Make the
impossible real.
Visual effects, broadcast expertise, and custom software.
Explore our work [ Start a project ↗ ]
01 / What we do
02 / The person behind ZipFX
Hi, I’m Chris
Toumanian.
Software Engineer &
Visual Effects Supervisor
15+ years across data, broadcast, and visual effects. I build reliable systems and help ambitious images make it to the screen.
- Experience
- 15+ years
- Based
- Los Angeles
- Status
- Open for freelance
- Collaboration
- Worldwide
Industry experience
-
FanDuel
Senior Data Engineer
Architected streaming pipelines with Kafka, Databricks, and Delta Lake to power new products and machine learning. Built secure financial and regulatory reporting pipelines supporting the company’s NYSE listing preparations.
-
TVG Network / FanDuel TV
Broadcast Operations Engineer
Engineered live, post-production, and field workflows for a 24/7 television operation, with major-event experience including the Breeders’ Cup and Pacific Classic. Built AWS-based remote production systems, low-latency streaming sites, and custom software for master control automation and live wagering graphics.
-
Sunset Gower Studios
Visual Effects Artist
Brought documentaries to life through compositing, color grading, conceptual design, and 3D rendering. Configured and scripted a distributed VFX pipeline to support production.
-
HPLA
Visual Effects Supervisor
Supervised on-set visual effects for music videos and a live-to-tape performance for the 2020 BET Awards, bringing VFX expertise directly to the shoot.
-
Mount Wilson Observatory / UCLA
Solar Observer
Observed the Sun and maintained the 60-foot tower’s spectrometer for the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network. Helped program UCLA’s solar instruments and data collection systems at the 150-foot tower using FPGAs, LabVIEW, and PDP-11 assembly. Conducted methane observations of Jupiter in support of NASA JPL’s Juno mission.
-
University of Southern California
Data Analyst
Analyzed solar oscillations on USC’s HPC cluster using C, Python, Bash, and Fortran, and processed data for NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory mission. Helped migrate research pipelines to USC CARC with Docker and Singularity, and built a PyTorch sunspot tracker.
03 / Tools I work with
Software & Data Engineering
Python / SQL / AWS / Databricks
Kafka / Spark / Airflow / dbt
C++ / OpenGL
VFX & Broadcast
After Effects / Blender / Avid
Chyron / Vizrt / XPression / Imagine
Camera control units, replay systems, encoders, and switchers.
04 / Ways to work together
Compositing & VFX
Shot-based visual effects and finishing.
3D assets & product visuals
Modeling, materials, lighting, and renders.
VFX supervision
Shot planning and production support.
Broadcast engineering
Planning, consultation, and on-site live streaming.
Custom tools & automation
Focused software that removes repetitive work.
Web design & development
Distinctive websites, built around your content.
Data engineering
Pipelines, streaming, cloud data platforms and ML feature stores.
Data & pipeline audit
Database architecture review and a prioritized action plan
Indicative USD starting prices. Final quote follows scope.
05 / Start a project
Send a brief.
Tell me what you’re making, your timeline, and a rough budget. A few sentences is enough.
[ Send a brief ↗ ]Remote / Open for freelance