Meet Dan Ast | Director / Screenwriter
We had the good fortune of connecting with Dan Ast and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Dan, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I made the conscious choice ten years ago to build a work-life balance that was specific to my goals. As an indie filmmaker flexibility is key for me. I left my 40-hour-a-week job and began working as a freelance editor from home. The transition was rough, as often is in these circumstances, but over a year or so I built a client base that gave me the flexibility to work fewer hours and days per week, and allowed me to adjust my workdays for other priorities. This approach doesn’t suit everyone, but it has played to my strengths – my tendency to focus all my productivity into my mornings and leave my afternoons free for personal projects has been a wonderful experience for me.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I work so I can create, and once I’ve started something, I believe in finishing it no matter how long it takes. My proudest achievement so far is finishing Season Two of our series L.A. Macabre – a microbudget mystery/thriller series spanning twelve 30-minute episodes. We created this show with an average crew size of 4 people and over several years.
Creatively, it’s been the most difficult and most rewarding experience of my life. Early in the project, I would lie awake at night riddled with anxiety because I couldn’t wrap my head around how we could possibly coordinate and film a 300-page, wildly ambitious series with our minimal resources. The challenges along the way were numerous and ever-evolving, but the solution was also the same – take each challenge as it comes, one step at a time, bit by bit.
Approaching each individual problem and solving them as they came rather than trying to wrap our heads around the whole project at all times allowed us to compartmentalize – to divide and conquer. Not allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed was truly the most important aspect of actually finishing the script (1 year to write) the shoot (2 years to film) and post (1 year in post-production.)
It’s become my most consistent piece of advice for indie filmmakers (besides “find great people to work with”):
“One bite at a time. Chew til you can swallow.”
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m such a fan of L.A.’s weird history, so my tours with friends are often guided by my historical as well as cinematic interests. I love restaurants with history and atmosphere: Musso and Frank, Cole’s, Grand Central Market, or mid-century favorites Little Toni’s and Sitton’s in NoHo.
Of course, it’s fun to take people to the Griffith Observatory, to a view of the Hollywood sign, and other great, rightful standards. But I also feel L.A.’s history is fascinating and underappreciated, so just little tidbits, like pointing out where the Ambassador Hotel used to be in Koreatown, or why the 110 is so curvy east of downtown (first freeway in the Western United States) is a big part of the fun for me.
On the super film nerd side, my favorite tradition now was adopted from my friends Andy and Robert – the “Halloween Walk” through “Haddonfield” (South Pasadena) where we’d share a pizza nearby and then wander to all the nearby Halloween filming locations nearby for a post-dinner walk. This is always a fun one to introduce friends to.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Filmmaking is such a collaborative process and, particularly at the indie level, it’s so important to have a strong group of collaborators to achieve anything. I feel this also applies to my L.A. experience overall, so this shoutout is to my friends and family I’ve been fortunate enough to know and work with over the years to create our art against all odds.
Website: www.lamacabre.com
Instagram: @lamacabreseries
Twitter: @Dan_Ast, @LAMacabreTV
Facebook: @LAMacabreTV
Other: You can stream L.A. Macabre on Tubi (https://tubitv.com/series/
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
