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While most marathons have a qualifying time, the Honolulu Marathon does not, and a great starter for first-time marathon runners. Hawaii residents have two advantages to the marathon: early registration date notifications and lower entry fees. There are separate entry fee amounts for Hawaii residents, United States residents, and international residents. Note that the entry fee is non-refundable and in US currency.  When open, online registration can be done. All incoming Japanese residents must register at http://www.honolulumarathon.jp/ . Signups start in the Spring and the entry fees increase over the year for all three categories of residents. People participating in the marathon must pick up their own packet in person at the Hawaii Convention Center during the free expo, which is the week before the marathon. There are no exceptions and others cannot pick it up for you. The marathon packets includes timing chips and race numbers.

summary: Learn about the requirements. Register and pay for the entry fee. Sign up early. Know about packet pick up.


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Generally, you need chemicals to remove polyurethane. Because these chemicals are often harsh, you need good ventilation to protect yourself. If you can, go outside to work. If you're working on floors, create cross-ventilation to help keep you safer. To create cross-ventilation, open the doors and windows in the room. Also, it's a good idea to set up one fan blowing inward and one fan blowing towards the outside to get the air moving. If you're working on a piece of furniture inside, you should put something down to shield the floor from drips. A plastic tarp underneath the piece of furniture should work well to provide protection. You can tape down the edges if you're worried about tripping. Paint stripper can do a number on you if you're not careful. You'll need rubber gloves to protect your hands. Wear goggles to protect your eyes. Finally, you'll need a vapor ventilator mask, also known as a respirator, available at hardware stores, so you don't inhale the fumes. You should also wear closed-toed shoes, long sleeves, and pants if possible. Chemical-based paint strippers, such as those with methylene chloride, are very effective. However, they're also more harsh on your skin and can cause respiratory problems if you're not careful. If you're worried about the effects, you can use water-based strippers instead, though they do take much longer to work.

summary: Create cross-ventilation. Protect the floor. Protect yourself. Choose your paint stripper.


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Video is a visual medium, and while voice overs and text are great to get information across they are not incredibly compelling. If you're shooting alone you will not be able to use dialog, actors, or a ton of sound to tell your story. What you have, however, is all the time in the world to set up great shots, capture good video, and work on creating compelling angles. Have the mind of a photographer on every shot. Ask yourself if, on its own, the image is interesting. A storyboard is just the comic book version of your movie. They are invaluable ways to design your film, allowing you to "see" the movie before shooting. It then acts as your guidebook to the film. You can find and print templates online, or simply draw out your basic shots in advance with pen and paper. Improvising for the camera has it's place, of course. But storyboards are a good way to plan where the camera should go. Camera microphones are notoriously bad, and they become useless when the camera is far away from the action. An external microphone will make a huge difference in your production quality, since most audiences notice bad sound before rough video. Make discrete, compelling "scenes" instead of turning the camera on and letting it run while you move around. This ensures that you think about each scene individually and it makes editing much easier. Focus works by sharpening the image at one particularly distance from the camera. If you move around the camera will struggle to keep up, shifting focus or becoming blurry. Put down a small piece of tape that tells you where you need to sit or stand for each take. Films of any lengths are built in the editing booth.The more raw material, or film, that you have to work with the happier you will be, and the easier it will be to make a great movie. Grab different angles of the same shot, run through different lines, or videotape your environment for atmospheric shots. Every extra shot counts. Experiment with shots. Take crazy angles, get weird, abstract shots of everyday objects, and really explore your area with the camera. You may not use the footage, but even grabbing one compelling shot out of 100 will be worth it.
summary: Focus on telling your story or idea visually. Make a storyboard of your film. Use an external mic instead of the camera microphone. Shoot in short bursts, not long single takes, when getting lots of footage. Stay in one place if you are filming yourself. Get 3-5 times the footage you think you need.