Hooray for a Big Turnout!

I am so excited right now! Last night was the first Student Film Production Club (SFPC) meeting of the year, and we had a GREAT turnout (despite the torrential downpour and ominous yellow-tinted sky). I'd say there were about thirty or forty people who showed up, and every person I talked to was excited about the club this year and equally serious about participating and making films.

When we first started out the meeting, I was definitely a bit nervous. I mean, being President means I am in charge of running the entire meeting. And while talking in front of people is usually something I really enjoy, it's not as easy to do when you have to simultaneously hope people like you while working really hard to invest them in something that you are crazy obsessed about. I felt like there was so much pressure to make SFPC sound super-duper amazing so that everyone would want to come back again.

But thankfully once the meeting started rolling, it got progressively easier to speak in front of the club. Hopefully I wont even notice the jitters by the end of the semester.

Anyway, the official meeting lasted only about thirty minutes. It was just a basic "Why SFPC Rocks" meeting, so we gave a quick run-through of all the things that make us awesome, including (but not limited to):

>>> $15,000 worth of (good) equipment -- including a camera and 16 ft of track

>>> fun events like the 24-Hour Film Blitz -- a no-pressure movie-making event perfect for beginners

>>> plans for a SFPC-organized road trip down to the Austin Film Festival

>>> serious projects (like SFPC-sponsored short films -- with money attached)

>>> a mentoring program with the local high schools

>>> RedBud Film Festival -- our end-of-the-year film fest with awesome prizes

>>> AND MUCH MUCH MORE!!!

Haha! Are you convinced yet?! =)

Overall, it was an awesome meeting. And after we finished with the meeting's official business, we broke up and I encouraged people not to leave right away. Instead I challenged them to try to meet at least five new people before they left. And I think it worked, because everyone stuck around to chat, and people didn't start leaving for another half-an-hour after the meeting was officially over.

On top of a successful turn-out and (what seems like) a lot of enthusiasm from everyone, a little personal victory was that I was able to shake hands with every single person who came to the meeting. And by the end of the evening, I had almost everyone's names down too. I've forgotten a few since then, but coming from someone who normally forgets everyone's name less than thirty seconds after they've introduced themselves, that's a big accomplishment. Let's hope that one lasts.