The way the artist and filmmaker Dan Covert built his creative career
"Nothing's going to take place by itself by itself," Dan says. Dan. "The best method of establishing your name is by making stuff. If it's lots of work for those who are making things with you which is how you remain engaged as a filmmaker."
This is a philosophy that has brought Dan to a remarkable career, which has seen him be awarded awards at AFI, SXSW, and obviously the Staff Picks. " made our careers," Dan tells Dan. "That might sound like a lot of nonsense however it's the truth. There's no way we'd ever be able to draw attention to any of this stuff. We just purchased cameras and started learning to create things."
Shortly after the release of his feature film debut " Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life," which won the Audience Award at this year's SXSW We had the opportunity to talk in conversation with Dan about his creative process as well as his north star creative process. Watch highlights of the chat above, and listen to the entire discussion.
Your first position was graphic designer. What did it take to move you from graphic designer to a feature filmmaker?
Dan: We founded an organization 16 years ago which was a graphic design business and later an animation company, followed by the production company. It's been a long process. Through the process, we created shorts, and many of the shorts were staff Picked by employees .
We just started experimenting and exploring what our sound was in the company as well as as directors. The day I reached 40 was a milestone and always thought, "I'm going to make films someday." I thought to myself, "Maybe I'm not going to make movies until I'm ready." That's why I searched for stories I could tell and found the film.
16 years could be an extended time for creating something in the industry. Do you know how to continue?
Dan Dan: It's really satisfying to do this. In the past, I was not thinking, "Oh, there's going to be a major blast-up that will mean my career changes and I'm going to the Oscars." I'm not thinking about that stuff. It's all about "Am I enjoying myself at this moment? Are I enjoying the trip?"
As soon as a product is released to the public, it is impossible to predict the way people react. This is like asking "Did I do the most effective possible thing I could? Am I hanging out working with people I admire and love? Do we try to be honest and authentic?" I'm always the many irons on the stove kind of guy. I run a business. I am a commercial director. I've been working on this feature film for a while. I have a pretty professional and successful art practice. But, the main thing is being patient and engaging in activities I enjoy and also telling myself, "We'll see where they take us."
But, I'm not too worried regarding that " where they go' portion because it may cause you to pass away. Because ultimately in the end, do you really care about whether or not you're accomplished? It's unlikely that's the kind of thing that you'll remember once you're about 80.
What's your unique north star?
Dan: We constantly are striving to make this better. But the issue is telling stories. Craft and visual art. They're mysterious terms, but they hold a lot of meaning. This is like asking "Can you tell a story?" Many times, individuals are stuck with an unfinished story idea and as storytellers are currently pulling out the narrative.
Art and commercials are essentially opposite forces, but it's not on the same level. More about feeling and the ways you communicate that through gorgeous cinematography. We all have our own voice. One thing that keeps me smiling is the story and character.
How do you work with your brand, without losing the vision you have for your brand?
Dan When I first started, I always thought that it was like "Oh I'm getting hired to do what they need." Then, in time I realized "No I'm being hired for help and I'm aware of the things I'm doing." This was an enormous change to look at the needs of the business and their style. That's not necessarily a negative thing However, as more and more I've grown as an executive, I've come to realize that people are coming to you for your personal voice to really look at the issues and say "What you and your team need to be doing are these."
Are there brands you're hoping to work with?
Dan The reason I say that is hard because I really don't have an interest in this type of thing. It's like "Is it a fun or challenging assignment?" A few of the jobs that were the most boring I've had to complete have resulted in the best work. I did a film centered around a type researcher at Syracuse It's the type historian's Staff Pick video we did. This guy was stuck in a basement. He found this font which Pentagram transformed into the official logo for Syracuse University. This guy is amazing. I'd love to talk to those like his.
Everyone wants to do jobs within Nike along with many other amazing companies. Yes, it is enjoyable nevertheless, I love hearing interesting stories that are unique and the pleasure of presenting the stories in a stage.
I never learned how to direct. This was such a great validation for myself as a creator to have 300,000 people within two days see the film we produced. It was a reaction of "Oh, my God." Do you understand what I'm talking about? It was never created for a film short. The film was made for a client project after which we re-edited it little, and then I observed the audience.
Dress Code has been in place for quite a long duration. Why are you still from leaving the platform?
Dan The HTML0 platform is the hub where creators from all over can view their works. A lot of what we do is within the realm of short films We're self-funding through the use of these tiny test balloons and other creatives view the balloons. The results are always surprising. Someone from an advertising agency might call you and say, "Hey, we saw this project. Are you able to create this commercial for us?" It's like a one to one. If we're working in this manner, it's likely that the right people are seeing this and elevating our work through giving us the opportunity to speak on our behalf.
Where can you look for ideas?
Dan Dan: I receive the greatest motivation for my work via art. In reality, I don't view the same amount of video. I've found it kind tiring and am tempted to copy the things I have seen, consequently, I make the effort for research on methods to differentiate from what we normally do and even take a look at commercial feature documents or research the fine arts to frame or other visual techniques.
What's your favorite tip you've ever received?
Dan Dan I'm a sucker for a quote of Steve Martin where he says, "Be so good that they won't be able to ignore the fact that you're." The way I've seen it is that I've been awed by this. It's the same with the majority of people wanting to create an item, then when they finish the moment they're sure it's done. Where for me it's more just about taking your time to establish the basis of a work, and also being awe-inspiring to the people who are able to see the work.
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