After Making Inroads in Film, Epstein Alumni Jonathan Gaynes Returns to Inspire Students

Provided by Coleen Lou

Epstein alumni Jonathan Gaynes returned to the school, recently, to inspire students. 

After graduating from American University, in Washington D.C., with a double major in film production and business administration, Jonathan set his sights on a career in television and film. With lots of vision and determination, he began making inroads and connections that have landed him on the production sets of “House of Cards,” a Netflix original show, and “Veep,” on HBO. Additionally, he has produced a variety of music videos and award-winning short films. 

Jonathan plans to join the New York film industry, and establish himself as an accomplished cinematographer.

When he spoke to Epstein students Jonathan told them, “The Epstein School taught me many things,” Gaynes told students.”Among them were the importance of hard work, clear communications, and advocacy skills. These skills have enabled me to network and prove myself to industry leader.” 

He added, “But perhaps the most valuable skills that I learned were fostered early on in technology and in the weekly live student broadcast of Good Morning Epstein.  It was there that I learned the foundations for everything from storyboarding, to scripting, filming and editing. I cannot begin to tell you how important that was to my development and success. I owe my foundation in the film industry to Epstein.”