Programming Head - Job Description

Overview

Starting this on April 6, 2015. The goal is to have a comprehensive description of what is involved in running the Programming Department for Minicon, a mid-size regional science fiction convention.

Programming Head is a big job, arguably the biggest of all the department heads besides the chair. Hospitality (bar/consuite) is huge at the con and in the month or so preceding, but not too much of a burden the rest of the year. But Programming keeps demanding time and energy all year long. The busiest time for Programming is the last 6 weeks before the con, where it can easily become a 40-hour work week. There are significant job responsibilities at the con itself, although the more thorough the preparation before hand the fewer the at-con emergencies will be.

See Also

• The seasons of programming - a suggested Programming Timeline

Pre Convention Responsibilities

• Assemble a Programming Committee
• Start a list of programming ideas (as soon as possible after the previous con)
• Add to idea list with formal and informal brainstorming sessions
• Research the Guests of Honor
• Publish an online list of programming ideas (often referred to as the "Programming Online Brainstorm")
• More to come...

At Con Responsibilities

• Test A/V setup for room(s) with A/V -- make sure projector is ready and working before any panel needing a projector
• Monitor panels and see how popular each programming item is
• Note which panels work well, which panelists work well, and which moderators work well
• Put out table tents (the folding cards that give panelists' names, giving audience members a visual reference to who is who)
• Generally monitor programming and see how things are going: are panels too loud? Any panels that panelists didn't show up for?