E Hoʻi Ka Nani I Mokuʻula — Let the Glory Return to Mokuʻula
This beautiful project started before the fire in LaHaina. The Lahaina Restoration Foundation (LRF) wanted to raise awareness about Moku’ula, a sacred place that was the spiritual and political centre of the Hawaiian Kingdom, but now lies buried beneath a local park called Malu ‘Ulu o Lele. With no visible remnants of the site and few artifacts—even fewer after the fire—Creative Director Chris Masterson suggested painterly, somewhat abstract animation to tell this epic story of Hawaiian history and mythology. Working with the foundation, with cultural advisors weighing in on a great deal of important details about location, religion, history, tradition, language, and custom, we worked with a large team to produce imagery that’s true to the people and the place. At the premiere viewing in the spherical projection space at the Maui Ocean Centre, the 360-degree projections surrounded the audience of local advisors, clients, performers, and enthusiasts, all of whom warmly welcomed this collaborative storytelling experience.
Design & Production
The imagery is heavily stylized, but the details had to be right. We enlisted the help of our good friends at BluBlu Studios to help us realize this complex design challenge. Out of respect for the place and its people, accuracy of location, materials, and representational approach for figures both historical and metaphorical was an integral part of design and story planning. It also had to flow together, with a sense of energy radiating out from and returning to the ‘home location’ of Moku’ula. The 360-degree projection embodies this idea, immersing the viewers in the film. Mixed in Dolby Atmos, the dimensional sound adds a visceral sense of the story, with Hawaiian chanters and narrators placed all around, along with sound effects and music created with indigenous instruments.
- client
- title