final projects, final papers, and final finals!

I can't believe I'm almost done with this semester! This is my final project for Motion Picture Production. I've concluded that I am, nor ever will be a video person. However, other than a few details with the audio and certain video clips, I'm pretty proud of this. I spent almost 12 hours in an edit bay working on this thing, constantly having to render, readjust and make subtle changes. 


I never really knew how prevalent child abuse was in Hawaii until I wrote the article on the Pinwheels for Prevention event at the State Capitol. It really is scary to think that kids in or around my neighborhood are being abused. They say that more than 4,000 cases of child abuse are reported, however only about 1,500 of those are confirmed. And then you think of the amount that isn't being reported. Just learning those statistics and talking to people working to prevent child abuse at the event inspired me to make this video.


I've never been abused, nor have I ever known of anyone who has been abused, but I love kids. My mom does home daycare and I'm a Sunday school preschool teacher at my church so to think of any of those kids being abused breaks my heart (you'll see some of them in the video). 


The executive director of PARENTS Inc, Lisa Groulx, told me that she was never abused but she grew up with a father who treated boys differently than girls and who abused her brother. Now she's a single parent and works to educate parents on how to effectively parent their children without abuse.


Child abuse survivor David Louis is now an established founder of Heart Gallery Hawaii. He helps children in foster 
care find families that will match them and also helps to foster their dreams or career goals. The work he does has been featured on Hawaii News Now and other news organizations throughout Hawaii. He is also busy raising two sons, a daughter and another 3-month-old baby boy. 


I learned a lot about this particular issue through doing this project and I hope to educate those who may not know how prevalent this issue is. Although it was a lot of hard work finding professionals, scheduling, filming and editing, I think it was worth it. I hope you enjoy it! :)

I miss KHON2!

What an amazing experience it's been at KHON2! I honestly loved every second of my internship experience. Even though I had to wake up at 4 a.m. in order to get ready and get to the station at 6 a.m. I think the first-hand experience was  extremely worthwhile.

I learned more at KHON2 than in any class at HPU because I was put in a real news station, learning from people with years of experience in news. 


At the station I stayed at the assignment desk to listen to police scanners for any breaking news event. I also posted stories and videos to the website, answered phones, logged tapes, looked up videos for b-roll in the archives, filed press releases and input them into the assignment system. 

Along with these tasks I got to shadow reporters on various assignments. Some of these include:  

• Going to a press conference where the military was introducing their new fuel cell cars
• Going to the opening press conference of a new Waikiki restaurant by Chef Morimoto
• Covering the grand opening of Walmart Kapolei with Olena Heu
• Going to the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event to prevent domestic violence at the University of Hawaii
• Going to a Coast Guard press conference about the family who was rescued off the coast of the Big Island

• Covering the heavy flooding in Aina Haina, specifically Wailupe Place, with Olena Heu
• Going to hear Hawaii Meth Project’s presentation at Pearl City High School where I got to interview former meth addict Andre Pulido
• Interviewing Joel Osteen about his “Night of Hope” at the Blaisdell Arena 
• Interview Nainoa Thompson about the death of one of the original Hokulaule’a members 
• Covering a traffic accident near Portlock in Kaneohe
• Going to University of Hawaii at Manoa’s first football practice to interview players
• Interviewing Mufi Hannemann

These were just the highlights, I've learned so much and enjoyed the time I was there. Unfortunately my last night at KHON2 was last night. I'm really gonna miss the reporters, anchors, assignment desk editors, producers, and everyone I've met there. I'm hoping it's not the last time I'll see them. The pictures show just a few of the happiest people you'll ever meet in the morning. Up top it's Jai Cunningham, Olena Heu, me, Trini Kaopuiki and Taizo Braden. They're super sweet and have helped me out so much this past semester. Olena and Jerod (he's the assistant morning show producer) were the two people I looked to the most when I needed help. They became my favorite people at KHON2.

Though I'll miss the interning there, I know everything I've learned will help me in future experiences.