Making Media That Matters
2022 March 26 - May 7, 2022
Week by Week
Week 1 - March 26, 2022
True Collaboration
And we’re back like we never left!
Of course we were only just at Ka Waiwai two weeks ago wrapping up our Reel Camp and our first in-person MMTM just before that. Time really does fly when one is in the midst of creating. Since our group was sizable but still a bit smaller than the previous Reel Camp, we had some time to get to know each other a little more during the welcoming circle. Both participants and staff got the opportunity to share with everyone what brought us to this space, why filmmaking, as well as a chance to think about what the phrase “making media that matters” means.
Everyone was then invited to come up with community agreements together. This is such an important exercise at every camp that we do. Filmmaking is an intense form of group work that requires patience, understanding, and clear communication in order for projects to run as smoothly as possible. I feel that beyond the expected high school group project or a sports team, collaboration tends to be shunned in the larger, more capitalized society mindset bustling just outside our doors. The goal of teamwork and collaboration in the eyes of capitalism is not to create bonds, work on something meaningful and life-giving with others, or produce something that can serve as fuel for others wanting to be inspired into taking action for worthwhile causes. The goal of collaboration in capitalism is to eventually abandon the team. Collaboration serves as a means to an end– use others as needed and then leave them in the dust once one’s toe is just about to hit the finish line. At HWF, however, and with many creative practices bent on fostering a love for the specific medium and the expression it can yield us, the goal is much different. The medium serves as a means of individual expression as well as an invitation to see how others express. It is a chance to learn about how others feel and experience things. It is an opportunity to bring the efforts and skills of each team member into the project and make it into something that everyone will be proud of. Community agreements such as respecting one’s space, communication, non-discrimination, non-judgement, and honesty are ways to ensure this process remains a true collaboration.
After the community agreements, Vera and Keana launched the room into a lecture on the basics of filmmaking. Once the lecture is over and we have a quick lunch break, participants get some hands-on practice with the equipment. Some are previous participants and others are here for the first time but everyone is always stoked for this part. As we wind down our first session and everyone reflects on the few hours we spent with each other, the word that continues to pop up in our closing circle is excited. Every third word seems to be excited. And I can’t blame them. Sometimes we all feel the exact same way about something and there’s really no better word to describe it. I know I definitely agree with them.
Even if I’m not making films, I’m excited to see what they end up making.
Week 2 - April 2, 2022
Change
One of the most important components of the creative process and collaboration projects in general is knowing when change needs to occur. One might be tempted to keep going out of fear of being perceived as giving up, not having enough time to accommodate the change, upsetting people who are invested in a specific vision, or perhaps having to occupy the headspace of “I know something needs to change but I don’t know what or how.” Change, however, is necessary at times. In fact, it’s typical of creative and collaborative work and usually one can expect it to happen at some point down the line. It isn’t anything to be ashamed of; it’s natural for people to shift and change direction many times as we navigate through life so we shouldn’t be afraid when it happens in our creative work. Unlike life outside the walls of creativity, we have only the vision in our head to adjust to and work around; not society’s.
This is the biggest reminder we had today. Our opening circle started off with our agenda as usual, a review of our community agreements, and an opportunity for participants to share the ideas they have for their future films. The topics ranged from the non-linear experience of grief, LGBTQI+ issues, the stress and overwhelm of school, peer pressure, women’s issues, coping mechanisms for stress, neurodiversity and the autism spectrum, and even the idea of making a horror film. After we went around and listened to everyone’s themes, Vera reminded the room that while today is for finding a group and practicing production roles and editing together, it is also about seeing what feels like the right fit. And that feeling like one is in the right group and working on the project they feel is best for them is important. Vera emphasized that if something is not the right fit then to make it known. It’s necessary to speak up when something is in need of a change. This doesn’t mean the place we are shifting away from is bad or negative– it simply means it wasn’t a good fit. And that is normal. And ok. And part of many a creative process.
