Produced By - #26 - George Lolov: Versatile Freelance Filmmaker Working Towards His Dream of Directing

Starting point is 00:00:04 George Loloff is a freelance filmmaker from London who currently works as a filmmaker and VFX artist with the goal of becoming a director. Born and raised in Bulgaria, we moved to London to attend university and pursue his passion for film. He explored various roles and projects before focusing on screenwriting in his final year to own his storytelling skills in preparation for a future in directive. Although a global pandemic affected his last year, he had a great start to his career and his career. a freelance filmmaker and VFX artist. Along with working on projects for other businesses he has been doing freelance work on Fiverr using his VFX skills that he acquired outside of school. As we delve more into his Fiverr experience George provides some helpful tips on what to focus on to stand out. Then we talk

Starting point is 00:00:53 about George's preferences for particular films, TV shows, directors and VFX. Listen to this episode to gain helpful advice for aspiring freelancers, learn more about visual special effects that you can create on your own and discover more about the state of the Bulgarian film industry. Enjoy it. Hello George, thank you for journey today and welcome to the show. Hello, thanks for having me. George, can you please introduce yourself? Yeah, I'm George Lolov. I am an aspiring film director. I also shoot edit and screenwrite myself. I'm also a VFX. artist and work with

Starting point is 00:01:37 CG and that's it quite multi-talented I wouldn't say so but I have a lot of interest but your goal is to become director right yeah my goal is directing but I think I mean there are different

Starting point is 00:01:53 ways to get there but for me the more you know in each section of filmmaking the better you'll be when the time comes yeah to be able to stand out from the crowd Yeah. Cool.

Starting point is 00:02:07 Can we talk a bit about your background? Can you tell us where you are from? Yes. Well, my background. Originally, I was born and raised in Bulgaria in a small town, like with 10,000 people. And from a really, really young age, I wanted to be a filmmaker to be a film director. Because we used to own, you know, like blockbuster in the U.S. video rentals. We used to own some stores for video rentals.

Starting point is 00:02:37 Oh really? Like your family? Yeah. And from a young age, probably I was exposed to a lot of movies, a lot of cinema. And that's what probably started it for me. Probably as long as I can remember, I've always wanted that. And I'm originally from Bulgaria where there is no industry. It's a small country.

Starting point is 00:02:58 My ethnic background would be greedy because I'm also Greek and Bulgarian. It's a long story in a way. And yeah, when I finished high school, I came to the UK to follow my dreams. So were there any influential films when you were young that sparked your interest in film? Yeah, I remember like growing up with the original Star Wars trilogy. I think even my father is a big fan. Probably that would go into it. But yeah, that was a really influential movie for me.

Starting point is 00:03:30 Because I remember when the prequel trilogy was coming out. I was too young, but I remember all the video cassettes and the VHS and I was watching it, yeah. And probably Toy Story is the other one that's exactly what came out when I was still a kid. It's another one that I really liked. Does your family still own the store? No. We closed the store when, like, Torrance became really popular. I see.

Starting point is 00:03:57 It reminds me, I think, of the story of Blockbuster. I believe there is maybe one last remaining in the U.S. Yeah, I think one last story means in the US, but there used to be like an corporation worldwide. Yeah, with plenty of stars across the whole. So why did you decide to go to London in particular? Because I think in Europe, the country where the film industry is like the most connections with Hollywood movies and the best movies in Europe are made in the UK that I believe. And that's why I decided to go to UK.

Starting point is 00:04:33 to London specifically because it's the biggest city and I think the most opportunities you can find there. Yeah. And when it comes to cinema in Bulgaria, any well-known films or artists, actors? I think for the Western world, they're probably non-well-known movies. And due recently, there was no Bulgarian that has ever been nominated for the Academy Award. And now Maria Bacalva, I don't know if you've heard of her, she's an actress. Two years ago, she was the first Bulgarian nominated for an Oscar. Really? Yeah, two years ago.

Starting point is 00:05:11 In some American film or? Yeah, it was in Borat too. I think I know. Yeah, I like Borat. It's a great film. Yeah, funny. It's a good comedy. So you went to university in London.

Starting point is 00:05:25 So what was the reason for you picking the one that you went to? The reason was that I was doing research for like good universities in the UK and in London. And I was wondering like until the last minute about University of Westminster, I think, Middlesex and Kingston, as I could have gone on three of them. But actually at the end I ended up with Middlesex because I knew as someone who was in there, he was like a third year. And I spoke with him and I heard that they have like the best equipment and the greatest like technology. And the buildings, the campuses, everything was better there. And that's why I decided to go to 2006. Was he also studying film?

Starting point is 00:06:07 Yeah, he was studying film. And when you started at university, did you already want to become a director? Yeah. For me, it was, I know that most people who go to university usually want to be a director, because it's one of the more popular jobs on a film set that most people would know. But I was, like, watching a lot of YouTube and a lot of, like, skew share and stuff. that before I even got to university. So I would say that I was already in, like, learned a lot about it before even like going to

Starting point is 00:06:39 university. So did you then find it easier to learn stuff at uni? Yeah, I think especially first year. I would say everything that you learn in first year, you can learn online. I think maybe second year when you have like hands-on experience, that's probably the one that was more worth it for me. And third year was the year that I learned the most in uni. So how did you find studying at uni itself?

Starting point is 00:07:06 How did you enjoy the coursework, the projects, and stuff like that? Yeah, I think it has pros and cons. I think it's good to go to uni. And the reason why I would recommend it is to meet people. And that would be like probably the number one reason. And if not the only, it's going to be one of two. Because going to uni is becoming, in these days, I think, less and less needed and valuable, because you can learn almost everything online or through courses.

Starting point is 00:07:37 But if you're like me or from some place where there is no industry going on, it's your excuse to move to the other country and make connections and meet new people. I think going to uni was a good experience. Yeah. What about some projects you worked on? I worked on a couple projects with brands of mine. We worked on short films with them. And then my third year, luckily, I chose to do screenwriting as my final project

Starting point is 00:08:07 because most of the people who chose short films didn't finish them because of COVID. Was it in second or third year? Which one? The one you chose screenwriting. Screenwriting was third year. Yeah, so that your film didn't get canceled. Yeah, yeah, because I don't know who actually was able to finish his film, but I think it was two or three projects were finished. Why didn't you choose directing?

Starting point is 00:08:35 Well, I was going to choose directing, but the problem was that there were not enough people who wanted to produce. So I switched to screenwriting, but as I said, then COVID and the pandemic came, and a lot of people didn't finish their projects. So it was kind of fortunate. So did you then find it useful or helpful or did you enjoy screenwriting? Yeah, I think that's when I learned the most in university. I think it was third year of screenwriting course when I had like personal tutor who helped me, who read my every draft, told me where what I did wrong and what I did write. This is for me the most valuable experience from film school.

Starting point is 00:09:17 Really? Yeah, because I think being able to recognize a good screenplay is very, vital for directing and that's why I think third year screenwriting course was the most valuable experience for me personally and what was your final project during the COVID did you basically just write a script yeah I wrote like 50 page script inspired by the events of the killing of a Bulgarian journalist in London during the Soviet Union era oh so based on trust It was inspired by true story because we couldn't like base it on true story, so it was inspired by this event, but the plot was different. It was inspired by that singular event.

Starting point is 00:10:03 So how was the result in the end? Yeah, I think quite good. I think I liked it. I mean, it obviously can be done better. But yeah, I think it's good, but it was not achievable at the moment for like creating it into a movie because it was based in the 70s in London. so that would be cheap for making like a short term out of it. Good experience overall. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:10:26 Is there some final advice you want to share when it comes to university, to students or to aspiring students? Yeah, I would say do your research about good universities, go there, and when you get there, your most important thing would be to get in contact with your classmates and make connections, maybe even with your lectures.

Starting point is 00:10:51 But that's like the most important thing in the industry is to make connections because it's going to open many doors when you leave film school. Yeah. So how did you start planning your way into industry? The problem was that when I graduated, it was during the pandemic. So there was not a lot of job opportunities exactly at that time. and I had to start doing some freelance stuff and luckily a few months like before that

Starting point is 00:11:22 during the third year when I was writing my screenplay on the side I've been doing 3D and doing VFX and I got to a point where I was good enough like for making stuff for people so I set up a Fiverr account and that is like thanks to CGI and VFX after university I started making something like receiving orders from people That was my first job at a university.

Starting point is 00:11:46 Oh, nice. So can you share some resources where you were learning, CG? Was it YouTube? Yeah, of course, it was YouTube channels. I think one of them was called Default Cube. There was one, the key, something I don't remember the whole name. And the most important one was he's called Ian Huber. He's master at Blender.

Starting point is 00:12:06 And like in Blender, he's really master. And in his Patreon, if someone is interested, they can find a lot videos that can teach you yeah like tutorials right yeah like that's university level of teaching is really good yeah I can imagine so when you started on the Fiverr I wonder how hard was it for you

Starting point is 00:12:27 basically to stand out from there because I can imagine there must be plenty of people offering such services so how did you find it well at first like all the test like renders that they've done in animations I've compiled into like a portfolio for Fiverr and I created account but at first of course there were no orders coming

Starting point is 00:12:48 through you can read it and maybe your portfolio maybe like your CV or show you know how it's called maybe make it more engaging and also on Fiber you can pay for an ad your profile gets recommended and that's I think how it happened because the first month probably hadn't zero orders and then after the first one that came through and when you finish it order also like the client can give you a review. It can give like out of five stars review and then they can write something. So it's really important to have good communication and to do the job that they want you to do. Because at the end, if they give you a good review, I think it boosts your profile because every time that I had a new client coming in, my profile would get recommended to more

Starting point is 00:13:33 people because the first time that I got the client, more and more people started coming in. And it was to a point where I couldn't get all the projects like that they wanted me to do. You are so busy. Yeah, it depends on the time. But for example, do you know, like last year when there were an NFT thing that was everywhere? Yeah. During that time, a lot of people wanted me to create commercials for the NFTs and like ads. And that was like the busiest time that I've got.

Starting point is 00:14:02 Oh, I see. So can you say what kind of clients did you get? Is it like people from all around the world, individuals or companies? Most of the time it was individuals. Sometimes they might be in a company, but they contact me through personal profiles. And they are usually all around the world. I've got clients from India, from France, from China, from the United States, from the UK, like everywhere. And can you share some details about some interesting or exciting and challenging projects that you did? Yeah, I've had a lot of projects because it depends on what the client needs. So there was one time that you wanted a very specific kind of tree that reads out like stars. And it was quite the journey to get to the final result. It was a lot of drafts.

Starting point is 00:14:55 A lot of back and forth. Yeah, a lot of back and forth to get to the final result. final look that he was happy with. And to get an idea how long do you spend on such a project? Well, for this one, I think I spent probably like five days doing it or something like that. Usually I would say like three days, two days. It depends on what they want. But I have like five, six days of work when we do like a couple of drafts.

Starting point is 00:15:20 And I guess it's important to get what the client wants at the end. Yeah. And obviously you don't have to say specifics. But can you say how is it with? money. If it's like you do a few projects per month and it's enough to live and save some or you need to work a lot or what is it like? The most important thing is to get projects, to get clients. That is the most difficult thing. If you get clients, it's actually really good with money-wise because you can charge for what you're doing. After you've done it probably like 50 times,

Starting point is 00:15:55 it's easy for you to do it because sometimes they would want me to create something similar to what I've already created that they can see in my profile. So for me, I can do that in a couple of hours or in one day, and they can pay me like, I don't know, it depends on what their budget is, but sometimes they've paid, like, for one single 20-second video or something like that, they've paid like $600, that's everything is in dollars. So if you get like a couple of projects per month, yeah, you can live off of that. But if you get a lot of projects, you can live all of that and save money.

Starting point is 00:16:27 And it's cool. But again, it's difficult to have clients constantly coming. That's the difficult part. Yeah. But I guess it can be a good advantage for someone who wants to, let's say, work from anywhere around the world, right? Because you just need your laptop and time. You need, like, a powerful computer to do it because then there's like for days. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:16:50 So I guess you don't do it on a laptop. Yeah, I do it on a laptop, but I've had like times where I was limited because when I had to like pay to render farm to do it online. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to do it. And do you still do the work on cyber? Yeah, I do it. I still do it, but I think now I'm not as busy as I used to be. Last year when the NFT exploded.

Starting point is 00:17:16 But yeah, I still do it. Whenever I get new orders, I always do it. And is it your main income stream now, or do you do something else as well? Yeah, I would say that's my, Because I was doing other things since graduating. I was not only doing forever. There was time where I was doing like videography and editing for a company in London.

Starting point is 00:17:39 I was doing both at one point. But then we didn't really. Did it work out? Yeah, with the company. And I stopped doing this and I continued doing fiber. The problem with doing fiber work always being your main thing is that you get disconnected from the people around you. because you work from home and you only work for clients that are on the other side of the world so you don't have any connections with them in time you can find yourself if you don't get enough

Starting point is 00:18:09 for example clients and orders on fiber and you can find yourself that you don't have any connections to go and work the film industry or to go and work with local people because if you're only in fiber you lose connection to the world yeah i can imagine this as we discussed you can do it from anywhere, but at the same time it has its cons as well. And as you said, you worked for that company. We were doing like promotional videos or marketing or what kind of work did you do? We were doing like some events, high-end events. We were going to like Rolls Royce events and stuff like that,

Starting point is 00:18:45 highlights like videography on the event and then we were doing a highlight edit of the event and then sending it to the company. That was what we were doing. That sounds cool. I actually checked your report photo and I saw that you were making a video for Rollsource. So I was wondering how come, I mean, working for such a company, really cool. Yeah. Yeah, because I worked with this person like this company and they're in London.

