Leadership

Not a roster. A working department.

Founders first, then the senior producing leadership and the department that delivers. A leadership team forged inside a production rather than assembled for one.

Disciplines led in-house

  • Producing
  • Directing
  • Development and story
  • Production management
  • Visual effects supervision
  • Virtual production
  • AI workflows
  • Animation
  • Editorial and post
  • Delivery and rights

The team

Founder

Doug Aarniokoski

Founder · Director · Producer · Producing Director

Director and producer with more than 25 years of premium television and feature work, and producing-director leadership across entire seasons.

Full biography

Doug Aarniokoski has spent more than 25 years directing and producing premium television and feature films. His directing and producing work includes Star Trek, Blue Bloods, S.W.A.T., Tracker, Clarice, Bull and Timeless, alongside other major studio and network productions.

He has served as Producing Director on Star Trek: Picard, Limitless, Sleepy Hollow, Bull and Instinct — a role that spans directing, producing and season-level creative leadership, shaping both the creative vision and the production process across an entire season. His work covers action, science fiction, procedural drama and character-driven storytelling, and is built on assembling creative teams capable of ambitious delivery on time and on budget.

Alongside production, Doug mentors actors and filmmakers through Beyond The Audition, where he shares practical insight drawn from decades behind the camera. He is currently developing and producing new television and feature projects and expanding international production partnerships.

His working philosophy emphasizes trust, collaboration and creative problem-solving, long-term creative relationships, exceptional content, and a global perspective on how and where work gets made.

Founder

Jason Zimmerman

Founder · Senior VFX Supervisor · Virtual Production · AI Workflow Supervisor

Emmy and VES Award-winning supervisor with more than 25 years leading visual effects for feature film and premium episodic television.

Full biography

Jason Michael Zimmerman is an Emmy and VES Award-winning Visual Effects Supervisor, Supervising Producer, and AI workflow strategist with more than 25 years of experience leading world-class visual effects for feature films and premium episodic television. His credits include Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Section 31, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Sleepy Hollow, True Detective, Limitless, Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Over his career, he has earned multiple Emmy and VES Award nominations while helping deliver more than 150 episodes of the Star Trek franchise.

A recognized leader in next-generation production, Jason combines creative supervision with deep expertise in virtual production and AI-powered workflows, developing innovative pipelines that enhance efficiency without compromising artistic excellence. His ability to unite filmmakers, studios and global VFX teams has made him a trusted partner for delivering complex, cinematic productions at the highest level of quality and innovation.

Aleksandra Kochoska Dekovic

Senior VFX Producer

Emmy Award-winning senior producer specializing in large-scale, multi-vendor visual effects delivery.

Full biography

Aleksandra Kochoska Dekovic is an Emmy Award-winning Senior VFX Producer and production executive specializing in the delivery of large-scale visual effects for TV film and episodic content. With a proven track record leading complex, multi-vendor productions, she has overseen the successful execution of high-profile franchises including Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Star Trek: Section 31, as well as acclaimed productions such as True Detective, Sleepy Hollow, and White House Down.

Recognized for her strategic leadership, operational excellence, and ability to align creative vision with production execution, Aleksandra has built and managed world-class VFX teams across global pipelines. Her expertise spans visual effects production, virtual production, emerging AI-driven workflows, and studio-level vendor management, consistently delivering award-winning work on schedule and at scale. She is known for fostering collaborative partnerships between filmmakers, studios and artists while driving innovation across every stage of the production process.

Charles Collyer

Associate VFX Supervisor · Compositing Supervisor

Emmy-honored supervisor whose career was built on years of high-end digital compositing.

Full biography

Charles Collyer is a Visual Effects Supervisor with a career built on years of experience as a digital compositor. His background in compositing has given him a practical understanding of the visual effects pipeline, from shot development and integration to supervising teams and delivering work that meets both creative and technical expectations.

Over the course of his career, Charles has worked across a wide range of productions, developing a collaborative approach to solving complex visual challenges while supporting artists and production teams throughout the process. His experience started as a compositor in 2004 and continues to shape his work as a supervisor, providing insight into both the creative and technical aspects of visual effects.

In 2021, Charles was honored with an Emmy Award in recognition of the work of the visual effects team he was part of — an achievement that reflects the high standards and collaboration required to deliver outstanding visual effects.

As the industry continues to evolve, Charles remains committed to learning and adapting to new technologies. Today, he is expanding his knowledge of artificial intelligence and exploring how AI-driven tools can enhance visual effects workflows while supporting the creativity and craftsmanship that remain at the core of the work. Above all, he believes that visual effects should always serve the story.

Brian Tatosky

VFX Supervisor

Creative supervision and production oversight across three decades of film and television.

Full biography

Brian is a VFX Supervisor for Star Trek, having worked on Star Trek: Picard, Discovery, Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy for almost six years — on-set supervision, post supervision, working hand in hand with directors and EPs, helping lead the virtual art department in building LED volume sets for in-camera VFX, breaking down and budgeting scripts, supervising the in-house department creating assets, and using AI tools to create environments.

