How to Use Basecamp

This tutorial will provide you with a brief explanation of the team management software Basecamp. The basics of Basecamp’s functionality, as it pertains to this course, will be covered. For a more detailed description of how to operate Basecamp please visit www.basecamphq.com/tour and www.basecamphq.com/help.

Introduction

Basecamp is a virtual workspace designed for teams to communicate and collaborate online. It shares elements with social networking websites such as Facebook, but adds the functionality of Microsoft Office or Gmail. You will be able to post your own messages, comment on others’ messages, follow milestones, and more.

Basecamp will be used for communication between the students, the Festival, and course administrators. You will post updates on your progress and ask most of your questions via Basecamp.

While the filmmakers will have accounts, your primary contact with them will still be through e-mail and phone.

Login and Account Info

You will receive an e-mail with a request to create a user name and password for your Basecamp account. Upon logging in to Basecamp for the first time navigate to the “My Info” section. You can add additional contact information to your profile here.

People

Click on the “People” tab to view contacts for all those associated with this course. The contributors have been separated into three groups:

• The “Admin” group includes festival staff, course administrators, and others organizing the course.
• The “Filmmakers” group includes filmmakers, producers, and others who represent the films which this course will be promoting.
• The “Students” group includes all students in the class.

Once you have been assigned your films we will create additional groups for each film/team, and you will be moved to the appropriate group.

Overview

The first page you will see upon entering Basecamp is the “Overview.” This page exists to inform you of the most recent updates to the project including new messages, upcoming milestones, and more. You can quickly access all of these updates straight from the overview page by clicking on their respective links.

Messages

The “Messages” page will be the most useful tool for this course. You will use this feature to communicate with your teammates, filmmakers, and class administrators. Upon entering the page you will see the most recent messages organized by date with the newest messages on top.

To post a new message click on the “Post a New Message” link.

There are several categories created to help you organize your questions. Use the “Category” drop down menu to select the appropriate category for your message.

• Basecamp Technical Help
• Course Announcements
• General Questions/Comments
• As assignments are given, new categories will be created.
• Once you are assigned to teams we will create categories for each film as well.

When posting messages please remember:

• Title your message as clearly as possible so that it conveys exactly what the message is about.
• Please utilize the “Categories” options. Using the category feature will help organize your messages so that they can be addressed as quickly as possible. If you have a question about your team’s film, place the message under that film’s category. You will do the same for technical question, assignment questions, etc.
• The body of your message can contain any information that you feel needs to be shared, asked, or communicated. If you have quite a lot to post it is advised you use the “Show Extended Message Body” option. This allows you to split your post into two halves. The top half will appear on the main messages page, while the second half will appear only after a user clicks on the message to read it. Messages that utilize the extended body will be noted by a link that reads “Continued…”
• You can easily attach a file to a message by clicking on the “Attach Files to This Message” link. This feature works just like a web based e-mail file attachment. You can browse your computer for the file you want to upload and add more files if you choose. You can add most file types to a message but they must be under 30 megabytes. The files you add will appear on your message as well as under the “Files” tab.
• When posting a message you have the ability to notify any member of the project individually or by group. You will use this notification system when posting assignments by notifying the user “Course Admin”. This will help the course administrators keep track of your work.

In addition to posting your own messages you can also comment on others’ messages. To comment on a message click on the message’s title and you will be transferred to the comments page. You can post as many comments as you like.

Note that on the right hand side of the page you will see all those who are commenting on a message as well as the option to subscribe to that message. When you subscribe to a message you will receive an e-mail notification each time a new comment is posted.

Milestones

“Milestones” are dates or events that have a particular importance to all those involved with the class. This includes, but is not limited to, assignment due dates, general festival dates, film screening times, etc.

You can subscribe to milestones on your personal calendar if it supports the iCalendar standard.

Writeboards and To-Do

This class will not be utilizing the “Writeboards” and “To-Do” features of Basecamp.

Files

The “Files” page includes all the files that are uploaded through messages. This page exists as a repository to quickly access all files related to the class. Files can be added to the project through the files page alone but it is suggested you post files only through the messages service, as this allows you to provide a context and description for each file.

Note

—-

Licensed by Randy Finch and Nick Martinolich under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. This license allows you to copy, distribute, and transmit this work as well as create derivative works. Any copies or derivative works may not be used for commercial purposes, must be distributed under a same or similar license, and in addition must contain the following language: “The Film Fest Marketing Project was developed by Randy Finch, Nick Martinolich, Sam Torres, Alex Bowser, Morgan English, Masha Murakhovsky, Jeph Alexander, and the faculty and students of the University of Central Florida’s Film Department, working with the Florida Film Festival, and with the support of the Sarasota Film Institute.”