Patty Mooney and Mark Schulze proprietors of New & Unique Videos

Founders

Mark Schulze and Patty Mooney – VHS Pioneers of the 1980’s

In the early 1980s, San Diego was known for sunshine, surfers, and sprawling Navy bases, but not yet for video production. The term “videographer” was unfamiliar to most, and professional video was often dismissed as a novelty. Patty Mooney and Mark Schulze entered this landscape with a different vision: that video could be a powerful tool for education, training, storytelling, and cultural documentation.

They were pioneers working in a technological frontier defined by bulky equipment, costly tape stock, and the unforgiving realities of analog production. Editing was linear and irreversible. Every decision mattered. There were no templates, no tutorials, no safety nets. What existed instead was ingenuity, persistence, and a belief that video would soon become essential.

Their earliest challenge was not technical, but conceptual: convincing businesses, nonprofits, and institutions that video could serve a meaningful purpose. Through cold calls, in-person demonstrations, and patient explanation, they helped clients understand how training videos, educational programs, and documentary storytelling could save time, reduce costs, and expand reach. In doing so, they were not merely selling video production, but introducing an entirely new way of communicating.

Crystal Pyramid Productions

Before founding New & Unique Videos, Mooney and Schulze established Crystal Pyramid Productions in 1981, one of San Diego’s first full-service video production companies. In those early years, they built their client base one relationship at a time, often offering deeply discounted work to nonprofit organizations whose missions aligned with their values.

Their early nonprofit and advocacy projects included work for the MAAC Project, Environmental Health Coalition (Get Smart About Toxics), SANDAG, and the Jerry Lewis Telethon, among others. These projects helped define their approach: technically rigorous, socially conscious, and story-driven.

Director of Photography Mark Schulze became known for his inventive lighting and problem-solving skills in challenging environments. Patty Mooney took on multiple roles simultaneously, writing scripts, recording sound, operating cameras, editing tape, and managing the business side of production. Their adaptability and commitment laid the foundation for decades of independent work.

The Birth of New & Unique Videos™

As the VHS format entered homes and classrooms, Mooney and Schulze recognized an opportunity to distribute educational content directly to audiences. They launched New & Unique Videos™, creating one of the early independent VHS catalogs at a time when most consumers had yet to own a VCR.

New & Unique Videos became both a publisher and distributor, enabling the company to reach educators, libraries, broadcasters, and international audiences. Instructional titles began selling worldwide, validating their belief that there was a strong demand for thoughtful, well-produced educational media.

Revolutionizing Action Sports Filmmaking

Among their most influential contributions was their early documentation of mountain biking, a sport then in its infancy. Their films helped define the visual language of the sport and introduced it to a global audience.

Notable titles include:

These films helped establish New & Unique Videos as pioneers in action sports filmmaking and earned them recognition as early architects of the genre.

Educational and Advocacy Films

As formats evolved from VHS to DVD, HD, and digital distribution, New & Unique Videos expanded its focus to include social issues, public health, and advocacy documentaries.

Key titles include:

A Lasting Legacy

For more than four decades, Patty Mooney and Mark Schulze have guided New & Unique Videos through continual technological change while remaining committed to its core mission: to educate, inform, and preserve stories that might otherwise be overlooked.

What began with a modest classified advertisement grew into a globally recognized independent archive of educational and cultural media. Today, their work continues to serve educators, institutions, and audiences seeking thoughtful, well-crafted documentary storytelling.