What AMAKUA VIDEO clients have to say:

1) “Thomas - Thanks a lot for your super-fast editing services! I love how you put together our stock footage, and complementing the reel with some of your pictures. Absolutely LOVE IT! ” (Tad Stout, President of AquaLogix)

PS: I discovered this program while training for my first marathon, and I am a strong advocate of this type of exercise (especially as an underwater filmer). It makes you swim like a dolphin! Watch these amazing underwater creatures, and you realize the full power of water resistance that animals are capable of utilizing. You apply only a fraction of that onto yourself with this type of water-resistance gear that is now available, and it makes you go “Oh my Ghee Whiz!” - This workout program truly sculptures your body WITHOUT hurting joints and muscles! Thomas

2) “Hi Thomas - you rock! I can’t believe that you put this together with only one hour of shooting! It was great fun and easy to work with you. I truly loved working with you and also with Malika, our “Miss Hawaii! I am sure we can soon start to promote “Aquatic Fitness & Cross-Training” on a large scale! With our combined skills and my connections to the aquatic fitness industry we can reach and serve millions and millions of people out there to benefit from what we can offer. Mahalo!” (Tawney Lee, CEO of Maui Aquafit )

3) “Thomas - MAHALO for working with us to ‘preserve, protect, and restore’ our oceans! Your video-shooting & editing skills are excellent, and we appreciate your SOS Video Postcard - also the longer piece that we currently put together with the footage that you shot and started editing here on Kauai! Your contribution will help us to better advertise our marine conservation and education mission through our various channels. Thank you!” (Paul Clark, President of “Save Our Seas”, Kauai).

4) “Hi Thomas - Thank you so much for capturing ‘my story’ on video! My products will be a great resource for everyone who may face the same fate as I did for many years (and still do occasionally). I want to say again THANK YOU for helping me to spread the word!” (Christine Cibula, Living With Lyme)

PS: Since this is such an important topic and health concern, watch also other videos with and about Christine Cibula and Living With Lyme.

5) “Thomas - Thank you for the video “Turtle Tagging in the Pacific”. It looks great and will be very useful for my presentation at the WPFMC meeting!” (Mike Laurs, NOAA)

6) “Hello Thomas - Wow! The video is AMAZING! It’s GREAT! I want to give out copies to journalists and friends! Thanks. GREAT WORK!” (Randall Arauz, award-winning environmentalist of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, Costa Rica)

7) “Hi Thomas, thanks for sending me the video of your turtle tagging research in Costa Rica. It is fabulous! Best - Kevin (Dr. Kevin Weng, award-winning researcher at Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford, CA)

“Aloha Thomas - Thanks for the tape of your Costa Rica and Puerto Rico turtle show, watched the whole show, interesting stuff! Good shots of turtles underwater with hooks, also the impressions on the corals in the area! Good stock potential for future shows. Thanks for the update, talk with you soon. Mahalo!” (Mike May, award-winning film maker, Hawaii)

9) “Hi Thomas - I watched your “Baby Hammerhead Shark Tagging, Hawaii” video last night. I really like it and I want to thank you for taking the time to make it and for giving me a copy. I will use it for conferences & meetings not only here in the US, but soon the video will be also featured at a big ocean meeting in Brazil. Mahalo!” (Dr. Kanesa Duncan, Assistant Professor, Zoology Dept., University of Hawaii)

10) “Hi Thomas - thanks a lot for your great work on our project with the high school kids and their shark tagging activity. This is a GREAT tool for us to apply for more funds and grant money! Your video is done very professionally, and I LOVE the way you combine great content with your cinematography. Mahalo again!” (Alex Handler, University of Hawaii, Dept. of Curriculum Development)

11) “Hi Thomas - I downloaded your “Manta Ray Tagging, Hawaii” footage - it looks great! Good image quality and nice footage! Good work” (Denise Naguib, Oceanfutures)

12a) “Hallo Thomas! Das sieht ja toll aus! Das “Delfin Video”koennen wir bestimmt gut fuer unser Program mit SOS auf Kauai in Verbindung mit unserem UV-Schutz und Nano-Proof Fabrikate Program verwenden. Super! Stark auch mit dem MINI-COOPER! (Hans Bregler, CEO Geckoline Sportswear GmbH, Germany)

