Anthony J. Rickert-Epstein was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and has been making films since he was eight years old. He attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, graduating at age twenty with a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Film Studies. He often returns to Oxford to teach and mentor the students. During his time at Miami, he created the first active filmmaking organization called the Miami Association of Filmmakers and Independent Actors (M.A.F.I.A.). It is a still-functioning group committed to the ins and outs of filmmaking and staying up to date with the latest technology.A.J. attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts in Manhattan in 2003, where he learned to work with actual film stock and edited his shorts using razor blades and tape on a Steenbeck editing table. He has subsequently edited several feature films, some of them uncredited.The teaser trailer to A.J.'s first feature film writing/directing effort, "Fingerman: Dr. London & The Triangle Force", was chosen out of nearly 15,000 submissions and appeared in a 30-second promotional commercial for Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett's reality television series "On The Lot". The promo played during prime time hours on FOX.Today, A.J. is primarily working as a cinematographer and visual effects supervisor on feature-length films, television shows, music videos, and web series. He is married to Christina Napier. They have one child.