All posts tagged Video

Jumping Maunawili Falls

by Coty on October 1, 2012 in Hikes with No comments

Steven Alan put together an excellent video of his recent hike up to Maunawili Falls. I love the editing on this video, especially the seamless blend with the soundtrack. And the dog is cute. Really cute.

“The first time I went I wasn’t able to swim and get in the water due to various wounds I had on my feet and legs. I didn’t want to get any weird flesh eating bacteria in the wounds… So I filmed, with my GoPro my friends dog and us just hanging out. The second time, however, my wounds were mostly heeled and I couldn’t resist. There are two jumps, well maybe more if you wanted to get creative, but two main jumps. The first one being from the falls itself and the second being on the other side facing the falls. I believe the little pond created by the falls is about 10′-12′ deep, on my second jump I did touch the bottom.”

For directions to Maunawili Falls, check out this post here.

Music: Bowsprit by Balmorhea from the album Constellations. Buy now from Amazon.

Frame of Mind

by Coty on September 18, 2012 in Sights with No comments

Very cool video that was shot and edited by Ben Boutwell and Steven Alan. The video was inspired by the intro to Modern Family. They actually covered a large portion of Oahu while shooting the video. You’ll notice Diamond Head, sugar cane fields on the North Shore, and the view from Aloha Tower. Regardless of location, it looks like they had a great time shooting this video!

Music: Kick Drum Heart by The Avett Brothers from the album I And Love And You. Buy now from Amazon.

Kauai: Always Returning by Philip Bloom

by Coty on April 14, 2012 in Photography with No comments

I recently stumbled upon an awesome short film shot by Philip Bloom, titled Kauai: Always Returning. The short was shot by Bloom 2 years ago for the Kauai Visitor Information Channel. The footage caught by Bloom is absolutely breathtaking. Bloom was able to capture the essence of Kauai through his camera lens. Oahu might be the island that I call home, but, Kauai is the island that I consider to be the most beautiful. Blooms footage reaffirms this. The footage was shot completely on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II (I am sure that if it had been shot today then he would be using a Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

“So a couple of days ago I took it out for the afternoon with Ryan Pointer from the Kauai Visitor Information Channel. They had hired me to come out for a week to take a look around with the idea of coming back for a much longer trip.

I did some shots of the Taro fields, a few shots of the river, a few shots of the beach and some high shots…Because some of the clips were long “timelapses” I used up my 32gb pretty fast.

It’s a relatively steep learning curve, especially coming after using the Panasonic Lumix GH1 for a couple of weeks. The video mode of the 5dmk2, as many of you already know, it a bit of a b**** to use! Lack of manual controls, 12 minutes clips, inability to lock exposure between takes…the list goes on. One way around the lack of manual controls to start with is don’t use Canon glass. I used all my Nikon lenses that I normally use with my Letus Ulitmate. My fast Zeiss primes, my f2.8 Nikon zooms and my shift tilt Hartblei. All I used was a £15 EOS to Nikon adaptor from ebay and it worked a treat. Obviously all auto controls for stills are lost with these lenses but for video they are perfect as they have manual aperture so you can stay wide open and the camera compensates with shutter/ ISO (ISO can be locked, as far as I know shutter can’t)”

After watching the short, I did some research on Bloom, which led me to his personal blog. It turned out that Bloom was a filmmaker, having directed and edited numerous short films and documentaries. He is also known online for his film tutorials and training videos. I dug a little deeper and found a short film that he shot at Skywalker Ranch and then edited the following day and later screened to George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino. They had invited Bloom over to the Ranch to show them what the Canon DSLR’s could do and whether the footage would hold up on a projected screen. Both Lucas and Tarantino were blown away by Bloom’s footage that Lucas would later hire him to shoot Red Tails. So rad.

Music: Always Returning by Brian Eno from the album Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks. Buy now from Amazon.

While shooting on the beach, Bloom simply asked Reagan's dad if they would be models for his film and they said yes. Photo by Philip Bloom.

Vintage Video Taken on Victory Over Japan Day, August 14, 1945

by Coty on March 13, 2012 in Photography, Sights with No comments

I recently stumbled upon a short film compiled by Richard Sullivan. The footage was taken from video that his father shot more than 65 years ago on August 14, 1945. On that day, Japan officially surrendered during World War II.

The days leading up to the surrender were bleak. On December 7, 1941, Japan surprise attacked Pearl Harbor. On August 6 and 9 1945, the United States would drop atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Not soon after the drop of the destructive bombs, Japan announced their surrender. The day would be known as Victory Over Japan Day (also known as Victory in the Pacific Day).

This video was filmed throughout Honolulu, including Kapiolani Boulevard, Ala Moana Boulevard, and Kalakaua Avenue and shot using Kodachrome 16mm film. You’ll notice that, other than the Moana Surfrider, most of the buildings along Waikiki have since vanished. Toward the end you get an excellent view of Diamond Head from Waikiki. That view, hasn’t changed much.

