We’ve all seen the motion picture trailer at Consolidated Theatres. It shows canoe paddlers at dusk, a hula troupe walking with torches and then dancing. It’s called "Hawaii," and it’s been in use for 20 years. Here’s the story behind it.
"Former General Manager Phil Shimmin asked me to produce a new trailer for Consolidated in the 1990s," Mountain Apple Co. founder Jon de Mello recalls. "Before that they had a short piece that had popcorn popping and sodas being filled. He gave me carte blanche to design a new one."
De Mello says one of his first jobs as a teenager was changing the names of movies playing on the marquee at the Varsity Theatre near the University of Hawaii. Designing a new trailer was a much bigger job.
"I thought about what makes Hawaii special," de Mello continues. "The ocean, paddling, hula, but mostly our people: the mix of people in Hawaii, the blend of nationalities, the beautiful faces. I thought all those should be incorporated into the trailer."
"Phil wanted sunsets, so we shot from dusk to dark over four days." Dennis Mahaffey of McHale VideoFilm directed it.
The canoe segments were filmed at Waianae Cove. "We asked the paddlers to go across the cove and then back. They did it a few times, and we felt that was enough."
The hula segments were filmed at Makapuu and the rocks near Sandy Beach. "Robert Cazimero’s hula halau provided the performers. Most of their motions are warm-up exercises. Then we asked them to make some hand motions to the right and left.
"There’s a part where one dancer puts a finger to his lips. It looks like he’s shushing the audience, like many trailers do. But it’s a kissing gesture. Kissing was unknown to Hawaiians. Instead, they touched foreheads and exchanged breath."
The last shot pans down from the dancers to a rock with the Consolidated logo of the sun and palm trees. The rock was really a painted block of foam with the logo carved into it. Fire peeks around the edges as the Consolidated Amusement name and slogan is superimposed over it.
De Mello wrote the music in a day, and it took about three days to record and mix. "I wanted a big sound. It needed to be a fanfare, an opening. It needed nature sounds as well as a big orchestra including Hawaiian drums (pahu) and a climax."
It took the team about a week to edit, de Mello says. "We then moved to a Hollywood studio soundstage to marry the picture to the music. The trailer takes up exactly one minute on the screen."
"Phil Shimmin and I went to the Cinerama Theater to watch it one morning in Dolby Surround Sound," de Mello continues. "We must have watched it eight or nine times, and we were both overwhelmed and very happy with it. The home office was thrilled. It’s their longest-running trailer in Hawaii."
The trailer debuted in May 1992 for the 75th anniversary of Consolidated in Hawaii.
Many locals miss the trailer when they go to movies on the mainland. Aiea resident Joan Sato moved to Los Angeles 10 years ago and says she expected to see the Consolidated trailer.
"It was actually shocking when I went to my first movie and realized there was not going to be a Consolidated intro." Now back in Hawaii, she says, "I never grow tired of seeing it."
Many would agree with her.
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Bob Sigall, author of the “Companies We Keep” books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.
