Erik Van Wyk

Erik has become an agency favorite for his ability to combine photographic aesthetic and narrative.

Erik started life reading engineering aimed at designing robots, and as a drummer in underground start up bands before a stint as a fashion photography assistant. A fascination with the moving image soon saw him experimenting with cinematography, writing/directing short films and coming up with ideas for commercials. This landed him a job in the creative department of hot shop ad agency TBWA Hunt Lascaris where he soon made a name for himself as an award winning creative. Here he also found the support, in the form of the legendary Creative Director John Hunt, to start directing.

His first job, MTN ‘Cricket’ saw him win a Gold Loerie as well as a Direction Craft Loerie, a first for a new director at the time.

Erik’s rapid rise to success was kick started in 2002 when he was one of 20 directors chosen out of 600 to participate in the prestigious ‘Saatchi and Saatchi New Directors Showcase’ screened at Cannes for his work for Virgin Upper Class. He was also ranked by Boards Magazine USA ‘First Boards’ as one of the top 5 new directors worldwide.

Based in London, Erik has since created commercials for brands as diverse as Honda Insight
(the new Honda hybrid) , Cadburys, Coca Cola, Nissan, Barclaycard and appeared in publications such as Shots, Campaign, Boards and nearly every industry online site whilst picking up several awards on the way.

With an ongoing fascination for fresh cinematography, visual effects and the subtle direction of performance, Erik has become known for his strong visual storytelling. His ability to surprise the viewer with detailed filmmaking and a distinct sense of scale is one of Erik’s biggest strengths.