Danny Farber talks about being a director and filmmaker in the vertical drama space

Director Danny Farber. Photo Credit: Shashi Mostafa.

Danny Farber chatted about being a filmmaker and director in the digital age, especially in the vertical drama space.

Daily motivations

On his daily motivations as a filmmaker and director, Farbe said, “I think there’s a lot of really creative things happening  on social media. There is a ton of new talent that is constantly coming up that has been really cool to see such as Brooklyn Coffee Shop, which is a serialized short-form video content.”

“Also, I am inspired by shows such as ‘The Ick,’ which is filmed in different locations. Every time it comes on my feed, it feels like a two-minute TV show,” he added.

The digital age

On being a part of the digital age, Farber said, “That’s all I know. I love it, but I’m a YouTube kid. I am happy to have found a career and an audience on the Internet , especially in making vertical films.”

“It has been just a total blessing,” he admitted. “I think there’s also a really nice one-to-one relationship you can have with an audience.”

“I think at the highest level, most recently, we saw it with Justin Bieber at Coachella. I thought that was so cool. He had this one-to-one direct relationship with his fan-base,” he elaborated.

“Overall, I think there are many benefits being a part of the digital age,” he added.

Vertical drama space

Farber opened up about being a part of the vertical drama world. “I love the vertical drama community,” he exclaimed. “I love the actors, the actresses, the writers, the producers, and the other directors… it feels like we are in this new Gilded Age of Hollywood.”

“It’s cool to be globally recognized and to work consistently, but also to see so many talented and wonderful people get their chance to make a name for themselves and own their craft is also very cool,” he elaborated.

Plans for the future

Regarding his future plans, Farber shared, “In the future moving forward, I think I would love to find a way to make safe, short-form digital content for teens and tweens.”

Farber continued, “Growing up, I loved shows such as ‘Boy Meets World,’ ‘Drake & Josh’ and ‘iCarly.’ I hope we can build programming for kids because they are already watching TV on their phones. What would that ecosystem look like?”

“It’s about finding ways to implement decent jokes and good morals with the same programming to meet kids where they are at vs. where we used to operate,” he noted.

“I would love to help be instrumental in that work,” he added.

Career-defining moments

On his career-defining moments, he shared, “I think it’s such an interesting journey to be on. I think every day is filled with hundreds of choices and moments as a director. So, every moment is a moment that defines me.”

“There are stressful moments, there are happy moments, there are impressive moments, and there are overwhelming moments. I think it’s a combination of bigger picture, especially looking at a day and realizing that I’ve interacted well with 300 people,” he elaborated.

“The moments that keep me up are the three or four interactions where I didn’t do my best social work as a human… I feel I could have done better there,” he added.

Advice for young and aspiring actors and filmmakers

For young and emerging actors and filmmakers, he said, “Just go after it. Keep making things. Your next thing should be your best thing and your best thing should be your last thing.”

“Keep making things and always be consistent. Consistency doesn’t always look like showing up at 100 percent, being consistent means just showing up. So do what you can to keep putting your other foot forward and keep putting yourself out there,” he explained.

Danny Farber on actor Jake Galluccio

On working with actor Jake Galluccio, Farber remarked, “I love Jake! Working with him is great! Jake and I have done two projects together. He is really kind and sweet. I worked with him really early in his career.”

“Ironically enough, we picked back up in another project a couple of weeks ago. He has grown so much as an actor and as a performer. It is really cool to see his journey as a man,” Farber noted.

“I know Jake is engaged now, and as an artist, he can get to these emotionally deep places, where perhaps, a year and a half earlier, I don’t know if he had that instrument flexed just yet. It is great to see Jake doing many great things,” he added.

Success

On his definition of success, Farber said, “For me, success has many different shapes. Most recently, success has been the choice of which opportunity to pursue.”

“It feels privileged to say that, but I’m really thankful for having opportunities ahead of me and a good team that I can rely on that wants to help steer my career in specific directions,” he elaborated.

“For me, having success is being able to choose which lane I want to go down,” he added.

Message for his fans

For his fans and supporters, Farber expressed, “Thanks so much for watching everything that I do, and for supporting my music and acting career while watching my verticals. I love it when people use the hashtag #DirectedByDannyFarber. It’s just an easy way to like help find my work and get the work out there.”

“Thank you for always being kind, honest, and for giving a spotlight and a praise to not just myself, but like entire production when we’re working on these projects,” he concluded.

To learn more about director and filmmaker Danny Farber, follow him on Instagram.