Why film in Hawaii?
Various Locations can be substituted
Hawaii has everything form ocean, mountain, jungles, modern architecture, mention nostalgic old towns and victorian era structures, which can be used in lieu of many locations and eras. Hawaii is often only thought for its beatufil oceans and mountants, but the missionaries from the west have introduce various European structures which still remain today. Therefore Hawaii has many of the factors which can often help with the film budget since many shots can be filmed here.
Every year many film crews from the US and abroad visit Hawaii to film anything from Hollywood blockbuster movies, commercials and photos shoots.
Film crew visa waiver system
To allow foreign film crews to smoothly enter the US, we have in Hawaii the “Visa Waiver Pilot Program”. The establishment of this program allowed for the alleviation of foreign film crews to enter the US without issue.
Personnel? Equipment? No Problem!
Being a very well established filming location, Hawaii is equipped with all the talent you need from stylists, make-up artists, lighting, camera crew, underwater filming crew, actors, etc, not to mention local coordinators and film companies that have extensive knowledge of Hawaii. Everything you need is already here. Since 1994, the State of Hawaii constructed a Hollywood class filming studio in the vicinity of Waikiki, in the Diamond Head area.
Public/Private Support System
As previouly stated, the “Visa Waiver Pilot Program” is provides major support to international filming here in Hawaii. In addition, permitting the use of government land and facilities, and film offices in the various islands the state provides extensive help to the film industry here in Hawaii. There is also a special discount system for local hotels and airlines in Hawaii.
The Ideal Filming Environment
In addition to all the support available for filming in Hawaii, Hawaii is blessed with some of the best weathers for filming. The weather is very stable and instances that the weather to halt filming filming is extremely rare. Filming in all 4 seasons is possible here thanks to the dynamic environments we have here in Hawaii. As hotel infrastructure is extensive in Hawaii due to the strong tourism economy, Hawaii is able to handle large numbers/long term filming.
FILM LOCATIONS ISSUES
Recently, locations like Kailua’s Lanikai Pillbox Trail, Hawaii Kai’s Koko Head Trail, and Nanakuli’s Mermaid Cove have been introduced in TV and magazines, and the State of Hawaii and City and County of Honolulu regard this as very problematic. This is because these locations are not able to be granted filming or photography permits to magazines or TV by the city, county and state, and they do not want these areas to be advertised. Please contact a HIFA member for further details.