Exec Meeting @ 2012-01-19 18:00:00
Exec Meeting - 19/01/2012 - L4 - 18:00
Welcome and Apologies for Absence:
The meeting commenced at 18:25.
Present: Edward McCutcheon, Fergus Cooper, Mike Lee, Oliver Bell, Timothy Green, Harry Austin, Louise Formby, Robert Maas, Matthew Wilkinson, Scott Griffiths
Ed welcomed Mike to his first Exec meeting since being elected Treasurer.
Financial Update:
Mike informed Exec that our bank balance is now back into five figures, however there are still some outstanding payments to be made. It was stressed that we are not currently in a dangerous financial situation.
Further information will be made available shortly in the form of a financial update to Exec, and the annual financial report presented at the AGM.
Qualification Ratifications:
Tim informed Exec that two projectionist qualifications required ratification:
* Max Hunt had a qualification show on ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’ (13/11/2011)
* Mike Lee had a qualification show on ‘In a better world’ (17/11/2011)
In both cases, the projection committee voted in favour of qualification. Mike left the room while a vote was taken - Exec voted in favour of ratifying both qualifications; 9 for, 0 against and 0 abstentions.
Sponsored Event:
Ed informed Exec that all KPMG related aspects were sorted, and that our KPMG sponsorship rep would be in attendance.
Additionally, Louise is to sort publicity in the form of posters for the event, and Scott is to make necessary arrangements for electronic advertising.
After much conversation, it was decided that serving Chinese food (to fit the theme of the film - ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’) would not be possible due to cost and food hygiene implications. We will, therefore, proceed as usual with Domino’s Pizza, but will additionally procure fortune cookies for each audience member.
It was agreed to decide on the details of alcohol later, on the Exec email threads.
It was agreed that there would be a quiz, as normal, with prizes including five DVD box sets as well as two WSC five film passes. The choice of DVDs is to be discussed on the Exec email threads in due course.
AGM:
The AGM is to take place on Wednesday week 5 of this term (08/02/2012). It was agreed to approach Robert Gardner to be the returning officer, as all current members of Exec are eligible to stand for election, and Rob had recently indicated that he would be happy to fulfil the role.
A discussion took place on whether to remove the need to have a nominator for elections. Currently a candidate requires another member to nominate them, however it was argued by some that this was unnecessary and ineffective at acting as a barrier stopping non-committed members from standing. A vote was held to remove the need for a nominator; 5 for, 4 against and 1 abstention, so members will be free to nominate themselves for election.
Nominations are to close on Friday week 4 of this term (03/02/2012) at 6:00pm.
Tim proposed that we change our procedure regarding uncontested elections. It was proposed that in the event of a candidate being uncontested in a WSC election, we need not hold the election and they may simply assume the role. A vote was held; 2 for, 8 against and 0 abstentions.
Outdoor Screening:
It was agreed that most decisions relating to the Outdoor Screening should be left to the next Exec, however there was an imminent issue regarding Warwick Student Arts Festival. They intend to have a marquee on Tocil Field the days preceding our booked day (Wednesday 27th June). It was agreed for the technical team to contact WSAF to find out details on the proposed size and location of the marquee and to ascertain, therefore, whether we could work around it.
BFFS Membership:
Our annual BFFS membership is up for renewal.
Tim made the case that our aims and objectives are too far from those of the BFFS to warrant us joining their organisation, and that instead we should look to join an federation of independent cinemas.
Others disagreed, however, and points were raised in favour. These included the promotion related to our continued success at the Film Society of the Year Awards as well as their help with our Digital Cinema installation and the ability to add their logo to our printed publicity.
It was voted that we rejoin BFFS as full members; 7 for, 2 against and 1 abstention.
