Once in a while, we check on some of the amazing talents on our network, we always like to hear more about their career and how they developed since they got nominated in our festival. Our goal is to motivate young creatives to continue on this path.
Nikolay Ivanov is a film editor specializing in commercials, short films, and music videos. In 2018, he was honored with the Best Editor award for the music video “Tatarin” by AIGEL. A few projects he worked on have been nominated in various other categories at our festival. He takes great pride in these achievements and considers them significant milestones in his professional career. His commercial work has been awarded numerous prizes both nationally and internationally, including D&AD, Effie, Epica, Webby, Golden Drum, and Cannes Lions and many other prestigious events.
Interview with Nikolay Ivanov:
Tell us about your recent projects!
Recently, I finished editing a new campaign for the Haval car brand. While I can’t show it yet, here is the previous one for the Haval Jolion, which we did with BBDO, Fresh Production, and director Alexey Kupriyanov.
In this project, I blended musical rhythm with the dynamics of the new model to create a bright and punchy ad.
Tell us about the challenges
During extensive pre-production work, I started building up the story from the basics of a metronome, adding specific car sounds, and assisting the director with shot ideas during the storyboard drawing stage.
Collaborating with the storyboard artist, we ensured the necessary sounds were timed correctly and the flow was smooth throughout this vibrant story.
With musical composer Tim Aminov on board from the early stages, we created a music track using car sounds, transforming them into the rhythmic heartbeat of the musical piece.
Did you get to work with the German market as well?
YFood Labs. The campaign ran in Germany and Austria.
The Production was carried out in collaboration with award-winning director Charley Stadler and the production company Pullover Films, all shot at HYPERBOWL.
During offline editing, I had the chance to enhance this mind-blowing picturesque world shot entirely inside the virtual production set, with additional special effects and sound design, making the client’s presentation smooth and the whole post-production process a complete success. The effort paid off when we saw those humor-filled commercials break new ground in the creative process and production.
How is the market in the UAE? Any interesting projects?
Yes of course! Another project was a deep dive into Emirati culture—a collaboration with director Nizar Sfair, BBDO, and HANZO Production to create ADCB’s commercial for the UAE’s 52nd National Day.
I started editing during the storyboarding stage, working out the transitions using stills from the storyboard artist and polishing the rhythm.
The whole concept of the ad was vertical movement, transitioning from one set to another.
I had to build all the animatics and guide the crew throughout the shoot on proper speed movements and shot timings, ensuring all transitions worked as planned.
Shooting on land, from boats, on various locations, and in the virtual set was a challenge. That’s where all the years of working on sets all around the world helped greatly.
In all these projects, the common thread has been the incredible teamwork and creative synergy that make each project unique.
I’m looking forward to sharing more of these exciting endeavors as they come.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my recent work, and I hope these projects give you a glimpse into the dynamic world of my creative journey.
Thank you for the great interview! Check out more of his work on his Vimeo channel
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Written by: Richard Green
