Hawaii Shoots is primarily the blog site of Brad Watanabe, discussing video production in and around Hawaii as seen through the lens of Berad Studio. Secondarily, Hawaii Shoots aims to grow and strengthen the video production industry as well as congregate production people in the form of Meet-Ups and workshops.

Many people go to film school or jump online to view video tutorials and how tos and also reach for digital digests of experienced shooters to find out what gear they use to help decide what to buy. This blog is not meant to replace any of those regularly visited sites, but rather to help supplement them, but more specifically to discuss how those things relate to shooting in Hawaii.

I regularly visit sites like Cheesycam & OliviaTech for DIY tips and tricks & hints on budget gear but there is something I don’t get to do when I visit those sites… I don’t get to touch and test the products/equipment. Nor do I get to dialogue with them one on one.

Similarly, though I’ve virtually shaken hands with some world renowned cinematographers and directors via twitter and Facebook, I don’t know that I will ever actually shake their hand or meet them personally. I don’t know about you, but there is something especially intriguing to me about actually shaking a person’s hand and chatting face to face.

Essentially, that is the gap that these “Meet ups” try to fill. Hawaii Shoots intends to gather directers, shooters, producers, audio technicians, lighting specialists, editors, animators, art directors, film makers and everyone in between. My hope is that we can build an extremely awesome creative production community in Hawaii. There is definitely a lot of talent here in the middle of the Pacific and there’s no reason that we couldn’t create a collaborative, creative community that rivals Hollywood. Let’s meet up, learn and discuss this radical, creative industry that we all love.