Constitution:
After a recent meeting with Chris Luck (SU Democracy Sabb) and Ed, Fergus Scott & Matt, the following recommendations were brought to Exec and voted upon:
Break up the current constitution appendices into separate documents, which the Exec would then be allowed to edit without the full procedure required by the SU on amending constitutions; 10 for, 0 against and 0 abstentions.
Remove the two year cap on the number of times a member may hold the same exec position; 6 for, 3 against and 1 abstention.
Remove some* named exec positions from the main body of the constitution to one of the appendix documents, so as to be able to amend executive positions without having to amend the constitution; 8 for, 2 against and 0 abstentions.
Relating to * above - keep only President and Treasurer (as required by the SU) as named roles in the main constitution; 6 for, 1 against and 3 abstentions.
Place no restriction on the number of exec positions that can be extant within WSC; 10 for, 0 against and 0 abstentions.
Remove any restrictions in the main constitution body on the number of members, specific positions or responsibilities of the Executive committee; 6 for, 4 against and 0 abstentions.
Change the quorum for a general meeting of the society to the maximum of 20 members or 1% of the membership; 10 for, 0 against and 0 abstentions.
In addition, Exec were informed that we must remove the current limit of three Exec terms for any member of the society, and that we may not add any procedure for a vote of no confidence in an Exec member, to move in line with SU policy.
Digital Cinema Maintenance:
Exec were informed that, subject to details from the technical committee, we would need to purchase a maintenance contract for our digital cinema system. The cost of such a system would be in the order of £625 + VAT per year, which would include one annual visit and out of hours telephone support.
It was proposed that the technical committee go ahead and purchase the most suitable contract up to a limit of approximately £1,000 per year; 10 for, 0 against and 0 abstentions.
Summer schedule:
The programming meeting will take place on Wednesay week 4 of this term (01/02/2012) at 5:00pm in L3. The film suggestions page on the website would be opening shortly.
Details of the number of films to be shown are to be deferred to the programming meeting, but it is likely that Sunday doubles be split across Sunday and Monday as has happened in previous years.
Film suggestion page:
Tim proposed we get rid of the film suggestion page because, in his opinion, it is not used enough in programming decisions.
A vote was held; 1 for, 9 against and 0 abstentions.
Digital Trailers:
Fergus proposed that a new exec position be created which would be in charge of digital cinema content, including being responsible for the procurement or creation of suitable digital trailers. In the discussion, points included that the quantity of work required in a role is not, in itself, a reason to make it an Exec position, and that such a role would not require communication with other Exec members.
After some discussion, a vote was held whether to make a new exec position; 2 for, 8 against and 0 abstentions.
Fergus left, and Louise took over minuting
Arguments continued over where responsibility should lie in creating digital trailers, and how easy it is to obtain them. The possibility of creating a marketing committee working under the Marketing Officer was discussed, which would have the responsibility of creating digital trailers. An inconclusive discussion followed as to whether the projection or marketing committees would decider which trailers to show.
A vote was held as to whether we should create a Marketing Committee and appoint a Digital Trailer Coordinator; 8 for, 0 against and 0 abstentions (one vote not recorded).
LCD Screen Issue
One LCD screen is currently out of commission for an unknown reason. This is to be investigated, and further discussion on the issue would take place elsewhere.
World Record Attempt
An application has been submitted to attempt a world record attempt for the number of projectionists involved in a single film screening. Two witnesses would be required, who would be external to WSC, Warwick SU and the University of Warwick.
It was proposed that this attempt could be somehow linked to ‘35 years of 35mm’.
Crew Status
It was discussed that there are members of crew currently not earning their crew status. It was emphasised to committee heads that those in their committees should be doing an appropriate amount of work to earn their free films!
Time and Date of Next Meeting
All AllNighter decisions are to be postponed to the joint exec meeting, to take place shortly after the AGM.
AOB
* It was raised that there might be too many digital logos being played before digital screenings. Consensus was that two logos is OK, but three is too many.
* A potential time limit on Exec meetings was raised. This was refused.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:10pm.