Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538245
22 FALL 2025 as a blessing from Tūtū Pele, the fire and volcano goddess, and it made us Mainlanders a bit more nervous! Basecamps were miles from filming, and our standard set racks were no match for the rough terrain. This meant the set team oen had to wear all their essential gear on them, every baby brush and piece of tape clipped on carabiners. For remote island shoots, we'd frequently send Set Costumers Sheryl Smyers and Benj Gibicsar (Local 479) onto a plane with costumes and set gear crammed into backpacks for day trips. Paradoxically, sometimes handling no clothes proved a much bigger logistical challenge than managing full costumes. My ongoing task involved sourcing various skin-toned footwear and base layers that could handle both sandy forests with red ants and the brutally sharp surfaces of the lava fields. For personal coverage, our Hawaiian cast and background wore 'ie lavalava (thin coon wraps). In contrast, in cooler New Zealand, they had the practical solution of fleece-lined ponchos for warmth and protection (fleece side out, naturally, to keep those intricate taoos from Top: Production on the lava field. Below: Attempting to shield feathered costumes from the rain.