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  • Volunteers

    Welcome! You are what makes BIFF possible.

    BIFF Volunteer Signup

Jim & Nancy Heidt | Volunteer CoordinatorsOne of the things that visiting filmmakers talk about more than anything else is the great reception they receive when they get to Beloit and how the community turns out to support the Festival and the filmmakers. This is all due to the 300-400 volunteers that make the community look great.

Nancy & Jim Heidt
BIFF Volunteer Coordinators

Volunteer Benefits

All Ambassadors receive free entrance to 4 films (non-transferable)  as our thank you for volunteering.

Smart Phone Requirement

At least one person per venue/shift team will need to have a smartphone or web enabled tablet for scanning in tickets. It is simple to scan. It does require downloading the app though. We’ll show you how to scan tickets at training.

What You Can Expect

Volunteer shifts are 2 – 3 hours depending upon duties.

People can sign up for one or for several slots. It is a great way to have fun, connect with people and help the community at the same time. Service clubs and organizations that would like to volunteer as a group are particularly appreciated.

Volunteer Badge Pick Up

Volunteer badges will be available for pick up at the box office starting with the first day of the festival, Friday Feb. 22nd. Box office opens at 11:30 am that day with first screening at 5:30 pm.

Volunteer Sign Up:

Sat. January 26, 2019 : 9:00 – Noon
Sat. February 2, 2019 : 9:00 – Noon
Sat. February 9, 2019:  9:00 – Noon


Bushel & Peck’s
328 State Street
Downtown Beloit

Volunteer Training:

Sat. February 9th, 1:00-2:00PM
Mon. February 11th, 5:30-6:30PM
Wed. February 13th, 5:30-6:30PM

Irontek
635 3rd Street
Downtown Beloit

Volunteer questions: 773-818-5010

Volunteer Calendar

The tables below indicate by the check mark what volunteer slots are taken, broken out by date, time & location.

Once a film screening has all the volunteer slots taken it is hidden.
(if you’re looking for something but not finding it)

Please review the available open slots and email or call your preference. We will try to accommodate on a first come first serve basis.

773-818-5010
ana@beloitfilmfest.org

Volunteer Positions

Reports to: Volunteer Coordinator
Location: Film Venues

JOB SUMMARY:

The Volunteer Ambassador is the ‘face’ of BIFF to film attendees. They greet film-goers, introduce films, support filmmaker participation, manage venue ticket sales/collection, reconcile cashbox and insure venue comfort.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Positively represent the Beloit International Film Festival.

Venue Services:

  • Arrive on time for venue shift
  • Greet film attendees to make them feel welcome and sincerely thank them for attending.
  • Insure quality of venue environment – clean, tidy, comfortable temperature
  • Transition necessary communication and all materials to next ambassador team or to Board Member at end of evening

Film/Filmmaker Support:

  • Greet filmmakers and manage expectations for audience interaction
  • Introduce filmmaker to audience in advance of film showing
  • Introduce or arrange for introduction of film to audience using template introduction format
  • Instruct volunteer film technician to start film

Cash Management:

  • Collect pre-sold tickets from or sell tickets to those in attendance.
  • Sell venue merchandise as appropriate
  • Balance and reconcile cash consistent with film showing transactions
  • Secure cash box and release only to authorized BIFF representatives as appropriate
  • Miscellaneous

Project a positive image of the Beloit International Film Festival
Be knowledgeable about the Festival schedule, box office location, award winning films, added shows, venue locations, local area dining and retail opportunities, trolley schedules, ATM locations
Attend ambassador training and other meetings as scheduled

Reports to: Technical Expert
Location: Film Venues

JOB SUMMARY:

The Film Technician Ambassador insures film projection and sound excellence for each film showing.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Positively represent the Beloit International Film Festival.

Venue Services:

  • Arrive on time for venue shift
  • Introduce self to Venue Captain and Venue Ambassador
  • Transition necessary communication and all materials to next film technician ambassador

Film Support:

  • Insure equipment set-up to best showcase film and allow for maximum viewing and listening pleasure
  • Trouble-shoot film quality concerns that may arise
  • Start film as directed by Venue Ambassador or Venue Captain
  • Miscellaneous

Project a positive image of the Beloit International Film Festival. Be knowledgeable about the Festival schedule, box office location, award winning films, added shows, venue locations, local area dining and retail opportunities, trolley schedules, ATM locations. Attend film technician training and other meetings as scheduled

VENUE CAPTAIN

Reports to: Volunteer Coordinator
Location: Film Venues

JOB SUMMARY:

NOTE: Venue Captain Commitments are for the ENTIRE DAY at a given Venue.
Venues:

  • Bushels & Peck’s (and) Bagels & More are paired together
  • Domenicos (and) Hendricks Center for the Arts are paired together
  • LaCasa Grande
  • Shubert’s Luxury 10 Theaters
  • Beloit Memorial High School Auditorium

====================================

The Venue Captain is the ‘go to’ person for all information pertaining to a particular venue and serves as a resource for the Volunteer Ambassadors assigned to that venue. They may be asked to greet film-goers, introduce films, support filmmaker participation, manage venue ticket sales/collection, reconcile cashbox and insure venue comfort.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Positively represent the Beloit International Film Festival, and support the Volunteer Ambassadors assigned to the specific venue.

