Week-long media camp draws kids from across state

PUHI — About 70 students in middle and high school from around the state converged at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School this week for a media camp.

Kevin Matsunaga, the instructor for the award-winning CKMS Media Class, said Monday that most of the students will get their feet on the ground during the week-long camp.

“We’ll be working every day from about 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.,” Matsunaga said.

“The group will be broken down into beginning and advanced groups and on Friday afternoon, we should have a celebration where all of the video done during the week will be shown.”

Coming off a two-week trip to New Zealand and after a couple of students spent some time in Japan, John Allen III of Waianae High School brought over 11 students and seven mentors, or alumni of the Searider video program.

“Normally, we come over for a weekend, or a couple of weekends,” Allen said. “Last year, CKMS came to Waianae for the week. This year, we’re on Kaua‘i.”

Clin Gima of Maui High Shool brought over 13 students from the Valley Isle. His biggest concern was addressing how everyone was going to eat Hamura Saimin at the same time.

The theme could be developed into a video piece, as students in the Advanced section work on PBS Hiki No type video assignments, Matsunaga said. He added that Gima and a crew had just returned from New York where his students earned awards for a competition in the Big Apple.

“Students in the Beginning section work on learning the basics of video and will produce a simple video before the week ends,” he said. “Today, as part of getting their feet on the ground, we’ve got them around campus working on basics like composition, rule of thirds, and other fundamentals.”

He said the media camp is made possible through a grant from PBS for training. PBS officials were at CKMS on Wednesday for a meeting.