Volunteers General Information

Dolphin Dreams Images offers internship and volunteer programs designed to assist college students, recent graduates and private individuals from all over the world in gaining valuable hands on experience and college credit in the areas of Video Production, Underwater Photography, Underwater Videography, Scuba Diving, Photo Editing and Web Site design.

We have six/eight openings for full time intern/volunteer positions on the Big Island of Hawaii.
For college students, our internships vary in length from 4 - 12 weeks. For volunteers, the duration can vary from 1 to 8 weeks.

All candidates must agree to participate full-time on the day- or nightshift, from 8-10 hours/day.
There is no charge for the internship or volunteer program.

Our programs are appropriate for anyone 18 years of age or older with a love for or attraction to the Ocean.

This is a rare opportunity to live in Hawaii and work with photography professionals. This could easily be one of the most exciting adventures of your life.

Check out our Photo-Gallery and Video Gallery to get some idea of what you will see !

Internship Objective Volunteer Objective Interns / Volunteer Responsibilities Our Educational Philosophy Requirements Costs Academic Credit Application Procedures Timeframes and Application Deadlines

Internship Objective

While most photography or cinematography schools will teach you about f-stops, shutter speeds, editing and story board composition, our objective is to show you a whole "new world"; the Underwater world of Hawaii, where "the rules" are altered by the physical properties of water, human physiology and marine life activity. Work product is based on many variables that most "land-based" people cannot imagine.

Besides stepping into the magnificent underwater world and interacting with some of the most beautiful creatures in existence, we will show you:

• How to operate a business in a resort/vacation environment
  
  
• How to market yourself, your products and charge enough to pay your bills as well as live comfortably in a high cost of living environment
  
  
• How a photo/video production company markets itself
  
  
• How images are prepared for client review
  
  
• How to balance task load with free time to avoid "burnout"
  
  
• The extent to which work on basic office tasks must be done vs. producing imagery
  
  
• Copyright, registering and protection of imagery
  
  
• What equipment you need, (what you don't) and how to decide what to buy based on the current level of technology in computer and Photo/Videography
  
  
• How to Scuba Dive with an emphasis on photography or videography
  
  
• How to identify and passively interact with Hawaiian marine life like:
  1. Dolphins
  2. Manta Rays
  3. Green Sea Turtles
  4. Fish and etc

You'll have the opportunity to learn some or all of the above depending upon the length of your stay as an intern or volunteer, the nature of your personal goals, and the extent to which you are comfortable in the ocean environment.

Volunteer Objective

The volunteer program differs from the internship program in that it is more experience-oriented rather than educational. Typically, our volunteers are rather short-term (1-2 weeks) so this limits our opportunity to train and educate. Our objective is to expose our volunteers to as many forms of marine life as possible.

Interns / Volunteer Responsibilities

You will be required to assist us in support of recreational level scuba diving activities with the goal of obtaining underwater video and still imagery of marine life and divers.

We want to stress out that although this is "fun", it is also hard work.

You will be asked to Scuba Dive with us and/or provide surface support to us in a collaborative effort to achieve business or community service objectives by engaging in:

Underwater Projects; by:

1. Going on expeditions with us to film dolphins, whales, turtles, manta rays, and other marine life (scuba diving is optional)
2. Transporting cameras for us underwater as needed
3. Loading and unloading boats with our scuba diving and camera gear
4. Changing film and video tape from our photography and video equipment
5. Verifying tank pressure and gas contents (% O2)
6. Setting up scuba gear
7. Assembling and maintaining cameras prior to and after dives
8. Desalinating photo, video and scuba equipment
9. Leak testing new camera housings
10. Operating underwater vehicles
11. Providing underwater lighting
12. Acting as a safety diver (optional)

Post-Production:

1. Doing linear and non-linear video-editing
2. Processing incoming orders for videos, stills and print advertising copy
3. Scanning slides, photo negatives and print images to computer hard disk and editing images for print, broadcast and publication
4. Printing, matting and framing images
5. Duplicating of video tapes (VHS, DV)
6. Maintaining our video- and still archives
7. Making Video CD's
8. Constructing Screensavers and Collages

Logistical:

1. Assuring that batteries are charged for our underwater vehicles, cameras, lights and all support equipment
2. Coordinating with local dive operations to schedule dives and provide image acquisition coverage
3. Help us to maintain our website
4. Deliver and pick-up of film
5. Make foreign video tape conversions (PAL, SECAM) when appropriate

Educational:

1. Taking part in scuba education courses (assist and participate)
2. Assist us in monitoring dolphin, turtle and manta ray activity by keeping accurate records of times, locations and numbers, etc.
3. Making presentations (classroom and pool) to elementary school age students

Other:

1. Screen and answer phone calls
2. Packaging and delivery of our artwork to local and mainland galleries
3. Answer emails of internship/volunteer inquiry, video and still image orders, online shopping
4. Assist with packing and shipping of items sold
5. Where applicable, provide foreign language translation (if this is an area of expertise)
6. Shop for inventory supplies

We recognize that not all of our interns or volunteers will desire to scuba dive because of personal preferences or a medical condition. These individuals will find themselves participating in our land-based programs as listed above ("Post-Production", "Logistical", "Educational" and "Other").

