How to arrange your own screening of The Hollow Men
and raise funds at the same time
This page is a quick how-to guide for anyone wanting to host an independent screening of The Hollow Men.
Anyone can put on a special screening whether it is for a political party branch meeting , a faith group or a Grey Power chapter.
You will need
1. Date and Venue
The easiest place to hold a screening will obviously be somewhere that already has the equipment set up (e.g. a DVD, sound system and video projector or large screen TV): schools and colleges, University lecture theatres, cinema multiplexes, community centres and pubs are all likely candidates. If you can get hold of the equipment yourself then the world's your oyster - cafe's, churches, your front room, the possibilities are endless.
Once you've found a venue - book it.. Choose a date that doesn't conflict with large events like big sporting fixtures or exams if you're in school or uni! Make sure that you allow enough time (at least an hour!) for set-up and sound check. If you are putting the system together yourself, check it actually will work the day before. You don’t want to be standing at the door telling people it’s off because the sound lead didn’t fit! Think about whether you will need microphones or any other additional equipment. You will probably need the venue for 3 or 4 hours if you are doing a screening and discussion afterwards.
Tip of the day: Bad quality sound will ruin the viewing experience very, very quickly!
2. The film
You will need a DVD of "The Hollow Men" and we recommend a second copy on hand. As we all know DVDs sometimes get "stuck" and the quickest way to fix the problem is to aplogise to the audience and change the disk, skipping forward to near the place where the first disk got stuck. If you don’t have a DVD already, email us and we will post you one for $30 incl gst. If you are charging an entrance fee, we would like $1 per person cut of your box office take. We trust you to do a head count and mail us a cheque! (or pay on-line).
If you have any questions we are here to help. Just email me at alisterbarry@paradise.net.nz
3. Speaker or Panellists?
To make your screening more of a special event, you may want to briefly introduce the film and welcome the audience. Ask them to switch off their cellphones. After the screening you might have a speaker who is able to lead some discussion with the audience about the issues raised in the film. A local politician perhaps or someone with an interest in electoral law issues, or the way the media works. We have found that this should be limited to twenty minutes or so because the audience has already spent over a hundred minutes watching the film.
4. Price
It's up to you whether your charge or not, and how much you ask for. If you do charge, don’t forget we would like $1 per entrant.
5. Advertise!
Advertising is all important. Some ideas: local listings papers (need a couple of weeks advance notice), school and college notice boards and newsletters, alternative magazines, newsletters, email lists, blogs, websites, Facebook it, Myspace it, Twitter it, ring up your student or local papers and radio stations - just make sure you get bums on seats by any means necessary.
6. Technical check
Let us repeat, it's very important to check out the equipment before the screening - whether it's your own or comes with the room. Is the disc OK? How's the colour/ balance/ contrast/ volume? Make sure the screen can be seen from all the chairs. Get a good sound level that everyone can hear. Are any mircophones working properly? Are there enough seats for any panellists? Start the film slightly later than advertised, so latecomers don't disturb the show. Oh yes, and turn the lights off to get the atmosphere going and discourage chatterers.
7. Congratulations!
Hopefully you will have just helped to inspire people to expect something more of our politicians and electoral system, and to contribute to the debate about the next round of electoral law reform.