This is probably a shot in the dark, but just in case there are other kama'aina in this forum...

I'm Ed from Honolulu, currently in Wahiawa, originally from the mainland US. Proud owner of a brand new Sony DSR-PD150. I don't have any photography or videography background, so I'm pretty much starting at ground zero. However, I've taken the producer and PD100 classes at O'lelo, the non-profit community corporation that's in charge of the public access channels here.

My initial project ideas involve a series of educational videos (on chess(?!)) for public access and documenting the oral history of my father and his lifelong friend. Like a lot of other people here, I have visions of accepting the Oscar for Best Short Film or Documentary Short Subject :)

Though I'm a complete newbie, I'm an enthusiastic one. In addition to the PD150, I also own or have ordered the following: a tripod/fluid head/carry bag (Bogen 3283/503 clone) 2 NP-F960 batteries a Sony AC-V700A quick charger the Tiffen Video Essentials Filter Kit a set of AKG K240DF headphones two Audio Technica AT831b lav mics 3 20' XLR cablesOn my near-term want list are: a Senn ME66/K6 shotgun mic some sort of lighting kit that will suit my immediate needs for the above-mentioned projectsA bit down the road, I'd also like to acquire: an field audio mixer (dreaming of a Shure FP33) a decent wide-angle lens a decent telephoto lensFor post work, I'll likely use Premiere 6.5, but maybe Pinnacle Studio DV 8 (available from Costco).

Either in my library or on order from amazon.com are: The Computer Videomaker Handbook, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/024080435X/hawaiichesspr-20 The Digital Filmmaking Handbook, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1584500980/hawaiichesspr-20 The Five C's of Cinematography, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/187950541X/hawaiichesspr-20 Producing Great Sound for Digital Video, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578202086/hawaiichesspr-20 Film Directing Shot by Shot, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0941188108/hawaiichesspr-20I wanted to order Lighting for Digital Video and Television, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578201152/hawaiichesspr-20 but it's currently out-of-stock at amazon. Will have to check my local Borders bookshop.

If there are any other Hawaii residents, preferably on Oahu, give me a shout. My immediate goals are small, but my dreams are big.

Great to have you aboard Ed! And thank you so much for such
an elaborate introduction to yourself and what you are doing!
You are getting a great piece of gear and seem to have some
interesting things to shoot!

Good luck on all your projects and if I'm ever in the vacinity
I'll be sure to drop you a note.

Cheers!

Haven't seen anyone from the islands on this formum so I thought I'd chime in. I'm a hobbiest video editor using Vegas 4 and concentrating on home videos of all types. Caught the bug about two years ago and now I can't wait to retire from my day job so I can play full time. I have a Sony TRV-120 (I wonder who has even heard of it) Digital 8 Handycam and am chomping at the bit to upgrade, maybe to a TRV-130...just kidding...actually looking at the TRV-950 and VX-2000. Lately I've been doing sound on slide shows for family and friends but I've done one 80 minute show of a friend running a 3 day endurance race. My favorite shows are the ones that cause emotional impact. It warms my heart to see the faces and hear the comments after a showing. I don't do this for money right now while I'm learning but may "go pro" sometime in the distant future. I've just discovered this forum and am really impressed by the knowledgeable and helpful people posting here. The way the boards are run is great too. Looking forward to the future. Oh, and if we get a few more Hawaii posters, maybe we can arrange a symposium on the beach or something.
Aloha,
Randy

Aloha Randy, welcome aboard! I believe there is at least one
other guy from Hawaii, but I'm not sure on that. Let's hope he
chimes in.

If you have some footage to show don't hesitate to post it
in the DV for the Masses forum.

Good luck on your projects!

Welcome, Randy. "3-day endurance test"?! Sounds like great subject matter.

I hope we can see some footage from you sometime. In the meantime, see you on the boards.

Thanks guys. Yes, I'll post some stuff here. I also put stuff up at Chienworks site at: http://www.vegasusers.com/vidshare/. Just posted some transition examples that I bought from Rotating Cat Head Videos (Chienworks company). The pictures in the show are from the North Shore and several other locations on Oahu. Look for userid stewartr002 in the name of the shows. Also, my son has created a web site for our family at http://www.cr-home-videos.com/. Let me know what you think.
Randy

im from oahu! :D

Hey Ed, saw your post. A little late but I thought I'd give you a shout out here. I'm also on Oahu and getting into this money pit of a hobby. What have you done since your post back in 2003?

