The screening was a huge success!

Thanks to all those that helped us put this together, we had Tahitian music, a 6 year old dance for us, a Samoan slap dance and two other beautiful cultural dances. After we showed the film and some of the bonus features of the film, we had a huge spread of some of the most awesome Samoan food. Amazingly, we actually fed everyone which was about 250 people in attendance. In the Nelke Theater, we had people sitting in the isles and crowding the doorway. I can't say thanks enough to all those that helped us put this event together.

Ryan 

The Turtle and the Shark - (english version preview)

A free screening will be held in the BYU HFAC Building in the Nelke Experimental Theatre April 16th, Wednesday @ 7pm.

We are in the process of also having this film featuring in the Polynesian Cultural Center IMAX theatre, and hoping to premiere it during the Samoan Arts Festival in Hawaii.

This Film will be for sale in DVD format, including bonus material which includes a making-of feature as well as another bonus film animated by Ryan Woodward. The price for the DVD is yet to be determined, but if you are interested in purchasing a copy send us your info so that we can put you on an emailing list; or just check back later with this blog for future updates.

BYU Weekly News Spot

BYU Weekly, a student run news program highlights the Polynesian Mentoring Project .wmv

The Film

The Turtle and the Shark is one of the most popular Samoan legends. It tells the story of a man and a woman who are deeply in love. Unfortunately, the man is chosen to be the next meal to the cannibal King Malietofaiga. To avoid this horrible fate, they flee to another island. However, fearing their act of disobedience would bring dishonor on their families, they willingly gave up their lives at the cliffs of Vaitogi. The gods had mercy on them and transformed them into a turtle and a shark to live together, forever.

As a team, the group has been working to transform this historical legend into a short film. Stylistically, the film utilizes Samoan artistry and culture.

The Polynesian Mentoring Project

Soon after production began on The Turtle and the Shark, a larger mentoring project was devised. Thanks to special grants through the College of Fine Arts and Communications, in May, Professor Ryan Woodward and his 4 students will travel to Hawaii, Samoa and American Samoa, mentoring and offering workshops in visual storytelling. The Turtle and the Shark, will serve as a mentoring tutorial as we explain the process of taking a story, and transforming it into a visual production through art, design, animation, music and technology. At the same time, Professor Ryan Woodward and his team plan to be the recipients of mentoring by researching more Polynesian art and culture.

With these tools and training, generations of Polynesian students will be able to preserve their history through visual storytelling.

Workshops held at BYU HAWAII & WESTERN SAMOA, as well as visits to AMERICAN SAMOA

Day 1 - Story, research and philosophy, sketchbook.

Day 2 - Character design, environment design, story-boarding

Day 3 - Animation and production basics, animation techniques and software

Day 4 - Individual mentoring

The workshop will be lead by Ryan Woodward, and instructed by Jason Knapp, Jared Greenleaf, Chris Welch and Taylor Krahenbuhl.

Check back later on this weblog for updates on workshop location and times.

Also: contact Lisa at BYUH Fine Arts Dept. for more information regarding workshops held at BYUH.