ABOUT LEADING EDGE MEDIA
Meet Jon Statman, Founder & Lead Cinematographer
I got my first camera when I was five years old. I didn't know it at the time, but that was the beginning of everything.
After years in operations - managing teams, driving profitability, and learning what it actually takes to run a business - I realized I wanted to build something of my own around the thing I'd always been most passionate about. I'd grown up shooting photos and messing around with video cameras, and when drones started hitting the commercial market in 2014, I jumped in early, co-founding one of San Diego's first aerial photography and videography companies. What started as aerial work gradually expanded to full ground-level production, and in 2016 I launched Leading Edge Media to bring it all together under one roof - video, photography, drone, and everything in between.
I'm a Southern California native who spent a chunk of my younger years in the Pacific Northwest before finding my way back to San Diego in 2013. This is home, and I'm proud to have built something here that I genuinely believe in. What drives me isn't just the craft - though I love creating beautiful imagery - it's the satisfaction of helping people achieve something real. Every project is someone's goal, their brand, their moment, and I take that seriously.
When I'm not behind a camera, you'll find me hiking, climbing, nursing my obsession with everything related to flying, or just hanging with my Boston Terrier-Pug mix, Junebug.
Producing Video & Photography for San Diego Businesses Since 2016
Leading Edge Media is a full-service video and photography production company based in San Diego, serving corporate marketing teams, brands, and event organizers across Southern California and beyond. We specialize in corporate video, brand storytelling, event coverage, commercial production, and FAA Part 107 certified drone operation; everything you need from a single, dependable production partner.
We don't just show up and shoot. We help clients think through what content they actually need, build a plan around it, and produce work with a clear purpose behind every frame. Whether that's a single brand film or an ongoing content roadmap designed to support your marketing goals month after month, the measure of success isn't how good it looks - it's what it does for your business.
What sets us apart isn't just the quality of the work, it's the experience of working with us. We invest time in understanding your goals before we ever pick up a camera, communicate clearly throughout the process, and deliver exactly what we discussed, on time every time. Our clients come back because the process is as good as the finished product.
How We Work
Story First Every project starts with questions, not cameras. What does this need to communicate? Who needs to see it? What should they do after they watch it? We don't start shooting until we understand the purpose behind the content - because great-looking video that doesn't accomplish anything isn't actually great.
Built to Perform We think about your content the way a strategist would and execute it the way a cinematographer would. The result is work that looks exceptional and works hard for your business; driving awareness, building trust, and moving people to act.
Built for the Long Run The best content relationships aren't one-and-done. We learn your brand, understand your goals, and become a production partner you can rely on to keep building - project after project, quarter after quarter, with a consistent creative vision and a clear sense of where it's all headed.
