Walking over trodden ground

When I was upgrading my blog over the weekend I found a number of images of me in Hawaii some years ago now, and it was wonderful to see images of this paradise that I was so fortunate to have been to. One such memory there was spent at Kualoa Ranch, a sprawling parcel of land of 4000 acres and two valleys on the island of Oahu which is the background to so many movies and television shows.

As it happened, I got to meet the man who was the lighting director for Elvis' LIVE Aloha Hawaii special many years ago, who is a rather old man these days. He became aware of my desire to here his stories about the Elvis he got to meet and know over several years.

He told me some of the difficulties they faced lighting the venue that was to be broadcast worldwide, he said few people had this type of experience. He has as one of his prized possessions, a thank you photo autographed from Elvis. He also has a host of other signed celebrities pictures he has worked with over the years. I have included this clip of Elvis singing My Way from the Aloha special which he said was just amazing. I went to the venue as well and was entranced that it had all happened right there! or here when I said it. He said that at the conclusion of it he was absolutely hammered from having no energy left. It is something I appreciated learning about , I have never given the lighting directors much thought, but they're essential to creating the look and mood for the artist. After all, that is what I do, play with light and I was honoured to get to meet this great man, great to me anyway. It was this fine man who arranged for me to go to Kualoa Ranch. I will add more about Elvis in other posts.



You can see their website below, have a look around it, and if you click the "click to see filming at Kualoa Ranch" line, you will see the breakdown of films and shows shot there. There are 3 pages, so keep clicking and you will see them all. I have included some pictures of me inside one of the footprints from Godzilla and also a picture of me near the thatch house used in Mighty Joe Young, and a picture behind the tree where Sam Neil crouched behind to escape the approaching dinosaurs. I recognised so many spots from movies I thought I had been transported magically to one of the places of my dreams. I also saw and recognised Fantasy island sets and many more. For a child of television and movies it was heaven.

In one instance at the Ranch I heard what sounded like Dinosaurs, it was relatively loud and even a bit presupposing. I asked what the sound was and was told that during the filming of Jurassic Park the owners had to remove the grazing cattle because when they moo'd and called, the sound would bounce off the large rock walls which are very tall and echo, giving the sound and distinct Jurassic feeling. I don't mind saying that it felt VERY eerie.

The Godzilla footprint was a lot shallower than I recall in the film, he said that they had to be almost filled back in because the cows would fall in to the holes! makes sense I guess. I loved seeing and recognising some places from Magnum PI and many other shows including Fantasy Island. For me it was a fantasy itself - and still is.

The place is about 30-40mins from Honolulu and is just beautiful. But then Hawaii is just beautiful. I was so fortunate to stay at Turtle Bay, which is costly but gorgeous. I was there for several weeks. I also liked a place where Kualoa Ranch is located called Kaneohe Bay, pronounced Khan-ee-O-Hay Bay. My other favourite little place was Haleiiva which was a quaint village style atmosphere and trendy shops on a beautiful stretch of ocean. Whilst there is so much paradise there, I did notice how so many things like cars rusted, and how much the ocean moulds up so many things. I was also concerned at how close the ocean levels come to the road in some places. I recall turning on the TV one morning to hear the TV presenter say, "Aloha Hawaii, welcome to Hurricane season". GREAT!!!






The first picture in the post is a panoramic shot I took of Kualoa.

http://www.kualoa.com/tours_narrated.htm