Željko Barčan is an FX Supervisor at Wētā FX, originally from rural Pitomača, Croatia — where “real-time simulation” mostly involved predicting the weather — to spending 26 years creating things that explode, burn, collapse, fly, splash and generally misbehave on screens.

Rather than choosing between film, television, animation, games and interactive experiences, Željko appears to have misunderstood the question and selected “all of the above.” Over 26 years, he has repeatedly — and quite consciously — spectacularly failed to specialise, working at studios including Wētā FX, DNEG, DreamWorks Animation and Digital Domain, on productions ranging from Stargate SG-1 and The Boss Baby to Interstellar, PHAROS and Avatar: Fire and Ash. Along the way, he has contributed to productions recognised with Emmy, VES and Academy Awards — suggesting that refusing to pick a lane can occasionally work out.

After nearly three decades of watching film, games and technology steal each other’s best ideas — while every new technology promises to change everything forever — Željko remains fascinated, mildly suspicious, and fully prepared for everything to change forever. Again.