From his captivating exploration of the Seven Deadly Sins to his journey through economic downturns and creative transformations, Erik de Koning’s path is marked by resilience, adaptability, and a relentless passion for the art of visual storytelling.
As the Director at Chuck Studios, Erik has crafted a unique approach to filmmaking—melding technical precision with boundless creativity. In this interview, he shares insights into his daily life, the challenges he’s faced, and the unconventional inspirations that shape his work. Dive in as Erik reflects on his career, the importance of a balanced life, and what it means to truly succeed in the creative industry.
Tell us a bit about your role! Is there a “typical” day?
As a director at Chuck Studios, there are no “typical” days. When there are projects on the go, I’m usually in treatment, testing or actual shooting. Outside of this, I like to work on spec work and look for new shots and challenges since I’m not someone who likes to just sit still behind a desk and roam the internet - I need to be doing something! In any downtime, I also like to keep the studio's ‘shoot’ ready.
Having a clean and organised playground is a habit I picked up as a freelance photographer with my own studio. It creates a calming working environment and enables me to perform better.
What was the biggest challenge in getting to your current position?
Not giving up! Over the years, I’ve faced a couple of economic downfalls that have at times led me to doubt my choice to stay on this career path. I’ve seen a number of fellow photographers give up because they faced the same challenges, but I chose to keep going. Thankfully, the risk paid off because I ended up at Chuck Studios where, over the past 12 years, I’ve become a director specialising in liquids. How cool is that!
What is your personal background and what role did it play in your career?
Fortunately, I got lucky in getting my mom’s creative genes, but the creative industry is challenging and has meant I’ve had to work really hard to get to where I am today. The support of my girlfriend and kids has helped keep me still doing what I like. My personal interests also influence a lot of what I do professionally.
For example, I recently completed a passion project; a film that personifies The 7 Deadly Sins in liquid form. With the help of my colleagues at Chuck Studios, it came to fruition recently, but has been an idea and fascination of mine that formed at the very start of my career about 30 years ago, when i read the book ‘The Divine Comedy’.
What is your biggest career-related win? What is your biggest loss?
I have been fortunate to meet and work with a lot of great and inspiring people from all over the world, people who appreciate creating beautiful shots just as much as I do.
Every time a client says that they are happy with the end result and comments on the fun they had on the shoot, it’s a win for me. As for the biggest loss; I’ve not had one! Every job I lost just wasn’t meant to be.
Which individuals and/or agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
In all honesty, I gain the most inspiration from outside the industry. When I’m on my bike around Amsterdam or chilling at home, I let go of work and my brain switches gears. I get the best ideas by not thinking or looking at my competitors. There are a few people I respect in the film and photography industry who I’d consider my heroes.
Nadav Kander is a photographer whose work I love! He has such a great eye for detail and the beauty of things. Denis Villeneuve is my favourite director. Every film or project of his is a pure joy to look at.
He puts so much effort into every detail and surrounds himself with really talented people. Roger Deakins, the world-renowned Director of Photography is also one of my heroes. He has years of experience and is still taking on every film/project as if it’s his first!
Johann Johannsson, who died too young, was a wonderful talented composer. Without music, there is no film, in my opinion. One last hero who is neither from film, photography or advertising, is Caravaggio, the Italian painter from the 16th century. His eye and use of light was incredible! Starting as a photographer he was, and still is, a great inspiration.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Do more than only work! Spend time with family, ride my gravel/mountain bike and just be outdoors. Explore the limits of my creative gene to try and make stuff like furniture or bikes (which cover my house today). Learn to find restfulness in sitting still and feel reassured that there is more in life than work.
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
Well, I would be a bike builder, forester or carpenter/furniture designer.
What’s your one big dream for the future of the industry?
I’m a strong believer that the future of our world is something we have to prioritise today to prevent the next generation of creatives from inheriting our problems. Sustainability, for example, is very important for the creative industry to improve upon, not only creatives, but also clients.
At Chuck Studios, we are not too dependent on working outside of Amsterdam thanks to our in-house studio, but It’s common practice across the industry to fly all over the world to work and that is something we all have to reconsider.
What are your top tips for aspiring creative professionals?
Have fun working hard and enjoy the moments outside of work. Be patient - if you have a goal, you will get there!
What are your top tips for other creative leaders?
Let the people you work with be themselves! Don’t let them do what you want but let them challenge themselves and find out how they would do it in their own way. You don’t want your team to be clones of yourself! I still learn from the people around me with every project I do.
