Annieglass: The Film

Picture this - a dream in glass, nurtured over four decades, now captured in a film that's as elegant and translucent as its subject matter. The film is called "Resilience: The Story of Annieglass", and it’s all about the mesmerizing journey of Annie Morhauser, the brilliant mind and steady hand behind Annieglass.

Born from the cinematic wizardry of Swan Dive Media, a video content studio hatched right here in Santa Cruz by the duo Joel Hersch and Michael Daniel, the film debuted on the Cabrillo College big screen last October. Why then? Well, because Annie Morhauser was being celebrated as the 2022 Artist of the Year by none other than the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission. No biggie? You of little faith.

Shopper’s Corner

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Natural living shorelines are found in areas impacted by low storm surge and typically consist of vegetation such as marsh or sea grass, clean sediment, cobbles and other biodegradable organic materials. Creating a living shoreline of natively occurring materials such as plants, reefs, sand, and other natural barriers can protect against flooding and improve water quality, aquatic habitat, and carbon sequestration potential.  

This past spring, five graduate students from the UC Santa Cruz Digital Arts and New Media (DANM) MFA program completed their thesis projects, culminating in the 2022 exhibition entitled unforgetting. 

Swan Dive Media worked with the DANM department to capture each of the MFA students’ projects in short-format, documentary films that showcase not only the creators’ works of art, but also their personal intentions behind the projects. 

The projects, while each unique both in medium and story, possess common threads of lost histories, hidden realties, and personal hauntings. Each of the final films, showcasing the five selected MFA projects, presented by their respective creators, are available for viewing at the link below. Enjoy!

Amick Cutler is an American artist, composer and songwriter. He spends his days traveling the country with his family. He works on the road writing and producing music for TV and film, as well as offering various clients and brands his extensive expertise in design, photography and video. Swan Dive Media worked with Thor Industries to tell Amick’s story - life on the road in a 2017 Denali fifth wheel.

Far West Fungi—one of California’s top producing exotic mushroom farms—got its start as a small mom-and-pop operation that sold its first products at the San Francisco farmer’s market more than 35 years ago. Today, FWF has grown in a multitude of ways. In the last decade, the founders' John and Toby’s sons have carried the company's now multiple farms into new ventures, introducing new fungi production technologies, and rode the wave that is a blossoming infatuation with the culinary world of mushrooms. Swan Dive Media has had the opportunity to tell their story — the farm’s origins, how their mushrooms are grown, and their efforts to cultivate a community around a shared love for exotic fungi.

Contested Eden, a new work by composer Gabriela Lena Frank, reflects on the California wildfires and climate crisis. The work is presented as a dance video, with choreography by Molly Katzman, filmed on location by Swan Dive Media in CZU Lightning Complex Fire sites in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and music remotely-recorded by members of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra.

The Clean Oceans Project mural is the largest mural in Santa Cruz County. The art installation, which runs the length of Bay View Elementary School on Mission Street, pays homage to the hugely diverse species of marine life that make their home in the Monterey Bay. Its theme is the plague of plastic waste that flows into the oceans every years. Watch local muralist Taylor Reinhold, the organizer behind the Made Fresh Crew, serve up some environmental justice while dressed up as dolphin and enjoy some of Santa Cruz County’s top artists bring this expansive project to life.

Beginning in 2017, a group of environmental activists began organizing against the visitation of cruise ships in the Monterey Bay, where many locals are worried an accident might occur that would have major implications for the health of the National Marine Sanctuary. The multi billion dollar international industry of cruise ships has exhibited a poor track record for decades on environmental law compliance, often pumping out contaminated waters and dumping trash in restricted ocean spaces, including local Sanctuary waters in years past. The industry also represents an enormous source of fossil fuel consumption and emissions, which activists feel is out of touch with the realities of environmental conservation and protection.  In conjunction with the Santa Cruz Waves film series, Swan Dive Media interviewed multiple agencies to learn about the issue and shine a light for the public on this local, grass-roots initiative.

