Kahuku Film Club

 Fourth Quarter Report: DOE  3.2

November 2012 – January 2013

(plus February 2013)

KEAC Digital Media Youth Platform

Working to strengthen partner projects with DOE, ‘Olelo, and the community

 By Dr. Don Sand & Kathleen Connors

Ko’olauloa Educational Alliance Corporation’s (KEAC’s) four after-school Film Clubs all continue to grow robustly. From Nov 2012 to Feb 2013, KEAC’s Media team taught over 693 students digital media lessons, and helped to train 9 teachers in Ko’olauloa.

The Kahuku Intermediate & High School Film Club and the Hau’ula Elementary Film Club all wrote original scripts. The scripts were produced by the students and entered into the statewide Olelo YouthXchange competition. The Kahuku Film Club students produced the RedTV episodes and filmed a variety of events and programs: from sports and science, to government and cultural.

The fourth Film Club at the Hau’ula Civic Center has been targeted for fourth to eighth graders. The Club started in the summer of 2012 as a successful “Film Surf & Fun Program” and continues monthly on the weekends. The Club focuses on participating and filming: Hawaiian culture, Marine & Environmental Science and Water Sports.  Students were taught to use the GoPro underwater camera.  Film Club students also partner with the Hau’ula Community Association’s after-school Ahupua’a stewardship program at the Civic Center.

Hau’ula Elementary School Film Club

Technical Skills, Hawaiian Values, Family Involvement in Education

Under the guidance of Hau’ula Elementary’s Principal Sam Izumi with Kamehameha School’s outreach coordinator, Missy Agena, a team of parents, our director Don Sand and our administrator Kathleen Connors we created a plan to bring a film making to Hau’ula Elementary School. The seven month project included:  bi-weekly classes held during school for fifth and sixth graders, an after-school accelerated Film Club in January and February, and bi-weekly Wednesday night, Ohana Night for students and their families.

At our twice a month Hau’ula Elementary, Wednesday’s “Ohana Film Club” evenings, along-side their fifth and sixth grade children, parents and siblings learned about the movie-making process: researching, pre-production, shooting, recording and editing film.

Leading parents helped to team-teach lesson modules on script writing and evaluating media messages. Whole families got excited about learning twenty-first century technology and using film in learning their different subjects.   We tried to partner the parent with their own child to see if the learning village model could work with a subject such as digital media.  We believe there was just as much family bonding as there was fun learning of the basics in filmmaking.

Both Selena Mobbs the school librarian and Susan Yamada, the head of parent-student outreach were leading out script writing lessons. A few Ohana evenings were so popular and over capacity, but several parents who are technically advanced stepped up and became our assistant teachers.

Principal Izumi and the parents requested that the children make films that would reflect traditional Hawaiian values and promote good character. Positive words and concepts were chooses: family (Ohana), responsibility (Kuleana), teamwork (Laulima), “to take care of”, (Malama), appreciation (Mahalo), Lokahi (unity in working together), respecting Elders (Ho’ihi and Kupuna), humility (Ha’aha’a), doing the right thing, (Pono) and many other values that worked in cooperative Polynesian village. Our film teachers supported this common vision to integrate values into school by creating student produced educational videos.

We took parts of curriculum Dr. Sand developed at Kahuku High School and adapted the content to younger students, then taught small groups with our limited equipment in rotating stations.  Film skill stations included: storyboard creation, camera skills, reporter skills, script writing, and pre-production development.  The curriculum is based on a goal of completing a film start to finish. The emphasis is on teamwork and collaboration, learning to share creatively, make compromises, share job responsibilities and experiencing a simulated “real life” project where the students are working as professionals.

Script writing station presided by parent, Octavio Gonzaga

Key Hawaiian-speaking parents and Hau’ula Hawaiian immersion students provided voiceovers in Hawaiian for the Hau’ula Civic Centers production about Hawaiian fishing, Uncle Charlie the Fisherman.

