Spring 2017 ‘Ulu’ulu Intern Marc Matsumoto

We’re sadly saying goodbye to our Spring 2017 intern, Marc Matsumoto. He came to us as a senior from the Creative Media Program and will be graduating in Fall 2017. We were very lucky to have such a quick and dedicated worker helping out with projects within the archive. When Marc applied for the position he said he really liked to organize things, and right then we knew he would be great for assisting with processing our collections.

We had some questions for Marc before he departed to continue his academic journey.

How did you learn about ‘Ulu‘ulu and why did you decide to intern here?

I learned about ‘Ulu’ulu through a list of internship sites provided by Sharla Hanaoka (Associate Director for Creative Media – UHWO) during my search for a place to intern. I wanted to have a backup plan in case one of my chosen sites didn’t work out. ‘Ulu’ulu ended up being my final decision after communications went south with another location. Out of the other sites listed, I always wondered what ‘Ulu’ulu. I had always seen it at the far end of the library and only visited once before while getting my ACM card. I wanted to answer that question before I graduate from West Oahu and I’m very happy that I found that answer and more while interning here.

Could you share a little about the work you did as an intern?

I did a handful of tasks, many much faster than what was intended. About halfway through the semester I finished a major project that was to create an inventory of the KHON collection. Otherwise, some of the other tasks I worked on were inspecting and cleaning tapes, scanning cards for collections, and cross-referencing videos for the Daniel K. Inouye Oral History Project.

Was there anything about the work that was surprising or unexpected?

Seeing the inside of the vault for the first time. Before I started I never expected to go into the vault. I thought that I would mostly be stationed in my assigned area . It’s definitely something you would have to see firsthand, walking down the aisles.

Disposing of deaccessioned film

What was your biggest takeaway?

I feel my years at West Oahu are filled with missed opportunities and I’m sad that only this semester I found out about of this amazing resource that was right beneath my nose. I don’t recall any of the professors referencing ‘Ulu’ulu except if there was a screening or event going on in the area. I would hear about checking out the library as a whole or stopping by the No’eau Center, but nothing specifically about ‘Ulu’ulu. Seeing it separated by a glass door, I thought perhaps that I needed some kind of permission to go into the area. I didn’t know that it could relate to anything I was working on at the time. If only I knew then what I know now some of the projects I’ve struggled with could have been alleviated by using their resources.

Pursuit in Creative Media

When I was little to now I enjoyed video games and animated movies, because of this I thought I would become a video game or animated movie creator or director. Growing up I became interested in film, which I’ve had uncertainties regarding my skill and experience in the field. During my time in college I dabbled in various techniques and learned as much as I could such as a bit of graphics work, sound design, video editing, animation, coding and screenwriting. It was an up and down journey finding out what I want to do. Although, no matter what, I did know that I wanted to pursue this field of study. I’m sort of a “jack of all trades, master of none” or that is what I call myself nowadays. I still do not have a concrete plan for the future except taking on any jobs necessary to learn what I can. I’m leaning towards freelancing until I get noticed by someone from the industry and if that falls flat then I’m considering teaching in this field.

Humanities Theme

As one of his projects, Marc put together a theme for our website. He had a great time looking through all the clips on our website and decided to relate it to his humanities course.

Description: What is Humanities? How can you apply Humanities in your field of study? This theme is a collection of videos that relates to the Humanities course as well as ways to utilize humanities in different applications. The videos vary with different groups of people whether background, race or culture in addition to examples of possible ways to express humanities such as art, interviews, talk shows, poetry and music.