Starting point is 00:19:10 And they only do for like high-end clients. So what was it like? Did you find it in any way different than filming, I don't know, let's say for some regular client if it was for such a prestigious brand? No, I think it's basically you follow. Because for event videography, there are specific stuff that you need to get. You need to get like speeches and stuff like that. You need to get the product that, because it was a product that they were launching. So I need to get shots of the product, the people enjoying it.

Starting point is 00:19:40 Like mostly you do a short list with what you need to get for the client, like what they want to have for sure. And you spend an idea, you make sure you get the most important shots that you've written down. And then you don't decide that you find interesting angles. stuff like that and then you edit and that you usually edit like to some beat or something and what do you enjoy more doing cg like on fiber or more making videos like you did for that company i don't know like i wouldn't say i enjoy more one than the other for me it's like i love changing stuff because sometimes i can get sick of making vfx and making cg and like living in blender

Starting point is 00:20:23 and to go outside and film and then edit. But if I only film, I just want to get back to VFX work and just do everything from my computer. For me, I love changing. I love doing everything. That's why I'm interested in filming as well as editing as VFX. That's why I think directing combines all of them. I think you can get your opinion and also your ideas in every single one

Starting point is 00:20:50 and work with. And as you mentioned, that you use Blender, is that the main software you use for VFX? Yeah, I use Blender and After Effects. I used to use Cinema 4D, but I found that first of all, it's paid, which is the biggest, like, minus for someone starting out. And Blender is, I think, the biggest and the best community in the internet. It's a free software, and there are a lot of people who do free tutorials on YouTube, and then you can pay for tutorials

Starting point is 00:21:21 and I think it's the best for independent. Yeah, I was going to ask you that's the free one because I think I heard that that is free. So it sounds like a good resource for people who want to maybe start. How hard is it to start with such software? Depends if you've ever like done anything. Because if you know After Effects, I think,

Starting point is 00:21:41 I mean, it's completely different because After Effects is layer-based and Blender is node-based. But I think everyone can learn. it depends on if you have the passion to do it. I wouldn't say it's that difficult to learn. And can you try to explain for someone who's never heard that? What does it mean layer-based and node-based? Yeah, after effects, like Photoshop, is layer-based systems.

Starting point is 00:22:06 That means that every layer that you put stacks on top of the previous one. Get what I mean? And Blender is node-based. So Blender, you create nodes which do specific thing and then you connect the nodes with the viewer or with the object and this changes the way that the object or the viewer is seen. So it's not stacking on top of each other but like a web. You have a lot of properties that are connected to other properties

Starting point is 00:22:35 that are connected to your object which is connected to the shader which is connected to your viewer or something like that. So what are some advantages and disadvantages of those? advantages of layer-based systems is that they are easier to use user-friendly but the disadvantage is that they are not as customizable in the other way around for node-based. Node-based systems are a lot more customizable but they are not that user-friendly

Starting point is 00:23:01 but they still can be learned. So what are the specific scenarios? Why would you use the one over the other? Well, first of all, it depends on the software that you use. It depends, for example, Blender is not-based. so there's no way to use it as a layer-based system. But for more complex and advanced scenes and compositing scenes, let's imagine on a really advanced ready scene that you have to use.

Starting point is 00:23:28 It's better to use a node-based system because if you need to change something, you can go to the specific part and you can change the specific thing and it will update. While in layer-based systems, it's not exactly like that. For example, in After Effects, you have to get the, the effect and pre-compose and then do another thing and pre-compose and they stack on top of each other. It's just not as easier to use when you have like a lot going on in the scene.

Starting point is 00:23:56 Yeah. And after effects, it's from Adobe, right? Yeah. After effects from Adobe is also like 2.5D or something. It's not a full 3D software, but it can import 3D objects. It has the light, kind of, and it's really good for compositing. I usually use it for maybe more 2D effects or motion graphics or something like that. And usually what I do, if I have to compose it live action, I would do like all the 3D stuff in blender

Starting point is 00:24:28 and maybe compose the shot in after effects. Yes, so that's why I use both of them. Just a quick one. If you enjoy our podcast, please give us a review on your favorite podcast app, subscribe or share it with your friends. For more information, visit the show notes. Thank you and back to the show. And to get an idea, can you share some examples of work that you did as VFX, such as if you created some creatures or you did some background or explosions? Can you say what did you do actually?