Save the Waves is a nonprofit based in Santa Cruz, California but working all over the planet. Their mission is to protect the world’s surf ecosystems and preserve beautiful coastal areas for future generations. Swan Dive Media worked with STW on their PROTECT, STEWARD, DEFEND campaign, highlighting preservation efforts in three unique corners of the earth. This project required local content producers in the represented surf destinations to shoot the necessary footage and provide Swan Dive Media with all assets, at which point our team developed the footage into concise, cinematic films featuring the branded materials and editorial messaging in partnership with STW. Click the link below to watch all three films.

Swan Dive Media worked with the San Mateo Resource Conservation District on their community outreach campaign about sea level rise. The ocean levels rising with the onset of climate change will be an increasingly impactful problem for communities that live along the coast, some sooner than others. We are able to measure those impacts during extreme floods, which give climate scientists an idea on how towns and coastal infrastructure will be compromised over time, and the ways our state and local agencies can get in front of the problems. Because COVID-19 impacted Swan Dive Media’s ability to shoot interviews with subjects for the film, our team developed a strategy to conduct interviews via Zoom and capture quality audio by utilizing our subjects smart phones’ recording applications. Watch our video above to learn more about the RCD’s work to inform the public on these issues, and click the link below to learn about the RCD’s Sea Level Rise Risk Assessment work.

An incredibly unique and exceptionally beautiful home sits on the hillside facing the Pacific Ocean directly over Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur. The 16-acre parcel will become a legacy property for its new owner. And to help that new owner find their dream home, Swan Dive Media jumped into production! Our team spent two days exploring every facet of the landscape surrounding the two homes—one primary dwelling and one guest house—nestled along the Ridge. We also worked closely with the client to capture the interiors of houses and their stunning architectural designs. Featuring sweeping drone panoramas shot by cinematographer Michael Daniel and a voiceover by Creative Director Joel Hersch, this film demonstrates the high caliber production quality Swan Dive Media can bring to real estate marketing initiatives.

Swan Dive Media shares the story of the community working together to create a Black Lives Matter mural on the street in front of City Hall in downtown Santa Cruz. Read the article by Swan Dive Media producer Joel Hersch published with Santa Cruz Waves magazine at the link below.

Swan Dive Media worked Cruz Foam to develop a film about the startup’s ethos around the environment and disrupting one of the most environmentally impactful industries on the planet - Styrofoam packaging. Cruz Foam builds biodegradable and eco-friendly foam alternatives to expanded polystyrene foam that is made from chitin, a polymer derived from all-natural shrimp shell waste. Born from a love of surfing and supporting a healthy planet, their ultimate goal is to reduce plastic pollution flowing into the sea.

Earlier this year, the Swan Dive Media crew spent a few days traveling with the Laird family — a young couple hailing from Texas that lives full time in their Jayco White Halk RV, traveling from state to state. But what makes the Laird family’s lifestyle exceptionally unique? The fact that they’re raising young triplets along the way. Enjoy our first film featuring the Lairds, “Why I RV with kids” for some open-road inspiration.

“The Laird family travels full-time in their RV with their four-year-old triplets Adda, Jesse and Sloane, their cat Zeke and their dog Henry. They value a minimalist lifestyle, and prioritize memorable experiences and adventures over possessions. They love reading, hiking, crafts and singing”

Click the link below to check out the whole story about traveling in a Jayco RV with the Lairds!

Swan Dive Media's film, Nuclear Waste in San Onofre investigates the 1,600 metric tons of nuclear spent fuel being stored on the beach in Southern California. We're excited to release this mini documentary in partnership with Santa Cruz Waves magazine. A new series called Santa Cruz Waves Stories will showcase beautifully-crafted short films that pair with the articles written for the print publication. Click the button below to reach the in-depth article by Swan Dive Media producer Joel Hersch published in Santa Cruz Waves magazine.

1440 Multiversity and the Leadership Center

Swan Dive Media spent a week filming, conducting interviews, and learning about True North leadership, held at the 1440 Multiversity campus. Industry and nonprofit leaders from all over the country joined the conference, which featured daily presentations, group circle work, and personal development, all focused in on helping individuals lead inspired, capable, and innovative teams. This project, which spanned the production of eight film deliverables, was a unique challenge well suited for Swan Dive Media, because it pivoted on our team’s ability to convey nuanced ideas. And the challenge began with the way we interviewed our subjects, both student participants and the program’s executive speakers. Watch the series to learn about True North and leadership at 1440 Multiversity. The full series can be accessed by clicking the link !

