About Us

LightSpeed started in 2005 as a group of filmmakers who wanted to own some equipment to light and shoot their own projects. We have grown slowly and organically into a small group of 728 gaffers who want to have the best quality gear on hand and offer the best customer service to their friends, colleagues and clients.

The Team

Matt Barbor - Lightspeed LA

Matt Barbor

Matt is a self-proclaimed high school band and theater geek whose love of cinema compelled him to leave mid-coast Maine for Hollywood in 1996. A graduate of USC’s School of Cinema and Television (2000), he developed a skill for lighting and cinematography as well as a desire to be immersed in the creative environment of film sets.

Mike Budde - Lightspeed LA

Mike Budde

Budde has always been intrigued by lighting; from his early days designing lights at the local community theatre, to emphasizing in Cinematography at Chapman University. You can still find him shooting behind a camera, but with all the extraordinary developments in lighting over the past 20 years, Mike is drawn to the light.

Avi Roffman - Lightspeed LA

Avi Roffman

After focusing on Lighting Design at NYU, Avi moved back to his Los Angeles homeland to make a career out of playing with lighting toys. Today Avi is a visionary Lighting Director who has traveled all over the world Gaffing a plethora of unique and challenging television shows.

Owen Simmons - Lightspeed LA

Owen Simmons

Although Owen has a long list of Lighting Design and Gaffing credits, he has recently turned his talents to Lighting Control. Spinning dials controlling LEDs and movers matches nicely with his other passion of spinning old school deep grooves on turntables.

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