Posted on: Thursday, November 18, 2004
WHAT WORKS
Digital camcorders valued as prizes
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer
Last year, working on computers barely capable of handling their video editing software, students from Nanakuli High School's electronics media class took five first-place awards in 'Olelo Community Television's Youth Xchange educational video contest.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser "That was a lifesaver," said James Taylor, an educational assistant for the class. One of the two old cameras has since broken down beyond repair, he said.
Saddled with an insufficient budget, the program has been able to succeed through federal grants and community partnerships.
Electronic Media coordinator Royden Apana said the students counter the shortage of equipment and supplies by doing public service announcements, educational videos or audio-visual equipment setup for businesses and agencies, such as the state Department of Health, the city Wastewater Management Division, the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center, Ko Olina Resort and Hawaiian Electric Co.
"In various ways we provide some kind of service and they purchase some kind of equipment for us," Apana said.
Lessons learned: "I've learned that every day is a learning experience," Apana said.
Keys to success: "If you can reach the kids and show them that you really care and that you have something that you want to share with them, it allows them to open up and let you teach," Apana said. "The trick is when you can actually show them that you don't know everything." It also helps that the course is hands-on and the students can often see immediate results, he said.
How they do it: "Instead of specializing them in one area ... we try to give them a full view of what the industry has to offer," Apana said. Students might start with audio, then move on to camera work and in-camera editing. The students then learn editing.
CONTEST OPEN 'Olelo Community Television is accepting submissions to its Youth XChange educational video contest through Dec. 31.
The contest is open to K-12 and college students statewide. Entries must be issue-oriented.
All work must have been done in 2004.
For more information, visit the Web site for 'Olelo at www.olelo.org or call 834-0007.
SEE THE VIDEO
Nanakuli High School's "Love of My Life" video, which won the 2003 Judge's Choice Award, can be seen on the Department of Education Teleschool's Hawai'i Student Digital Showcase this month. The show airs on 'Olelo Channel 56 on Tuesday from 4 to 5 p.m., Thursday from noon to 1 p.m., and Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m. In addition to the award-winning music video "Love of My Life" on the dangers of the drug ecstasy, the students have produced public service announcements for the Office of Elections, an internship video for Ko Olina and a video for the Nanakuli homestead community.
The students also produce spots for the school's closed-circuit television and have a one-hour news program that airs on 'Olelo on Sunday nights.
Currently, students are updating HECO's educational videos, working toward a more current look and "also to put a little more entertaining twist for the stories," Apana said.
In addition to class work, Apana encourages his students to work on their own projects, perhaps for another class, or for personal use.
The "Love of My Life" video allowed rapper Kris Ancheta to produce a demo video he could bring to recording studios. "Everything was homegrown here," Apana said.
Ancheta has since been signed to a record label, as has Ujena Johnson, who also appeared and sang in the video.
Students are also encouraged to come back and work on projects even after they have completed the course. Some students produce DVDs of athletic highlights for college and scholarship applications, while others produce slideshows for friends and family.
James Pontin, 15, said he took the class on his friends' recommendations.
He likes the hands-on experience and the way the teachers let the students work independently. "They let you be free," he said.
Naturalee Puou, 16, has taken electronics media courses for more than 3› years. She now serves as one of the anchors for the school's news program.
"It's something that I really enjoy and I'm comfortable with," she said. "I plan to go to college and go for a career within this field."
Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.
The awards — five digital camcorders — proved to be a boon for the program, which until this year had only two nearly obsolete cameras for the 60 students to share.
Nanakuli High School video students working on a new project are, from left, Monique Yamane, 16; Lavette Kekahuna, 16; and Ambree Hauhio, 15.
For example, the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center recently replaced the program's four computers with eMacs capable of running the editing software. The old computers were given to a school just beginning an electronic media program.
AT A GLANCE
