Archive · 2013–2019
Before the web apps, I spent years as a documentary and commercial videographer on the Alabama Gulf Coast — telling stories about watersheds, coastal restoration, climate change, and the communities living with it. Twenty-eight of those films are collected here, each with a link to watch it and to its original project page.
These projects previously lived on this domain and now archive at old.benbrenner.com.
Thirty-minute oral-history documentary tracing the history of Alabama’s Dauphin Island and examining how the community now must respond to shoreline erosion and rising sea- levels. Broadcast on Alabama Public Television. The film was an official selection of both the Sidewalk Film Festival and Fairhope Film Festival.
Documentary examining how a coal ash pond to the north of Mobile Bay now poses a risk to the people and ecosystems downstream. The film looks at what led to the proliferation of these types of ponds in sensitive areas, how the Kingston Tennessee coal ash spill led to additional groundwater regulations forcing the closure of these types of ponds, and weighs the benefits and disadvantages of the two imperfect closure options.
Hour long video program demonstrating what life was like for indigenous peoples living on the Alabama Coast in the 18th Century through living history and interviews with archaeologists.
Three Mile Creek runs through the heart of Mobile and is being transformed by the city and its partners by developing a greenway and bicycle trails connecting the University of South Alabama to the Mobile River through diverse communities, landscapes, and commercial areas.
To the 1,000 residents of Dauphin Island, the sand dunes are the first line of protection from the damaging winds and waters of coastal storms. With the ever increasing threat of hurricanes and rising seas, the health of this dune system is more crucial than ever and in need of stronger regulations to preserve it.
Despite all of the doubts, three small projects end up making a tremendous positive impact on the Mobile Bay area.
2017 Year-End Video describing how small decisions for better coastal management, can lead to larger and larger effects that result in transforming the landscape.
The MBNEP’s CCMP provides a guide for environmental restoration along the Alabama Coast. The results show for themselves.
Educational video explaining what an estuary and how watersheds are important.
Mixing stock photos, live video, and animation to introduce students to the water cycle, stormwater, watersheds, and nonpoint-source pollution including sediment, trash, chemical, nutrient, fertilizer, pesticides, and pathogen pollution. Based on the Master Environmental Educator Stormwater Pollution class.
Short video explaining the process of developing an atlas of priority land parcels in the headwaters of Mobile Bay to be targeted for land conservation efforts.
Video describing the advantages of watershed management planning in addressing pollution and how the ADEM 319 program can help fund projects that address the problem.
ADEM 319-funded video describing the advantages of watershed management planning in addressing pollution and how EPA 319 helps fund projects addressing pollution.
Explains the benefits of using LID practices to manage on-site stormwater using natural features and native plants to slow down stormwater runoff. These features improve downstream water quality, are beautiful additions to any property, and can save money over the long term.
Litter is a much more complex problem than people realize. Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step toward addressing it.
Educational video for residents of subdivisions to demonstrate the importance of stormwater detention facilities and how proper maintenance can save money for neighborhoods in the future.
Tracing the work of developing watershed management plans across the Alabama Coast.
Promotional video about the importance of the National Estuary Program using a collection of resources from different NEPs across the country.
Drone timelapse tracking the restoration of the tip of Mon Louis Island.
Short video highlighting students snorkeling on a study abroad program in Abaco, The Behamas.
Three studies in building community in underserved areas to help build capacity for resilience to natural disasters and climate change. Tracking resilience efforts in New York Harbour, New York; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Toulminville Community, Alabama.
Here’s Life Africa is a Christian nonprofit training pastors and showing the Jesus Film in remote villages throughout Tanzania and surrounding areas.
Promotional video for commercial construction department highlighting the firm’s work and commitment to quality.
GORDHEAD is a cloud-based software that can keep an entire team abreast of everything they need to know to get projects out on time and under-budget. Video includes interviews with staff throughout the Horizon Shipbuilding organization who rely on GORDHEAD to do their jobs efficiently.
Set of green screen commercials for Greene & Phillips Injury Lawyers.
Video tour of small victorian cottage in Oakleigh District, Mobile, Alabama
Timelapse and video of the installation of a custom prefabricated house in Oakleigh district.
Beyond film, the legacy portfolio also holds these bodies of work: