Ergin Kuke

Through the years he has been a child actor, bartender, literary translator, writer, teacher, publisher of a sociopolitical newspaper, war guide for the Washington Post, art director, visual effects supervisor and advertising creative director.
Arguably, his most useful work is his series of After Effects tutorials which have been cracked and downloaded worldwide; hopefully helping the next generation of artists.
He has been nominated for an Emmy, MTV music video award, was somehow awarded a cultural ambassador order from the president of Albania and his work is on permanent display at the Petersen Automotive Museum.
Shifting restlessly through the years from one discipline to the other has created a wide body of work across visual storytelling that spans live action, vfx, live event, theatrical and experiential, emerging tech and interactive.
He has a love for and a decent collection of paperback sci-fi, exploring far places on motorcycles and single malts. In the almost nonexistent time between work and trying to raise his children to be astronauts (so he can live vicariously), he handcrafts leather luggage in his garage, is currently hoping to finish his translation of Asimov’s Foundation and is trying to reimagine the blinker.

ABOUT BRAND YEW FRIENDS

Brand Yew Friends is a multi-disciplinary creative collective built to solve complex briefs and deliver standout work. With over 20 years of experience across commercial production, we partner closely with agencies and brands to design the right team for each project—scaling seamlessly across budgets and scopes.

While we are known for our design, animation, and post expertise, live-action production is a central pillar of our work. We regularly produce live-action commercial campaigns, integrating production, direction, and post under one roof to ensure creative continuity and efficiency from shoot through finish. Our solution-driven approach allows us to build bespoke crews, combine disciplines when needed, and execute confidently across any board, timeline, or challenge.

Our capabilities include Live Action Production, 2D/3D Design and Animation, Photoreal CG, Unreal Engine and Volume Stage Production, VFX and Compositing, Offline Editorial, Color and Finishing, and Audio Post.