Shoppers Corner is one of the oldest mom-and-pop’s grocery stores in Santa Cruz County, and has become a community gem over the decades. Click the link below to check out the other short films we created for the market, which cover their converting their building into an energy-efficient, “California Green Biz,” the store’s history, its famous butcher department, and their list of awards from local publication GT Weekly. We hope you enjoy!

Our environmental film “Coalition for Cowell’s” premiered last week at the Save the Waves film festival, hosted by Patagonia Santa Cruz. The story explores the years of scientific work done by the Cowell’s Working Group, made possible by the City of Santa Cruz. Cowell’s cove, one of Santa Cruz’s most popular beach and surf destination, has been plagued by a mysterious water bacteria that a number of nonprofit research groups have struggled to pinpoint. While the CWG has made great progress in mitigating the contamination, the work continues. Watch the film to learn more about this iconic destination and the work being done to maintain its quality for future generations.

PangeaSeed Foundation is bringing the public arts program “Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans,” to Santa Cruz in Spring of 2020. The campaign will roll out in partnership with the Santa Cruz Patagonia Outlet and empower international muralists to paint large-scale ocean-themed arts throughout the city! Check out our recap video of the fundraising event hosted at the local Patagonia store, entitled "In Peril: A Visual Story of Our Ocean's Greatest Challenges.”

Swan Dive Media spent two days out on the Monterey Bay filming with Santa Cruz’s Chardonnay Sailing Charters—beer, wine, friends and fun cruising on the sea aboard two Santa Cruz 70 racing boats, such an amazing time with awesome people. This is one of the three social media branding videos we produced, featuring both the CII and the CIII.

Check out our recent production featuring Santa Cruz’s Autumn Hays. The story is a collaboration with Surfline and Visit Santa Cruz County, check it out! “As a surfer who’s grown up here my whole life, this is a place that never ceases to inspire me,” says Steamer Lane local Autumn Hays. “And what better way to learn an appreciation for our beautiful ocean than getting in it and catching a few waves? The experience makes you want to connect with nature — and that’s just part of the Santa Cruz lifestyle.”

Surfing Lake Malawi - Santa Cruz Waves Story series #3

In July 2018, Swan Dive Media was sponsored to produce a film about the work that Santa Cruz nonprofit H20 is doing in Malawi, Africa. Each year, H20, headed by longtime surfer Patrick “Paddy” Brady, ships out to Malawi where his teams facilitate setup for solar systems, help to build medical clinics, develop job training programs, and much more. But H20’s most obvious homage to Santa Cruz: the annual Lake Malawi Surf Contest.

Swan Dive Media recently profiled the work of design firm Visual Endeavors for the City of Santa Cruz’s Economic Development Department. The city chose to highlight their installation the spans the Sequel Bridge, illuminating the San Lorenzo River and telling an environmental story through the art pieces pulsing lights. Read the companion article written by Joel Hersch, which goes a little deeper on the story behind the installation, called “River Motion.”

Swan Dive Media recently completed a testimonial video for the local Habitat for Humanity nonprofit, featuring two families that recently became homeowners. Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay is an independent locally operated and funded affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Their mission is to build good, affordable homes and provide home ownership opportunities to qualified families who live and work in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.

Follow Swan Dive Media cinematographer Michael Daniel as he deploys to Vietnam with the Santa Cruz-based nonprofit Gravity Water. GW works in third world countries and disaster zones where safe, potable water is difficult to access. By building gravity fed, rainwater catchment tanks with filters that can be maintained easily and cheaply on location, the organization has helped to provide clean water for thousands of children.

The Ebb & Flow Festival is a beautiful and innovative celebration put on by the the Arts Council Santa Cruz County. The event, which began in 2015, brings together the arts community and local science and organizations to raise pubic awareness of the value of the San Lorenzo River. The free, two-day festival promotes the river as a valuable water resource, city park, and habitat for over 200 species of wildlife.

