Meet Jonathan Castner | Strategic Video Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonathan Castner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonathan, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
“Ships are safest while docked at port. But that is not what ships are made for.”

The very notion that you can be successful, whatever that means to you, while being as safe as possible is a fallacy. At the very least that mindset will set you up for being unable to respond to when things are not under control and you will emotionally be unprepared to deal with the difficulty of navigating back to a position of stability.

Creativity requires that you make mistakes. Development means making small steps in the wrong direction to get you to the right direction. Science isn’t getting it right: it’s getting it wrong and then learning from the experiment.

Being bold is understanding the risks, making an appropriate plan to deal with what you can foresee and moving ahead into uncertainty. Being safe at all costs is assuming that you can’t/won’t be able to overcome any obstacle resulting in stagnation.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It has been a bit of emotional growth to now say that I am an artist.

I spent 27 years as an internationally published photojournalist who worked for much of the “who’s who” in the industry: New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Bloomberg, Fast Company, Discover, ESPN, Reuters, Agence France Presse and numerous publications in Europe. While I was able to photograph any conceivable subjects my specialty was long form: stories, essay and documentaries, focusing on cultures and conceptual/emotionally sensitive subjects. Things that take a lot of patience and empathy to achieve.

As the technology and consumption culture changed, I moved into multimedia storytelling and then eventually video.

I went to university initially to become a Bio Chemist, which gave me a drive for research and method. My eventual degree in Psychology expanded my love of and interest in people, their feelings and motivations.

My parents were commercial actors and I was raised in a household where language, expression and messaging were a constant topic of exploration. I practically grew up in recording studios. I did my first TV commercial at the age of three and did voice over work through middle and high school.

My work has always personal and intended to be both visually arresting as well as emotionally compelling. I want my subjects to feel if not noble, then at least respected. My viewers were to feel like they were present to the story and never be voyeurs.

In 2019 I moved to the world of strategic commercial video storytelling whereby I could use all of my skills and insights to bring my clients customers to them through research driven narratives with a human connection and a documentary feel. Immersive is the way that I describe my work.

I’m an applied artist.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d take them to the Santa Fe art district then go to La Calle for awesome tacos. Then we head out of town to go hike in Golden State Canyon.

Otherwise we are headed to do the whole 285 to Million Dollar Highway loop. Especially staying in Crestone and Silverton.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This goes out to and editor who I worked with back in my early years – Jay Quadracci, who gave me one of the most important pieces of advice. When confused as to what I was to create on an assignment he said, “Go have fun. You will figure it out”.

That became the driver of my life and career.

Website: https://www.jonathancastner.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathancastner/

Image Credits
All images created and copywritten: Jonathan Castner