A graduate of Northwestern University, Joel Lava worked on a Chicago-based film crews after his college graduation. Shortly thereafter, he taught himself motion graphics, and became employed by the renowned visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) in its Art Department based in Marin, CA.

Relocating to Los Angeles, Lava worked as a designer, animator, art director and live action director for many top motion graphics companies -– including freelance gigs at Buster and also three year stint at the Famous Group as Creative

Director.   Now Joel is back at in a permanent position at Buster as Creative Director / Live Action Director – working on projects for History Channel, Ubisoft, Nickelodeon and MTV.

Lava has worked on several commercial campaigns, music videos, broadcast promos and digital projects during his career. His clients have included Gatorade, Cisco, Dairy Queen, Sprint and Nike. He is the winner of numerous industry awards, including the Telly, FWA, and SXSW FilmFest.