The rest of the session is spent on the groups getting to know one another a little more in their new production crews and roles. Throughout the room, I can hear laughter, “quiet on set” and “action,” as well as see people practicing with the camera, sound, and more experienced participants taking the time alongside mentors to show new folks how to work the equipment. Editing tutorials take place as equipment practice continues in the background. Everyone seems to have found their niche in just a few short hours. Everyone seems to be taking to the process and each other swimmingly. As the session winds down to a close, we offer some last reflections on the themes shared before in the opening circle. Crew names are also announced and everyone is excited to jump back in once the next Saturday rolls around.
Week 3 - April 9, 2022
Week 4 - April 16, 2022
The continuous round robin of “action” ....
We had some new people in the space for our fourth session. While not every film has outside actors or is even centered on people, it’s to be expected that at least one or two films will have some additional folks placed here and there. To welcome the new people into the space and where we’ll be spending time together during this busy session and the next, we take some time to go around the circle and review our community agreements once more. Reviewing our agreements not only provides a full scope of what is/what is not tolerated and accepted in the space for our manuhiri (guests)– it also is a healthy reminder for those of us who have been in Ka Waiwai the past few weeks.
When we’re running around and in the thick of things such as set building, gathering props and other items for the film, practicing lines, practicing blocking, and trying to talk to each other while twenty other conversations are taking place around us, we can slip on agreements. We can trip and fall into behaviors or actions that are not in line with what we agreed on as the foundation for conduct with the space and with each other. This isn’t to say that doing those things makes us bad people; making a film, especially for those who have never done it before, is a time-consuming as well as stressful endeavor. We naturally can react to that in ways that aren’t the best. The important thing is to have moments like the one we opened with: sitting down in a circle, passing the mic around, and reading each agreement in detail so as to remember what is ok, what is not ok, and how to handle stress and bustle in a healthy, self-loving, community driven way.
With the exception of a lunch break in the middle of the session, the rest of the day was filming. The continuous round robin of “action,” “rolling,” “sound,” and “cut” went on throughout the day right up until it was time for us to have our closing circle. Not a single spot within Ka Waiwai was without; everywhere was being utilized for something, whether it was actual filming, planning, or sitting down during lunch for the spare ten minutes crew members had allotted themselves before jumping right back into filming. Like I’ve said before, it’s just like electricity ricocheting throughout the room.
The day wraps up with each crew sharing what their goal is for the next session. Finishing production and closing in on editing or beginning editing were the main ones people are focused on. With only a little bit of time left together, production is now going to have to pick up the pace. Not that this is a problem– the participants know how to get things done and are eager to jump into the tasks every single time. I’m not worried because they know what they’re doing. They come through every time with a strong and admirable work ethic. And the end results are fantastic.
Week 5 - April 23, 2022
What is this film about?
We open our fifth session with another circle and prompt led by Alexa, our program social worker. When we are in the thick of a project and the excitement of the entire endeavor is swirling all around us, we can sometimes get lost in the busyness. The hustle and bustle can become the only thing we’re focusing on because it does demand so much time and head space from a person. This is to be expected, of course. When carrying out projects like this, however, we always have to remember to bring key questions back up to the surface: why do I love this art form? Why do I return to it? And, most importantly, what am I doing all of this for? This is the question Alexa offers to the participants as we are about to jump into our last production session before the focus on editing begins. What is this film about? What do we absolutely need to film in order to convey this message?
These questions can get lost in the back and forth of production. They don’t disappear entirely– but it is common. It is bound to happen at some point during the process. It’s not due to lack of care for the message or point, but more so because there are so many steps that go into making a film. Things get busy and you can grow more focused on all the moving parts needed to make the vision come to life. I would say most creatives can relate to this to an extent. Even as a poet, I’ve found myself beginning with a specific idea or feeling that led to me wanting to write and I will end up concerning myself with certain words or whether it sounds ~pretty~ enough. I’ll eventually come back to the reason I began writing in the first place and manage to connect the beauty of the language with the point of the poem; it can be a whole journey to get there though. I’m sure the same can be said for any other artist engaged in creating something that holds great meaning to them. Sometimes the intricacies of the process required to translate the idea can be more consuming than the idea itself. It’s important that we find our way back eventually.
