As its award-tiled entrance way clearly attests, the hottest — and coolest — digital media production house in Hawai'i has had its share of champagne days.

It's too bad none of the creative talents who earned the honors are old enough to partake.

"We're really fortunate to have been recognized for all the work the students have done," says Candy Suiso, program director for Wai'anae High School's acclaimed Searider Productions.

"Actually," Suiso says, her eyes demurring from the rows upon rows of awards, certificates and recognitions mounted on the expansive wall, "these are just from the past year.

"We had to take down the rest because we didn't have room."

Since its start in 1993, Searider Productions has grown into one of the most respected and advanced media training programs of its kind in the country, providing students intensive, hands-on training with direct application to the local marketplace.

Local businesses, utilities, social-service agencies and nonprofit groups have taken notice.

In recent years, Searider Productions has functioned much like a real-life agency, developing public-service announcements, promotional videos and other projects for clients such as the Hawaii Medical Service Association, Hawaiian Electric Co., Ko Olina Resort and Spa, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

And it's no sweatshop operation. The program is compensated with donations of money or equipment.

Monetary donations are used to underwrite trips to the Mainland (for conventions and competitions) or for small stipends to the students. Many students save their stipends to purchase their own laptops and other equipment.

"We've gotten to the point where we have to turn down a lot of jobs," says video production advisor John Allen III, a Searider Productions alumnus.

Allen prepares cost analyses to put projects in financial perspective for the students. He promptly puts that understanding in an even broader perspective.

"I tell them that they're in a position to do more than what anyone asks for," Allen says. "The money is not the issue. It's about being creative and having fun and learning the process. It's about everything except the money."

COMMUNITY EFFORT

Like any good creation story, the origin of Searider Productions involves a bit of inspiration, a lot of good intentions and acts of financial grace near the scale of divine intervention.

It was Suiso who first recognized the power of video technology in relating to the MTV generation of students.

As a Spanish teacher, Suiso used a VHS camera as a tool for getting her students to engage with the course material. Students would write scripts and act out skits for the camera using vocabulary from their lessons.

"It's a visual generation," Suiso said. "They're comfortable multitasking, and they need things to be quick and visual. They'll learn because it's fun."

Suiso worked with then-principal Norman Chock to get special-needs funding that was used in turn to establish the media program.

Housed in a single classroom, the program provided instruction to 85 students in its first year. The room was crammed with Hi-8 video equipment, soundboard, titler, mixer and three screens. A small closet doubled as an edit bay.

Impressed with what the students were able to accomplish in that cramped, hot classroom, state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa led the charge to help the program find a more suitable home. Suiso credits Hanabusa with helping to secure a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that was used to renovate a storage building on campus into a full-scale digital arts studio.

Suiso and staff were preparing to move their old equipment into the new facility when Ko Olina developer Jeff Stone stepped up with a generous offer.

"He basically told us to come up with a wish list of equipment we needed to do this right," Allen said.

Wish granted.

HANDS ON

Today, the media program serves more than 200 students, providing practical training in video production, yearbook production, music, Web design and video game design.

A typical Thursday afternoon finds the Searider Productions building abuzz with students working independently on a dozen different projects.

At one computer, seniors Alapaki Silva and Jasmine Jeremiah are working on a music video for Wai'anae band Ko'auka's "Up, Down, Side to Side."

They've already nailed down the concept — boy meets girl —and now they're trolling the Internet looking for just the right images to use for the storyboard that will serve as a visual guide for the upcoming shoot.

"It's easy, but it's stressful," says Jeremiah, 17.

Silva, 18, says he's spent at least a couple of hours every day working on the script.

"Ko'auka gave us an idea of what they wanted from the story, and it's up to us to work out the details," he says.

Meanwhile, it's "crunch time" for seniors Justine Campos and Chonte Fujioka, who are working on an orientation video for Ko Olina Resort.

They've been given some pre-shot interviews and a general outline of what their client wants, but pulling the elements together in a cohesive, engaging 6- to 8-minute video isn't easy — especially when both writers have other projects (including reports for the school's weekly news broadcast) to think about.

