12 Weeks of Summer - Information for Volunteers
Here's all the information you need to know about the Preston FM summer tour. If you have a question that we've not answered, then give us a call on 01772 880791 and we'll do our best to help.
The key things...
� The tour is a fabulous marketing opportunity for Preston FM - and we want visitors to the tour venues to see us in action. For that reason, we're asking everyone to do their shows live wherever possible during the tour (except shows that go out whilst we're closed (after 6pm on Friday and after 4pm on Saturday).
� We want our content to reflect the places that we're visiting - so please start thinking about how your show will reflect the areas that you'll be broadcasting from. Please ask us for help and advice if you're having trouble preparing locally relevant content.
Where are we going?
� Mon 12 - Sat 24 July - Hosted by the Roccoco Coffee Lounge on Chapel Brow in Leyland - linking in with the launch of their brand new venue and cafe.
� Mon 26 July - Sat 7 August - Hosted by Intact in Ingol - linking in with their summer playscheme and summer sports days.
� Mon 9 - Sat 21 August - Hosted by Brite Futures in Ribbleton - linking with their summer youth activities and martial arts clubs.
� Mon 23 August - Sat 4 September - Hosted by the Garstang Discovery Centre - linking with the Garstang Arts Festival.
� Mon 6 - Sat 18 September - Hosted by Preston College Park Campus on Moor Park Avenue, linking with the start of the new college term and the end of Ramadan.
� Mon 20 September - Sat 2 October - Hosted in an empty shop in the city centre, coinciding with Preston FM's second birthday.
Facilities on tour
� Each tour venue will be slightly different, but all will include two studios (one for live shows, the other for workshops and (limited) pre-recording.
� All venues will have access for people with limited mobility, toilets and a place to make or buy a drink.
� Opening hours at the tour venues for volunteers will be the same as they are currently (10am-10pm Mon-Thu; 10am-6pm Fri; and 10am-4pm Sat). Some venues will have more limited public opening hours.
� At most venues, there won't be much access to computers for preparing playlists, editing shows, etc. Staff will be on hand whenever tour venues are open to help with these things, and there will be limited computers - but it's likely that you will need to pre-book for any large tasks you need to do, rather than just turning up.
� We are guests in the tour venues - so please be considerate and friendly to other users and staff of the organisations that we're visiting.
� You can find more details of each venue below.
What about VSMs?
� The VSM rota will continue as normal - all VSMs have been sent a copy by e-mail or post. VSMs should report to the tour venues for their VSM shift.
Travel and expenses
� All of the tour venues are accessible by public transport and have car parking available nearby. If you're going to have trouble getting to any of the venues, please let us know so we can sort out a solution.
� We will be able to reimburse public transport expenses - claims under �10 will be payable in cash on the day; claims over �10 will be paid by cheque with a week or so delay. You need to keep hold of your tickets to make a claim.
� We won't generally be able to reimburse car parking or petrol costs. If this is going to cause you problems, please talk to us.
� If you need some money up front to pay for trains and/or buses, please talk to us as we may be able to arrange an advance.
� For non-drivers with shows late at night and those who, for whatever reason, are not able to use public transport, we will be able to arrange taxis - again, please talk to us to sort out the details.
I've got a problem with my show...
� We've tried to contact everyone individually to make sure you know where and when your shows are going to be during the tour.
� If you've not yet talked to us about your shows during the tour, please respond to our e-mails or give us a call as soon as you can.
� If you've told us about a problem you have with your show, and we've not got back to you about it, please call us for an update.
The Preston FM Office
� The Preston FM office at Buckingham House will close on Friday 16th July - and there will be no access to Buckingham House after that date.
� A small, temporary office will be operating from our new building at St Wilfrid's School on Fox Street from Monday 19th July - this office will be within a building site while the new studios and training facilities are constructed, and we won't be open to people dropping in to say hello for safety reasons.
� So, if you need to contact us or come and see us during the summer, you need to come to the tour venue (where there'll always be a member of staff) or give us a call.
� The only exception is people who want to drop off pre-recorded shows (see the "pre-records" section, below) - these can be dropped off at the office if it's easier for you to get to than the tour venue.
� If you're working in a group and need somewhere to meet to plan your show, then give us a call and we can sort something out for you. You might be able to use a studio at one of the tour venues - and some venues will also have space for meetings to happpen.
Getting in touch
� Our phone numbers and e-mail addresses will remain the same during the tour.
� The office phone number (01772 880791) will get you through to our temporary office. This will generally only be open during "standard" office hours (approx 9:30am to 6pm, Mon-Fri) during the tour.
