About two months ago, local photographer John Cocozza met the San Diego band KI at a full moon bonfire in Mission Beach and was immediately impressed. Cocozza was even more amazed when he heard their song “By The Sea.”

“When I initially heard the song, it brought to me visions of the fun activities we do here in San Diego and specifically the La Jolla to Sunset Cliffs area, no matter what the age of residents,” Cocozza said.

“We are a community of people who love surfing, stand-up paddleboarding, swimming in the ocean and hanging with friends at the beach.” 

That led to an idea for a music video that would capture San Diego’s coastal communities. Cocozza pitched his vision of a video for the song to the band (and their manager), which would include scenes from Sunset Cliffs, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla. The band was 100 percent on board. 

“I had the privilege of working with a great professional cinematographer (and editor), Jon Killz, as well as a fantastic cast and crew (of a lot of locals),” said Cocozza, who directed the video. “I hope the music video captures the essence of why we live in San Diego.” 

The crew, which also included drone cameramen Will Collins and Lenny Westfall, as well as casting and operations supervisor Lynnia Shanley, filmed over five days at multiple locations such as: 

nWindansea Beach for the surfing segment with local surfers Preston McQuillen and Anton Riechel, as well as the video’s prologue with lead singer Kiley Halpern walking on the beach.

nSail Bay for the SUP segment and Sunset Cliffs for jumping segments.

nBonita Cove for the bonfire party and LED performance artists – Glittery Glitters (Alyssa Fricks) and Kitty Noir (Erinda Martin) with the Hula Hoops, along with juggler Anton Riechel.

nCabrillo Point at the mouth of San Diego harbor for the pirate ship segment that included the band’s performance. Artist Pasco provided the 60-foot pirate ship. 

“KI is made up of a group of very talented people,”?Cocozza added. “I think their personal positive attitudes really shine in that song.” 

“Being a gifted and creative person himself, Pasco was more than willing to make his ship available for the shoot,” Cocozza said. “The filming on the ship was so crucial to the vision of the story and the ability to get some of those amazing drone shots of Cabrillo Point.”

Cocozza added, “KI is made up of a group of very talented people. I think their personal positive attitudes really shine in that song.”