Starting point is 00:25:04 Yeah, for the examples, most of them are like on my website or on Instagram, I usually share what I do. and most of the time I don't model myself. If it's something simple, I can model it quickly. But I would usually buy CG models or just get free ones. It depends on what is needed. That depends on the scene. Like sometimes one of the last ones was someone that I composed a shot with like a person who was shot in live action on the green screen.

Starting point is 00:25:35 So did you actually shoot that person? Yeah, yeah. I shot the pad. with the person dressed with the clothes that were needed on the green screen. And then I created this wasteland with kind of reactors from the ground. It's like early morning and it's foggy and camera goes straight toline. And then it turns left in you see the guy working on one of the reactors. And it's on my Instagram.

Starting point is 00:26:01 It can be seen there. What are you called on Instagram? Just your name? Yeah, George Lov underscore. And the website? The website. that's George Lolo.com, I think. But I need to share the link.

Starting point is 00:26:13 I will add it to the show note. So, as you said, you did the green screen. Do you have green screen or did you rent it somewhere? Yeah, I have green screen. I bought green screen. And yeah, I have the one that falls, but the biggest one that I could find. It's like two meters, I think.

Starting point is 00:26:30 It's like blue screen on one side, green screen with you. So in what scenarios, would you use green or blue? Well, it depends. I think it depends on what like clothes people are wearing. The person has to be dressed with green. I'm not going to show it to tell the green screen. Same for a blue screen, I think. That's mainly why I would switch from green to blue or from blue to green.

Starting point is 00:26:52 And have you got some kind of studio at home or you just set it up somewhere where it's... No, I said it. Yeah, I set it up, shooting and then paying it tight. And weren't you then interested in becoming a VFX artist? Yeah, I'm interested in following this, I don't know, probably as a career now, because like I know that most of directors like do stuff when they're not 25. So yeah, I am open to work as a VFX artist. I'm open to work as videographer, editor. I do actually look for if I have some opportunities because there's people that they've met.

Starting point is 00:27:34 For example, if I can edit a video for them or shoot something, I would always do that or make the effects. I've made VFX for Joanna for a video that she's making. One of our guests? Yeah. What did you do actually? Can you tell us more about the projects? Yeah, she was working for an artist called Makama, I think. She needed to do VFX on the video because she wanted to look like some kind of a security camera or like a drone is watching over. And yeah, I was doing some overlay work, some of the camera.

Starting point is 00:28:04 camera of the security camera look over him. And then I also did one tracking effect on his eye for like something that comes up. If you imagine, I've never heard that, what is it overlay work and tracking effect? Yeah, overlay is like when you overlay something on top of the footage. For example, if something has to look like it was shot through a security camera, if you shoot it with a normal camera, you can overlay like effects on top of the footage that would make it look like a security camera. For example, to make the quality worse, make like a green tint or blue tint or something like that.

Starting point is 00:28:41 And tracking shoulders track the eye of the character as he needed to move and then select something from the menu that appeared in front of his face. So you pick a tracker from, for example, other effects, and you place it where you want it, the place you want to track. And then the computer goes frame by frame and tracks the position and rotation, and the scale of subject, the object. Yeah, and then it gives you, like, the perfect tracking data for it, so that it moves with the person. And then on top of that, you can, like, link some, I don't know, like your effects that you want to add,

Starting point is 00:29:19 and then they will go with their character's help. So was it music video then? Yeah, it was a music video. Oh, I see. So how did Joanna reach out to you? Does she know that you do VFX? Yeah, I think she knows, to follow each other on Instagram.

Starting point is 00:29:35 She's probably seeing like my work and she reached out and I was happy with helping her and doing more work and yeah. And does it help you or how much does it help you, you know, to get a job or spread the word when it comes to social media? Like now you said she reached out thanks to Instagram. Does it happen more often or it's rather rare? I think, yeah, when you upload and when you show your work, it happens more often because otherwise no one will reach out.

