For over the past two decades, Justin has worked as an award-winning executive & line producer on feature films, music videos, commercials and branded content for some of the biggest global companies such as Paramount, Universal, Google, Pepsi, Anonymous Content and Caviar and collaborating with A-List directors the likes of Peter Berg, Doug Liman, Antoine Fuqua, Francis Lawrence, Ruben Fleischer, Marc Webb and more.

A co-founder of the 360 media house Drive Studios, which mounts not only physical productions, but also taps into the visual effects, post production, live-event, AR and VR markets, as well as virtual production technologies. Justin’s cultivated history of team leadership is reflected through his success with the world’s largest production companies, creative agencies and studios.

With 30 years in the entertainment industry, Rich is an award-winning director and visual effects innovator known for combining storytelling sensibility with deep expertise in both physical and post-production. Coming from a background in previs and visual effects—having supervised previs on major productions like Pirates of the Caribbean 1–3, I Am Legend, Constantine, and Minority Report—Rich is celebrated for his visual creativity and his ability to humanize technically complex narratives.

He recently completed work on the feature War of the Worlds and has directed series including Limitless (CBS) and The Society (Netflix). His commercial credits include Amazon, Honda, and Beats, alongside music videos for artists like Billie Eilish, Eminem, Maroon 5, and Rihanna.

Christopher is an award-winning cinematographer and former technical editor of American Cinematographer magazine. And aside for his ASC-nominated work for director David Fincher’s Netflix series, Mindhunter, he has photographed hundreds of commercials for clients such as Nike, Google, BMW, Samsung, Audi, Adidas, and Uber, as well as music videos for artists like Ariana Grande, Jay Z, Muse, Lana Del Rey, Eminem, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish.

Christopher has a unique ability to leverage his encyclopedic technical skills to envisage and innovate next-level uses and techniques in the virtual production arena. He also recently co-authored the book, The Cine Lens Manual, a definitive treatise of cine optics.

Founder and CEO of the forward-looking technology innovation firm, Optic Sky Productions, Aaron built a global team of award-winning directors, digital artists, storytellers, producers, and creative technologists that has reaped double & triple-digit growth each year. He has spearheaded projects for Google, Amazon, Wegmans, Zillow, Zeplin, and many other globally-recognized agencies, winning accolades from the American Advertising Awards, Webby Awards and The One Show.

Aaron has also dedicated much of his focus into education and helped nurture the next generation of filmmakers by positioning them in the bleeding edge technologies our industry is undoubtedly moving toward. Toward that end, Optic Sky partnered with Rochester Institute of Technology to create one of the first Virtual Production curriculums in the country.

A veritable Jack of all trades, Duke has more than 20 years working within nearly every sector in the film industry, with a heavy emphasis in visual effects. At Hydraulx, he served as the company’s internal director for visual effects element shoots films like The Avengers, Avatar, Iron Man, Snow White and the Huntsmen, San Andreas and television shows such as Stranger Things and also oversaw the creation of their camera department, including managing over a dozen camera systems, 3D rigs, and multitudes of lenses and sundry filmmaking hardware.

Similarly, Duke has designed various bespoke rigs utilized in VR, AR, and volumetric capture for virtual production applications.

Geoff brings with him an extensive background in physical production, having worked in multiple entertainment sectors – from a Hollywood lighting director and chief lighting technician to the director of physical production for Madison Square Garden and the Sphere project – to deploy technically complex systems (across five continents) for the last two decades.

Before joining Synapse, Geoff previously collaborated on multiple Emmy award-winning productions with Riot Games and worked on feature films such as Oz the Great and Powerful, Pitch Perfect 3, and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Disney, Universal, Cirque du Soleil, NHL, NFL, NBA, CJ E&M, Nintendo, Blizzard, and Epic Games.

Prior to joining Synapse, ALISA spent 15 years at Viacom/Paramount and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Production across 11 of Viacom's flagship brands. Alisa is an architect of several first-of-their kind content eco systems including the launch of Viacom Digital Studios as well as an Emmy Award winning Executive producer with a wide range of format expertise.

