VIDEO TELLS THE HISTORY OF SURFING

A year and a half ago, Ira Opper decided to produce a video documentary about the fabled Southern California surf culture, one that would consist of more than just action shots, sandy beaches and palm trees.

“I wanted to chronicle the history of surfing in an entertaining and informative way by interviewing some of the biggest surfing heroes of all time,” Opper said.

“But my intent was to also show other aspects of surf culture--like music, fashion and films--that have influenced life styles around the world for more than 20 years.”

At the time, Opper said, he could think of no better setting than Malibu Beach, 30 miles north of Los Angeles.

Malibu, after all, is where the worldwide surfing craze began in the late 1950s. Throughout the ‘60s, the surfing life style at Malibu Beach inspired a rash of grade-B surf films like “Gidget” and “Beach Blanket Bingo.” It was further glorified by the music of such surf-rock bands as the Beach Boys and the Surfaris.

But now that Opper’s 45-minute documentary, “Legends of Malibu,” is completed, everything but the title suggests that the center of Southern California surfing activity has since drifted to San Diego.

Many of the Malibu legends whom Opper interviewed for his documentary, including Mike Doyle and Skip Frye, now live here.

So does clothing manufacturer Jim Jenks, whose Ocean Pacific sportswear line has brought surf fashions into department stores around the country for nearly two decades.

Much of the new beach footage in “Legends of Malibu” was shot in Solana Beach, where some locals insist the wave action has always been better.

Opper’s video production company, Frontline Video, is based in Del Mar.

And before he starts marketing “Legends of Malibu” to such national cable television networks as Home Box Office and Showtime, Opper, 38, is premiering his documentary through a series of showings at the Kona Bar and Grill in Solana Beach.

The next showing there is Monday night, with the proceeds benefiting Clean Oceans, a local ecological group.

“A lot of the people who were involved in the project are either from San Diego or have moved here after their surfing days at Malibu were over,” said Opper, himself an expatriate Malibu surfer who has lived in Solana Beach since 1981.

“On top of that, all the work on the documentary was done here, from the editing to the filming of much of the new footage. So it just made sense to premier the video in San Diego.

“This way, everyone who has worked on it has the chance to see it first.”

Opper said that producing “Legends of Malibu,” hosted by former world surfing champion Corky Carroll, cost more than $65,000 and involved condensing more than 100 hours of film into 45 minutes.

“Surf culture is an important part of Southern California history,” Opper said. He is a video veteran who has worked in the field since 1971, when he received a state grant to produce a police training film for the California Council on Criminal Justice.

Four years later, Opper became program director for the Cox Cable franchise in Santa Barbara. In 1979, his lampoon of that city’s annual Fiesta Parade earned him an Ace Award, cable television’s answer to the Emmy, from the National Cable Television Assn.

Opper moved to Solana Beach in 1981, where a year later he and partner Jim Marino opened Frontline Video.

Among Frontline’s credits are commercials for Tylenol and Gillette, the “Surfer Magazine” series that airs on ESPN, post-production work on the 1984 Olympics, and various collegiate and professional sports specials.

“But right now, what I want most is to get this documentary on national television,” Opper said. “Surfers are the true legends of modern times.

“They have this unconventional attitude and mystique about them that continues to fascinate an entire generation, and it’s about time someone told their story the way it should be told.”