Week Three: Flashmob Planning

  Sadly, I could not be in class this week due to a funeral back at home. I caught up with a classmate and learned what happened in class. We met back with our groups from last week and finalized our flash mob ideas to present to the class.  After each group made their pitch about their ideas to the class, we voted on a song and location.  As expected, this created some challenges. Obviously in a room full of TR majors, there are a lot of creative minds.  Ideas were tossed back and forth for awhile among the class.  I think that it was a good lesson on event planning because most of the time this is how it ends up when a group of people try to plan one big event.

   The class agreed on a song and location. One big step down. They then began practicing the dance since it is a pre-coreographed dance. I heard it was a lot of fun and worked out great so far.

  I did some research on successful event/flash mob planning.  Specifically for flashmobs, I found some basic tips/steps for organizing one.  Some of the mian points were:

- Timing is very important! Because people are entering at different times, it is important to organize this beforehand and practice with timing!
- Rehearse/explain in advance details of the performance
- Watch youtube videos of other flash mobs to see what works best/ does not work so well
- Organize, organize, organize!
- Provide clear instructions to the group
-Arrange costumes/props beforehand
-Know limitations of location (space, safety, rules etc.)
- Organize quality videography for the event :)
- Finish as if nothing happened, mingle back into the crowd after the flash mob performance

  I think that a few important things to remember when planning an event with a group are effective communication and team work.  Both of these seem elementary and basic; however, many times these little things are what matter most. I think the group already experienced a minor shuffle when it came to deciding on a song/location.  I think that this is normal, but knowing how to effectively resolve/ decide on a final idea is an important part of event planning with a group.

  Overall, I think that our flash mob sounds like it is coming together great. I watched the youtube video of the dance and think it is a good fit because it seems hard to mess up on the actual dance part. It is a very free flowing, innovative, and creative dance. I think it is fun because everyone can put their own twist to the dance and it is still a group dance.

  Emotionally, it was a very rough past week. I learned a lot about myself from the loss of my friend. He will continue to inspire me for the rest of my life. I thought about death and TR because I think it is important to be able to cope with death when working in a health related career.

  Once again, I want to finish with a quote. :)

"The surest way to happiness is to lose yourself in a cause greater than yourself."- Unknown