� The studio phone number (01772 881001) will get you through to a member of staff at the tour venue - opening hours at the tour venues will be the same as they currently are in Buckingham House.
� Please try and direct any general questions to the office in the first instance - but feel free to call the tour venue direct if, for example, you need to let someone know that you're running late.
Marketing and promotion
� Please, please talk about the tour it on your show. There are special jingles in the Generic Jingles folder in Simian for you to use.
� Details of the tour are up on the front page of the Preston FM website.
� Posters and leaflets are available in the office and at tour venues (once we get there) - please pick some up and help distribute them if you can.
� You can also help by thinking about your own show promos. Lots of promos on-air at the moment still talk about shows "starting in October" - a bit out of date now! Why not come in next week and make some special promos for your shows whilst we're out on tour, telling people where you'll be broadcasting from?
In the studios
� There will only be one live studio at the tour venues (the second studio will be for pre-records and training workshops only) - so you will be doing a quick change-over with the person before you, and the person after you. Please be considerate to the presenters that come before and after you, and make sure you plan to start and finish with a track (not a short jingle or promo). Please make sure your final track is timed to finish at the top of the hour, and be ready to leave the studio quickly to make way for the next programme coming in.
� The studios will have the same equipment as our normal on-air studios (including the mixing desk, CD players and Simian).
� There will be two vinyl decks and a DJ mixer available in the live studio.
Contacting the studio - phone, e-mail and text
� The phone number, e-mail address and text number will remain the same.
� Phone calls into the studio will route to the tour mobile phone, and we'll pass on messages to you in the studio. E-mails and text messages will appear on a screen in the live studio, as they do at the moment.
� If you need to call out (for a phone interview, for example), then we'll be using Skype rather than the normal phone system. Staff will be able to help you if you need to do that.
What about Pre-Records?
� We're expecting the vast majority of shows to be live during the tour. People who need to pre-record should already have told us (or have shows that broadcast when we're closed on Friday and Saturday evenings).
� Pre-recording space will be very limited - and you'll need to book well in advance. You can make bookings by calling the office, or in person at the tour venues once the tour kicks off.
� It's going to be more complicated than usual for us to get pre-records to air. For that reason, all pre-records must be ready at least 48 hours in advance. If you're pre-recording at home (or editing a pre-recorded show at home), you can deliver your pre-recorded show to either the tour venue or to the office.
� If you book studio time, and then change your mind, please let us know so we can release the time for someone else to use. With very limited studio availability, this will be even more important than usual.
Public workshops
� The dates and times for public workshops whilst we're on tour are on the front page of the website. Please do direct your friends and family to the website, where they'll be able to book in to a workshop, have a go in the studios and get themselves on air. If you're available to help with any of the workshops, then please get in touch with Darren or Chris.
� We're interested to hear from any local organisations who'd like to block-book workshops - so please ask any that you know of who might be interested to get in touch.
What will it be like in Leyland?
� It's a new community cafe run by an organisation called Brothers of Charity, that works with people with learning disabilities. The cafe opened to the public on Monday 5th July and is open to the public 9:30am-4pm Monday-Friday.
� There is a call centre upstairs - so we need to keep studio speakers at a reasonably low volume.
� The cafe is only open to the public until 4pm, and is closed all day on Saturday - so we'll be the only people in the building during the evenings. It's fine to bring friends and guests with you, but it's not a public "drop in" space during the evenings (except for evenings when public workshops are running - see below for details).
� Please remember that the cafe still needs to trade during the day - we need to be careful not to take over the entire building or fill up all the seats...
� Tea and coffee making facilities will be available for volunteers during evenings and weekends but, during the day when the cafe is open, we'd like to encourage you to make use of the cafe itself. We will cover the cost of drinks bought at the cafe for volunteers (within reason!) - details of how that will work will be available when you get to the venue.
What will it be like in Ingol?
� We'll be using two rooms at Intact, who are a great organisation that we've done a lot of work with before. Expect there to be a lot going on with all the clubs and societies that regularly use the building as well as a summer playscheme.
� There's free, unrestricted parking on the road outside - but please don't use the centre car park, which is for Intact staff only.
� There's a kitchen with tea and coffee making facilities - please make sure you use the Preston FM supplies of coffee, tea, sugar and milk.
Where on earth is...?
The Roccoco Coffee Lounge, Leyland:
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Intact:
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Brite Futures, Ribbleton:
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Garstang Discovery Centre:
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Preston College Park Campus:
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