Surf Video Production · Cornwall + Worldwide
Surf
Video Production.
A production company based in Newquay, Cornwall, making films, campaigns and social content for surf brands, wetsuit manufacturers, shapers and the wider surf industry.
The surfing community is small, and we are part of it. We get out in the lineup whenever we can, with a garage full of too many boards and a rack of wetsuits that never quite dry.
On Surf Production
"We are surfers, based on the Cornish coast. Filming surfing is where our journey really began."
Salt & Gorse was founded in Newquay, Cornwall, and surfing is part of our heritage. It's the reason we are based where we are, and what we still love to do. That gives us a position to capture surfing the way only a surfer knows how, from being out in the lineup, to knowing the right tides, to finding spots during swells and knowing which clips actually belong in the edit.
We've spent years shooting from the beach, from the channel and from in the lineup. That experience shapes how we approach every surf project.
In the Water
"We get in the lineup. We know what we're looking at."
Our director Ben has been surfing for over 25 years. The filmmakers we bring to surf productions are surfers themselves, people who can read surfers instinctively, sit safely in the lineup, and will be in the right position when it matters.
That experience runs from pre-production through to the grade. It shapes where we scout, how we brief athletes, and what ends up in the timeline. You cannot replicate it by hiring a good camera operator who doesn't surf. The understanding has to come from hours spent in the water.
What We Create
Production built around the culture of the ocean.
Brand Film & Campaign
Story-driven films for surf apparel, wetsuit, equipment and lifestyle brands. Built around identity and culture as much as product, and planned from the outset to deliver a main film plus campaign cuts from a single production.
In-Water Production
In-lineup filming with solid water housings and operators who surf. We position instinctively, move safely in conditions, and understand the difference between a bottom turn and a cutback, because that distinction matters in the edit.
Land-Based & Aerial
Telephoto and drone coverage from shore. We know Cornwall's breaks, from Fistral to quieter spots along the north and south coasts, well enough to recommend the right location for any given swell, wind and tide combination.
Short-Form & Social
Platform-native content for Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Edited to feel authentic rather than produced, a distinction that surf audiences notice immediately. Knowing your bottom turn from your cutback matters here too. Delivered in the formats your channels actually use.
Travel & Remote Production
International shoots for brands, destinations and travel operators. We have filmed in the US, Europe, Australia and Indonesia, organised for remote coastal locations and unpredictable swell. Wherever the project takes us, we are equipped for it.
Photography
Campaign stills and action photography alongside video, in the water and from shore. Product imagery, athlete portraits, event coverage. One production. Multiple outputs across stills and moving image.
Salt & Gorse
"We have filmed surf in Cornwall, California, Victoria and Bali. The conditions change. The approach doesn't."
Featured Project
Rubicon RAW
A surf campaign for Rubicon RAW built around WSL competitor Ellen Caldwell's journey to compete at Boardmasters. Produced on location at Fistral Beach, in collaboration with agency IMA.
We directed and shot the film using in-water and land-based techniques, combining intimate portrait storytelling with the energy of competition week. The brief was to feel real rather than polished, and the location delivered.
Our Clients
Brands that belong to the ocean.
We work with surf and coastal brands, apparel labels, wetsuit companies, surf schools, destinations and events. Our clients are organisations whose identity is genuinely built around the water, and who need a production partner that understands why that matters.
Surf apparel & wetsuit brands
Campaign films and social content for brands where identity and cultural credibility matter as much as technical specification.
Coastal destinations & surf travel
Destination films that sell the feeling, the waves, the light, the water temperature, the particular energy of a place. Seen by the people most likely to book it.
Surf schools & coaching
Content that communicates the feeling of progression, belonging and time in the water, built to attract people who have thought about learning to surf and need the right reason to book.
Events & competitions
Films and social content that capture performance and atmosphere. The moments between heats matter as much as the surfing itself, and we cover both.
Selected surf, brand and charity work
Asked & Answered
Things people ask before we work together.
Do you actually surf?
Yes. Ben has been surfing for over 25 years, and before there was a production company, there was a camera pointed at friends in the lineup. The filmmakers we bring to surf projects are surfers themselves. That shared understanding shapes the work at every stage: reading conditions on the morning, knowing where to sit in the water, understanding what a surfer is attempting before they attempt it. And in the edit, knowing which moments actually matter. Surf content made by non-surfers tends to look a certain way. Our aim is that ours doesn't.
Can you film in the water?
It's something we have done for years. We use solid water housings, not bag-style alternatives, which have a history of failing in heavier conditions. As surfers, we read a session instinctively: where to sit relative to the break, when conditions are building, when it's time to move. That instinct keeps the camera in the right place at the right moment. From graceful longboarding to aggressive shortboarding, we know what we're looking for before the surfer even paddles in.
Do you know Cornwall's surf spots?
Cornwall is home. We know the breaks: Fistral Beach and the Cribbar, the quieter stretches of the north coast, the hidden spots south of Newquay, and the more sheltered breaks when the Atlantic throws too much swell at the peninsula. We understand the tides, the swell windows, the seasons and the access points. Location scouting on a surf shoot is not something we do from a guidebook. We do it from memory and from checking the forecast the night before.
Do you travel for surf production?
Absolutely, and it's some of our best work. We are based in Newquay but have filmed surf content in the water and from the shore in California, France, Portugal, Western Australia, Victoria, Bali and Indonesia. We are organised for remote coastal locations, accustomed to working around tides and swell windows, and entirely comfortable being somewhere unfamiliar when the forecast looks right. The logistics of surf travel are not new to us.
How do you handle safety on location?
Because our camera operators surf, they understand ocean dynamics in a way a non-surfing crew member cannot. We read conditions carefully before entering the water, adapt when things change, and know the difference between conditions that are manageable and conditions that are not. For larger productions or particularly exposed locations, we can arrange professional water safety cover as an additional layer. Safety is never an afterthought, it's part of the brief from the first conversation.
What types of surf brand do you work with?
Surf apparel and wetsuit brands, surf schools, coastal destinations, surf travel operators, events, competitions and lifestyle brands whose identity is built around the ocean. We are most useful to clients who want content that feels authentic to surf culture rather than adjacent to it, brands who understand the difference between content that looks like surfing and content that comes from within it.
Do you also do surf photography?
Yes. We shoot stills alongside video as standard, in the water and from shore. Campaign imagery, athlete portraits, event coverage, product in context. Planning video and photography together from the same production means the visual language stays consistent, and your budget goes further than commissioning them separately.
What does a project typically cost?
It depends on the scope: crew size, number of shoot days, locations, travel and what the brief needs to deliver. We work with clients across a range of budgets and we are always direct about what is achievable within yours. The best place to start is a conversation. Book a call and we will give you an honest picture of what we can make together.
Work With Us
Let's make something worth watching.
If you are building a brand around the ocean, launching into the surf market, or need a production partner who understands the culture from the inside, we would like to hear about your project.