Iosepa Documentary

The quest for funding

2008-06-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

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....

2008-06-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Memorial Weekend '08

2008-06-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

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.

KUTV Story

2008-05-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

I believe this story aired back in 2002 when I was working for KUTV (CBS). Please forgive the extra video at the end of the story....

The Beginning....

2008-05-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

Let me give some history to what I'm trying to do here.

About 12 years ago I started to pursue a career as a "TV news cameraman" or photojournalist. In '97 I grabbed a Sony Betacam and talked my younger brother Garrett into going to Iosepa with me. I think later that day at Iosepa I realized that this story needs to be told in a long format or documentary. That's when I planted the seed in my head and started thinking about what it would take to accomplish such a task. Back then I thought it would be easy....shoot some video.... have someone narrate and "abracadabra".... movie magic is made. Well... after researching this for the past 10 years I can say it's not that easy.

Iosepa is in Skull Valley, Utah about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City. From 1889 to 1917 it was home to some 250 (estimate) Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. My great-grandfather John K N Mahoe was among those who originally settled there. The Hawaiians were converts to the LDS church. They received special permission from the Hawaiian monarchy to leave Hawaii and come to Utah for their faith. Originally they arrived in Salt Lake City but they found it hard to find jobs and mix in with the new culture. A committee was formed to find a suitable place for the Islanders to work and live. Skull Valley was chosen and Iosepa was built.

I did my Eagle Scout service project there in 1989 and have always felt close to Iosepa. There is a special aloha spirit that exists there. Every Memorial day weekend hundreds gather there to celebrate those who lived and died at there. Many who attend have family ties and there and many do not. What everyone shares is the aloha spirit and a common interest to not forget those who sacrificed so much for their faith.

As a storyteller, I believe this story needs to be told. There are too many people who don't know of Iosepa. I want to share that story in a documentary. I've created this blog to share my progress in making a documentary about Iosepa.

I will try to post some stories I've done......