when we got to the venue. Thanks, Mr Grumpy!
Inside the building we received passes with our names and big, pink bags to collect folders and goodies in. As we walked around to figure our ways around we couldn’t help but to desperately look back at the cafeteria. Square Meal would provide all visitors with free breakfast and lunches. However, we had come to gather information and not fill our stomachs –although we came close with the cupcakes, Turkish delights, free lunch pack, juice, water, popcorn and chocolate. Okay, we stuffed our faces!
The first seminar was about new venues at 11 am. We were shown various hotels, The Cooking Academy, museums, Parklife (a large outdoor square), screening rooms, conference spaces and even a ‘boat venue’ called On The Water. How do all these humongous buildings fit into London, Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh?

Finally… Lunchtime! Our anticipations were high. When we got to the bar there were only overly, buttery almond croissant and chocolate muffins. Disappointed I returned with two croissants and a pure orange juice. Anticipations were risen again when announced that lunch would be served soon. There was a choice of chicken, vegetarian and lamb. I chose the latter which consisted of a few pieces of cold, shish lamb in between grass, a small pot of fruit salad, tiny bits of pita bread and more hummus than could actually fit on the pita bread. Not really what you call a proper meal. Ooh well, at least it was better than nothing..

The second seminar at 1pm proved more interesting and was called ‘Make Your Event Budgets Work Harder’. Some information is also online at www.squaremeal.co.uk/feature/reap-you-sow-14-good-reasons
The first tip was to stick to the budget and being aware that 20% of guests will generally not show up. One should also not be afraid to negotiate with suppliers or venues for discounts or extras. Moreover, be flexible on dates and don’t go for the traditional weekend or dinner hours. Combining your events and actually making it into a day out can really impress your guests and save you on costs. Or you can get together with another event and share the costs. Maintain what is really important when cutting corners. Remember that the first and last impressions are the ones that count to guests. When choosing a venue, pick the right one for your event and negotiate on deals with the venue owner or manager. Always taste and ask for samples when dealing with caterers and suppliers. Think local and be economical, but also ecological. On http://www.usedeventstuff.com/ you can even bid for items used during other events and shows for a lower price. When it comes to the food you can always fill your guests’ bellies, without emptying your own pockets too much. Be ingenious and create your own punch or cocktails instead of spending money on dear champagne. Load bowls of food with carbs such as pasta and potatoes or create a buffet to avoid waste.
For entertainment always spend wisely. Check what is at the venue already and what you can create around it to draw attention. Depending on what you want your guests to do at the event, be aware that bands, DJs and iPods each get different responses. A good band can make a party, whilst a DJ can get people to dance.
The most important piece of advice in my opinion, was the last one: Make sure the people are enjoying themselves!

The third seminar at 2 pm was also informative, but a bit boring. That probably had more to do with the fact that I was getting extremely sleepy. And the presenters voice sure could have taken me to lala land. I managed to stay focused though and gathered his advice on Christmas parties. Christmas parties at the office are essential for team building, staff retention and a good morale. Therefore the boss should not skimp. There is not much reason to as a company receives £150 for each employee to spend on their Christmas party. So if you ever wondered how your greedy boss can always afford an expensive box of chocolate from Tesco. Come to think of it, where does the rest of the £140 go?
As in the second seminar it was mentioned again to think about the timing of the event. Does it really have to be in the evening, or can in also be during lunchtime? Can spouses come too (if not, then I would suspect something fishy was going on at the Christmas party). Don’t take risks, but do shop late to get bargains. On the other hand, get out early to find the best dates before someone else books it.

Make your invitations very attractive and give plenty of notice. Even after all this ‘advertising’ do not expect attendance to equal invites. Still, get feedback after the party and improve next year.
Always expect there to be pitfalls and try to avoid them. Confirm costs and times beforehand. Even better: get them in writing. Insist on a tasting. If the caterer or supplier refuses, you should consider if it’s a wise idea working together with them. Don’t run out of liquor, but also make sure your staff gets home safe and sound at the end of the event (whether that is day or night). And also very important: don’t do it for the directors. Go with what the employees are into, because the party is for them and about them.

The fourth seminar at 3 pm did not grab our attention for long as we implemented the exit-plan after a few minutes. I don’t know what this seminar had to do with budgeting. It was called ‘Hospitality for Every Budget’, but I don’t think the ridiculously high prices were of use for anyone in the room. The presenter even had the cheek to call a hotel bedroom at £95 a night inexpensive.