Some locations worth noting:

:28 – South St. next to the now defunct Honolulu Advertiser building
:38 – Kapiolani Blvd. seen from South St.
1:05 – “Parade” goes from Victoria St. onto King St. with Thomas Square in background (with military buildings in it)
1:21 – Lippy’s Service Station on Kalakaua Ave.
1:26 – Ala Moana Blvd. with HECO plant at back left
1:28 – Kalakaua Ave. nearing Kapiolani Blvd., with Kau Kau Korner at the intersection (later Coco’s and then Hard Rock Cafe; now CW’s at the Clubhouse aka CW’s Nightclub)
1:40 – Moana Hotel
2:05 – Looking up at viewers on the exterior fire escape stairs of the Moana Hotel
2:17 - The orange awning is the House Of Coral store

Sailors in Pearl Harbor listen to the radio as the announcement that Japan has surrendered comes in (Photo courtesy of the Associated Press)

Water.Under: Neat Underwater Video Shot at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island

by Coty on January 31, 2012 in Beaches with No comments

I recently discovered this video by Austin, Texas based freelance director, David Blue Garcia. The video was shot at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island. This beach is notorious for being the place where Captain Cook was killed. The short video is visually stunning, featuring underwater views from the bay. Garcia got some excellent shots of reefs, Hawaiian green sea turtles, a wide variety of fish, and dolphins.

To film the underwater video, Garcia used a Canon EOS 7D with a Sigma 8-16mm Lens tucked safely inside an Aquatech water housing. I wish I had access to such equipment!

The video also has an excellent sound track, featuring the song Colours by Hot Chip. Buy now from Amazon or iTunes.

For those of you interested in how Captain Cook met his untimely death, read this excerpt taken from the Coffee Times:

When a boat was discovered missing from the Discovery on February 14, ill feelings escalated. The British fired cannons at canoes in the bay and Cook went ashore with some sailors to try to bring Kalaniopu’u back to the Resolution as a hostage. A crowd had gathered by the water’s edge when, at the far end of the bay, a shot rang out from one of the British boats, and the chief Kalimu, standing in his canoe, was killed. The Hawaiians began to don their war clothing and, when a challenging motion was made toward Cook, he turned and fired his musket. Then his marines fired. When the king’s guards charged, the marines, who had no time to reload, headed for the water. Many of the men, like Cook, could not swim.

The recorded details are not exact, but it is thought that Cook was struck with a club from behind, then stabbed repeatedly with an iron dagger that had been obtained from the British in trade by a chief named Nua.

Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park. Photo by Flcikr Member apasciuto.

Captain Cook Monument at Kealakekua Bay. Photo by Flickr Member apasciuto.

Enjoying a Heineken at Kealakekua Bay. Photo by Flickr Member apasciuto.

Pools at Kealakekua Bay. Photo by Flickr Member apasciuto.

Spinner Dolphins playing around at Kealakekua Bay. Photo by Flickr Member Daniel Parks.

For more photos please visit apasciuto and Daniel Parks on Flickr.

Directions: Kealakekua Bay is accessible by car via Napo’opo’o Beach, located on the eastern shoreline of Kealakekua Bay. You will take Highway 11 from Kailua-Kona and drive south to Napo’opo’o turn-off where you turn right. The bay is approximately 4 miles form the turnoff. Kealakekua Bay is also accessible via Ka’awaloa Cove on the northern end, however, you’ll only be able to access it via boat or private tour.

Papa’iloa Beach: A Playground for Turtles

by Coty on August 24, 2011 in Beaches with 3 Comments

I have a friend that is from Hawaii, but moved away to the mainland for graduate school. He mentioned to me that he had never seen a Hawaiian Sea Turtle in action at the beach while he lived on the islands. I was blown away because they are so numerous … if you know where to look. One of the places on Oahu where you are guaranteed to have an encounter with a turtle is at Papa’iloa Beach in the North Shore town of Haleiwa. The beach is actually tucked away behind residential homes and so it is often the perfect place for a secluded beach experience.

Me and Joel stopped over today to check out Papa’iloa because I’ve been itching to test out my new GoPro Hero HD camera in the water. After testing the timelapse capabilities of the new GoPro (see video below), we decided to go and seek out those turtles. I was hoping to see some turtles and my goodness did I see turtles. We actually found a family of turtles. I counted about 15 Hawaiian Sea Turtles all in one spot of the beach. They were just chillin’, riding the waves, and having a great time.

Papa’iloa Beach was also a major filming spot for the television show LOST. In fact, take a look of some of the shots below and you’ll probably recognize the background. The beach was used as the official beach camp for LOST – pretty awesome, huh! During this time, Papa’iloa was also known as Police Beach, because it was common for it to be heavily guarded with Honolulu Police Department (HPD) officers during filming.

Explorers: Coty Gonzales and Joel Sabugo.