What the filmmaker as well as artist Dan Covert built his creative career

"Nothing's going to come up by itself by itself," Dan says. Dan. "The most efficient way to grow your name is by making stuff. If it's just offering a variety of services for friends to make stuff to keep engaged as a director."

It's an ethos that has led Dan through an impressive career that has seen him win awards from AFI, SXSW, and obviously, Staff Picks. " Our careers were shaped by our work," says Dan. "That is a bit crazy, but it's true. There was no audience for any of these things. We just purchased cameras and began learning how to build things."

Just a few days after the publication of his feature film " Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life," which won the Audience Award at this year's SXSW, we had a opportunity to talk Dan about his process. Dan about his creative process as well as his most creative north stars. Watch highlights of the chat above and check out the whole conversation.

 It was your first venture as graphic designer. How did you go from there to a feature film?

Dan Dan: We founded the company in 1996 which was a graphic design firm that later was transformed into a motion graphic company that then became a production company. This is a lengthy process. Through the years we created shorts and a lot of the shorts were made by staff. Picked to be worn .

We were just experimenting and figuring out what our style was both as a business and as directors and then I was turning 40 and always thought, "I'm going to make films someday." And I was like, "Maybe I'm not going to make movies unless I get started." Then I was looking for stories and this film kind of just happened.

 16 years is a lengthy time for making things in the industry. What keeps you going?

Dan: It's just genuinely entertaining to be doing this job. Even until recently, I didn't think, "Oh, there's going to be a big blow-up time when my career shifts and I'm in the Oscars." I don't think about that stuff. The thing is, "Am I having fun in the moment? Am I enjoying the ride?"

Once a plan goes out in the world, you can't control how people respond to it. This is like asking "Did I make the best thing that I could? Are I spending time working alongside people I love and respect? Are we trying to be honest and authentic?" I'm always the several irons in the flame kind of guy. I have a business. I am a commercial director. I've been working on this feature film. I'm quite successful in my art practice. However, it's really about taking my time and doing items that I love and then like, "We'll see where they go."

However, I'm not so concerned about the ' where they where they aspect because it could just eat you alive. In the end, who cares how famous or successful you are? It's like that's not the stuff you're going to be able to remember after you've reached the age of 80.

 What's your creative north star?

Dan: We constantly are refining this, but it's actually storytelling. This is craft and visual artistry. It's a bit of vague terms, but they do have lots of significance. It's like, "Can you tell a tale?" A lot of times people come with an idea that isn't fully developed, that we, as storytellers, are kind of pulling out the story.

The concept of commercials and art, they're somewhat opposite forces, but not at the top levels. More about feeling and expressing that emotion with stunning cinematography. We all have our own voices. However, what makes me smile is the story and character.

 What can you do to work to create a brand that doesn't compromise the vision you have for your brand?

Dan When I first started, I always thought it was something like "Oh it's because they're hiring me to perform the tasks they require." And then over time I realized "No, they're hiring me for help and I know what I'm doing." This was a big shift of trying to understand the needs of the business as well as what their vision was. It's not a bad thing however, the higher and more I've progressed as an executive, I've realized they're looking to you as a personal voice to really sort through all this stuff and say, "What you guys need to be doing are these."

 Are there any brands that you're still hoping to partner with?

Dan Dan: I find that hard because I do not really care about that stuff. It's like, "Is it a fun, interesting project?" Some of the tasks that have been the most boring I've received have been turned into the best pieces. I made a short film that revolved around a type historian at Syracuse, it's the type historian's Staff Pick video we did. It was like this dude who was trapped in a basement, and he came across this font. Then Pentagram transformed it into the official logo of Syracuse University. This guy is amazing. I would love to meet people like that.

Everybody wants to work for Nike and the other fantastic brands. Yes, it's fun but I also like finding these unique stories and kind of presenting them on a stage.

I have never been taught how to be a director. So it was a huge affirmation for me as an artist for me to see 300,000 viewers within just a couple of days watch this film that we produced. And it's like, "Oh, my God." What do I mean? The film was never made as a film. It was made for a client project and just slightly re-edited it, which I then saw the audience.

 Dress Code has been around for a very long time. What is it that keeps you on the platform?

Dan Dan: It's to be the place where all the creators are who are able to see what we've done. A lot of this stuff in the world of short films, we're self-funding, kind of putting out these little trials balloons. Then other creatives see the balloons. This is always a shock. Someone from an advertising agency will call and be like, "Hey, we saw the thing. Could you create this commercial to us?" It's like a one-to-one. If we're doing work like that, the right individuals are noticing it, and they're elevating it and giving us a platform.

 Where do you find source of inspiration?

Dan The source of best ideas for my work from art. In reality, I don't view many videos any more. I find that it's kind exhausting, and I want to mimic things, so I just look for things that are very out of the norm or even look at commercial feature documents or study the fine arts for framing or visually-based methods.

 What's the most helpful advice you've ever received?

Dan Dan: I love a quote of Steve Martin where he says, "Be so good that people can't even be able to ignore your." I've always been awed by that. The same is true for many people are looking for to be able to make something and after that, one thing completed. For me, it's more about just kind of slowly putting the time into building the foundation of a work. Then, you'll be so good that someone will find the work.