Fifteen students made a film called Malama The Equipment. Led out by our animation and visual effects instructor, Daniel Russell, students wrote, directed, acted, and even animated portions of the video. The video taught students how to respect and safely use camera equipment in a fun way, with pieces of equipment brought to life using composited and animated. This is key curriculum that allows a process to turn over expensive cameras to younger and younger students.

In December, a family Christmas party and film screening of student videos was held at the school’s cafeteria.

Writing, Teamwork, Critical Thinking, Speech, and Acting

During the in-school Tuesday sessions we taught three different classes of fifth and sixth graders in the library. On some days, we were teaching as many as seventy students using three or four stations.

Hau’ula Elementary students brainstorm scripts on Hawaiian values.

In accordance with the Hau’ula parent’s wishes, during their class-time students learned script writing around Hawaiian values. The student teams started with twenty scripts. Several were chosen for development and one was put into production.

Once the script was selected, the students were taught fifteen job descriptions and responsibilities to create a quality film. Students were introduced and assigned to the different jobs required to produce a short film: producer, director, assistant director, production coordinator, camera, sound, lighting, editor, script supervisor, grip, props, wardrobe and set design and production assistant.

The students were “hired” by the student producers and executive producer. The casting directors then created “real life” casting audition platform to find the best and most dedicated actors. The working title chosen was Pono Power, a story of elementary school students coming to terms with the results of cyber-bullying.

Cast of the Hau’ula Elementary film about cyber-bullying, “Pono Power”

In January, casting and rehearsals began for the film. The students made a prop list and chose locations, then filmed and edited the piece. The main character, played by Makani Walker, struggles with his conscious. His peers pressure him to participate in bullying a fellow student online.

The Hau’ula Elementary Film Club borrowed equipment generously lent by Olelo Kahuku. They submitted their film to the Olelo YouthXchange film contest.  Their entry was not accepted to the finals this year, but they are already looking forward to next year’s contest.

Journalism, Government

It is in our mission statement that we believe a camera is the modern education tool to amplify student learning about themselves, about others, and about their community. We have found from our work at Kahuku Intermediate & High School and the Hau’ula Summer Film & Surf Program, that the best and easiest first on-camera experience even for very young is the “reporter role”.  Each student who goes through our reporter training will have a huge advantage in accelerating their public speaking skills, listening skills, and people engagement skills.

Hau’ula Elementary student reporters researched and wrote questions to ask our political leaders. They discussed and wrote questions that affect our side of the island, youth issues, and the future of education.  Our student reporters enthusiastically participated in Olelo’s Capital Commentary at the opening day of the State Capital. Students wrote and rehearsed interview questions before hand. On opening day, they went to the State Capital and joined other students from throughout Oahu in interviewing their State Representatives for Olelo Public television.

Hau’ula Film Club at Olelo’s Capitol Commentary with Richard Fale

Hawaiian Immersion & Community

A hallmark production was a multiple camera shoot for “Aloha Ko’olauloa” the fundraising day for the Hawaiian Immersion schools of Ko’olauloa in Hau’ula. Our student Hau’ula Film Club, partnered with our Kahuku Film Club and an Olelo Executive Production to shoot award winning Hawaiian singers and dancers fresh from the Merry Monarch Festival.  Half of the 3 hour our twelve-year old prodigy, Josiah Alaiasa, directed show. Josiah is also the student assistant producer for the whole show to be aired on Olelo Public Television stations in a few weeks.

Seventh grader, Josiah Alaiasa, directing a multi-cam shoot at the Aloha Ko’olauloa event in Hau’ula.

Our star reporter, Hau’ula Immersion sixth grader, Kialoa Fernandez, did an excellent job with an exclusive sit-down interview with the new Miss Aloha Hula 2013, Manalani English. Manalani shared her secrets for excellence: focus, hard work, goals and respect.

Miss Aloha Hula 2013, Manalani English being interviewed by Hau’ula Immersion sixth grader Kialoa Fermandez at Aloha Ko’olauloa.

