Payam Shohadai

Executive Visual Effects Supervisor / Co Founder

Payam Shohadai is co-founder of Luma Pictures and the leader of its creative and executive management teams. Under his guidance, the company has established itself as a premier provider of visual effects services to Hollywood with a reputation for artistic and business integrity, technical innovation and efficient production.

Shohadai has led Luma's visual effects team on more than 50 film projects, ranging from blockbusters such as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, to creature genre films such as the Underworld franchise, to dramatic Oscar Winning films such as Crash and No Country for Old Men.



A self-taught artist, Shohadai founded the post house Moon Against Man in 1994 with a focus on 3D character animation. Through it, he also created effects for over a dozen films, including Hart's War, Bulletproof Monk, and Windtalkers, on which he served as digital artist and visual effects supervisor.

Jonathan Betuel

Co Founder

Jonathan Betuel, co-founder of Luma Pictures with Payam Shohadai, wrote the first and classic CGI film The Last Starfighter and has directed and produced for both film and television. With his creative experience and first-hand knowledge of a filmmaker's creative needs in an ever-evolving VFX realm, he collaborates with studios, producers and directors on an ongoing basis for the purpose of realizing their visions at Luma.

Steven Swanson

Senior VFX Producer

Steven Swanson oversees all aspects of visual effects production at Luma Pictures. In addition to interfacing with clients and managing staff, Swanson has an extensive technical background as a self-taught programmer and visual effects artist. Swanson spearheaded the development of file architecture and workflow protocols that are the foundation of the studio's pipeline.

A graduate of USC Film school, Swanson began his career as a code monkey and interface designer in the energy industry and joined Luma Pictures in 2004.

Vincent Cirelli

VFX Supervisor

Vince Cirelli is the supervising creative at Luma Pictures with more than 30 films to his credit. With a background in art direction and years of practical, hands-on experience in visual effects production, he possesses the rare combination of artistic and technical skills necessary to lead large teams of artists on complex visual effects projects.

Prior to joining Luma Pictures in 2003, Cirelli was a technical director at Stan Winston Studios, where his credits included Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. He began his career as a creative director with ad agency DMI Worldwide, where he worked on campaigns for Coca-Cola, General Mills, Hasbro, Target, Toyota, the U.S. Army and United Airlines.

Lindsay Hallett

Director of Business Development

Lindsay Hallett joined Luma Pictures in 2009 as Director of Business Development. It is Hallett's second tenure with Luma, she previously served as a producer. In her current role, she is focused on developing and diversifying Luma's client base and enhancing its reputation in the film industry and beyond.

Hallett (formerly Burnett) has worked on more than 80 films over the course of her career. As Executive Producer at Riot, she oversaw visual effects production for such films as The Spirit, Live Free or Die Hard and The Time Traveler's Wife. During her previous tenure at Luma, she produced for such films as Underworld: Evolution.



Hallett began her career with Warner Digital. Her background also includes work with Sony Pictures Imageworks, Rhythm & Hughes and Asylum.

Additional Key Staff


Justin Johnson
Digital Effects Supervisor
Steve Griffith
VFX Producer
Pavel Pranevsky
CG Supervisor
Richard Sutherland
CG Supervisor
Chad Dombrova
Sr. Pipeline Architect
Raphael A. Pimentel
Animation Supervisor
H Haden Hammond
Sequence Supervisor
Glenn Morris
Paint/Roto Supervisor
Loïc Zimmermann
Character/Concept Designer
Evan Wischik
Finance / HR