How To Make A Masterful Surf Film With San Clemente’s Radical Talent (Video)

Whether it's history, pedigree and proximity to Lower Trestles, or a combo of all those factors, San Clemente gets a lot of hype. Has for a long time. It’s easy to scroll past yet another clip from the guys who grew up at the most filmed wave in California. But Feels Like Yesterday hits different. It’s expertly crafted, tastefully scored, and has the kind of pedal-to-the-medal surfing that, when this crew is much older, can sit back and say, yeah, we nailed that.

Even if you don’t know Jacob’s name, you’ve likely seen his work. From numerous Kolohe Andino edits to the ambitious Reckless Isolation boat trip to the DNA biopic on the Colapintos to sections in …Lost’s revamped 5’5” x 19” ¼ series, Jacob’s hard drives are stuffed with A-grade footage. But this latest work felt different. More creative control, but no big travel budget, no mandated checklist. Just a couple of friends, a camera, and a love of surfing. 

“It’s been a dream of his to make a full-length surf film,” Griffin said of Jacob. “In the past, he’s had companies hire him, but hasn’t had the full creative direction or control. With this, we paid for all the trips, and Jacob made the film for free. It’s really just a passion project for the love of what we do. 

“It’s about showing our skills in the water and how Jacob edits movies, the creative art he can do with that,” he continued. “For him, this is a big deal to prove himself as the next big filmmaker in the surf industry. So it’s an opportunity for the industry to see he’s capable of making something incredible. And we also want to do an even bigger project with more surfers from around the world.”

Unfortunately, tragedy struck before the first frame was ever a thought. Last year, Jacob and his wife were expecting their first child, but they sadly lost him before he was born. Still reeling, Jacob’s friends invited him to come to Fiji after the end of the 2024 Championship Tour season. That time spent with his friends and immersing himself in his work still resonates with Jacob today. 

“Being with them, it was super emotional,” Jacob said. “Griffin and Crosby, they’re like family to me. Being with them in that place, letting emotions out, it was so special. And the waves were crazy. The forecast said it was getting worse, and instead it got better. I swear there was some kind of magical energy that made it happen.” 

Although the Cloudbreak sessions occurred first in the timeline, they make for a worthy adrenaline-filled ending. “We absolutely scored,” Griffin said. “First ledge as good as it gets.” While Griffin gets the closing clip, Crosby shines just as bright next to his older brother. Anyone who has ever tried a turn at Cloudbreak will know how hard Crosby went to do those searing vertical snaps and blow out the tail out on overhead walls. Watch, appreciate and repeat. 

The foundation was laid in Fiji. A surf film was in order. They spent two weeks in Indonesia (that only resulted in two days of shooting) and had multiple trips to Mexico, including one for just the groms. In less than four months, they’d stuffed the hard drive with more than enough footage. Jacob took a page out of one of his filmmaking inspirations, Kai Neville, and shut himself away for a month and a half so they could debut the film at the 2025 Lowers CT event. No filming at the beach, just pouring himself into the editing bay. 

“Once I started getting in a rhythm, it was so fun,” Jacob said. “I think the hardest part was picking the right waves in certain parts. Like in Fiji, there were so many good waves. And a lot of good waves went unused. It was hard to find a balance. You also have to coordinate the sessions, like you can’t have a morning clip, then an afternoon clip, then a morning clip. That’s why I loved those Kai Neville movies: they just make sense like that. When we all watched this for the first time with all the boys, I was stressed. My heart was pounding. But they were super stoked on it.”

When I asked Jacob what the ingredients were for making impactful, memorable surfing videos, two pieces of advice stuck out. The first: “Put a little more effort into filming the wave. You could film it straight on, and it will look like any other wave every day. Or you can invest in a nice camera, try filming from further away or play around with slow motion.”

The second: film surfers together. “To me, sessions where everyone is surfing together are really cool,” he said. “I was talking to Jordy Smith about Modern Collective, and he told me that all the guys just post videos surfing by themselves. And it’s kind of hard to tell how hard someone is ripping just watching them surf. He said that when you watch everyone surfing together, it really shows how hard a guy’s ripping. That’s what makes a session or surf trip impactful. When someone stands out. And you only see that when you’re surfing together.”