Starting point is 00:30:08 I've had like one new woman I forgot her name. She's like a book author and she's from the US and she reached out to me because she also saw my Instagram and wanted me to do with the effects for trailers that she's doing for her upcoming books which are like fantasy. So I think uploading her work will have in social media is important nowadays because it will connect you to people and give you more. opportunities to work. Yeah. So did you just find you randomly? Yeah, she just saw my work upload Instagram randomly because we don't know each other. Yeah, that's cool. And is it specifically on

Starting point is 00:30:48 Instagram or do you even use, I don't know, YouTube or TikTok or something else? I think probably people are going to find you if you are other ones as well, but I only upload my stuff on your own Instagram. So it's probably a good idea to start uploading on other social media but for now I've always just uploaded on Instagram but I can imagine that there must be also quite big competition right yeah it depends like there are a lot of people in the social media you can find probably like the best people who can do VFX working there but I think there are clients for everyone because the best people are going to require much higher

Starting point is 00:31:30 budgets to work with them. Yeah. So what are some films with beautiful effects that you enjoyed or that are your favorite because of effects? I think because of effect,

Starting point is 00:31:42 the one that I watched a few months ago, like six months ago, the new avatar, I think. It's just on another level. You, I think it's impossible to do nowadays

Starting point is 00:31:53 on, like, your own computer. It was masterfully done the effects on this thing. Yeah, I can only agree. And what about some film that was the opposite? Something that... With other effects?

Starting point is 00:32:10 Yeah. Well, I think there is like one really famous shot in the Black Widow movie. I don't know. What is it? It's why one's famous for being bad. I think at the end of the movie, I don't really remember. There is one explosion and it looks like really off. it can be seen that it's just added on top.

Starting point is 00:32:31 And I think the scaling was problematic. That's what I can remember now as a bad example. But it was probably not the artist's fault. They were probably forced to hurry. They didn't have enough time. I will need to have a look. I'm curious. I don't remember where I didn't notice when I was watching that.

Starting point is 00:32:48 So when you watch in a cinema, do you think about the effects? Doesn't it ruin your experience there? Well, I think a lot about not only the effects. I think about the lighting and the cinematography as well. But I don't know. It's how I've watched movies since like a long time. I think that's why I love to watch films a couple of times. Maybe the first time I would try not to notice like the way that the scene was blocked by the director

Starting point is 00:33:15 or the cinematography or the lighting or the VFX or the sound. I would try to enjoy the story first time. The next time I would usually pick up shots and something that's made that I can begin impression on me, whether it be VFX, cinematography, acting work or something else. Is there any film or TV series that comes to your mind that stuck with you because of the reasons you mentioned? Yeah, for cinematography specifically, now that we've talked about in this, I remember the Batman, I don't know if you've watched it by Matrice. Matrice is the director. The one with Robert Pattinson. Yeah, it was shot by Greg Frazier, which was probably like

Starting point is 00:33:57 The next greatest DOP ever. Next Roger Dikins. Yeah, the next Roger Diggins is probably. Really? Yeah, because he is like a lot younger than Roger Dikens and lately he's been doing like amazing work with the visuals and the Batman was, I really don't know how it was not nominated for an Academy Award. What are some other films that he did as DOP?

Starting point is 00:34:23 Well, Dune for example. This year Dune 2 is coming out. He's also DUP. then the creator. That's the movie that's coming out in September this year, which is like an original story. And again, it's shot by Rick Frazierkees. Yeah. And since you also enjoy directing, who is your favorite director? Oh, that's like a tough question. I love a lot of directors. You can pick a few and tell us why. Maybe my most favorite director would be probably Stephen Spielberg. I think because he always directs in such a way that you always would

Starting point is 00:34:59 recognize his movies, he has amazing, like, long shot blocking the scene that he makes. You don't notice how it's one shot, and then every couple of seconds, the characters change positions and the camera changes position, and it becomes, like, a totally different shot. Just an example of one of his amazing talents, and he's also, like, master's. for what every single genre that he does. He's made like great fantasy movies. He's made sci-fi. He's made historical dramas.

Starting point is 00:35:31 And for me, he is probably the greatest living director now. Yeah, otherwise, I would say I really like Nolan. Christopher Nolan, he's a really good director. He made amazing movies. He's a great screenwriter as well. I like Peter Jackson as well. For me, the greatest, probably the best movie trilogy that has ever been. made is a lot of directs. He was writing the screenplays and directed the three films and he did

Starting point is 00:35:59 a great work. And some specific films from Spielberg? Specific films run on like, for me Raiders of the Lost Target is an amazing movie, the first Indian Jones. It's like an iconic film. Other movies, ET for example. It recently had like a I don't know 40 year anniversary last year, went to work in the cinemas. It was amazing. Oh, must have been nostalgic. Yeah. I don't know, like he's made a lot of iconic films like Jurassic Park, for example.

