I had the pleasure of working with Grammatik Agency—one of London’s top marketing and PR boutiques—to put on a networking party for the Google Cloud Platform team during Siggraph 2015. The international conference and exhibition on computer graphics and interactive techniques took place this year in downtown Los Angeles.

The party was held rooftop poolside at the hip and very happening ACE Hotel. The location was the perfect venue for VFX professionals to network and have a drink and a nosh after a day of conferences and exhibitions.

Event planning is similar to producing a film or any kind of project that involves lots of moving parts: you must stay on top of the details and deadlines, be responsive to client needs, utilize your resources, and importantly, anticipate any potential problems or issues.

For this project, everything went smoothly … except for one little curve ball. I initially wasn’t supposed to get into the pool during set up to lay down the branded pool mat. But, just in case, I packed a bathing suit. Well, guess who had to get wet before the party and afterwards to retrieve it? Sometimes I wonder if anticipating a possible future actually creates that future!

The event was a big success: well attended, business connections were made, everyone enjoyed themselves … and even after dunking in the pool, I managed not to ruin my hair.