Final Stages of Pre-Production

Tonight was all about the logistics and getting ready for the trip. Our class began with Kristina Bryne, the Assistant Director of Education Abroad, leading our class through pre-departure orientation. By the time she finished her presentation, we all felt better prepared for our adventure to the Big Island. She covered things like safety, packing essentials, and culture shock. Although we will be traveling within the United States, the culture of Hawaii is its own separate entity. Even though we have been researching and preparing for the cultural divide all semester, we understand that we have to be open about our differences and sincere in our efforts to bridge them.

Scheduling was next on our agenda for tonight. It was decided that the class will be divided into two cars each led by one of our professors. There will be two teams per car and each team may have to conduct different projects simultaneously. Monday through Thursday will be jam-packed with interviews; we will be leaving the hotel before 8:00 a.m. most mornings and would not be returning until late in the evening. Tuesday is Volcano Day, our busiest day. Both vans are set to leave the hotel at 7:30 a.m. for various important events scheduled. Tuesday evening, we are graciously invited to a local resident’s home for a modest reception of drinks and pupu before attending “Stories from the Summit” at the Volcano Art Center.

We designated our last day before our flight home to be our “pick up day.” We will be capturing any footage we may have missed throughout the week. This would serve as a great opportunity to collect b-roll or scenic footage to intercut with the main footage. Our flight back home is set for Saturday afternoon, but production does not end until we board the plane. We have an interview set for Saturday morning to conclude the production process.

After this discussion, everyone took a minute to mentally prepare for the strenuous process that lay ahead. The next time when we all meet is March 17, at Newark Airport at 4:00 a.m. Each student will be responsible for carrying a piece of equipment. Each piece of equipment, such as our two drones, will be vital to our production process. We were also given our uniforms that consists of two crew t-shirts that represent Pace University. Our last class until the trip marked our very own Briana Rose’s 21st birthday and we were able to celebrate it with cupcakes. This celebration was the perfect ending to our pre-production phase in our documentary.