A number of years ago, there was a full page ad in Time Magazine for Commodore Business Machines featuring a picture of Keith Nealy directing a live show amongst a plethora of computer monitors.

The copy began, “Does Keith Nealy get nervous? Apparently not.” The ad touted the reliability of their computers and Keith’s calm under fire. His reputation for directing successful shows was put to the test for “A Place in Our Hearts” an event that involved more elements than a Ringling Brothers Circus. The event was designed and directed by Keith and his partner, Sara Nealy, with military precision. 

Celebrating Earl Bakken’s Eightieth Birthday at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort was a special honor for the Nealy’s because they have worked closely with Dr. Bakken over the years, helping to crystallize his vision in creative film productions that have had a profound impact in Hawaii and around the world. Their film work was exemplified in the event by a very moving tribute to Dr. Bakken and his vision for the next twenty years, entitled “One Man’s Vision.”  

Because Dr. Bakken wanted this event to benefit North Hawaii Community Hospital (NHCH), the Nealy’s thought it was only fitting to have Stan Berry, the CEO of NHCH, act as master of ceremonies. Having worked with Mr. Berry many times, the Nealy’s knew that he was not only a very affable and effective speaker, but a talented actor with a keen sense of humor.

Keith Nealy Productions (KNP) had previously produced a comedy film for the hospital called “The Healing Zone” in which Dr. Bakken recreated his childhood fantasy of being Dr. Frankenstein. Not many in the audience, other than hospital employees, had seen Dr. Bakken in such a lighthearted role, but excerpts from this film provided the humorous clips that punctuated a hilarious “roast” of Earl Bakken. This gave the audience a chance to experience Dr. Bakken’s playful side. Keith and Sara crafted the script to provide Stan Berry with comedic ammunition for the roast as well as for his master of ceremonies script.

Producing the film tribute, comedy clips and the roast was only a part of Keith Nealy Productions' design for the show.

(For a complete list of KNP’s work on this event, please see “Creative & Production Elements”)

It all began with a meeting with the event co-chair, Doane Triggs and Phyllis Fox, who had overall responsibility for the event on behalf of the Board of the hospital. Then came a site inspection of the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort and a series of photos and video that became the basis for design of the overall stage production and of all technical elements. 

Next came strategy meetings with the clients and a creative proposal detailing all creative and production elements, show-flow, and schedules. 
To handle the huge crowd that was expected, it was decided to convert The Courtyard at the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort to a “Ballroom Under the Stars”.  The show in the main ballroom would be televised with KNP’s Multi-Media Live Event Production System and televised live to the audience outside under the stars.  This strategy worked out beautifully because both indoor and outdoor spaces had unique charm, yet combined they created an event that allowed the audience to flow between two environments - the indoor excitement and the outdoor serenity.

The show’s myriad technical requirements were impeccably managed by Keith’s staff of dedicated technicians.  The excitement of seeing a live television show broadcast on all screens, indoors and outdoors, is a rare experience for a Big Island event. 

Keith also explained that theMulti-Media Live Event Production System is capable of taking that same television broadcast and streaming it, live, over the internet to any location in the world. (More on webcasting in a future issue of Splash).

Keith’s skill at switching six television cameras, blending images to create multi-layered composites was “a beautiful sight to behold,” according to one guest who thought the best part of the show was behind the scenes. KNP even designed a secret “Table-Cam” hidden in the centerpiece at Dr. Bakken’s table to get his reaction shots during the “roast” so that everyone could see him enjoying the parody.

Where the Multi-Media Live System really shined was in the entertainment portion of the evening.  When O’ahu singer, Stefanie Smart, sang and celebrated pianist, Donald Yap, performed, everyone in the audience - both in the Ballroom and in the "Ballroom Under the Stars", felt as though they had a front row seat. The televised images enlarged and enhanced the performance with a balance of creativity and style all their own.  Donald Yap commented, after the show, that the sound quality was the best he had ever heard.

Keith utilized state-of-the-art of equipment, including the finest microphones, digital production mixers and analyzers, and a new concert speaker system that could power the Aloha Stadium. Sara Nealy explained that all of this technology is not the real reason the event looked and sounded so good, “Keith is an entertainment producer and director with a track record a mile long… producing road shows for Tony Bennett, Danny Gans, The Pointer Sisters and more stars than I could list. It’s his eyes and ears and mastery of the art of show business that makes the show succeed.”

Sara’s staff decorated the stage according to a design that recreated the intimacy and warmth of a small cabaret and that belied the fact that the event was staged in an enormous ballroom. A crew of stage managers and production assistants insured that the entertainers and speakers were all cued and escorted to wherever they needed to be.

The main event designed to raise money for North Hawaii Community Hospital was a live auction.  In order to make the event more exciting and more successful, KNP spent weeks creating digital video roll-in modules of each auction item to bring them to life the way only television can.  When the bidding began, the multiple video cameras focused the action on all the big screens, both inside the main Ballroom and outside in The Courtyard, to bring the immediacy of the bidding to every person.  The combination of viewing mini-commercials of each item and seeing the bidders raise their paddles made the evening exhilarating and added to the overall success of the fundraising.

When the curtain closed on “A Place in Our Hearts,” it could safely be said that “a good time was had by all.”  Everyone came to pay tribute to a great man, and left feeling that they were privileged to be a part of a momentous event.   Earl Bakken’s accomplishments are extraordinary, and it was an honor and a challenge for Keith Nealy Productions to create a show equal to the man.   With the creation of inspirational films, imaginative entertainment and expertly designed and directed live television productions, “A Place in Our Hearts” provided a powerful demonstration of Sara and Keith Nealy’s creativity, experience and dedication to quality. 

When asked how they can put such world-class production value into their Big Island productions, their response was: “Creativity is a tremendous resource that doesn’t necessarily have a high price tag. We use it to add value wherever we can.  KNP owns video and audio production studios, post production suites as well as a full complement of sound reinforcement and staging gear to handle most shows; this gives us great leeway for giving our clients a package price that they can afford.  The greatest contribution we can make to our clients is our experience.  We have been very fortunate in our careers, and sharing our experience and creativity is our way of giving back to the community.”

"When it comes to producing media for a pubic presentation, the Nealy's are superb.

They can write humorous or moving scripts, coach and direct the presenters, and capture just the right moments on film. Once they add their postproduction magic, the final result is a very professional, very captivating film tailored for a particular audience."

Stan Berry, CEO,

North Hawaii
Community Hospital

"The Nealy's bring Hollywood quality craftsmanship in filmmaking to the Big Island without the egos or the expense."

Stan Berry, CEO,

North Hawaii Community Hospital