3Questions: Daniel Figur - Producer

As part of our continuing 3Questions series, I present Daniel Figur, a freelance producer who has worked with such artists as Angels & Airwaves and U-N-I. I had the opportunity to work with Dan when he produced my W&CK music video and the Live at Swing House Mateo DVD. He's also the producer on the feature film Love (formally called I-Empire) presented by Angels & Airwaves.

As a producer he is responsible for "overseeing and organizing the current project from conception to completion."

HBAD: So, tell us, how did you get your start?

DF: I attended Brooks Institute of Photography in Ventura, California, but after one year in school they were teaching me nothing. This was information that I already knew, so I quit school and went down to Location Sound in Los Angeles and stood there talking to anyone I could shadow on set.

I was doing electrical work at the time and hated it. During a lunch break on a music video I walked up to the sound guy, Adissa, and had a conversation with him about wanting to do sound. He was excited to get me in the game, and in a short time I began shadowing him and eventually he was handing me down work.

From there, I began by doing sound work on low budget features and reality TV pilots; but specifically I was doing MTV Behind the Scenes production sound and became frustrated that I was just holding a microphone on a stick all day and being told where to show up.

I had to quit the path that I was on. I began to tell everyone that I was a producer. By accident, I ended up telling the right person because they needed a young Line Producer to work on low budget rap videos. I did 30 videos in the first year of producing, so it was going pretty well.

Then, my buddy and I shot a music video for a Red Hot Chili Peppers contest. Unfortunately, we didn't win but we did come in second. It was for that reason that Angels & Airwaves contacted me about producing the video for their new single Secret Crowds.

It was during that video that they pitched me their idea for a feature film, at the time called I-Empire. I immediately signed on and got the DP of the Secret Crowds video, Will Eubank, to both Direct and DP the feature.



Now, after doing so many videos, I had to take a break and move onto another challenge. So, I'm now branching into scripted content and internet viral entertainment. It's important to always give yourself a challenge in order to better your art.

HBAD: What are the most difficult challenges you've encountered on your career path?

DF: This industry is taxing on your confidence and stamina, you have to be a self-motivator in order to push yourself to the next level in your career. If you get stuck in a position where you think "I may hate doing this", its time to make a change and tighten your belt.

HBAD: What advice would you have for someone just starting out in this business, looking to get into producing music videos and/or films?

DF: Don't go to school. Rather, take that money, let's say $50,000, and invest into yourself. Join every association that fits your field, buy any equipment on the cheap side to achieve your goal and sit on the rest of the money to pay for rent and gather connections. It will have cost you the same amount of money to go to school as it would be to set yourself up in the best way, which out here is time. The last thing you want to do as a new filmmaker is have to spend half your time waiting tables.