Paul: just so you know, Edward's last post was in April of 2004.
So I'm not sure if he'll actually read your message.

Yea I kinda realized that but I figured I'd try.

Aloha, Paul,

I was wondering what kind of opportunities there are in Hawaii to make a living doing video, the Big Island mainly. I lived there many years ago and I have family there now. I am considering making a move back sometime in the future.....

Greg,

I'm not sure what types of opportunities there are on the Big Island. I live on Oahu and not even sure what opportunities thre are here!

I know this post is a few years back but I'm from Hawaii also. Anyone out there also from Hawaii?? Repersent guys.

Probably off the subject, but I just got the collector's edition of Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii. Man I love the King.

Here goes...

Aloha everyone! I first got into video production back at the University of Hawaii back in the late 80's. After graduation and a few mistarts, I wound up as a photographer/videographer for a local photo lab, doing mostly Japanese weddings for about 8 years. Back when the economy was good, we were pumping them out daily (I've done probably 1000+). After 9/11 things kinda dwindled down. Last year when the company closed down their video department, I decided to go out on my own (dumb idea, yes... I know)

Picked up a Sony HVR-Z1, Matteblox, & DV Rig Pro, based on what I've read here. I edit everything on Final Cut Pro on my Powerbook (downconverting in-camera to DVCAM for now until I save up for a G5). Been doing some weddings and portrait work, as well as photo/video montages. Not nearly enough to make a living at it yet.

So I've been making ends meet by working part-time as an AV tech for the distance learning classes at the local community college. (Where the teacher is on one island and the students are on other islands, communicating via 2-way interactive video). Meanwhile searching for a full-time position somewhere so that I can continue learning photography & video production (You can never stop learning)

I've gained a lot of knowledgefrom the many people who contribute to this forum (Thanks you, everyone!) and I hope someday I'll be successful enough to help someone else here. (I also hope I'll stop having nightmares about ending up in a job where I'm saying "D'you want fries with that?")

Hi Todd and welcome. I was in Maui 2 years ago doing a business conference-I told my wife to go home sell the house and pack the stuff we were moving.
She didn't-we didn't ;-) but I love your island!

Don't know if it would interest you but when we were there I talked to the weddding coordinator at the hotel and she told me how many weddings they do and we had a nice talk. Perhaps you could approach the coordinators at the hotels and see if they would be willing to refer you especially for the mainlanders that go for the destination wedding. Short sweet and full of "fun"

Good luck to you and please walk the beach one time for time ;-)

Don B

Hi Don,

I have thought about approaching the wedding coordinators for the different hotels ( I've actually worked with several in the past) but now that I'm on my own, I need to update my wedding sample DVD so I have something to show them when i go in.

A growing problem we are having here is the amount of people that are trying to lowball everyone else on pricing. It's gotten to the point where there are guys doing weddings incl. DVDs for under $200 total - shooting 1-1/2 hrs of coverage with a FX1 and editing in Vegas or something. Many wedding coordinators are going for these cheaper guys.

Nobody seems to want to pay more for video these days. The top wedding video guys on the island are only getting I think around $600. I hear on the mainland wedding videographers make much more than that.

Hi Todd,
Yeah the mainland guys are getting more on the average but they're also working much longer hours. Here in my neck of the woods by the time we do pre ceremony stuff thru the reception it might be 10-12 hours or more shooting time.

I looked at some of the folks websites on Maui and you're right. They are inexpensive but only working for a couple of hours shooting and what I saw when I was there was that a lot of weddings took place during the week so I guess some of the folks there are doing 2-3 or even 4 or 5 weddings in a week. That can add up. Short job, fast edit, deliver before the couple leaves.
I would perk up your demo and talk to the coordinators AND the banquet managers as there are more than weddings going on at the hotels.

Well good luck to you and I really do envy you living in what I call PARADISE!

Don

Hey if anyone from Honolulu is reading this with 3CCD camcorders or audio equipment and wants to work on a rock concert tomorrow evening at aloha tower marketplace, let me know - email andrewb6k@punkrockvids.com

I'm a hobbyist with a PD150 but I'm from London, England so I don't have a 'crew' with me here, would be nice to film with some other people. The band is Alien Ant Farm.

