We recently connected with David Mazur and have shared our conversation below.
David, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
The hardest thing in the entire world is to be a confident artist. We’re strange creatures living and playing inside our strange little minds, and interacting with the rest of the world doesn’t always translate well with our personalities. As artists, we allow ourselves to feel deeper and say the things that most are afraid to acknowledge. Because of that I think we have an innate fear and lack of confidence when creating and promoting our art.
I break it down like this. There are three main hurdles every artist must overcome… the confidence to pursue an idea, the confidence in our own talent and craftsmanship, and the confidence to release our art into the world.
Gaining confidence as an artist is its own journey. Some people are naturally gifted with an abundance of confidence, while others have to work overtime just to pass by. I, unfortunately, was not gifted with natural confidence. Quite the opposite, really. I was that quiet kid in the back, always drawing, always writing. I think at that time, I just wanted to stay out of the way and try my best to fit in. Because of that choice, my skill set as an artist grew rather quickly, but when it came to promoting myself and putting my art in -front of people, I was stunted by my own lack of confidence.
Over the course of my life, there have been many different people and moments that have helped shape and develop my confidence, but the one person who stands out the most, giving me the biggest leap forward, was a past girlfriend, another artist, whose personality was often extremely combative. Although we didn’t share the same values or artistic styles, I was in awe of her. Her ability to not care what people thought of her or her art, her willingness to stand her ground and not be afraid to step on other’s toes, and her strength to be one-hundred percent herself every single day. It takes guts, especially as an artist, to express yourself externally the same way you view yourself internally. Those are traits I really admire, especially in an artist, and ones I try to adopt and emulate.
I believe that having that type role model, or even just finding someone with a single trait you admire, can really help push you in the direction you want to go. To watch someone move through life the way you wish you could… that’s life changing! It’s as if they give you permission to go out and try it for yourself and at that moment, you know that everything’s gonna be okay.
Confidence in your art is crucial! It’s the ability to know that you’re a talented artist as well as the confidence to know your voice is worth listening to. As someone who started out soft spoken, it took me a while to find my footing in the world of art and to create a space for myself and what I stand for. For me, I wave the flag of the outcasts, the misunderstood, the underdogs, and the dreamers. That’s the world I live in and those are the stories that resonate with me the most. Because of that, I’ve learned to channel my voice as an artist and gain confidence in my own abilities.
Of course, there’s a fine line between being confident and being cocky, and knowing when to humble yourself and when to allow your ego to shine, that’s what separates a good artist from a great artist.
At the end of the day, I think every artist struggles with putting their art into the world, whether they admit to it or not, I know I do, and that’ll always be something I continue to work on.
From an artist’s perspective, a piece of art is never finished, and as a perfectionist, it’s hard to release something that I could theoretically work on for the rest of my life. It can feel like ripping a page out of my journal that’s unfinished, messy, and raw and sharing it with the rest of the world. It’s scary to be that vulnerable, but it’s also very very exciting not knowing exactly how your art will affect someone (or potentially the world!). I think it’s helped build my confident as an artist to realize that I really have no control over how others perceive me or my art, and that’s okay. I just put my head down and focus on telling the stories I want to tell. I want to continue to tell my truth authentically and go wherever that takes me. I wanna tackle bigger projects and take on even bigger risks and leave a lasting impact with my art. And as an artist, that’s all I can really hope for.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a Director and Writer based in Hollywood, currently working on writing a bunch of feature scripts with various writing partners as well as developing ideas to pitch. My main focus right now, is putting together my first feature film, which I’ve been developing and writing for the past five years. There’s been many drafts and a lot of notes, always trying to make it the best possible iteration of my idea that I can. It’s all very exciting!
When I’m not working on my own long form narrative projects, I’m on set directing or filming. And when I’m not on set, I’m running around town documenting artists, cultural events, and moments that make history. Right now I’m slowly dipping my toes into the narrative commercial world and making strides on that front.
There’s a lot I want to accomplish, so I hope my goals will continue to grow and develop as I continue to pursue my artistic journey.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The qualities I’ve acquired, that have helped me the most as a director, is the ability to stay calm and collected when a problem arises on set. Having a level- head and being able to make decisive decisions calmly and effectively when my back is pinned against the wall is a skill I’m quite proud of.
Another quality I’ve found helpful is being bold when pitching an idea or proposing a project with another creative. You never know what idea or concept others are looking for and sometimes an idea you have comes at the perfect time in their life. There really is no limit to who you can reach out to, and by casting my net as wide as possible, I’m often surprised by who answers my call.
Another helpful quality is the ability to write fast. Scripts are just a blueprint, a vessel, to pitch to actors, producers, investors, and crew. They’re a means to an end and something I write to get everyone creating and playing in the same sandbox with me. The Ruskin Group Theater has really helped me build the skill set to write fast. I view the process of screenwriting as getting a quick first draft out there and not worrying about its quality. Once I have a tangible product I can then shape it and mold it with more care and quality in mind. And by writing fast, I can enjoy spending more time directing on set.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I’m always looking for talented Producers, Writers, and Cinematographers to collaborate with. Anyone who shares the same vision and who values the same stories I want to tell. Someone who can really help push an idea over the finish line.
Most of the projects I work on lean into dark, gritty- dramas or grounded coming-of-age stories. Mostly character studies within the structure of the rise and fall of the hero. When I can, I also love to write in the crime/thriller genre from the perspective of an anti-hero. The stories I gravitate toward and the movies/TV shows I wish I made are:
American Beauty, Boyhood, Almost Famous, Dallas Buyers Club, Her, Pretty Woman, Lord Of The Rings, The Wrestler, Silver Linings Playbook, American Psycho, Goodfellas, Snow Piercer, Little Mrs. Sunshine, Master And Commander, Watchmen, The Pursuit Of Happyness, LaLa Land, The Dark Knight, No Country For Old Men, Indiana Jones, The Social Network, About Time, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Prisoners, Django Unchained, Zodiac, Margin Call, Fight Club, Gone Girl, Nightcrawler…
Succession, Euphoria, Chernobyl, Game Of Thrones, Mind Hunter, House Of Cards, Love Death And Robots, True Detective, The Queen’s Gambit, American Crime Story, Hannibal, The Dropout, Black Mirror, The Stairs, and Narcos … Just to name a few.
That said, the more projects I develop, the more I sneak in a few comedies here and there that have a lot of heart.
I look forward to working with as many talented creatives and producers as possible and leaving a lasting legacy in the world of cinema!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.david-mazur.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david.c.mazur/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMc8DD5Wx2UMzLK76cBMhXA
- Other: https://vimeo.com/user221490212
Image Credits
Isaak Morin
