Bastiaan Koch is certainly passionate about film. As a student at London's Middlesex University, he completed a degree in industrial and product design, but decided to stop "sacrificing aesthetics for internal ergonomics." He turned his attention to film and photo-real animation. Seeing this direction as the new "frontier for imagination and design," he achieved early success as a visual effects artist with The Moving Picture Company and George Lucas's Industrial Light and on projects like Transformers II.

Now with producer, director and writer on his film-industry resume and his first film The 3rd Letter with his own company Marauder Film nearing completion, Bastiaan Koch tells us what he loves about his star-studded business and what it takes to become one of its rising stars.

First job?

I suppose my real first job was with London's visual effects house The Moving Picture Company (MPC). I was fresh off the press as a 21-year-old and had the unbelievable fortune of falling into the position of lead modeller on Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle's film Sunshine. It was a well-known fact that he liked working in very small groups and preferred boutique shops, so the initial team became myself and five other very talented people. I stayed on Sunshine for about a year and a half. At its peak, I found myself coordinating a small team of about seven artists. It was truly a dream come true and the best possible opener into the film industry.

Career high?

Honestly, it's right now. The first film that I produced and co-wrote is wrapping up. It's called The 3rd Letter, and I occasionally find myself stunned at our own screenings. It really feels like true freedom. Other high points in my life were being accepted and invited to join famed visual effects houses like Digital Domain in Los Angeles and later George Lucas' visual effects studio Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). These are the places where I learned from true masters of film-making. But perhaps most valuable of all was getting some face-to-face access to top Hollywood directors. I met Michael Bay while working on Transformers. He is huge presence and I gained very valuable advice from him.

Career low?

In the film industry there are a lot of mini-lows and that comes from the uncertainty and constant "what's next?" attitude of the film industry. When working on a film or multiple projects at the same time, I become absorbed by the project and when it's over there is a huge high followed by a natural low or void. Film projects can take a year at the very least and you never know what will be around the corner, so you have to choose carefully because the next film will likely become a large part of your life.

Ultimate goal?

To have the grounding to find an audience I resonate with as a story-teller. The ultimate goal is really to expand my young company, www.marauderfilm.com" class="member">Marauder Film, by continuing to develop, produce and direct in-house and external films with A-grade Hollywood visuals, digital effects and story but with radically lower budgets. It's a tall order for an industry largely geared towards financially viable films that appeal to the masses. Luckily my childhood interests in science-fiction, Japanese anime and manga resonate perfectly with the direction of the industry.

What filmmakers inspire you?

Without a doubt, my main influence is the work of Akira Toriyama…even to this day. I read, study, mimic and collect his art. He is most noted for his playful but violent art and films, like Dragonball, where a complex story unfolds throughout intergalactic, metaphysical and astral worlds with a beautiful variety of different species and character designs. Ironically, I have only recently pulled influences from feature films.

The filmmakers who really inspire me today are Hideaki Anno, Neill Blomkamp, Grzegorz Jonkajtys, Alfonso Cuarón, Michael Bay, Roman Polanski, Danny Boyle and many more indie directors and Japanese anime story-tellers. I can also take inspiration from video games (Fallout, Oblivion, Metal Gear Solid, Half-life and Mass Effect). It is truly such a perfect time to be in this industry, with the developing worlds of film and gaming colliding at astronomical speeds.

What does a visual effects artist do exactly?

Although there are many disciplines within visual effects, it is essentially the process of making (photo-realistic, in my case) moving imagery digitally that would otherwise be too costly, dangerous, or impossible to produce. It offers an absolute control of your shot in every way. At the highest levels, a single artist might dedicate an entire career to creating the perfect human skin (i.e. Benjamin Button), or facial expressions (i.e. Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean). There really is no detail small enough. There are 2D artists and 3D artists, environment artists, creature artists and everything in between. It is an art.

Tell us about what a day is like for you on a film set as a visual effects artist compared to that of a director.

Being a visual effects artist radically compliments my other pursuits, especially directing. Digital visual effects is the newest, most desirable (and costly) commodity in film today, so having a solid foundation in it is invaluable.

The main differences are essentially that the director has complete artistic control of the film, but he or she normally concerns him/herself with the actors. A visual effects supervisor will focus on integrating digitial visual effects into the film post-production (as easily and cheaply as possible). This commonly includes figuring out complex desired camera moves that may involve invisible cuts between two sets or digital set extensions. On occasion, to minimize visual effects costs, a very small portion of the overall set will be built to allow the real actors to blend into their environments naturally, including lighting, shadows and interaction. Still, a huge array of things can increase the post-budget of an individual shot and VFX supervisors are playing an increasingly critical roll on set, always close to the director and director of photography.

Now that you have been a producer, director and a visual effects artist, do you prefer one over the others?

Producing was once described by producer Buck Houghton as '"herding bees with a stick"…that hits the nail on the head. Directing is by far the most creative pursuit of the three, but staying in touch and inside the visual effects industry keeps me in touch and up-to-date. Industrial Light and Magic sets a very high bar and it's great to be a small, humble part of it. I prefer working closely with actors and getting the best from them as a director; however, the kind of projects on my horizon will combine all three of these disciplines.

What project are you most proud of?

I worked for over a year on Transformers II with ILM's digital model shop crew, and Transformers III seems to be around the corner. Although the story is far from my cup of tea, I was really proud of the visual results. On this project, I learned as much about visual effects as I about directing because of the constant feedback and development meetings held with Michael Bay.

What advice would you give to other would-be young filmmakers?

In short, stop obsessing about the tech and focus on story.

Is there a specific event you can pinpoint as the start of your success?

The first big risk I took in life was never to stay static. My first risk was simply packing my bags, binning my Ikea furniture and jumping on a plane for Los Angeles.

The word "success" is open to interpretation. I say do it because you love it. If the foundation is passion, you will make it your business to learn and better yourself in your field and this will naturally lead to great things.

What do you love about the film industry?

Anything goes.

What do you not like?

The stereotypes. The true mastermind filmmakers in Hollywood are not at all like the stereotypes. It is very easy to spot a real Hollywood brain from the rest.

How as ASW helped?

Besides parties in every major city around the globe? Well, I have met a few Hollywood veterans who I converse with, investors and fellow filmmakers. Obviously most ASWers are international, quite extravagant and make for very interesting people. I used to be very involved with ASW in Amsterdam and London. They are fantastic groups of people. San Francisco's ASW community is very small but it has led to some great nights and new friends. Obviously ASW is just a fantastic ice breaker to meet new groups of people and gain invitations into new circles of friends and opens the doors to future business prospects.