Starting point is 00:36:31 Shindres List is one of his best films, for sure, saving Private Ryan. Just a few that. I can only agree. And your favorite film from Nolan? My favorite film made by Nolan is Memento. Oh, okay, yeah. Have you watched it? I've seen it a long time ago, and I've read it.

Starting point is 00:36:50 remember the storyline is a bit interesting. Yeah. All of his movies are great, but for me, Memento is the one that showed me like why he stuck out from the crowd and why he's the person that he is now. He's just great storyteller. Yeah, that is true. So what are your plans for the future? What do you want to focus on?

Starting point is 00:37:14 I want to focus on maybe connecting with more people and not only doing Cignton, stuff doing stuff in film as well like shooting editing and doing VFX work as well I want to get probably more connections connected even more people and yeah I'm also writing screenplays planning to shoot my short film like a short single to have planned for like probably two years now and I've never shot and yeah go on from there make new short so if you made a short would you then plan to send it to festivals yeah When I make the show that I wrote, I want to make it how it should be done, not like amateurish. I want to make it with the real crew, with the real actors, make it how it should be done.

Starting point is 00:38:01 Then I plan to, of course, send it to festivals and try to get some. I mean, short films don't get distributed like features, but some kind of distribution, I don't know. Yeah. So for me, that are my plans. I plan to make short films. So if someone wanted to, let's say, follow the path as you just mentioned, are you planning to do crowdfunding and work with friends or with your connections? Or what's your plan if you imagine someone who doesn't have any resources

Starting point is 00:38:32 and would want to do the similar strategy? Yeah, I think crowdfunding your film is one way to do it. That's why I said it's important to get good connections in film school because a lot of the people from there when you finish, everyone is going to have a different path that he is going to take or she. And in a few years' time, you can have a lot of people who have already connections with other people who are really talented and good at their work.

Starting point is 00:39:00 And you have ways to contact them and maybe work for free, maybe work for like lower than what they would usually charge, which is going to help you with your crowd fund and your budget overall. Yeah. And would you do that in Bulgaria or in London? Well, I think I would get people from London and probably fly them out to Bulgaria to shoot.

Starting point is 00:39:25 Because I think shooting in Bulgaria would be three times as cheap. For example, in London, I think shooting everywhere, you need to pay someone to shoot. Well, here, it's not like that. And I have a lot more people that I know here where I can shoot for free. and even if it's not for free, it's going to be more than double the amount, like lower. And I guess that would be probably also easier when it comes to all kinds of permissions and dealing with all the stuff that is behind the filming. Yeah, I think for now I would say I would prefer to shoot here.

Starting point is 00:40:03 Because maybe if you get proper budgeting and you get a proper producing company behind your back, then you can shoot in the UK as well. because they have a lot better studios and stuff like that. But I would say that this is far away from me for now. And here would be much cheaper. Yeah. And if you worked or if you wanted to establish yourself as either a director or videographer in Bulgaria, would you still be able to find enough of work there?

Starting point is 00:40:34 Or, you know, I'm trying to imagine if there is like not that much work, but already enough people working in the industry, or there isn't really enough work to try to establish yourself there? Yeah, for here, I think, first of all, most likely, I will never, like, work on films because there are literally, like, probably five films or three films made every year in Bulgaria. Really? It's not that money.

Starting point is 00:41:02 The highest budgeted films in Bulgaria are probably, like, independent films in the UK. So I think if you want to find it. find work working in TV, you can find work, I think in Bulgaria. You can work for like big TV studios and you work on their like shows and stuff like that. But if you want to work in film, it's not going to happen because there is no movies being made here. The Hollywood movies that they come here, shoot for cheap and then get out. That's what I was going to ask if any Hollywood productions go there to film, either to film that they are actually

Starting point is 00:41:39 in Bulgaria and the film takes place there or to film there because it's cheaper and then say that it was filmed in a different location. Yeah, most of the time I think it's, they don't mention that it's in Bulgaria and even like there was last year a really good horror film. It is based in the US, like the story they express in the US, but it was filmed in Bulgaria in the studio in Bulgaria. There was like one big studio in Bulgaria which is close to the capital. They shopped there that looked like it's the US but they came just because it was cheap. Oh yeah, yeah. And they

Starting point is 00:42:13 made it look like it's the US and a lot of other like productions there have been a lot of like big stars and action stars big cheers. What's the horror? Barbarian that's called. It's on Disney Plus. I don't know if you've watched it but it was probably not but yeah we'll have a look.

