Blog List

This week I drove the seven hours from St. Louis to Chattanooga to start working on the 2010 Annual Conference with Tammy Seldon and our host Gordon Stalans at the Tennessee Aquarium. Like the 2009 conference in Indianapolis, everything is within walking distance—the hotel, theater, restaurants, and Aquarium are all within blocks of each other. We walked most of the time we were there, and when it rained (thank you, Hurricane Ida) we were able to take the city’s free electric shuttle from the theater to the door of the hotel.

Need more convincing to come to the international conference and trade show this year? How about 25 films in production? How about the ability to let those producers know what you think of those film clips? How often can you have that kind of impact? You can’t if you don’t attend the conference.

It’s the ultimate marketplace for all things giant screen and you know it. The challenge is getting your boss to recognize that and approve your request. Here’s how you can put together the business case for attending the show.

SEND: Why People E-mail so badly and How to Do It Better, by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe, can be read in an evening and make a long-term positive difference in the way you communicate by e-mail. This book is the best book on the subject I have ever read--it’s funny, realistic, and filled with real-world examples of how to do it right and how it can all go badly so fast.  Since the GSCA is run virtually, we rely on e-mail to communicate to our members and among ourselves. And as wonderful as running a virtual association can be, e-mail communication can be impersonal and overwhelming. It can also sound snarky, sappy, and land you in jail!

This past week, the GSCA brought 185 of its members together in Los Angeles, CA, for its annual Film Expo, which also includes important Board and Committee meetings. Meetings like this one are energizing and inspiring, especially in rough economic times like now. Not everyone who wanted to come could justify the expense, but for those who did attend the experience was good for the soul.
 

There are seven seats open on the GSCA Board of Directors this year and a great group of people have come forward seeking those seats. There are several directors running for re-election and big group of fresh faces looking to join the board. Your organization is allowed to cast one ballot—one membership, one vote.

This past week, Tammy Seldon and I met in Indianapolis, Indiana, to start working on the details for the 2009 International Conference and Trade Show that will be held September 21-23. Our visit started at White River State Park where the IMAX Theater is located, and Dave Brown, IMAX Theater Director, along with his team took us on a thorough tour of the theater, booth, offices and meeting spaces that we will be using September 21-23, 2009. It’s very impressive, and as delegates attending the conference next year you will find it terrifically affordable.

Out of the 500 people who attended the conference in September 139 filled out the survey we made available. That’s a pretty good return rate, by the way. We ask a lot of questions on this survey, so I thank you if you are one of the 139 who invested the time. The input we gather from the survey really helps us make good decisions for the upcoming events.

A group of eight GSCA colleagues and several of their companions recently traveled to China to learn more about the burgeoning theater and film industry and the emerging importance of science education.

The GSCA marketing committee wants to make marketing giant screen theaters and films a priority throughout the year, not just at the annual conference, and will be soliciting 10 marketing ideas from each theater. Here's the first list, contributed by Jim Patterson of the Krungsri IMAX Theatre in Thailand.