Both the Kahuku Intermediate & High School Film Clubs had very strong showings and produced a wide variety of programing. Over two dozen students were able to receive initial training in multiple camera shoots, sound, interviewing and live directing. Over twenty students were able to practice interviewing skills on camera. More than thirty students team wrote original scripts, auditioned & acted, shot, edited and produced two short films, in addition to Olelo Public Television pieces and RedTV.

Red TV

For RedTV, the school’s in-house TV broadcast, our Kahuku High & Intermediate Film Clubs produced several popular shows.  The fall’s school highlights show including archived footage, and other Red TV shows included interviews with local politicians, the Green Summit and stylized highlights from the 2012 football championship that made up a 30 minute show.

The Club’s students also filmed and edited a segment where fifteen elective teachers talked about career skills and professionalism. The teachers gave guidance to the students for the special registry, where students sign up for elective courses.

Football running-back, Aofaga Wily, is interviewed about the making of a Champion.

Technical Training, Interviewing & Public Speaking, Sports Journalism

Funded by a grant from the Department of Community Services, Special Projects, KEAC and OLELO transformed the rundown area in Z3 into a functioning TV studio. We are hoping to get support to acoustically treat the studio so that it can double as a music studio.

One of the first productions in the new studio focused on the Kahuku football state champions. Students wrote questions and conducted over fifteen in-depth interviews that highlighted the players’ success strategies. The players practiced their speaking skills and will be able to use segments of their interview tapes in scholarship applications.

The student reporters and film crewmembers later discussed what they learned from the Kahuku football stars. Aofaga Wily advised, “Success is about time management using your red book and about putting everything you have into what you’re doing”.  Kawehena Johnson, said, “Listen to your coaches, teachers, and parents.” These inspirational segments have been shown on the school’s RedTV show and are popular on YouTube.

Coach Reggie Torres is helping oversee an educational and inspirational video segment that he can use to inspire his new team. The segment will cover principles of being a team player. The film club students are now working in post-production on a larger football documentary on the making of champions.

 Select students were invited to participate in Aloha Stadium’s internship program, “Stadium Stars.” The students worked alongside broadcast journalists during football games at the stadium, learning real-life journalism skills.  Joachim Purcell, Kimo Ah-Hoy, and others were trained in the broadcast booth with OC16 and KITV.

Film Club talent Jasmine Lopez, Jahdi Stamler and Joey Chowen work with the professional media crews at the Aloha Stadium.

Government, Community, Current Events, and Journalism

Both intermediate and high school Film Club students practiced their interviewing and hosting skills when they sat down to talk with various candidates for offices in the election. Student reporters doubled as film crewmembers and video editors on the segments.

Nine students were able to travel to two different venues in Honolulu to interview both of the mayoral candidates. Students learned two interview styles: an informal “guerilla” interview with Kirk Caldwell outside, and a formal sit-down interview with Ben Cayetano, which took place in the large-scale Olelo Television Studio at Mapunapuna. The segments aired on Olelo, RedTV, and YouTube.

Film Club president, Kimo Ah-Hoy, directed pre-election interviews with Kirk Caldwell and Ben Cayetano.

The Film Club students researched local news.  One example of a cultural issue was the handling of kupuna iwi by a developer. The students produced a segment on the issue, which aired on Olelo Public Television.

Kupuna Ululani Beirne, president of the Ko’olauloa Hawaiian Civics Club gives advice for success.

Green Team, Environmental Science, Hawaiian Culture, and Computer Animation

Film Clubs students supported and filmed several of the school’s sustainable activities, including the “Green Summit,” sponsored by Kokua Hawaii Foundation. The “Green Summit” featured leaders in sustainability and recycling. The segment highlighted green initiatives at the school, and included a musical performance by Kokua founder, Jack Johnson.

Intermediate school students worked on a short video with animation and visual effects, called Don’t Dump on Me.  The video addressed the growing problem of garbage disposal in Hawaii.  It showed how Kahuku students were making a difference by recycling and composting cafeteria waste. The segment explained how students use the compost in their square-foot gardens, situated behind the Z building. The students performed voiceovers in English and Hawaiian.

