Fhni screening setup

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How to set up a Film Screening

How to set up a film screening Film Hub NI in partnership with Belfast City Council are running a one-day film festival which will take place in brilliant venues across the city and will feature some of Sir Kenneth’s best known work, along with a few surprises. We will support and help any organisation who wishes to set up a ‘fringe’ event by helping to market the event and providing advice.

If your organisation is interested in setting up a film screening to help Belfast City Council and Film Hub NI celebrate Sir Kenneth Branagh being award the honour of the Freedom of Belfast, then please read these few steps which will help you plan and manage your event.

1. Pick the film Picking the film is the easy bit (just check out http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000110/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 for inspiration).

Think about whether or not you can reach an audience with this film, and if it is the right title for your organisation. All of these events will be screening from DVD format – this is called a non-theatrical screening.

Once you have a title picked out, you need to book a license to show the film through the rights-holder which is usually a distributor. There are a few places to try to get rights including: http://www.bfi.org.uk/distribution/film_format/dvd http://www.parkcircus.com/ films?keywords=kenneth+branagh&genre=&decade=&region=&version= https://www.filmbankmedia.com/search?q=kenneth+branagh You will then need to buy the DVD yourself from a shop or online.

If you have any queries about licensing please contact Sara (s.gunn-smith@qub.ac.uk)

Photo: Fermanagh Film Club

2. Venue If you are using a cafĂŠ/bar/theatre space to host your event then please note whether it is fully accessible, if it will be selling food or drink on the night and make sure you are familiar with Health and Safety policies. Allow plenty of time to set your event up.

3. Equipment Perhaps you will be lucky enough to be using a venue which has a full set up for showing films but if not then the basic equipment you will need is a screen, projector, DVD player and PA system. It is very important to test these out well in advance of the screening.

If you need to hire in equipment you can try: http://www.thirdsource.co.uk/Conferences_events/Audio-Visual_Hire_ Northern_Ireland.html http://www.focusav.co.uk/contact.htm 4. Marketing Marketing tactics are the methods you will use to let people know about your event and how to persuade them to come along. There are many platforms and tools to use so it is worth checking out other Film Hub NI toolkits to find out which is the best for you, how they work and how you can reach as many people as possible. The official hashtag of the day is #BranaghInBelfast.

If you use this then we will share out your information on our platforms.

5. Selling tickets In order for you to get an indication of how many people may show up it is useful to have a ticketing system in place. If you are not charging for your events these systems are free to use. If you are charging, they will take a small percentage of the booking price to cover costs.

These sites are very easy to use and cover you with data protection laws for gathering data. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/ 6. On the night

Make sure you have: Volunteers to help out with taking tickets Comfy seats Checked the equipment Put the heating on Someone Tweeting or uploading photos on Facebook Make sure to welcome your audience at the door and if possible introduce the film before it begins and let everyone know it is part of the Freedom of Belfast celebrations.

If you have any questions about any of these steps or simply want to let us know about your event then please email Sara (S.gunn-smith@qub.ac.uk)

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