Random Notes from February 19, 2018 ASIFA Central Phone Meeting

ASIFA Board Agenda February 2018

Welcome - theme for the program - committee creation and use in “moving forward” - let’s call them “parties” as in “party of the first part” - mainly for support, based on needs for the group - “a support group”

1. Minutes - see January Board Agenda - Jim is putting his notes on his blog, just so it’s kept safe from anyone other than Russian prying eyes...
2. Updates - Deanna is HERE!  Yay!
3. Next Meeting

2. Updates

1. Members Survey Conversation
1. What does our membership and friends want from ASIFA Central? How do we support local ‘pods’  (ie, small groupings of animators) How do we build community? What opportunities can we provide?  -- if done on FB, we can reach those with the online connection - should place a couple in the development to work with each other - table until we determine items for discussion
2. Who leads Development? Chris, Jim
2. Julie: Website development - wordpress technical challenges “screenshot fatal error” - Deanna will check on the site’s expense and what it provides - is there any advantage to starting from scratch?  The biggest challenge is getting the ASIFA.org domain to link to the site, via network solutions or the new wordpress processes.  Are there less “buggy” solutions?  May 2018 is the expiration date with the current agreement.  Regardless of the decision, we need to update the web domain.  ASIFA@asifa.org is forwarded to
   Chuck.  A committee about website content would be GREAT.  (technical discussions ensued) The consensus is that we should scrap and start anew.
1. Support Committee? Deanna, Bob, Chuck is assisting with this - puzzling out the Domain Name and site hosting. Looking into Dropping Network Soln. and just forwarding the domain name and asifa@asifa.org address.
2. Requirements for photo, video link, Bio length?
3. Content areas to consider?
4. Event Calendar?
5. Authors of content areas and deadline to get info website?
6. What does Julie need?
7. Deanna writes: Finally, the international asifa.net is up, and coordinator Corrie Francis Parks is working to include individual member pages on that site. We sent her the member list, and each member will get an email on how to log in and how to create their member page. Also, although currently, the magazine is only offered to members through their log in, but the board just voted now on changing that, and having the magazine be open to the public.
8. Be sure to check out Julie’s email with the prototype link
3. Chuck: Membership numbers - 36 total members, 3 students, 1 comp, 2 honorary, and the rest are paid international!  
1. Quick update on how many members we have (Intl., Student, Comp/Honorary).
2. What should we do with Jennifer and Gordon Peterson? Should we ask them to pay for their membership now that they’re not on the board or should we gift them with a Comp’d membership for a year or two given the work they put in during the past? Full disclosure: ttbomk, they took the Comp’d membership option for their dues while they were boardmembers. (Chuck) - the consensus is to continue to comp their membership for 2-3 years in appreciation for their hard work
3. In the dropbox (Chuck will resend the link to the dropbox), I’ve placed a PDF advertisement that can be printed double-sided and trimmed down to postcard size. Is there any way to get the ASIFA IAD posters without any IAD event text written over the image so we could potentially use the pictures in our advertisement material to be handed out at events?  Deanna: this may be problematic - possibly “dedicated” graphics to the event - perhaps if they indicate IAD?  Alternate: a competition among students or members that we can then use for advertisements… Gretchen: still frames from the bumper films made in 2017?  Brad: resolution may be low, but Mack or Nicki may have higher rez material (300dpi is ideal) - (technological discussion at this point about proper resolution for postcard-sized promotion) - we can add this as part of our “ask up front” in working with ASIFA contributions…
4. Bi-monthly Animators Open Mike - good turnout in January’s gathering;  25-30 in attendance
1. Organizational Committee: Brad, Steve, Gretchen (consider - what is the goal of an open mike event?) - building community, mutual support of animators, networking opportunity?  Ask the audience what it wants to support and foster their love of animation (Brad)
2. What it is:
1. Inspirational showing
2. Theater open mike
3. Collaborative projects
4. Workshops
5. Animation Garden - I was hoping you’d ask! (Brad)  A place where you come together and pitch ideas!  A space where you can pitch to a group! Deanna: as in a “makers’ studio” (a place where there are facilities to use, and you can work with an artist or independently - 3D printers, laser cutters… GR Media center is an example, but times should represent available staffing if one were to consider GRMC) … (Brad) to differentiate from a “workshop” - more of a collaboration space where we have the opportunity to foster small group interactions, but it’s really a trip from the grocery store idea (where they have cookies….cookies...cooookies… Jim is hypoglycemic)
3. Detroit location? Contact Stanchfield? Deanna writes: Or, how about former member Mike Allore who teaches at a high school there and came to several retreats? Alternatively, what resources/ideas does Gary have?
4. Chicago get together date?
5. Material to show? These folks can show us stuff and things!
1. ASIFA East Animated Film Festival
2. ASIFA South Festival
3. Asifa Croatian Films
6. What date is the Open Mike scheduled for March?  