The rest of the day is spent doing just that. Each team gets to work on filming the remainder of the shots needed for their movies. As the filming wraps up and we have our final circle, teams are reminded of the work ahead: editing. While production has wrapped and the necessary shots have been gathered, there is still honing that needs to be done. Filming is obviously the main thing, of course, but editing is where people are able to truly shape the message of their films into exactly what they intended. Like a puzzle, teams take their time piecing each shot together until it’s the perfect fit. They keep working at it until it looks and sounds like the message they’ve been working towards all along.
Week 6 - April 30, 2022
Editing as a necessary function of art
The last session before screening. Every time we come to this point, I’m always unsure of what to write. Every week preceding is just one big flurry of activity after the other and there’s so much to take notice of, hear, see, scribble down, etc. Each session has a different thing that needs to be tackled, another component of the filmmaking process that wasn’t addressed in the previous; last session was focused on conceptualizing, this one is focusing on the script, the week after will be storyboarding, and the one after that will have to be getting in the first set of shots. There’s always something. The week before the screening, however, is when things are the quietest. Running around is still happening but not at as hurried of a pace as before. Things are happening but they’re not taking over the space the same way actual filming does. And yet, despite all the quiet, editing is probably one of the most intense activities of all.
Editing is such a specific type of action. I think most people are aware that editing is something we all engage in throughout our day to day: writing emails, texting, doing homework are obvious ones that come to mind, but we also edit when it comes to the way we present ourselves through personal aesthetics and speech. We often edit as we go and while we might not consider it editing, we are always changing things up about ourselves and we do it while we’re engaging in a wide range of activities.
Editing as a necessary function of art, however, is a whole other type of animal. At least I think so. Most of our self-editing that’s done throughout the day is unconscious and since it’s done so much, it’s kind of automatic. When an artist sits down to edit a piece, it’s to shape the piece for a moment. The piece may be seen a thousand times afterwards and we may all laud it for lifetimes to come. The unveiling of a finished piece, though, is a very specific moment in time. It is one time. And as someone who has gone through endless editing sessions myself, that one time is important. It is a moment where so many beginnings take place at once: a piece finally seeing the light of day, the artist observing it in a space that isn’t private, the artist letting it exist in relationship to other people, other people seeing it for the first time, first impressions, the thoughts and feelings that are birthed from seeing something new, and so many other firsts. All from a single moment.
Filmmaking is no exception. Editing in filmmaking occupies an interesting space because we can watch a film countless times but nothing will ever compare to the way it made us feel on our first watch. No doubt the reason we return to it so often is because we are trying to recapture a lot of those emotions that we felt when we first saw it. This is a kind of magic. This is a kind of work that demands quiet but is so so loud in its doing. It is a labor that I find difficult to write about because of how intimate and wrapped up in a thousand swirling feelings editing is. Everyone has their own process and everyone comes at it differently. But we are all going for the same thing: that moment where we all see it for the first time. And what we carry with us for a lifetime afterwards.
Week 7 - May 7, 2022
How we personally relate makes us stand out
I wanna talk about the magic of editing for a second; specifically, the power of shaping. Honing. I've written about editing before and how detailed of a process it is. It’s a tricky subject to tackle, though, because it is the least uniform part of the creative process; besides the technical aspects of editing like the software and components that literally enable the editing to take place (in mediums where software is required), everything is intensely personalized. One could be working on a project that relates to a large group of people, places, or things and yet, editing is the process that will make it stand out from others. Whether the differences are large or supremely subtle, editing is what allows the project to stand out as its own being– the intricate spellwork that is precision. Sharpening. The lone drop the sea cannot live without. The shade of green or blue the painting needs to be complete.