Starting point is 00:42:30 Yeah, watch it. So you don't notice that it was filmed there, right? No, I didn't notice. I was actually listening to a podcast with writer and director of the movie and he said it that they went to Bulgaria to shoot, which was how I got to know it. Otherwise, it looks like it's in the US. And is the capital, Sofia?

Starting point is 00:42:49 Yeah. I would expect that maybe some productions would film there, you know, like a film that takes place in Europe and they are in Bulgaria or Sofia, but no films come to my mind that I would remember from their honesty. Do you know Wednesday, for example? Yeah, yeah. Whilst they, it became like a big hit on Netflix. And it was shot, the whole thing was shot in Romania,

Starting point is 00:43:14 which is neighboring country of Bulgaria. You never know that it was just a Romanian. Yeah, I think I may have heard that as well. Was it also because of the budget? Yeah, most likely because it's cheap. Romania, Bulgaria, it's really cheap shit. Or I think I also heard a lot of production filming in Budapest. Yeah, also.

Starting point is 00:43:34 But I don't know if it's as cheap as here, probably not. Oh, so you're saying Is there even cheaper? I think here is cheaper Yeah And I mean there are a lot of movies Shot in the UK So much more than they're shot in Bulgaria

Starting point is 00:43:49 So for the big budgeted Hollywood movies I don't think that it's a problem for them But It's a good thing to think about And to see into the budgeting If it's going to be cheaper to shoot And like Bulgaria and Romania Something like that

Starting point is 00:44:03 So where are you actually based now Are you based in London or in Bulgaria? No, I'm based in London. I live in London. I'm there most of the time. And are you planning to stay in London or to move somewhere else? For now I'm planning to stay in London and that's my plan for now. I go to Bulgaria like maybe once every like two, three months.

Starting point is 00:44:26 I go for just a visit of my friends and relatives and then I come back to London. Does anyone from your family or friends or relatives work in the family? industry? No, actually, I was the first one that wanted to. And after me, actually, as I said, from a small age, me and my brother were really into films. He has always wanted to be an actor, so he came to London. He studied in drama school. He is an actor. He played in, do you know Atlanta, do you know Atlanta? The TV series? Yeah. With Glover? Yes. He played in a single Glover he met.

Starting point is 00:45:05 Really? How did he get there? That's cool. Oh, he was cast, yeah. And he played in another feature, which is not out yet. So he is in the UK now. He's working as an actor. Wow, that's cool. So was Atlanta filmed in London? Yeah, it was filmed in London. Big career ahead. Yeah, hopefully. Well, George, is there something you would like to share or something that I forgot to ask you?

Starting point is 00:45:31 No, I can't remember something else that you haven't talked about. So you've got space to promote yourself. Where can people follow you? People can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, I don't know. I'm not really active there, but I'm mostly active on Instagram and they can see my website, which is linked in my Instagram as well. I was probably here somewhere. So what services do you offer to people if you are not too busy?

Starting point is 00:45:58 Yeah, of course I'm not. I always am open to work. I offer like any direct, shoot and edit. also I can do like VFX work for people I've done a lot of music videos so I'm open to work in music videos I've done event videography as well as commercials ads

Starting point is 00:46:15 or any VFX shot or scene that they need help with that sounds like multi-talented artist but probably the best will be directing I guess if someone wanted to yeah of course of course and it reminds me when we discuss the short film that you would like to make

Starting point is 00:46:33 Would you want to direct it or what role would you want to play? Yeah, of course. Like if I don't have the budget, I'm going to not only direct the other stuff as well. But if I have the budget that I want, because I wrote it and I'm going to be the director. And that's what I'm going to do. Otherwise, if I'm like most of the time with my personal stuff and my passion projects, I would shoot, edit, do the VFX. And that's like most I would do these stuff.

Starting point is 00:47:01 and then only I would use someone for audio and for mixing because I'm not really into that but... Yeah, one man show. Yeah. And also you would be a runner. Yeah. Yeah, cool. I think Georgie, we discussed plenty of stuff. If there isn't anything from your side to add, I think we can slowly finish.

Starting point is 00:47:23 Yeah, I don't remember anything in particular regarding my film passions. Yeah, Georgie, I will stay in there. touch so thank you for your time it was great to catch up after a few years yeah that was it was awesome and yeah we should good luck in the meantime please do land thank you for listening to produce by subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast at leave a review or send us your feedback for more information about the host links from the episode and ways to connect with us visit the show notes if you know someone who would be an ideal guest for our podcast

Starting point is 00:48:01 please get in touch thank you and see you soon.

Produced By - #26 - George Lolov: Versatile Freelance Filmmaker Working Towards His Dream of Directing

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