All in all it was a good fun day where we gathered loads of business contacts for our internship events and leaflets. We played a little game of bowling and entered a competition to win a black shiny bag worth £650. The bag also comes with a death threat from one of my fellow interns if one of us wins it. So if you are missing me for too long, you know that I won. Watch this space!

By Aichel

Adinkra Films

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Why Will Smith is my FCF (Favourite Celebrity Forever)

By Aichel Moreno Bautista







Yes, he is mighty good-looking. And yes he is very rich. So are many other black, male actors, singers and rappers. Still, not many of them have been able to inspire me in the way Mr Smith has. Although his good looks are down to DNA, he has earned his wealth fair and square virtually on his own. I say virtually, because behind every great man stands a great woman –and some other good people.

In Will’s case that great woman was his late grandmother. Upon reading one of his first rap lyrics that was rather vulgar, she tactfully reminded him to clean up his act. That is the reason we know Will Smith as one of the ‘nicest’ rappers in the game. We also know Will as a true gentleman and that, he learnt from his late mother and grandmother too. Furthermore, both his parents saw it relevant for their children to get good education. Therefore, Smith might pretend to goof around sometimes, but he is surely no dummy. He spoke to his father about patterns of life and how these could be utilised in achieving great things. Basically, in most people’s life things that go wrong always build up in practically the same way. To break that vicious cycle, one must change the pattern.

This might involve taking calculated risks and it definitely involves being clever.
Willard Smith was given a gap year by his father to pursue his rap-career after he finished school. If he didn’t succeed it meant back to his studies. Fortunately everything worked out and things got better and better for him. He also went on to acting in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Quincy Jones) and other films featuring big stars like Whoopi Goldberg. Making it big also meant moving on and a split from his music partner DJ Jazzy Jeff. The two have both done well ever since, although Jazzy Jeff’s career has not been in the limelight as much.

How come Will is in so many blockbuster movies? Well, he discovered that sci-fi action films with a love-story were very popular with the public. Aren’t Men in Black, Independence Day and even Wild Wild West all of that –although Sci-Fi a few centuries ago meant pushing his luck. Thankfully, he showed his major acting talent in other movies. He inspired me in Ali with the way he managed to build his body to Muhammed Ali’s equivalent. I almost shed tears when watching I Am Legend when he was forced to kill his zombie-transformed dog. Again in The Pursuit of Happyness when he had to spend the night in a metro station toilet with his son (the story of Chris Gardiner). Not to mention the many times he made me laugh in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.



The father, husband, son, rapper, actor and damn good man that he already is, he has not forgotten his roots with all these responsibilities. He owns one of the few Black film production and development companies in the United States. It’s called OverBrook Entertainment and the firm is responsible for the making of The Secret Life of Bees, Hancock, Showtime and the Oscar-winning play Jitney. OverBrook Entertainment are also working together on a show with Alfonso Ribeiro (yes, the one-and-only, Tom-Jones-loving, finger-snap-dancing Carlton Banks!). Furthermore, there are plans on making a movie about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on the New Orleans population.

So how many other Black celebrities are as hard-working, respectful, caring, inspirational, clever and forward-thinking as Will Smith? I must say that this man can put a smile on people’s faces just by mentioning his name, because he is so happy, funny and friendly. He has always been my favourite celebrity and if I ever got to meet him I would probably start behaving very groupy-ish –something I don’t see myself doing with any other celebrity. However, I think he deserves the admiration I have for him.

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Presenting the Presentation

by Aichel Moreno Bautista

Many people moan and sigh at the hearing of the word ‘presentation’. Standing in front of an audience will mean people staring at your figure or listening to your stuttering voice. It may mean staring back at a hundred odd people with serious and unfriendly faces. You might suddenly hear someone giggling with their friends in the background and you are sure it’s due to your braces. Others were born for the stage and look forward to wowing their public with their findings. With a smile and some confidence they sail through their subject and often manage to provide a bit of entertainment. To be frank, the chances of embarrassment and clumsiness only increase at the same rate of your pessimism. And if you’re really scared of hecklers, rehearse some responses in advance. With this in mind, I stepped to the front after my two fellow interns finished their presentations. Unlike university or school I did not have to prepare any reply-heckles. Our audience did not contain of bored or noxious students but entrepreneurial adults with a sense of etiquette.