Left: students shoot in front of a green screen for the visual effects shot. Right: the video was one of three entries that made it to the statewide finals.

The script called for epic piles of garbage set against the Ko’olau Mountains, signifying a future Hawai’i where apathy and rubbish have taken over the island.

Fortunately for us, our visual effects instructor, Daniel Russell, had been teaching students how to produce these scenes without a million dollar budget. Students learned cinematography techniques for visual effects pieces, as well as Adobe Photoshop, and After Effects.

Don’t Dump on Me was one of the two finalists in its category (the other finalist had two entries accepted). YouthXChange is the largest statewide student video contest, with over seven hundred entries total.

Kahuku Intermediate’s video, Don’t Dump on Me, which can be viewed on Youtube at the channel, “Keikitv.”

Creative Writing, Drama, Music, Team Work and Job Skills

Starting in November, the high school Film Club’s largest project was a short, original film, which included an original theme song. Flower Gurl addressed the issues of homelessness, prejudice, and bullying in school. Over twenty students worked on the film in a variety of roles over three months, from script to finished product.

The heroine of the story, Maile, is a smart and gifted girl who hides the fact that she is homeless.  Her situation drives her to find her own way out, working hard to obtain a college scholarship in media arts.  Complications occur when she is asked to interview the most popular football player on campus, while maintaining her secret.

After the script was done, the Film Club production team held auditions and began rehearsals. Student directors coached the cast, improving their acting skills.

Student Production Coordinators managed cast and crew dates for each day of principal shooting. Student directors and script supervisors blocked shots and storyboarded key scenes.

An original song, written by Taofi Latu, was recorded in the new studio for use in the soundtrack.

The production team of fifteen students filmed two versions of the movie with different lead actresses, Jasmine Lopez and Hunter Ulii. A team of students edited and provided postproduction. The Film Club students finished the first edit and are now working on an improved version for entry into the student section of the Honolulu International Film Festival.

Because two students on the team had won last year’s YouthXChange, they had to submit their film into the Expert division.  However, the excellent media programs in Waianae and Punahou were selected for the finals, displacing Kahuku Film Club. These are both very well funded and developed programs from which we draw inspiration.

Cast and set act in front of a Green Screen for the Animation section of  “Don’t Dump on Me”.

Engineering, Technology, Critical Thinking and STEM

An Advanced Film Club was added to the lineup at Kahuku High and Intermediate School, held every Tuesday and Thursday afterschool. Students built camera rigs, a green-screen, and a track dolly system. They also learned about lenses, filters, and various other advanced cinematography. In the next quarter, students will be learning about animation, compositing, and visual effects.

As a side effect, Film Club students are exposed to basic engineering and building skills. In our pilot film Uncle Charlie the Fisherman, students incorporated a science lesson on the physics of light when viewing fish in the ocean. They used animation and humor in the segment.

One of our most technically advanced students, Ikaika Moe, films a scene using a DSLR rig.

Students learned how to build and test some basic film rigs including:

• A portable green screen, constructed from PVC pipes and green fabric
• A shoulder rig for a camera, allowing for more steady motion and walkabout freedom for camera operators.
• A ceiling-mounted track dolly, for use in miniature work
• A complete cinema rig including a matte box, follow-focus, and glass filters

Career & Technical Education (CTE)

Students also learned how Digital Single-lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras work, and began operating them. The Club members evaluated Youtube videos from well-known DSLR expert, Devin Graham, in preparation for his visit to provide hands-on instruction.

Twenty-five students attended his special course at the Film Club. Devin shared his knowledge and stories about making movies. Graham’s clients include Nike, Billabong, the Jon Mozo Family, the Tahiti Ministry of Tourism, Red Bull, and GlideCam.  In the last year, Graham’s video career has taken him to locations around the world, including: Iceland, France, China, Australia, England, and luckily for us, Hawaii!

