Meet Eurica Yu | Director of Photography

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eurica Yu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eurica, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I ended up getting burnt out for taking up every job when I first started establishing myself in the film industry. It was only till the pandemic that I was able to slow down and rethink my work life balance. I used to play ultimate frisbee competitively until work took over. Like many others, I started picking up a new hobby during the pandemic; pottery. Through pottery and playing ultimate frisbee again, I was able to relax and regain my work life balance again.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a Malaysian born and raised but currently based in NYC Director of Photography. I think growing up in a Southeast Asian country for 20 years and moving to the US 7 years ago has helped me view and forge my relationships in the film industry a little differently. It was tricky initially to assimilate into the American culture as the western and eastern are culturally very different. The American culture relies heavily on individualism meanwhile the eastern culture is very family oriented. There were a lot of scenarios or stereotypes portrayed by the American mainstream media that I’ve grew up watching and therefore making assumptions based off it. However, after being in the US for a period of time, I’ve learned to infuse both the American and Eastern culture instead of giving up one culture over the other.

I started out as an Assistant Camera full time when I graduated from university for a couple years while filming my own projects on the side to build up my portfolio. Initially, I was assisting a tonne because it was exciting to learn about how that camera side of the film industry work and also learn from other DoPs on their thought process and choices while lensing their film. While it was great while it lasted, I realized I was better and more fulfilled when I’m the DoP instead of being an Assistant. Took me a couple years of building the courage and forging more connections to make the leap to being a DoP full time. It was shocking initially to go from being an Assistant where I work almost everyday to working only a couple of days in a month as a DoP. My body wasn’t used to it and my mental health was also suffering from it because I was so used to working everyday to make a living. I would fall into a state of anxiousness whenever there’s a slow season instead of enjoying the time off or using that time to recharge. Things change eventually and I’ve learned to cope with it as best.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Would love to give a shoutout to everyone who took a chance on letting me lens their project, to all the crew members who I’ve had the pleasure of bringing on set to work with and my agent from UTA who believed in me.

Website: www.euricayu.com

Instagram: @euricayu

Image Credits
All image credit goes to Lea Pfandler.