The Making of Maui
The video creation for the poem Maui Catches the Big Kahuna was a tremendous adventure. The subject was perfect for ocean vistas and crashing waves, providing a perfect backdrop for Maui’s storyline. We spent a lot of time on Waihi Beach, filming in all weathers.
At the beginning of the video, I am walking up the beach in a howling gale. The inbuilt microphone in the camera was not up to the boisterous elements, so I recorded my voice over the footage in the quiet confines of the studio. It took a lot of coordination, lip synching over the video and tweaks from the technical wizard, Mr Possum, to perfect the timing. The result was near seamless.
Serendipitously, a solitary wind sailing surfer appeared in the background in the middle of filming, which was miraculous. Here was our Maui, photo-bombing the video in a stroke of impeccable timing. He appears in the middle section of the final video, synchronously woven into the poem.
We did much of the storyboarding in a nearby café, sheltering from lashing wind and rain. As a result of our activities, one of the waitresses there was curious to know what we were up to! After much quaffing of Spy Valley Sauvignon and sampling seafood, we were ready to turn vision into video.
It took months. From inception with the original poem, to the final filmic creation on YouTube, was an inspiring and challenging journey. I enjoyed showcasing the video at a recent Poetry Event at the Pumphouse Theatre. The video is available to view on the blog.
The Origin of Maui Catches the Big Kahuna
No one will ever know the initial prompt – the poem sprung out of a terrible realisation which unfolded as some perverse joke. The reference to the word Kahuna provides a clue. Who did Maui catch, who saw himself as rather important? I followed the vision, as if viewing a film in helpless wonder. So many things fell into place!
The title for the poem literally appeared before me, like smoky writing on a wall. Initially, the poem settled upon me like a pre-migraine weight (only I don’t get migraines); it felt like that fuzzy brain that comes before stormy weather. The Muses churned in the background. Then the body of the poem followed like velvet carpet bombing my mind. I think I wrote it in a day.
The Test Flight with the Dragonflies
I introduced the Dragonflies Writers Workshop in a previous blog, Flight of the Dragonfly, At the next Zoom meeting, I dared to air the poem. It was perfect for the theme of the next session: Myths. I had to dive in. After reading it, the participants reacted with interest and intrigue. They quickly divined there was much more hidden beneath the surface. The truth told in slant, to paraphrase Emily Dickinson, became a topic in itself. The poets in the seclusive Zoom space knew more about the driving force behind Maui than anyone in the outside world! It was like being at confessional, but without the spectre of sin or expiation.
Clothed in the actions of an iconic mythic figure, the poem detailed an incredibly personal journey in which symbolic ciphers will not be decoded for a long time. All I will say is that the poem’s completion determined the difference between life and literary death. Poetry is the lifeline.
Eventually, Maui Catches the Big Kahuna surfaced on the Flights E-journal in Issue Ten. What a journey! The video was a continuation of that journey and followed much later.
And here is the video. Enjoy!