Youtube phenomenon, Devin Graham, shares his film secrets with Kahuku Film Club students.

The young Hawaiian, award-winning Film producers, Ty Sanga also returned to the Kahuku Film Club this year. He spoke with students about filmmaking and his career. He also held a professional casting call for his upcoming film project for the Sundance Film Festival at Kahuku. Both young filmmakers gave both great technical advice and career advice to our students. Sanga challenged the students to bring back the Polynesian gifts and talents for story-making. He said, story is the vessel that carries the knowledge to the next generation.

Ty Sanga takes his first Hawaiian language film to Sundance.

Hau’ula Civic Center Film Club

The Hau’ula Civic Center Film Club began last summer as a Film and Surf program for students from fifth to eighth grade. For the summer program, students came from many different schools in Ko’olauloa, including Ka’a’awa, Hau’ula, Laie, and Kahuku, as well as Kamehameha Schools. Some home-schooled students also participated.

For their summer film project, the students performed principal photography and animation to accompany an interview they conducted with kupuna Charlie Bryant about traditional styles of Hawaiian fishing. The students researched Hawaiian fish and fishing and animated parts of the video.

Hau’ula Civic Center Film Club produced a documentary on local fishing kupuna, Charlie Bryant.

Last summer’s “Film, Surf, and Fun” program continued as a monthly offering. Based at the Hau’ula Civic Center, students were taught the use of underwater cameras and their footage was used in some videos.

This school year, the Kahuku Film Club and KEAC committed to working with the new Wednesday after-school program, Ahupua’a Intelligence Agency (AIA). This small program, funded by B-WET, teaches students Hawaiian environmental sciences. The classes are often conducted outdoors with the instruction of kupuna. The Film Club documented some of their activities and interviewed kupuna. Works in progress include videos about the Hau’ula Heiau, limu, monk seals, conservation, and traditional Hawaiian fishing.

Uncle Charlie the Fisherman, produced by the Hau’ula Civic Center Film Club, can be viewed on Youtube at the channel, “Keikitv.”

Film Club documents the visit of two limu kupuna to the Ahupua’a Intelligence Agency. Former Representative Gil Riviere and his family join the keiki in collecting and studying local limu speices, and rooting out invasive species.

Partnerships Key to developing Digital Media for our Youth

Our greatest focus is on growing opportunities for our youth through a three-way partnership with Olelo, the Department of Education, and KEAC Film Club programs.

Three years ago, Angela Breene of Olelo took us to the Ko’olauloa Community Association meeting and helped us pitch a keiki-driven digital media program. KEAC has been working hard ever since to realize this mission, primarily through volunteer efforts with the assistance of Olelo.

Daniel Russell and Kathleen Connors receive Volunteer of the Year Awards from Kahuku CMC manager, Angela Breene.

In addition to the instruction provided by KEAC instructors, Olelo provides its producer certification courses free of charge to all students, which allows them to borrow Olelo equipment to produce their own public-access content.

Jeff Galicinao, Olelo’s top teacher, has certified twenty Kahuku Film Club students as Olelo producers.

Students used Olelo workstations at Kahuku to edit footage they shot using KEAC and volunteer equipment. The footage was shot during an AIA limu field trip at Hau’ula Beach Park, and the final product will be shown on Olelo TV, as well as the school’s RedTV program. It is also one of the required outcomes of the AIA’s grant.

Film Club Students edit clips and audio in the Olelo Kahuku edit bay.

City council-chairman, Ernie Martin, honors the Kahuku Film Club for youth achievement.

Building the Digital Media Platform

Our goal is to teach students in Ko’olauloa 21^st century digital media skills. We believe that even for students that go on to other careers, this experience will enhance their education and career prospects. In addition, we strive to support the schools and local organizations with their media needs.

Our three main focuses are:

• Increasing Digital Media Literacy
• Providing access to quality media equipment in schools and in the educational organizations
• Partnering with youth-enrichment programs in Ko’olauloa to provide them a digital media component