All interns will rotate between all phases of business (non-diving) operations above listed.
Depending on the length of your stay as a volunteer you will be involved in as many projects possible.

Our Educational Philosophy

Classroom

The Dolphin Dreams Images internship and volunteer programs are primarily "hands on" programs. For the most part, we do not require our interns or volunteers to do a lot of "book work". Some exceptions are the SCUBA courses, but even in these instances, much of the actual work with the textbook is self-paced, independent study and this can be done before you come to Hawaii. Those that choose to participate in SCUBA certification programs are expected to read the materials in advance and complete the knowledge reviews that are located in the books. After you are selected for the internship or volunteer program and decide you would like to participate in our certification program, we will send you the textbooks. When you arrive on the island, we will go over the knowledge reviews with you to determine if there are any areas of weakness. If there are, we prescriptively teach to those areas that you may not fully understand. This is the best use of time. There is no point in lecturing to you about topics you have demonstrated an understanding of. Once the knowledge reviews are complete, we usually administer a written examination. In most cases, only a 70 % score is required to "pass", but any questions you missed will be discussed with you until you understand the correct answer.

Pool / Ocean

Our goal is to get you into the water as soon as possible (if this is what you want to do). This is why it is desirable for you to do the independent study before you come to Hawaii (if possible). We practice a "Dive Today" philosophy and most of the entry level SCUBA courses we teach allow us to put you in the pool or ocean (shallow depths) the first day. We will teach you some basic skills and allow you to "test drive" the SCUBA gear under the direct supervision of an Open Water SCUBA Instructor. For most people, this experience is all the motivation they need to complete their independent study.

Hands on

Our video and photo production business is dynamic. There is production work to do every day. We plan to involve you in these activities right away. Similarly, we are in a constant state of dive planning as well as gear preparation and maintenance. Our intent is to give you valuable experience with all phases of our operation; from video and photo production work to marine life research and SCUBA diving.

Requirements

Participants are required to be at least 18 years of age.

Applicants with Scuba certification and good swimming ability are of value to us, but you can also participate if you appear to have sufficient interest or aptitude as it pertains to other business/aquatic activities.

The desirable candidate must have a positive attitude, a strong willingness to learn and be "coachable".
Once you have submitted your online application and you are selected, you will be sent briefing materials listing further details of our current projects and suggested background reading material to fully prepare you for your internship or volunteer program. You then make your own travel arrangements at your own expense to coincide with the start date of your program. Your application will tell us whether you plan to live on- or off-campus and if you intend to participate in any of our SCUBA certification programs.

Costs

There is no charge for the internship or volunteer program, however there are expenses for housing and food associated with participation in the volunteer or internship program if you decide to live "on-campus".

We at Dolphin Dreams Images believe that interns and volunteers should concentrate on their responsibilities rather than finding a place to live, shopping for food and, in general, trying to survive. Hawaii is a difficult place to find reasonably priced accommodations. We encourage our interns and volunteers to stay "on-campus", but recognize not everyone will wish to do so.

Longer periods must be arranged.

Payment for Room and Board and Courses:

50 % of the amount of the program is due and payable 60 days in advance of your program (by cashiers cheque, money order or wire transfer). The other 50 % is due and payable 30 days before your start date.

Once we receive the first part of the payment we will send you an orientation pack including information on how to prepare for your trip to Hawaii as well as material for your courses.

Other expenses:

If interns and volunteers elect to scuba dive and don't have scuba gear, we will charge a gear-rental fee of $ 20/day of diving for wetsuit, regulator, BC's, fins, mask and snorkel.

In addition, we charge a non-refundable application fee of $ 25 for every individual who wants to be considered for participation in our internship or volunteer program.

The $ 25 application fee separates those that are serious about coming to Hawaii and those that may simply be curious about it.

Once you are accepted, we require a $ 300 deposit to reserve your slot, which will be applied to the total costs.

Please note that the deposit is nonrefundable; however, it may be transferable should you no longer be able to participate in your scheduled time frame.

Participants are required to have their own health insurance.

We want our interns to be available 4 days a week from 8-10 hours/day (on the day- or nightshift) with rest and lunch breaks. If you need to make money on the side, we leave you enough time to find a part time job, but we strongly discourage this. You will be working hard to support our activities and you will need time to relax, as well as explore the beautiful Hawaiian Islands on your days off.

Our volunteers are required be available according to the following chart:

Academic Credit

Interns that seek academic credit must make arrangements with their university or college. Students will need to speak to their university counselor or academic advisor to make these arrangements. Typically we provide a letter on company letterhead that summarizes your internship activities before and after the program, or we simply refer inquiry about our activities to website content.

Application Procedures

It is easy.

Four simple steps and you might be on your way to Hawaii where you will experience the beauty of the underwater world by observing Dolphins, Green Sea Turtles, Manta Rays etc. Just complete the Online-Application for Internships or the Online-Application for Volunteers. It will guide you through the process.

Once you have submitted your application and we have processed it, we will notify you by email that we have received it and your application will be reviewed by our selection committee.

More Information

Please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) section for more information. We try to cover as many questions as we can to give you an idea of what it would be like to intern and volunteer with us in Hawaii.

Feel free to contact us:

internship@dolphindreams.com
volunteers@dolphindreams.com

Application Deadlines for Internships and Volunteers

Deadlines are according to the following chart: