by Hannah Hanson
This summer, Communication Studies Assistant Professor Dr. Ryan Stouffer was given the opportunity to take three students to Longwood University’s Hull Springs Farm in order to film the arrival of the Hokule’a, a Polynesian voyage canoe.
The Longwood managed site is located in Westmoreland County and is used as an educational, outdoor classroom for research and other programs. Longwood acquired the property in 1999 after the original owner and Longwood graduate, Mary Farley Ames Lee, passed away. Leaving more than 660 acres to the university to prevent development on the property, Longwood has transformed the land into an almost perfect ecological system for the students and community to study.
Stouffer and his students were hired to film and capture the vision of Hull Springs Farm, but more importantly film the docking of the Hokule’a. The Hokule’a is a traditional Polynesian voyage canoe that traveled across the world on a 60,000 mile trip. The mission of the Hokule’a is to discover how local communities are working towards a sustainable future; naturally, Hull Springs Farm was a perfect stop on their voyage. The crew consisted of 13 men whose goal was to change the world by water. A majority of the crew would leave their families for months on end so they could make a difference.
Robert Watkins, Payton Conway, and Marci Logsdon were the Communication Studies students hired to film during the two days that the Hokule’a was docked at Hull Springs Farm. Watkin’s main responsibility was filming everything he saw: from the crew of the Hokule’a, the people working at Hull Springs Farm, and the students that came to visit from schools all over the county.
When asked about his overall experience, Watkins was most excited that he got first-hand experience with the camera. Watkins stated, “no one was telling me what to do or what shots to film, but there was 500 kids watching me so I had to do my best.” When asked what Watkin’s favorite part about filming on location was he was most excited because, “[Dr.] Stouffer gave us guidelines about what to be filming, but having to shoot and create a story all on my own was the most rewarding.”
Dr. Stouffer and his students worked diligently to perfectly capture the Hokule’a and their mission of sustainability.