You'll notice 'hobbyist', which means zero pay for me and zero pay for you at the moment, I actually do this all the time for bands for the love of it, but I suppose there is scope for payment further down the line if our footage actually gets used for anything by the band.

contact me with a phone number and I'll give you a call.

- Andrew

Aloha!

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm currently in Hawai'i... O'ahu to be more precise.

I'm also on Oahu in Hawaii. Ben Wong, Bob Pritchard and I produce a show called "Hawaii Goes Fishing" for a local cable channel. We just got back from Alaska gathering a ton of material for upcoming episodes. The rest of the summer kept us busy covering everything from visiting educational exhibits to fishing tournaments and other activities.

I was the chief photographer at one of the daily papers here and, after a 24-year career in newspapers, made the switch to television production at the beginning of this year.

The show is shot with a Sony PD-150, PD-170, and a Canon XL1s. I just got a Sony PDX10 to do underwater work.

It's a demanding but interesting change in careers. Something I was looking forward to for a long time.

Aloha,
I am also located on the island of Oahu' in Honolulu. I have years of television training, I shoot with a DVX100 and have no fear of getting in the water. I hope to work with you soon,
Mick

Dean,

Do you see yourself making the switch over to HDV anytime soon? I'm also using a PD170 but I'm thinking about a Z1 and I'm probably purchasing a A1 for a Japan vacation.

If you guys ever need a helping hand just give me a yell since I'm interested to see how you guys shoot the show.

I'm back in Paris!

Was up Victor, Paul, Mick, and Dean. Looks like I am the minority in the Hawaii group. You seem like to do video stuffs professionaly, I do it as a hobby. Stepped up to HD and I don't think I'll ever go back to SD.

Hi Paul...

We don't have any plans at the moment to switch to HD as OC 16 doesn't have any demand for it just yet. If we had the budget we'd probably make the switch right away as it would be an investment that would enable us to re-purpose our material later.

As for cameras, the Panasonic P2 system sure looks interesting. The video format uses a 4:2:2 color space and each frame is independent of the next, unlike HDV which uses a group of frames to allow higher compression. Also, the Varicam format is directly usable by Final Cut Pro, just like HDV.

It would be great if the camera could be set up to buffer the incoming video on a 10-second loop. Our coverage is in real time with very few set-up shots so we end up rolling a lot of tape in anticipation of hooking up a fish or some other action. With a 10-second buffer we can keep the cameras pointing and standing by until something does happen and never miss a shot. It would save a lot of tape and reduce the mountain of material we have to go through for each show.

Even aside from capturing fishing action, a buffer would help catch a lot of occasional comments that are insightful, humorous, etc.

I noticed that the PDX10 seems to roll tape instantly. Surprising for a camera of that price level. MY Canon XL1s has a half-second (or longer) delay. Still, being able to capture several seconds in advance of the action would be tremendously valuable. Nostradamus would have been a good news cameraman :-)

As for observing our production work, we're up to our necks in editing right now. About the only thing we've shot in the past week was members of a large organization bottom fishing from a boat outside of Waikiki. We'll probably do some shoreline work soon as most of our material has been shot from boats recently. I'll let you know if a situation arises that would allow for an observer. A lot of these fishermen are pretty guarded about where they fish.

Fred...

Video production started off on a hobby level for me about 25 years ago and gradually built up into a whole new career. Even though I've been at it professionally for about 10 years I keep learning new things that allow me to refine the end product. HD is definitely the way to go if you haven't invested in a lot of equipment yet.

Probably run into you guys sooner or later. This island's pretty small!

hello, im suprised that there are this many people from hawaii here. I'm a young up and comer in the videography scene of hawaii. i've worked on project with surfing of vans triple crown and multiple local skate films. i shoot with a vx1k and a vx21k but soon to be dvx100a. i own all the main accessories everyone else had i dont need to list them for bragging rights or anything haha.

I'm young knowledgable 17 year old looking for work.....

Hi all,

Thought I'd add to the list.

I'm actually Hawaiian-Chinese, living in Los Angeles as a cinematographer. Thought I'd just join the club even tho I haven't been home in a few years.

Glad to know some shooters from back home. Anyone figured out how to make a living back there?

Aloha!