Louise heads up the visualization arm of Synapse, drawing on many years of experience in previs and VFX. Her filmmaking career began at the pioneering previsualization companies, Pixel Liberation Front (PLF), and Proof, Inc., where she supervised previs teams for blockbuster films such as The Amazing Spider-Man, The Green Hornet, Transformers, and The Hunger Games.

In her role as Head of Creative at Drive Studios, Louise worked on project and tech development, and led teams of VFX and VAD artists for everything from music videos and commercials to feature films, including Universal Pictures’ upcoming release War of the Worlds.

Devon brings with him years of experience working in the virtual production arena. A former virtual production supervisorVP companies such as XR Studios and Magnopus, he also worked for Disguise, where he provided creative technology education to filmmakers and technical artists from around the globe, mentoring them in real world virtual production workflows. He also led virtual production projects.

Always in service of the vision, Emilia is a client and artist advocate to her core. With over 15 years in the industry, she has been helping clients solve creatively complex virtual production problems since 2020. Her past clients include industry giants such as Netflix, Epic Games, Lucasfilm, Disney, CBS, HBO and Warner Brothers.


Projects of note include The Mandalorian S2, Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, Ant-Man 3, Black Adam, Welcome to Derry, and Death by Lightning. Emilia is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emerging Media Program Peer Group.

With extensive experience leading high-impact productions across broadcast, XR, and live events, Jim has worked with top-tier clients including CBS, Fox, and Warner Bros., delivering complex technical solutions for fast-paced, high-stakes environments. His expertise includes studio integration, live-to-air workflows, and adopting emerging standards like SMPTE 2110.

Jim brings a systems-minded approach to every project—bridging creative goals with reliable, scalable infrastructure. He’s also played key roles in large-scale productions like CES, BlizzCon, and E3, where innovation and flawless execution are mission-critical.

As a lead on-set virtual production supervisor, Emily brings with her battle-tested expertise in volume workflow creation and Unreal operation. She has been an integral team member in the build-out of multiple VP volume stages – overseeing both the hardware setup and optimization, as well as streamlining several bespoke software toolsets and workflows – and has helped create Synapse’s iconic “Eye in the Sky” remote support system.

Emily also was a critical contributor to creating Rochester Institute of Technology’s virtual production curriculum and currently lectures on not only VP, but AR, and VR technologies as well.

Bonnie is a Northern California native who’s spent nearly two decades in Los Angeles. She joins Synapse from Sony Pictures Entertainment, where she restructured the IATSE Post 60 audit process for the Television and Third-Party Audit departments. With over 10 years of on-set experience—including motion capture—her background spans television, film, commercials, and gaming.

Previously, Bonnie was part of the executive team at House of Moves Animation Studio, where she led the successful relocation and construction of an $8M, 8,000 sq. ft. sound stage in El Segundo. The project earned city approval and was completed with no loss in business—one of her most rewarding achievements to date. With a strong grasp of accounting frameworks, Bonnie builds efficient, tailored systems for productions of all sizes.

Jason is a finance and accounting professional with extensive experience in financial reporting, compliance, and operational efficiency. Most recently, he served as Senior Finance & Accounting Manager at Sugar23, Inc., where he oversaw financial operations, streamlined processes, and implemented a cloud-based financial infrastructure.

Previously, Jason held roles at Comcast Spectacor’s G4TV, ServiceTitan, AEG, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, working across media, entertainment, and sports. He holds an M.S. in Accounting from California State University, Long Beach, and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from San Diego State University. A lifelong Dodgers fan, he enjoys following the team and going to games.

Karina brings over six years of experience in production, operations, and project management across live music, TV, commercial, and experiential work. At Synapse, she manages day-to-day operations at the Los Angeles flagship volume, supporting cross-departmental coordination between production, marketing, and finance.

Prior to joining Synapse, Karina freelanced as an assistant, coordinator, and producer on a range of projects—from large-scale brand activations to scripted content—earning a reputation for her organizational precision and calm, people-first leadership. Her background in higher education continues to inform her collaborative and community-driven approach to team building and execution.