Joel Hynek is a two-time Academy Award winner with over twenty films and several theme park rides to his credit. Joel has extensive experience on set for both 2D and 3D films and episodic television. Recently, he served as VFX Supervisor for Crazy Alien, a Chinese sci-fi production. Preceding that, he was On-Set VFX Supervisor for four seasons of The Originals for the CW Network. Previous to that he supervised Dhoom 3, one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films ever, which was shot in Chicago and Mumbai. His first film of note was Predator, for which he was nominated for a Visual Effects Oscar. He received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement for the design of a computer-controlled optical printer that made the effects for Predator possible. He supervised the visual effects for What Dreams May Come, creating the Painted World and winning an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. He supervised the development of the bullet-time effect for The Matrix, one of the most iconic visual effects of all time. He also received a BAFTA nomination for his work on Zelig, which was the first time an actor was placed in archival footage. Some of Joel’s other credits include the first XXX, Ladyhawke, Eraser, Jumper, Stealth, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, a Chinese co-production shot in China. Joel is currently VFX Supervisor for Dark Side of the Moon, a Chinese/Taiwanese sci-fi project.

Joel is on the Board of the Visual Effects Society and has served extensively on the Executive Committee of the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.