A Bulgarian visual artist will soon walk down the red carpet in Hollywood as a member of the crew nominated for a best visual effects award at this year’s academy awards ceremony.

Boyan Georgiev is a member of the team of МРС Studio London, nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards 2020 for Lion King. At a ceremony in Los Angeles the film received three Visual Effects Society awards, including the most prestigious one of all – for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature – the equivalent of an Oscar.

24-year old Boyan was tasked with the lighting of the movie, but that is no ordinary technical job, as enhancing colours, creating contrast and other artistic devices help get the idea across and affect viewers’ emotions.

Imagine how a stage play needs dramatic lighting that will enhance the story and people’s emotions – that is what I do, only I do it on a computer using special software, he explains.

Boyan’s childhood years in Dimitrovgrad were spent in front of a computer monitor – animated characters made his dreams all the more vivid, and his first essays into 3D graphics and school posters reinforced his determination to be an animation artist. That is why he chose to go to the prestigious UniversityofHertfordshire in the UK where he graduated 3D computer animation.

Boyan started work at a cartoon film studio in London while he was still at university, and for Lion King he was invited by the film crew.

Everything viewers see – even the lions, are pixels, made by many artists on a computer. It was a huge challenge because the film had to look realistic and at the same time the story had to be told with artistic flair so it would not look like a documentary. But what was most important of all was for viewers to forget all other particulars – whether the film was made on a movie set or by computer, as is the case here, whether it is realistic or not, and just enjoy the story because that is what really matters.

Having reached this peak as a visual artist, Boyan is now ready to take the next step and, albeit temporarily, steer clear of computers.

Sometimes you need to focus less on something so specific so as not to lose the big picture, Boyan Georgiev says. It would be interesting to do something in which I would be fully in control of the situation and would not have to sit down at a computer. Film director, cameraman – I think that in these roles I would have some interesting tasks.

Though still at the beginning of his career, Boyan has a formula of success of his own: What all talented and acclaimed people have in common is that they are good people and modest, that they do their work with dedication and passion. But besides working hard they also help the people around them.

Maybe that is why he is not overly thrilled that he may well share an Oscar with the other members of the team.

When you start a given project you do it out of love and don’t think all that much of awards, he says.

Photos: haskovo.live, Walt Disney Pictures and private library