He has over three decades of experience in production and VFX, including almost 15 years at Rhythm and Hues Studios working on commercials and features, including multiple Emmy-nominated and winning shows, leading cross-functional teams from three people to hundreds across multiple continents. He also has the most experience concerning opinions on starships and Bussard collectors, having started as a kindergarten sci-fi fan.

Greg Wadsworth

Lead AI Workflow Supervisor · Senior VFX Artist

AI integration and advanced visual effects development.

Full biography

Greg Wadsworth is a Los Angeles-based visual effects artist and compositing supervisor with over a decade of experience across major feature films and episodic television. Recent film experience includes roles as a Compositing Supervisor on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

He currently works as a Senior VFX Artist for the Star Trek in-house team, working on Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy. Greg has experience on set, is an expert in Nuke, and has wide-ranging knowledge of complex AI pipelines.

Eric Hance

CG Supervisor · Virtual Production · AI Workflow Supervisor

CG environments, real-time production and AI pipeline implementation.

Full biography

Eric Hance is an Emmy Awarded senior Visual Effects Supervisor, CG Supervisor, and Virtual Production leader with over two decades of experience delivering cutting-edge visual effects for feature films, episodic television and emerging media. Combining deep technical expertise with a strong creative vision, Eric has led multidisciplinary teams across every stage of the VFX pipeline, from concept development and previs through final pixel delivery.

Throughout his career, Eric has supervised complex CG environments, virtual production workflows and large-scale visual effects for high-profile studio productions, helping filmmakers realize ambitious creative visions while maintaining efficiency, quality and scalability. An early adopter of real-time technologies and AI-assisted production workflows, he specializes in integrating innovative tools into established pipelines to accelerate production without compromising artistic excellence.

Known for his collaborative leadership and solutions-driven approach, Eric bridges the gap between creative storytelling and technical execution, partnering closely with directors, producers and studios to deliver cinematic visuals on schedule and at the highest level of quality.

Shant Jordan

Lead VFX Artist

Senior visual effects artist specializing in high-end episodic production.

Full biography

Shant Jordan is a veteran Visual Effects Supervisor and Artist with more than three decades of experience creating visual effects for feature films, television, commercials and interactive media. Throughout his career, he has supervised and produced visual effects for major studio productions while developing a reputation for combining technical innovation with artistic craftsmanship.

As co-founder of Synaptic VFX, Shant led boutique teams delivering high-end visual effects, concept development, virtual environments and on-set supervision for film and television. His credits include Now You See Me 2, The Last Witch Hunter, Phoenix Forgotten, The Neon Demon, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Man in the High Castle, Community, Babylon 5, and numerous other feature and episodic productions.

With expertise spanning CG, compositing, virtual production, stereoscopic workflows and visual effects supervision, Shant brings a rare combination of creative vision, technical leadership and production experience.

Boryslav Fird

Lead Virtual Production Supervisor

Unreal Engine technical artist specializing in real-time production, environment creation and virtual production systems.

Full biography

Boryslav Fird is a versatile 3D Artist and Unreal Engine Technical Artist with a strong foundation in visual effects, digital environments and real-time production workflows. After graduating as valedictorian with a Bachelor of Applied Science, Boryslav began his professional career working on 21 Jump Street and has since contributed to a wide range of projects spanning feature films, television, interactive media, architectural visualization and virtual production.

Throughout his career, Boryslav has evolved from a 3D Generalist into a specialized 3D Environment Artist and Unreal Engine Technical Artist, combining artistic expertise with advanced real-time technologies. His experience in creating immersive digital worlds, optimizing assets and developing efficient Unreal Engine workflows allows him to bridge the gap between creative vision and technical execution.

Richard Macks

Associate VFX Producer · Emmy-Nominated VFX Manager

Production coordination, vendor communication, database management and delivery operations.

Full biography

Richard Macks is an Emmy-nominated VFX Manager and Lead VFX Coordinator with extensive experience managing the production and delivery of complex visual effects for premium episodic television. As Lead VFX Coordinator for the Star Trek franchise, he has played a pivotal role in overseeing the operational infrastructure behind thousands of high-end visual effects shots, ensuring seamless collaboration between production, creative teams and global VFX vendors.

Known for his exceptional organizational leadership and meticulous attention to detail, Ricky manages production workflows, vendor communications, shot tracking, database integrity and delivery schedules while maintaining the highest standards of quality and efficiency. Throughout his career, he has contributed to the successful final delivery of more than 15,000 visual effects shots.

Shawn Ewashko

VFX Manager

Visual effects production manager with nearly 20 years in film and television.

Full biography

Shawn Ewashko is a Visual Effects Production Manager with nearly 20 years of experience in film and television. He began his career as a VFX Artist before transitioning into production leadership, giving him a well-rounded understanding of the visual effects process — from the technical and creative challenges of building shots to the planning, coordination and execution required to deliver them successfully.

Throughout his career, Shawn has worked closely with artists, supervisors, vendors and production teams to help bring complex visual effects sequences to the screen. He is highly skilled in improving production through efficient workflows, emerging technologies and practical applications of AI that support artists and streamline collaboration.

Recognition

2021 Primetime EmmyOutstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode · Star Trek: Discovery — “Su’Kal”. VES Award-winning work · Multiple Emmy and VES nominations.

Full award detail