7. March IWD Event and Workshop - Chuck is conducting interviews
8. Organizational Committee: Gretchen, Chuck, Julie
9. Date: Saturday, March 31st, 2018
10. Chuck’s Gameshow - morning
11. Chuck’s 15 min presentation on Lotte Reiniger + Lotte Reiniger Short Film (Chuck)
12. Chuck’s Hands-on silhouette animation workshop at the CMC
13. Other activities?
14. Other guests?
7. Summer Retreat
1. Organizational Committee: Gretchen, Bob, Steve, Jim
2. Date: July?  POLL HERE
3. Location
4. Showing: do we want to show Vladimir Leschiov work?
5. Can Nina Paley be a guest for the Retreat?
1. A: potentially yes, however we need to get her here as she does not have a car.
2. Since Nina is in Chicago i’m guessing we could get some of the Chicago animators to arrange a car pool.  Is it our goal to invite them to the retreat as well?-Steve
8. Dlectricity - defer discussion for later
1. September
2. Ideas on engaging Detroit animators
3. Opportunities for ASIFA regional animators to help too?
4. Meet and Greet?

7. FYI, International update from Deanna -

1. Elections - Late in 2018 there will be a General Assembly somewhere, followed by elections for the next three year terms. Consider whether you might want to take a leadership position. I probably will try to remain active in some way - I find it interesting, and I think I am able to offer some useful perspective and energy to this organization.
2. Magazine - China has offered to donate costs to print one magazine a year. (The magazines will be mailed in bulk to chapters for distribution, one to each international paid member, plus about 5 for distribution to schools and libraries.) A magazine is in production, now.
3. Website asifa.net is finally redesigned and working, as mentioned above. The idea is that chapters would upload content, but how and where is not fully clear to me. ALso individual members have been invited to upload personal information, and link to pages. Corrie Francis Parks is the coordinator of this initiative.
4. We just got another budget proposal for 2018. It will be a balanced budget.
5. Our Brad Yarhouse volunteered to be interim IAD coordinator for the next 1 - 2 years. Thank you, Brad. The board welcomes his volunteer energy and efforts on behalf of what is referred to as one of our most successful programs. Hooray! The board accepted the offer of donated IAD posters from two chapters: Hellas (formerly called Greece) and Mexico. Also, soon, we just began nominations for the ASIFA Prize. You can see the list of past awardees on asifa.net. Thomas jumped the gun and nominated Georges Sweizgebel, who I would support - he’s an ASIFA member, and a great animator. But if anyone has someone you want to nominate, let me know. Otherwise, I will remain silent.
6. In terms of what I am doing, other than responding to discussions… I am working on trying to help keep IAD working. I am also trying to figure out how to fix some typos and rewrites in asifa.net. I am trying to figure out some initiatives for chapter to chapter communication. It would be great if the USA chapters, as a start, had more connections with each other. If you have ideas on how to do this, I am interested.
7. … And, I am trying to speak on behalf of individual member animators, those who are not in a chapter, to lower their dues to match what chapters pay.
8. I am also doing some work to try to get AWG (ASIFA Workshop Group represented on the asifa website. AWG would like someone to help update their site, but I don’t think I can take this on right now.  Here it is, though, if you are interested: http://www.asifa-awg.com/        ~ Deanna

3. Next Meeting  April full Board. -- March for committee meetings