"There's a lot of pressure," Campos says. "We want to give good-quality work."

Cherell Keamo is one of the rare students to have spent four years in the program.

Her training started with a film-appreciation course and has progressed through camera work, video editing, script writing and other basic skills. Like other students, she is comfortable with standard industry tools such as Final Cut Pro software. At home in front of the TV, her trained eyes can break down the technical elements of each commercial.

"My parents get kind of irritated because I'm always talking," she says, laughing. "Sometimes I have to watch TV alone."

The best moments come when Keamo catches one of her own projects on prime-time TV.

"My parents are kind of amazed at the stuff we do here," she says. "Sometimes they don't believe me. They're like, 'You didn't do that." And I'm like, 'Yes, we did!"

"It's really cool."

Keamo is collaborating with fellow senior Katie Hoppe on a video project for the state's Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution.

After reviewing materials provided by their client, the two brainstormed ideas and settled on a series of vignettes demonstrating right and wrong ways to settle disputes. A referee character will link the vignettes.

Once the script is finished, Keamo and Hoppe will hold a casting call and help in directing the shoot.

For Keamo, who plans on continuing her media studies in college, these projects provide invaluable experience.

Hoppe isn't sure what she'll study in college — marine science is a possibility — but she says her experiences with Searider Productions are no less valuable to her.

"Knowing how to write really helps in a lot of classes, and working on deadline, I've also had to learn time management," Hoppe says. "You're doing one thing, and then you have to do something else. I've learned to pace myself to get everything done."

To be sure, Wai'anae is hardly the only scholastic media program achieving lofty goals in Hawai'i. Kalaheo High was an early pioneer in video production, and elementary, middle and high schools from Nanakuli to Kalani are today channeling the creative energies of its students into high-level media projects.

Still, Wai'anae with it's state-of-the-art technology and long list of commendations, is usually the one prospective clients think of first.

"We love what they do," says HMSA's Stephen Jonas, who has worked with Wai'anae students on public-service announcementsf and other projects. "They have their finger on the pulse of what teens are looking for and what they want to see."

Jonas has learned not to worry about the program's annual turnover.

"Every year we wonder how their going to replace their seniors, and every year they just get better and better," he says.

Allen, who also works as a creative director at KHON, says some professionals are uneasy about the rise of Searider Productions as an alternative to high-priced agencies and production houses.

"I have a lot of friends in the industry, and they always say two things: 'Damn, I hate what you guys are doing to the business but I love what you're doing for the business," Allen says.

"It's a market that didn't exist before because the technology was too expensive," he says. "Now small or middle-class businesses, the state, and other entities that cannot afford agency prices but still want a quality product are coming to us. But we only take on the small jobs. The agencies have the resources. If they want to go after a job, they're going to get it."

PROUD WAI'ANAE

High technology, high achievement and high expectations may not be what Hawai'i residents traditionally associate with chronically underestimated Wai'anae, and Searider Productions is making a big — and very positive — impression.

While it wasn't the intention of the program's founders to reform Wai'anae's rough image, the unintended benefit is difficult to argue.

"I grew up here, and I know we're out in the country — there's literally nothing out here," Allen says. "I'm glad that we've helped change some people's perspective. I'm also glad that people think that if those kids in Wai'anae can do it, we can do it."

There are no standards to be met, no prerequisites for joining the program. As Allen likes to say, "We'll take any student and teach them what they want to know."

And the focus with which students apply themselves during and after class seems to indicate that the investment is appreciated.

"We like to treat our kids a little more special," Allen says. "They work so hard and they want to do so well, we just want them to feel like they're part of something bigger than just going to high school. Our goal is to make these kids understand that they're better that what they've been given."

Hoppe says she is aware of the pressure that comes from high expectations. And it's a good pressure.

"I think the history we have here is really great," she says. "It's nice to be part of something that has drawn people in and has made such a good name for Wai'anae.

"There's a lot of good in Wai'anae that people don't see," she says. "Our program makes them see it. It says, 'Look at this. Our kids did this.' "

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.