Venue Services:

  • Arrive 30 minutes before the first show at the assigned venue
  • Greet /welcome the Volunteer Ambassador to the shift, and orient them to their space
  • Support Volunteer Ambassador by greeting film attendees to make them feel welcome and sincerely thanking them for attending in the event a Volunteer Ambassador is not present.
  • Insure quality of venue environment – clean, tidy, comfortable temperature
  • Oversee and be ready to assist with transitioning necessary communication and all materials to next ambassador team or to Board Member at end of evening
  • Have a working cell phone should you need to call a Volunteer Coordinator with questions related to the event
  • Thank the owner or manager for use of the venue on behalf of BIFF at the close of the day
  • If necessary make sure the venue is secure with the assistance of the owner or the management

Film/Filmmaker Support:

  • In conjunction with the Volunteer Ambassador, greet filmmakers and manage expectations for audience interaction
  • Be prepared to Introduce filmmaker to audience in advance of film showing if necessary
  • Be prepared to introduce or arrange for introduction of film to audience using template introduction format if necessary
  • Be prepared to instruct volunteer film technician to start film if necessary

Cash Management:

  • If necessary, assist with collecting pre-sold tickets from or sell tickets to those in attendance.
  • Sell venue merchandise as appropriate
  • Be prepared to assist with balancing and reconciling cash consistent with film showing transactions
  • If necessary, assist with securing cash box releasing it only to authorized BIFF representatives as appropriate
  • Miscellaneous

Project a positive image of the Beloit International Film Festival
Be knowledgeable about the Festival schedule, box office location, award winning films, added shows, venue locations, local area dining and retail opportunities, ATM locations
Attend Venue Captain training and other meetings as scheduled

1. Introduce yourself to your fellow ambassadors and film technician!

2. Become friends with your cash box and film tracking sheet!

  • Fill out your name and those of your fellow volunteers! (PRINT please)
  • Count the money in the cash box and record amount on tracking sheet. Compare the amount of cash you are starting with to the amount of cash the previous volunteer team ended with. If there’s a difference, count it again! If there is still a difference, make note of it and let your Venue Captain/Board member know.-
  • Check out the information in the upper left corner of your tracking sheet for information about ticket pre-sales. That way you know how many film guests you can accommodate for walk up sales.

NOTE:
Please do not over sell venue seats. Advance ticket holders and VIPs have preference. Paying customers have first choice of seating. Volunteers may select seats 5 minutes before the start of the film.

3. Collect or sell tickets to your new friends – our film guests!

  • Walk-Up Sales
    • Tickets come in pairs so give one half to your guest and place the other half in the envelope in your cash box.
    • $10 Adult – BLUE ticket (Note. Tickets are $9 online)
    • $5 Student – PINK ticket
  • Record attendance on the tracking sheet according to category
  • Distribute voting ballots to our film guests (if applicable) — Not all films are included in the voting process. If yours is, they will be in the movie envelope with your other materials. No marking tool is needed – just tear the ballot to indicate the film rating.

4. Set the stage for our film guests!

  • Ask guests to silence their cell phones and any other technology
  • Introduce the film using the script provided
  • Introduce attending film maker(s) and let our guests know the film maker will make comments and answer questions following the film.

5. Let our guests enjoy the show!

6. Finish your paperwork!

  • Once the movie has started and no more tickets are being sold, it’s time to do paperwork! (Please don’t wait until the end of the film to do the paperwork. Doing so adds to the confusion when you are transitioning to the next volunteer team and puts them behind in their work.)
  • Complete all areas of the tracking sheet, Don’t forget to subtract your checks from your total sales or your cash box won’t balance
  • Place the tracking sheet and ALL COLLECTED TICKETS in the correct movie envelope in your blue tote
  • Collect voting ballots as your guests are leaving and return the cast votes to the movie envelope.

7. Transition to next ambassador team or to a board member (if end of film day)!

8. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done and enjoy the rest of the festival!

BIFF - Beloit International Film Festival
BIFF | Beloit International Film Festival