Justin O’Neill is an accomplished filmmaker, technical director, and drone pilot whose career spans music, high-resolution cinema, and innovative visual technologies. After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music in 2004, he transitioned his passion for performance into the world of digital filmmaking. In 2006, he founded HD Cinema Group, a Seattle-based film production and rental company. Two years later, he co-founded Royal Galactic Media with Timothy Boyd and Ivan Agerton, serving as technical director and driving the company’s focus on 4K and 5K RAW imaging for global clients. His early adoption of RED Digital Cinema cameras led to groundbreaking work, including shoots with Oscar-winner Dion Beebe and international projects in Vietnam and Taiwan, where he piloted octocopter drones starting in 2011.

A pioneer in 4K cinema, O’Neill was a founding member of RED Digital Cinema’s 4K Film Festival in 2010, producing events in Amsterdam and Macau, and joined RED as a REDucation instructor, teaching advanced camera techniques across the US, Australia, Nepal, and Singapore, including sessions for Lockheed Martin’s aerial cinematographers at Edwards and Pax River Air Force Bases. His technical expertise expanded into virtual reality as a founding member of HypeVR in San Diego in 2015. O’Neill’s innovative contributions include testing 50K video plates for the MSG Sphere in 2018, creating a 22-camera, 50K volumetric stitching system for Amazon Studios’ LED wall in 2021, and serving as timelapse operator for Darren Aronofsky’s Postcards Unknown at the MSG Sphere in 2023 and the Kentucky Derby Museum in 2024.

O’Neill’s global impact includes serving as drone pilot and 1st Assistant Camera (AC) for high-profile projects, such as special features for the Tokyo (2020), Beijing (2022), and Paris (2024) Olympics, earning an Emmy for his work on the Paris Games. He has also piloted drones and served as 1st AC for a series on vanilla production in Madagascar, a documentary on the Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile, and projects for Abu Dhabi’s AI and robotics startup, Analog. With a career defined by blending artistry and cutting-edge technology, O’Neill continues to push the boundaries of visual storytelling worldwide.