The screening for this most recent MMTM is a testament to that truth. This screening was an opportunity to see not only the films from the in-person camp but also the films that were produced by individuals during the online camp. Six films altogether and each one managing to relate to the other while maintaining its own place in the sun. When invested in a topic or theme that has been discussed, played around with, or misrepresented at length, one has to work hard at creating depictions that are true to them and the ways in which they experience that topic or theme. It isn’t an easy task; taking something that thousands of people can relate to and ensuring it both continues on in that widespread relevancy while also finding a way to stand out as a unique creature all its own. Yet, each team did just that. An exercise in dedication. Whether we are on the topic of mental health or exploring the layered dynamics of intergenerational support and relations, there was a hit to the heart at each level.
As we watch Lucie Reese’s story of an artist transitioning from endless self-inflicted pressure and critique to embracing herself as her greatest muse and inspiration in The Artist’s Subject, all the way through to Saige Adaro’s chilling tale of a girl and her doppleganger each witnessing the other living completely different lives in Facade, we are introduced to the multilayered and complex world of mental health and the power of the mind. The idea of the self as a place that can be both inspirational as well as troubling is punctuated by Two Pigs In A Blanket from Project Z and Monotonous Cycle by SFM^3 Productions. While Project Z chose to focus on shattering the stereotypes of neurodivergence and highlighting what it means to live as one’s authentic self in a world that is violently ableist, SFM^3 took the route of memory and provided us with a glimpse into the earliest days of the pandemic, where everyday felt like an endless loop and finding a way to deviate from the cycle felt like both a boon and an immense struggle to arrive at.
In a slight deviation, we see the theme shift slightly from the individual dealing with the internal world to the ways in which certain relationships have an effect on the internal. Material Girls Production’s I Want What’s Best For You shows us a young person who teeters between their mother’s strict notions of success and their own and the importance of following one’s dreams despite everything. The Substitute from Wheels and Doors Productions gives us a story of a girl who isn’t doing well academically, a mother’s dissatisfaction, and the necessity of listening and making space for scenarios beyond the ones we imagined. Each film ends with the realization on the part of the parent that in order to take care of their child in the best way possible and see them succeed, they need to set aside their own definitions of what either of those mean– that care, love, and growth are crafted and tended to by both child and parent.
In the films from Reese, Adaro, Project Z, and SFM^3 Productions, each one looks at mental health in its own way; whether that be through the lens of the artist inevitably discovering that looking inward is the biggest source of inspiration, someone realizing that in order to live fully one must try to feel at home within their body and mind, the joys and difficulties of being a neurodivergent person and the ways in which neurodivergent people make community with one another in this ableist world, or the battle that monotony and isolation wages on the mind and the ways we have all learned to survive and even thrive in spite of it. I Want What’s Best For You and The Substitute show us the power of young people listening to themselves and chasing their dreams and the power that is born when parents/caregivers trust them enough to support them in doing so. Both films show us that relationships between parents/caregivers and children deserve to be healthy, supportive, and full of love. They show us that when parents/caregivers listen to young people and trust that they know themselves, whole new worlds are made possible. All of these are subjects we can most definitely relate to but they are all told in very different ways.
All six of these films as a whole show us that beyond the general applicability of a topic or theme, there is always something there that hits. While we can’t speak to everything directly or claim to know how it feels to go through every single experience, we can approach things as people. As humans. As beings with hearts, minds, and a willingness to create relations wherever we can. However we can. The range of experiences in these related themes alone is enough to show that there are endless ways to speak. To connect. To grow. That the table we are meeting at only exists because of the different tools each of us brought to build it.
Much like editing, how we personally relate makes us stand out. It is the defining point. It can be a source of branching, understanding and, above all, a strength.
This program was made possible thanks to the generous support provided by the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, the Advancing Girls Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation, and the City & County of Honolulu GIA.