George Borshukov holds a Masters Degree from the University of California at Berkeley Department
of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Bachelors Degree from the University
of Rochester. At Rochester he worked on new optical flow estimation and segmentation
techniques with Prof. A. Murat Tekalp, while at Berkeley he specialized in computer graphics
and computer vision in the group of Prof. Jitendra Malik. Borshukov is one of the creators
of "The Campanile" movie and real-time demo shown at SIGGRAPH 1997 which presented a breakthrough
in the field of image-based modeling and rendering.
Borshukov entered the film visual effects industry in the fall of 1997 by joining the R&D team
of the Academy Award winning movie "What Dreams May Come". On "The Matrix" he served as the
Technical Designer for the Bullet Time sequences and developed the image-based virtual
cinematography pipeline for capturing real film sets and locations which was used to
generate the Bullet Time backgrounds. Those sequences and techniques captured people’s
imagination and were crucial for "The Matrix" winning the Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 1999.
In 2000 Borshukov received an Academy Scientific and Technical Achievement Award for the
image-based rendering technology developed for the film. The system has also been applied on key shots
in "Deep Blue Sea", " Mission: Impossible 2", the IMAX film "Michael Jordan to the MAX",
and "The Matrix" sequels. He also co-invented the UV Pelting approach for parameterization
and seamless texturing of polygonal or subdivision surfaces, subject of a SIGGRAPH 2000 paper,
which is becoming a standard for UV mapping in many popular 3D packages.
Borshukov served as Technology Supervisor at ESC Entertainment on "The Matrix Reloaded" and
"The Matrix Revolutions". He led the development of photoreal digital actors showcased in the
Burly Brawl and Superpunch sequences. At SIGGRAPH 2003 he presented sketches in The Matrix
Revealed Session on topics such as Universal Capture – image-based facial animation,
measured BRDF in film production, and realistic human face rendering introducing the
texture space diffusion method for simulating subsurface scattering in skin. In 2004 Borshukov
received a Visual Effect Society (VES) Award for the development and application of the
Universal Capture facial photography technique.
He joined Electronic Arts in 2004 to focus on setting a new standard for facial capture,
animation and rendering in next-generation games and interactive entertainment. He conceived
the "Fight Night Round 3" concept and Tiger Woods tech demos showcased at Sony's E3 2005 and
2006 press events. He also led the development of the Playable Universal Capture technology and
its integration in the "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07" and "NFS: Carbon" video game titles. As Director
of Creative R&D for EA SPORTS he lead a team focused on expanding the
label's brand and its interactive entertainment offerings through innovation in hi-fidelity
graphics and new forms of interactivity including 3d camera devices. The team's interactive kiosk
projects were exhibited at Wired NextFest 2008 and were part of Gillette's Champions of
Gaming campaign.
Since February 2009 George has been CTO of a somewhat secretive web technology startup company
in Portland, OR.