12b) “Wow-Thomas! We just got your Internet videos about our GECKOLINE EQUINE BLANKET & POLO SHIRT project, and — wow “ you are soooo good at what you do! I can’t believe that you got all that out of what I did in front of the camera. Of course we immediately want to email the links to all our friends, and James currently works on playing the videos in a loop in the custom area to let it “tweng”. You are so talented, Thomas, and I want to say THANK-YOU for all the hard work you put into this. Everyone loves it! Give us a call when you are back in the area!” (Michelle Wood, Threadneedle Embroidery, Del Mar/San Diego, California).

PS: I just did the editing. Most of the shooting Michelle’s son Kyle accomplished - with only a few instructions from me. Bravo! Thomas

13) “Hi Thomas - You know that I am darn-scared of sharks! (I guess that’s the reason to study them¦). I truly loved your short video about Shark experiments off Kaneohe Bay! Impressive that you could put together something like that with the short amount of time that you had on the boat, especially in that kind of weather! Cheers — Eric (Shark Researcher, Florida)

14) “Aloha Thomas - thanks for the FUN to shoot our test pilot for our upcoming ”Aloha at the Beach show” “! I loved working with you, and can’t wait to do more in the future! Mahalo! (Kimo Kahakakaneole, Maui)

15) “Oh my Gawd Thomas, I am not at all worried now - I just finished watching the videos, and they’re excellent! Your HNEI “Hydrates - Cure or Curse?” Open House Video is perfect! I love the music, your other underwater footage is amazing! That, plus some other DV stuff that I have, and we’re golden.” (Tara Hicks, Outreach Coordinator, University of Hawaii )

16) “Hi Thomas - thanks much for your efforts on promoting the “Hawaii Underwater Robotic Challenge “ HURC” program! Let’s see what we can do in the future around this growing project!” (Mark Rognstad, HMRG, University of Hawaii)

15.) “Oi Thomas - Tudo bom? Eu MUITO gosto o “CreaCao”
video com criancas das ondas! Abracoes!!! (Marcos, Brazil)

17) “Thomas - I enjoyed watching your Free Dive DVD immensely - our staff liked it, too! Makes me want to go out and free dive. And the manta footage is terrific.” (Beyond The Reef, Micronesia)

18) “Thomas - Thanks for the video, it’s great! Very nice work. My wife said if she didn’t know better she would have thought we saw all that sea life. Keep in touch!” (Deron Verbeck, Free Dive Champion, Big Island)

19) “Dear Mr. Horton - I’m a freelance documentary producer and I’ve worked with Thomas Gorgas on several of my films and I’d recommend him strongly for any work through your company in the area of shooting and field producing.

I worked with Thomas Gorgas in 1998/1999 on a documentary project for A&E about the Loihi volcano off of Hawaii’s Big Island. The film, entitled “Underwater Volcano Hunters,” aired on A&E’s “New Explorers” in November 1999. Thomas alerted me to the story as a PhD candidate in the Geology and Geophysics Dept. of the University of Hawaii, and contributed a great deal to the pre-production, shooting and final shape and factual content of the film. He shot a number of underwater sequences, which showed a flair for lighting and gentle movement, and he was very useful as our Field Producer before and during the project.

He was invaluable as a facilitator of good dialogue between the academic and filmmaking worlds, which he straddled. He exhibited a great deal of professionalism, and helped create a positive working atmosphere between groups who (as you well know!) don’t always see eye-to-eye when science meets television.

After the Loihi project, I hired Thomas in the summer of 1999 to shoot some underwater and topside sequences for me for an A&E film about the shark finning industry in Hawaii. His work was high quality once again, and he showed an avid interest in perfecting his shooting skills and in using the technology to best advantage.

I also asked him to shoot scenes of manta rays off the coast of the Big Island for a film I directed for the Discovery Channel entitled “Extreme Hawaii.” His work there was first rate, and he used the moody lighting, delicate dance of the animals and mysterious atmosphere in very creative ways.” (Jeff Swimmer, award-winning documentary producer)