When you think about your team, what is the thing that matters to you the most?
Firstly, having fun during pre-production and shooting. Secondly, I hope to inspire them to get as much satisfaction out of a project as I do.
How do you approach collaboration with other creatives or teams and what do you believe makes for successful partnerships?
I try to be as open as possible. I believe collaboration is the key to creating a successful atmosphere and bringing out the best in each other. Without the collaboration of diverse opinions and creativity, my shots will never be as good as they are in my head. For it to be a successful partnership, I need people to challenge me and give valuable input.
During the 7 Deadly Sins project, I insisted that everybody involved come up with their own ideas which was a particularly enjoyable part of the process when it came to camera pov, light and camera movement. Collaboration and diversity of thought made the film better and broadened my horizon and way of thinking.
What industry trends do you foresee taking hold in the coming months?
I’m old school so don’t focus too much on trends. That said, I do take interest in AI but don’t let it affect the way I work. I’m not a person who likes to spend time behind a laptop, I’m practical and hands-on, like many creatives. I like to make and create stuff by using tools that I can see and hold in my hand. The moment AI takes over my job, it’s time to do something else.
What do you think sets apart truly exceptional creatives from the rest of the pack?
Don’t put yourself above the rest, listen and learn from others. Be humble and always let your team know they did an amazing job. Criticism is easy but try to give a compliment once in a while. It not only brings a smile to someone's face but that person will give everything over and over again.
How do you think technology has influenced the creative industries and how have you adapted to these changes?
I started out as a photographer using film (yes, I’m that old!) So the world of photography and film changed drastically when we all switched to digital. Personally, I made that change pretty quickly because it affected the whole industry, especially when it came to the costs.
Working on film became more expensive every year and it was hard to compete with the one who shot digitally.
Nowadays, I use AI and ChatGPT for treatment writing and creating reference images/shots. It’s made processes quicker and easier but I have to say I prefer the way it was done before.
Easier doesn’t always mean better! I had a shoot a while ago and the key visual reference sketch was made in AI. It looked really nice and sold the story well but the execution was not quite as easy. Although AI can think and do anything, it failed to consider what can be reproduced in the real world in real conditions by a real human. It was certainly a new kind of challenge but we got there eventually.
How do you prioritise self-care and maintain a healthy work-life balance?
For me it’s easy to switch the work button off at home. I cycle to work and also try to get in a longer ride on the weekend. I also swim once a week to clear my brain. When I’m at home I prioritise my family over my work. My girlfriend and my two daughters are everything to me!
How do you handle creative blocks or burnout?
Fortunately, It’s never happened to me. I know how to put everything into perspective. The health of my loved ones is way more important and there are a lot of terrible things happening in the world. The moment I have some kind of a creative block, I just think let it go, take a ride and tomorrow the ideas will come again.
Can you describe a moment when you had to think outside the box to overcome a creative challenge?
My recent 7 Deadly Sins project was a prime example of overcoming creative challenges. When we do spec work the budget is not unlimited, unfortunately! We had a couple of shots where we had to overcome the challenge of camera movement where you normally use a motion control robot. It took us a lot of time to think of rigs that could mimic the movements we needed.
Fortunately, my producer managed to get in a robot for free for two days which solved the problem for two of the main shots, Lust and Sloth. For Gluttony, we manually constructed a slider for the camera that allowed us to get a sliding shot over the long table ‘smoothly’.
Another challenge was the quantity of drinks on the table in the Gluttony shot. It required over 30 drinks on the table at one time, including ones with complex elements including movement and smoke. We also had a glass of Jagermeister dropping into a beer and at the end of the shot, a carafe of whisky falling off the table.
Four or five people had to trigger those movements by hand so the chance of failure was extremely high and the reset would take a very long time. The first shot we did was the shot we used in the film! A one-taker, as we call it, but we did it two more times anyway.
Do you have any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
Nothing to do with the industry but Dune (the first book or actually the first three) is a creative masterpiece if you ask me. I read it almost every year during my holiday and it still blows my mind how good it is. If you read it, think about the fact that it was written in the 50’s so the world was not where it is now.
Same goes for Dante’s Divine Comedy, the book that started my interest in the 7 deadly sins. It’s a hard one to get through but fascinating to read. He began writing it in 1308 and finished in 1321 which is unbelievable to apprehend.