My subject was about the importance of the three-day box office grossand what the best release times for movies are. Researching the second part proved quite tricky as I did not find the information immediately. Google did not seem to understand English all of a sudden. I was also desperate for some sleep. After a while I did succeed in cracking the ‘code’ to the answers I needed. Besides the stares, giggles and heckles it is also disturbing not to have anything to say yourself! I commenced my speech with an introduction of what was to come. As the presentation was about cinemas, the background of my PowerPoint consisted of a big empty movie screen with some front row seats. For the presentation I added text on the ‘screen’. Hopefully this could give the audience the feel of actually being in the cinema. I spoke about the three-day being the opening weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) for a film. The revenue before tax gained in these three days measures how well a film is doing. If the film is not as successful as predicted it will receive less screenings in the following weeks or no more screenings at all –if the film is really THAT bad.

Furthermore, movie distributors often wish to receive as much money as possible for the screenings and want to open in as many cinemas as possible. This is where they clash with the competing exhibitors who want to be one of few –or the only one- releasing the movie to attract all public and thus all ticket sales. I continued with statistical tables depicting the best opening weekends in the UK and the USA for Black and general movies in 2009 and in history. As best release months I found that the wintery December, January and February and the warmer July did best. The reason being the school and work holidays in which friends and families can go out together in these months. The best day to release a film is Friday as this is a nice moment to unwind directly after a hectic week working or studying. Another table followed revealing the North-American and British films released in December 2008 and July 2009.

The next point was to identify the impact of social media on the box office gross’. Cinema chains are getting involved with sites such as Facebook and MySpace. The tweets on Twitter are often about upcoming releases, competitions or some pretentiously funny thought... By being involved cinema marketers can get customer reviews as well on what to improve. In my views people will still be attracted to visiting cinemas as this going-out feeling cannot be recreated online. Slumps in box office revenues are often due to factors like the economic recession. I finalised with a brief summary of all information. Moreover, I related the findings to the Adinkra Film Nights re-launch. Since this will happen in the last weekend of November I feel it is a good move for attracting an audience wishing to relax and socialize. November is also a good month statistically for visiting cinemas.



The Q&A time was even more un-student like. I received many questions from my boss’ business partners –and my fellow interns. One question was regarding the movie The Secret Life of Bees and why it did not have a big box office sell-out. In my own experience I have not seen many advertisements in the United Kingdom about The Secret Life of Bees and supposed that was the main reason.

Another query involved the success of Orange Wednesdays whereas most movies were released on Fridays. Not all releases happen on a Friday although it is the best timing possible. Moreover, one must not underestimate the power of advertising. However, Orange Wednesdays are not about movie premières. The campaign involves two tickets for the price of one to see any film in cinema.
I was asked who the most important factor was to a large gross at the box office: the distributor, the exhibitor or the audience? In my opinion that is the distributors. It is up to them to create the right marketing and promotional campaign for their films and choose the best cinemas, cities and dates to release their work. If all this is done in a clever manner the audience will follow.
I was also questioned about Men in Black and Independence Day being Black films. I did mention them alongside Dance Flick and Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail as best opening weekends for Black screenings. It is very true that those two movies starring Will Smith are not at all Black movies. Nevertheless, as it was very hard to find any data of successful one in the past fifty years I picked something that came close. I do know that Will Smith helped create both of those movies. A true Black movie in my opinion is one that speaks about issues in the race or whose cast is at least75% Black. Still, it is hard to define and many people may have different views of what a Black movie is.
Another question was what big distributors thought about independent cinemas. Whereas multiplex cinemas (with five or more screening rooms) are interested in blockbuster movies for young people, independent cinemas cater for the thirty-plusses who are more curious about serious, adult films. Distributors must not shun or derogate independent cinemas, because they provide an audience for movies that multiplexes may not wish to screen.
A question that involves one of the reasons Adinkra Films exists was why Black movies entering the United Kingdom often are not screened in cinemas and go straight to DVD or are bootlegged. The British film societies such as the BBFC disregard there is an audience for these films. The ones that make it to the cinema screens are often the ones that star big names like Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy and Beyoncé –regardless of the acting talents of the latter two. Or as a Twitterer tweeted @Adinkra_Films:

“why no UK release because it don't feature Smith, Washington or Berry; aint got a Rapper; don't have guns drugs”

What an interesting statement; as I only asked why Good hair did not have a UK Release date? So the feeling -it seems- is very much mutual across the world.
So I survived the presentation and the grilling afterwards. Apparently we will have another presentation later this year. I sighed and moaned. Not because I am scared of standing in front of an audience. No, it’s because I am predicting more sleepless nights and new altercations with Google...

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