The quest for funding

O.K. I've told you a little bit about Iosepa... I thought I should now talk about the efforts it takes to put a documentary film together.

I've worked in TV news for over 14 years now. During that time, I never really worried about the financial aspect of what I do.... and now that I think of it, it costs a LOT!  You have to keep these things in mind when your trying to put an hour to hour 1/2 film together.

Here's some basic numbers to wrap your head around.... 1 hour of raw (unedited) video equals 1 minute of edited video. A camera crew rate is about $1500 a day.  Travel costs $$$...editing costs $$$$...producers, writers, post productions, legal stuff and more and more $$$$.

To start raising money, you need to either be a non-profit (501c3) or be sponsered by a non-profit organization.

My plan is to acquire a HD camera and an editing system so I can do most of the work myself.   

It's hard to trust....

I've edited this post a little.... it used to be a part of another posting but I thought it should have a place of it's own.

Many Hawaiians who have family ties to Iosepa are apprehensive about Professor Pykles intent. I can understand some of their concerns. For well over 100 years, the Hawaiian culture has suffered much from non-islanders. It's affects has caused Hawaiians to question those haole's (non-islanders) who may play a part in writing Hawaiian history.

I believe that Ben Pykles has good intent. I have prayed about it and talked with family members about him and I believe that my Kupuna (ancestors) has brought our paths together. Some may say that sounds silly but that's how I feel.

A tour of Iosepa

Memorial Weekend '08

Every Memorial weekend hundreds of people travel to Iosepa to remember those once lived there. It's a celebration done Polynesian style with good dancing, good music and good food. Some spend one day and others camp over the weekend.
For me, it's something I look forward to all year. I come to say hi to old friends, enjoy the music and feel that aloha spirit. It's hard to explain the special spirit that exists there so I invite people to come out for themselves and hopefully they will experience it too.
In the story that I did, I try to bring a some of the spirit to viewers..... I hope it worked.

Professor Benjamin C. Pykles

I met Professor Benjamin Pykles a little over a year ago. A close friend mentioned that he was doing an archaeological project at Iosepa. We were introduced and spent some time taking about each others quest to understand what life was like at Iosepa. He mentioned that he first learned of the story while attending BYU. Now that he was teaching in New York, he thought this would be a perfect project.

Last year (2007) Ben and the Tooele County Surveyor marked off a good part of the town. I was fortunate enough to go out one day and document it for KSL-TV. (The video I posted was from that story) During that day Ben and the surveyor staked out the two lots were my grandfather John K. N. Mahoe and his family once lived. We looked over the lots..... Ben picked up an item that looked like porcelain and said, "maybe this was a dish that they ate off of." At that moment I could really imagine them living there. That was a great moment.

Over this past Memorial Day weekend (2008), Ben took my family and I on a tour of the old town site starting with the two lots that were our family lived. I really enjoyed watching my family ponder the things that Ben was talking about. He pulled out a map and showed were the lots were in relation to the old town site. We continued to the town square (Imalani Square) were we found items that could have belonged in the old church. This experience deepened our love and appreciation for our ancestors who sacrificed so much for their faith.