Pamela V. Brown
Write Path, an L.L.C.
Kauai Business Report June 2004
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Pamela V. Brown Write Path, an L.L.C. |
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Kauai Business Report June 2004 |
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"Wala'au"
Marks 10 Years on the Air By Pamela V. Brown LIHUE - It's difficult to imagine local television personality Dickie Chang sitting still and quietly long enough to wrap up rolls of coins for spending cash, but that's what he was doing 10 years ago when he decided to take a chance and begin his TV show "Wala'au." After the hurricane blew out the Westin Hotel in 1992, where he'd been working as head concierge, Chang tried driving taxi cabs and working construction, neither of which fully tapped into the Wahiawa native's natural talents for entertaining, talking a mile a minute, connecting with people and finding the interest and humor in every situation. But when he proposed to a local producer a TV show idea that would use his talents, "he told me it was never gonna happen, so I was more determined than ever to make it happen," Chang said That determination, an understanding of how much behind-the-scenes work a TV program would take and a good relationship with an excellent videographer have helped Chang's "Wala'au" (Talk Story) become a mainstay to Kauai viewing audiences. A Kauai-style "Hawaiian Moving Company," "Wala'au" just completed its 10th year in production. At one show per week, that's more than 500 episodes in the can. "Has it been 10 years already?" asked Marlene Matutino, system manager for Oceanic Time Warner Cable on Kauai. Matutino, who worked at Kauai Cablevision before it was merged with Garden Isle Telecommunications (now both merged into Oceanic), remembers the early years when Chang was just getting started. "I didn't think it was going to last because we did have a local news show and it didn't last," she said. "After a couple of years he was like a movie star. When he'd come to our office and everybody would say 'Oh, there's Dickie Chang,' I would say, 'Oh, people do watch his show.' As the years go by, he gets better and better." Figuring he didn't have much to lose, and understanding immediately that capturing people's attention was paramount, he started off with a bang. His first show was about the Hurricane Iniki-forced closure of the Westin and the 1,100 employees who lost their jobs. The very next week he was on the USS Independence - the first ship deployed to the Persian Gulf - 60 miles off the Pacific Missile Range Facility. During his third episode he interviewed young, home-grown musician Glenn Medeiros. Almost immediately the island reaction was "This guy's for real. He's got a different adventure every week." Within no time, "Wala'au" became the local TV show on which most organizations wished to have their project or event featured. Chang understood early on that his concept was a solid one for a Kauai audience. "Kauai people are pretty much niele (curious)," he said. "It's the stop and watch concept. On our show we don't talk about stuff that's never going to end. It's all positive, fun-loving things, signature events, people get to see themselves, their friends and family. It's clean. You feel happy." One of the keys to "Wala'au's" success has been Chang's smooth-running partnership with professional videographer and editor Bruce Smalling. "We're more friends than partners or workers because I drive him nuts," Chang said. "He's a kick back and cruise kind of guy. I'm an amped up kind of guy. I love him." Chang said that early on in their partnership he told Smalling that in no time they'd be wearing tuxedos and driving around in limousines. "I keep looking outside the door for the tux delivery and the limo to drive up," Smalling said, laughing. "It hasn't quite gotten to that. It's been very steady for me more than for him. He's kinda kept me working for all this time." Smalling, who was also out of work after Iniki, spends 10-15 hours shooting footage and 15-20 hours editing each week to create a one-hour show. It's a grueling schedule but one to which Smalling has become accustomed. "It can be real daunting," he said. "I've sort of got it down as far as how to make it minimally maddening." On television, Chang's job looks mostly like fun and games, but it's his serious side that keeps him grounded and keeps him moving seamlessly through his hectic schedule. "Everybody thinks they can do a show but to be able to turn and burn it every week is another thing," he said, noting that all of Kauai's local producers understand the demands of a weekly show. "As soon as the tape is in, the next episode is in the works. It's bam, boom, boom, boom. It's really no rest." Especially because Chang still holds down other jobs to make ends meet financially. He gives island briefings to visitors at the Kauai Marriott and for Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays, and does radio voiceovers. He still doesn't draw a regular paycheck from "Wala'au," preferring instead to make sure Smalling's and his administrative assistant's invoices are paid promptly. "Dickie's personality is a little bit different than what the public perception is, I think," said his good friend Jose Aguayo, general manager of King Auto Center, one of "Wala'au's" longtime sponsors. "He takes a lot of pride in his show and what he does. He's an early riser, early to retire. He gets a lot accomplished in one day." Chang confirms unlike the wild and crazy guy that people may think he is, he's usually in bed by 8 or 9 p.m. and up early, spending his "alone time" in the morning walking 4 miles per day and thinking about his schedule for the day. Chang said when he first began "Wala'au," he "didn't know squat" about editing a TV show, but he did understand the importance of having good sponsors to keep the show afloat financially. Through the years he's stuck by his decision to give each sponsor exclusivity in their own industry, a tact that has paid off with loyalty from advertisers. Having the show air 15 times per week is also a strong selling point, Chang said. One of the secrets to Chang's success with "Wala'au" is his ability to sincerely connect with people, something that struck Smalling from the early days. "Going around with Dickie and seeing the rapport he had with people . . . seeing how warmly he was received, it just seemed like he had a lot to bring," Smalling said. "And his ability to just talk with no prompting. He's got this incredible memory for names. It's kind of unfair. He's got some kind of special sense in his brain that helps him remember things." Chang said it's easy for him to remember people and their activities because he sees them all for the individuals they are. "They could be a great fisherman, a great haku lei maker. Everybody's somebody," he said. "It's like Cheers. Everyone knows your name and you feel good." And of course now that everyone knows Chang's name - and Smalling's - Chang said he rarely gets to attend an event and simply be a spectator. "As soon as people see me the first thing they say is 'Where's your camera?' or 'Where's Bruce?' And once I'm sitting at an event, I'll look around and think 'This would have been a good story.' " And that's OK with him. Chang loves it that to younger viewers, his signature shaka at the end of each segment means "Wala'au." He counts himself a lucky man to be doing something he really enjoys. "I've always told myself that as long as the Lord blesses me with my health and being able to talk, then I will do "Wala'au." As long as we are able to provide service, laughter and sincerity in the community, then I'm going to hold on." |
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Contact Information: Pamela V. Brown (808) 651-3533 cell (808) 821-1027 fax |
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"Individuality of expression is the beginning and end of all art." --- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Proverbs in Prose |
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