Tim Otholt

Anyone figured out how to make a living back there?

Aloha!

Tim Otholt

Yeah work three jobs!!! As far as video I guess you have to be creative to make it a living here. I was thinking maybe wedding videos here but there a lot of competition out here.

Anyone figured out how to make a living back there?

Hi Tim...

Our small production company is actually getting by and earning enough right now to make a humble living. As you probably already know, there are a lot of others in this town, in this particular line of work, who can't say the same.

The key, in my opinion, is to be among the people who originate content. Being a member of that club puts you at the highest risk but it also has the potential for the highest return. But it only works if you're good at telling interesting stories.

If not, then you'd have to be among the larger group that makes a living by providing a service. In which case it's important to stand out from the rest by being among the ones who:

1 -- Have a reputation for being a desirable team player.
2 -- Provide a high-quality product.
3 -- Hit deadlines without fail.

There is a large number of those who try to grab as large a portion of the market as possible by undercutting everyone else. But the downside is the possibility of a huge workload, little time to get things done properly, and a growing list of unsatisfied clients.

We count ourselves as lucky to be among the first group.

Hey Dean,
Also here in Hawaii on the west side. Lots of island folks in here. I used to produce Overdrive Live on OC16 as well. Doing work on Hawaii Beyond Paradise this season. I like the stuff you guys shoot with your show.

Would love to get ahold of you some time, from time to time I get clients that need underwater housings and what not.

Drop me a note one of these days. info (at) wayoutwestenterprises.com

aloha!

Just want to say hi to all here in DVinfo land and properly introduce myself before I get busy posting. My name is Arvin, and yes...I am a lurker. And that's when you all say, "Hi Arvin!" This is the LA (Lurkers Anonymous) support group right? *tap tap* Hello? Is this thing on? Ok bad joke. :P

*Ahem* Prior to my 1st post debut, I never felt the need to ask any questions, because all of the questions had already been asked and in turn answered. The time has come, and now I have a question to ask (in another thread).

A little background on my lurking beginnings: I joined the forum back in March of 2004 to do some research on the PDX10 for a 3rd camera and family/vacation cam. At the time I had a PD150 and VX2000 in the studio and didn't really need another camera. I was just gear lusting for another; the small form factor and native 16:9 was enticing too. I digress. To continue my story...everytime I had some money saved up, something would always come up or break down and needed replacement, car (accident)...computer (spontaneous combustion)...wife (got married)...house (1st home purchase)...holidays (wish it were vacation, but actually gift buying for Xmas)...studio (moved to a new one and having it remodeled). To make a long story longer, after reading through a ton of posts on it and becoming somewhat knowldegeable I never did end up getting the PDX10. Moral of the story, hope that nothing else comes up and buy a HVR-A1U instead. Which I did.

What I do and how I got there...I hail from Honolulu, Hawaii. Partnered with 2 of my college buddies, we own a media producing and consulting firm. My company does print, web, video, and interactive (kiosks/environmental) media. Job title: Prosultant, that is producer/consultant (not to be confused with one who insults professionally; or favors insulting consultation). I'm also the in house audio/music guy and project manager. I freelanced as a live/studio sound engineer and gigged with a Salsa band during and after college. And that brings me to what I do now...boiled shrimp...fried shrimp...cocktail shrimp...pineapple shrimp...coconut shrimp.........that's bout' it I guess.

Kidding aside, I just want to express my thanks to the admin, mods, and members who have shared and contributed to this BBS. You guys have a great online community going on here and look forward to sharing and contributing as much as and in any way I can.

Aloha,
Arvin

So, Arvin, you didn't add stand up comedy to your list of things you do! LOL!

You have a nutty sense of humor, which I like, and I look forward to reading about you and that A-1U.

Thanks for the laughs, and for finally saying Hi. :)

Hi Arvin!

:)

Welcome aboard (H)DVInfo.net, good to have you with us! I enjoyed your
little bit of humor as well. Ever tried putting that into a screenplay/script?

Aloha Arvin!
Also in Honolulu it's been great meeting other DvInfo'ers get a hold of me if you have time.
Aloha [@] idvfilms dot com

Howzit brah...I'm on the same rock as you.

You lucky guys

You lucky guys

Lucky?? Do you know the cost of living here has gotten insane!!! You need atleast 3 jobs and video don't count...lol