The way filmmaker as well as artist Dan Covert built his creative career

"Nothing's going to make itself," says Dan. "The fastest way to establish your name is by producing things. Even if it's offering a variety of services in order to get friends involved with making stuff and keep you engaged as a filmmaker."

This ethos has led Dan through a career that has seen him win awards from AFI, SXSW, and obviously Staff Picks. " has shaped our careers,"" says Dan. "That is a bit absurd, but it's the truth. We never would've had an crowd for these things. We simply bought cameras and learned how to build things."

After the release of his debut feature documentary " Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life," which won the Audience Award at this year's SXSW and we got a opportunity to speak Dan about his process. Dan about his work process as well as his most creative north star work. Watch highlights of the discussion above and also check out the whole conversation.

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

Dan Dan: We founded an organization 16 years ago that was originally a graphic design business that eventually was transformed into a motion graphic company that then became an production company. So it's this long evolution. And all along the way we created shorts and many of them were Staff Picked to be worn .

We just started experimenting and figuring out what our style in the company as well as directors. I hit 40 years old and I was thinking, "I'm going to make films someday." Then I was thinking, "Maybe I'm not going to create films until I start." So I just searched for stories to tell and the film came up.

 16 years is an incredibly length of time to make products in this field. How do you keep going?

Dan: It's just genuinely enjoyable to work on this. In the past, but I was not thinking, "Oh, there's going to be this blow up event where my career is changing and I'm at the Oscars." I am not thinking about this stuff. The thing is, "Am I having fun now? Are I having fun on the road?"

Since once you've created a product, it goes out in the world You can't predict how people react to it. This is like asking "Did I do the most effective product I could? Do I spend time with working alongside people whom I respect and admire? Do we try to be honest and authentic?" I'm always the lots of irons in the flame kind of guy. I own a company. I am a commercial director. I've been producing this feature film. I'm quite successful in my artistic practice. But it's all about just slowly just doing these things that I enjoy as well as saying, "We'll see where they lead."

It's not that I'm worried about the " where they go' part because that can cause you to die. In the end, who cares if you're famous or successful? This isn't the stuff you're going to remember when you're 80.

 Which is your unique north star?

Dan Dan: We are constantly working to improve this. However, it's really storytelling acumen. Craft and visual art. It's a bit of unclear terms, however they do have lots of meaning. This is like asking, "Can you tell a story?" A lot of times people come with an unfinished idea and we, as storytellers, have the task of pulling out the story.

The concept of commercials and art are somewhat opposing forces but not at the highest levels. It's more about emotion and expressing that emotion with stunning cinematography. We all have our own voice. But the stuff that really most excites me is character and story.

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

Dan: At first, I thought that it was something like "Oh, they're hiring me to perform the tasks they require." Then, over time I realized "No I'm being hired because they need some help and I'm aware of the things I'm doing." This was an enormous shift trying to understand what their needs were and also what their style was. That's still obviously important, but then the more and more I've grown as an executive, I've realized they're looking to you with a personal voice, to sort through the complexities and to say, "What you guys need to be doing will be this."

 Are there brands you're hoping to work with?

Dan The reason I say that is tricky because I don't really pay attention to that sort of thing. It's a matter of, "Is it a fun or interesting task?" Some of the dull assignments I've had to complete have transformed into some of the most enjoyable work. The film I created was centered on a type historian from Syracuse, it's an Staff Pick video we did. It was like this dude who was at a basement and discovered this font, and Pentagram turned it into the logo for Syracuse University. The guy's incredible. I'd like to speak to those like him.

Everyone would like to work for Nike as well as all the fantastic companies. Sure that is fun, however, I like discovering interesting stories that are unique and the pleasure of giving them a platform.

I never learned how to be a director. This was such a great affirmation for me as an artist that 300,000 people in just a couple of days watch the film we created. The reaction was, "Oh, my God." You know what I'm talking about? It wasn't made in the form of a short film. The film was created for a client project and we re-edited it a bit, which I then saw the audience.

 Dress Code has been on for a while. What is it that keeps you on the platform?

Dan Dan: It's like the platform where all the creators are who view our work. Much of the stuff is short-film related We're self-funding in the sense of throwing out little trial balloons, and then other creatives see them. The results are always surprising. Somebody from an ad agency may call and say like, "Hey, we saw this thing. Can you do the commercial campaign to us?" It's like a one-to-one. If we're putting work out like that, the right individuals are noticing it, and the work is being elevated and giving us an opportunity.

 How do you find your source of inspiration?

Dan Dan: I find the most motivation for my work via the art of. Actually, I don't go through many videos any more. I've found it kind difficult and then I'm tempted to copy the things I see, and so I look for items that fall out of the norm and even take a look at feature docs for commercials or look at fine art for framing and visualization methods.

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

Dan Dan of Steve Martin where he says, "Be so good that they won't be able to ignore you." The way I've seen it is that I've loved this. The same is true for a lot of people want the quick fix to make something and the next thing they know it's done. Where for me it's more about slowly putting the time into building the foundation of a work. Then, you'll be so good that someone will find your work.