Me and My Emmy: Cisco Torres

Primetime Emmy Tally: One

How He Got the Gold: For outstanding main title design in 2020, for EPIX's Godfather of Harlem.

Now for the Noms: Torres won the first time he was nominated.

Smart Start: "I was a film major in college, and my first job was as an editor in Minneapolis. I was fascinated by the power of creative software and started spending all my free time on YouTube watching tutorials.

I moved to L.A. and was able to get freelance work as a motion graphics artist. I kept the mindset of continually learning, always staying dedicated to getting better as an artist. I'm grateful to the network of motion graphics freelancers in L.A. — we help each other out daily and provide a sense of community in a job that is inherently nomadic."

Driven to Design: "I'm grateful to work in entertainment, which was always a dream of mine. I get to be creative every single day. I love the excitement of being part of a team that has the ability to create something beautiful that will be seen by millions."

Virtue of Virtual: "Winning an Emmy in 2020 added a much-needed boost to an otherwise boring year. I watched from home and called my parents and my sister as soon as I won. There were a lot of happy phone calls that night and a lot of champagne! Though I imagine it's even more fun to go to the event in person."

Winning Work: "It was incredible working on Godfather of Harlem at Digital Kitchen. We used stop-motion techniques, using real paper for some sequences. Art director Peter Pak did amazing research and crafted collages that were informed by the class struggle of the 1960s.

These designs were an homage to the collages created by African-American artist Romare Bearden in 1960s Harlem. Everything that our title sequence grappled with thematically felt just as important in 2020 as it was half a century ago."

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This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, Issue No. 2, 2021