Have you seen the new Project Niu movie? Did you know that this movie was created for us by the amazing teams at Adobe Systems and eMotion Studios? Let me tell you how this all came together...

Just a few months before we launched the first Niu from Waimea Bay (5/8/08), the Project Niu team began an exciting collaboration with the K-12 Education team at Adobe Systems Inc. (You all know Adobe as the makers of awesome software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, etc.) Adobe was interested in using movies and photos about Project Niu as part of their demonstration to educators as to how Adobe's software can be used in schools. Lead by John Schuman (Worldwide Education Solutions Architect), Adobe's creative team brought on an incredible film crew from eMotion Studios to help make Project Niu shine.

The filming began a day before the Niu launch with a full day of interviews at Archinoetics' office, which was transformed into a studio through tons of lighting and sound equipment. Trust me, when you see firsthand how much work goes into creating a four minute documentary, you really start to appreciate the things you see on TV and in the movies.

In the photo below, Erin Nishimura gets ready for her interview. Makeup!

In the photo below, Traci Downs prepares for her interview with Director Glenn Janssens of eMotion Studios. Check out that lighting!

The next day, the film crew brought several video and still cameras to document the Niu launch at Waimea Bay. If you've seen the video, you already know that one of they did some underwater filming as well to capture that first moment that Niu hit the ocean. The film crew worked hard all day to document the event, interview students and teachers, and guarantee that they'd get the perfect shots needed to make a great movie. I think you'll agree after seeing the movie that all the hard work was well worth it!

In the photo below, Christian Schneider prepares the video camera for a day of filming at Waimea Bay. Take a look at that camera.... now you know why your camera phone's videos don't come out this nice!