Farmers Hemp is family-owned and operated farm and processing center based out of Tranquility, Ca. Located in the beautiful San Joaquin Valley, it is one of the most optimal places in the world for growing crops, especially high quality CBD and CBG flower. Swan Dive Media spent time working closely with the farm’s founder Jeff Yribarren to produce a film about their product and views on the fast-emerging industrial hemp market.

Biagio Scarpello, of Santa Cruz, CA, is a mixed media sculptor who creates interactive art installations. His sculpture "Full Sails" was developed as a unique donation machine at the Museum of Art History in Santa Cruz’s downtown. Enjoy our short feature on his work and the way patrons interact with the installation. To learn more about Biagio Scarpello’s work visit www.biagio-scarpello.com.

Swan Dive Media worked closely with The Kroft & Hulsey Team to develop a comprehensive media package showcasing  Fern Flat, eight and a half acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Learn more about Swan Dive Media's real estate marketing packages, editorial branding, photography services, and other tools we use to help you make your next big sale. Reach out today on our contact page! 

Last fall, Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay rolled out a new housing program in Santa Cruz that aims to support senior homeowners as well as create new, affordable rental units on existing properties. The program is called “My House My Home,” which will develop Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on senior homeowners’ properties. The new units will allow local senior citizens to rent out either their main house or the new ADU—also known as a granny unit—and generate sufficient income to cover their mortgage as well as afford their monthly expenses as a retiree.

Santa Cruz's Allterra Solar celebrates a diverse range of artists from all over the Bay Area. Most recently, the environmental firm showcased the works of Russell Powell, who has created his own unique hand stamping technique. The artist paints detailed illustrations on his own palm and then imprints onto his canvases. Powell's day job is that of a first grade teacher, which he says often inspires his illustrations. Watch the video learn more!

Aikido of Santa Cruz is a non-profit, public benefit, educational organization, serving the Santa Cruz community since 1982. The dojo, located on Mission Street, also invested in green energy with Allterra Solar, taking control of their energy expenses over the long term. Watch our short video on their referral program that generates $500 for the dojo every time one of their members decides to pursue solar for their own home. We spoke with their member Juliano, who works in research around climate change since moving to California from Brazil five years ago. Watch, learn, and enjoy!

Gravity Water in Vietnam

Swan Dive Media cinematographer Michael Daniel recently went to Vietnam to document the work being done by nonprofit Gravity Water. Their mission is to develop safe drinking water sources in developing nations around the globe. Check out the trailer to learn more!

"They want to take our jewels"

More than 1,000 people marched along West Cliff Drive last Saturday to protest a new proposal by the Trump Whitehouse. It would open up more than 90 percent of the nation’s waters to offshore oil and gas leasing.
Congressman Jimmy Panetta took the threat head on.
“What we have here is a treasure chest of jewels,” says the congressman. “That is our treasure chest, and let me tell you, we have acted like pirates to protect it, and we will continue to do that.”

Swan Dive Media in Nepal—Gravity Water

Cinematographer Michael Daniel deployed to rural villages throughout Nepal to document the work being done by the Santa Cruz nonprofit Gravity Water. The organization is striving to address the lack of clean drinking water in disaster-struck regions of the world by installing gravity-powered water storage tanks, helping countless families otherwise left without safe, potable H20. Swan Dive Media is excited to continue documenting Gravity Water's important campaign across the globe.

Made Fresh Crew drops in on Plantronics

Swan Dive Media had an amazing time filming this short profile on artists collective Made Fresh Crew and their work at the Plantronics headquarters in Santa Cruz. This talented group of muralists turns turns the sides of buildings into beautiful IDEAS! No wall is safe. 

Swan Dive Media linking up with Fire Fly! Fire Fly 2 vape pens are one of the emerging cannabis market's highest quality vaporizing tools, providing an even burn and fully integrated control technology through your mobile device. Learn about Fire Fly's most recent app update, enabling customized settings  all with the ease of a cell phone. For best performance, download the app, follow the video's instructions, choose your preferences, and enjoy!

Surf session at Steamer Lane with Tyler Fox

Just after sunrise at Santa Cruz’s Steamer Lane head-high sets rolled in from the northwest, producing glassy slabs of water for a dozen or so surfers. Check out Tyler Fox’s morning session—a ritual communion with the 57 degree ocean.

Music by Gramatik - “Native Son.”