This is the process through which filmmaker as well as artist Dan Covert built his creative career

"Nothing's going to come up all by itself," says Dan. "The best way to establish your name known is to make products. Even if it's offering many products to help get your friends to be involved in the making process and keep you engaged as a filmmaker."

This ethos has led Dan to a career path which has led him to win accolades from AFI, SXSW, and obviously the staff picks. " has shaped our careers,"" says Dan. "That may sound a little ridiculous, yet it's what's real. There was never an audience for such things. We just bought cameras and then learned how to create things."

After the release of the feature film debut " Geoff McFetridge: Drawing an Artist's Life," which was awarded the Audience Award at this year's SXSW and provided us with a opportunity to speak about the process of creating with Dan about his creative process. Dan talks about the process he uses to create as well as his most original north star projects. Take a look at some of the highlights from the discussion above, and be certain to watch the entire interview.

   The first time you worked as a graphic designer. How did you go from there to feature filmmaker?

Dan Dan: Dan and I started an entity in 1996 which began as a graphic design business. In the end, it was transformed into a motion graphic firm, and later a production firm. This is the long process. In the past, we created shorts and many of them were picked by the staff for wear .

We've just begun experimenting and trying to figure out the style of our business as well as as directors. The time was right to reach 40, and I was thinking, "I'm going to make films within the next few years." But then I thought "Maybe I won't create films until I'm ready to get started." Therefore, I began searching for stories I wanted to tell and found the film.

   16 years is a long time to develop the goods needed in this field. What can you do to continue to create?

Dan Dan: It's really satisfying to create this. It was a while time ago that I was not contemplating, "Oh, there's going be this big event that my career is evolving and I'm attending the Oscars." I don't want to consider this matter. The issue is "Am I enjoying my day today? Do I feel like enjoying myself while out traveling?"

When you've made an item, it is distributed to the world. There is no way to know how others will respond to it. It's like asking "Did I accomplish my greatest work in constructing the most effective product I was able to create? Do I have time the people I respect and admire? Do we try to be honest and authentic?" I'm a fiery-hot person. I run a business. I am a commercial director. I've been making this feature length film for quite a long time. I've seen a lot of luck in my artistic work. The key is taking one small step at a moment and doing things I like and declaring "We'll follow the directions."

There's nothing I'm concerned about concerning things such as that " where they go' part because that may result in deaths. At the end of the day no one cares about whether you're famous or accomplished? These aren't things that will be remembered when you're over.

Which is your own North Star?

Dan Dan: We're continuously trying to improve this. The key is storytelling. Visual art and craft. It's a bit of unclear terminology, but they have a significant meaning. Similar to asking "Can you create a narrative?" Many times, people come with an idea unfinished, and we as storytellers, have to draw the story.

The art and the commercial are in some ways opposite, but they are not on the highest scales. The focus is on emotion, and conveying it through breathtaking cinematography. Every person has a individual voice. What draws me in is story behind it and its character.

How do you work to build a brand that doesn't compromise the vision that you have for your company?

Dan At first, I thought that it was something along the lines of "Oh I'm employed to do the work that they require." Then I realised "No I'm hired simply to help them and I'm fully aware of the things I'm performing." It was a huge change to try and understand the needs of their employees and their style of communication was. It's still important but the growing more in my job as an executive, I've realised that the company is relying on me to use a more personal voice, to understand the complexities and to say "What is expected of you to be doing is as follows."

Have you got brands you'd like to work with?

Dan The reason I'm saying this is that I'm just not very attentive to that sort of thing. It's all about, "Is it a fun or a challenging job?" A few of the boring projects I've completed turned into my most fun work. The film I created was an inspiration from the type historian from Syracuse This is the result of a Staff Pick video we did. This guy lived in a basement, and discovered this font, and Pentagram turned it into the official logo of Syracuse University. This guy is amazing. I'd love to meet people who have similar qualities to his.

Anybody would like to be employed by Nike as well as every other excellent firm. Yes, it is enjoyable However, I also enjoy discovering fascinating stories that are original and the honor of providing these stories with an outlet.

I've never been able to be a director. It was a huge validation to myself as a creator that I had 300,000 viewers over the course of two days watching the documentary that we penned. It was a reaction of "Oh I'm truly grateful." Are you aware of what I'm talking about? The film was not produced as a short film. The film was created for the client's project. We edited it a bit, following that I showed it to audience.

   Dress Code has been around since a while. What is it about the dress code that keep your on stage?

Dan Dan: It's the platform where all the creators can be found, and they are able to view our work. A lot of it is related to short film. Self-funding is the idea, by which we release small test balloons and letting other creatives see the balloons. Results are often surprising. An ad agency might call you to say like "Hey we saw this. Do you have the ability to do a commercial to us?" It's like a one-to-one. If we're putting work out with this method, surely people are taking notice, and our project gets a boost and gives us a chance to gain.

Where can you go to get your ideas?

Dan Dan: I find my greatest inspiration in my work from the art of. It's true that I don't watch many of the videos I watch anymore. I've found it kind difficult and then I'm tempted to copy the things I see which is why I search at things that are out from the norm and seek out documentaries for feature films and even research frames as well as visualization strategies.

What's the most helpful piece of advice that you've had?

Dan Dan from Steve Martin where he says, "Be so good that people won't be able ignore your." My experience is that I've really enjoyed the idea. It's the same to a large portion of those who want fast and easy techniques to construct things before they're certain it's finished. For me, it's much more important to put time into building the foundation of what you've built. And then, you'll feel at peace knowing that others will see your works.

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