Hawaii Film Blog: Hawaii Newbies, Read This

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Hawaii Newbies, Read This

Productions going on location often have to get familiar with their host locales in a jiffy. In light of this, below are some primers for Hawaii that every visiting filmmaker should check out before landing here. Your shoots will go much more smoothly if you know a thing or two about where you're spending the next few weeks. Here are a few Hawaii factoids to start your education:

Became the 50th state in 1959
Population of 1.26 million
Racial make-up: 42% Asian, 23% White, 9% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 7% Latino, 2% Black, 21% Multiracial
State motto: Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono (the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness) - That's a hint for all you production folks who want to toss your cigarette butts in the sand!
Summer temps range from 70 degrees at night to 85 in the day, winter temps go from 60s to 70s
Ocean temp is 74 -75 degrees in March, 79-80 degrees in September
Colloquial dialect is Hawaiian Creole English, or Pidgin
Public transportation is available on Oahu via The Bus
Hawaii has 2 official languages: English and Hawaiian (local financial institutions accept checks written in Hawaiian!)
Bugs here are ginormous
We have the highest per capita SPAM consumption in the country