Professional Profile:
David Lazan, Art Director
The son of a director of
photography, David Lazan
grew up around the film busi-
ness. Instead of following in
his father's footsteps, his goal
was to become a doctor. For
two years he studied psychobi-
ology at UCLA before realizing
he was on the wrong career
path. He decided to instead
pursue his artistic inclinations
and transferred to Arizona
State, where he earned a bache-
lor's degree in architecture and
industrial design.
Lazan returned to Los
Angeles in 1989 with the inten-
tion of earning money to finish
his design portfolio. At the time, his father was working on a Spanish
children's television series. Lazan interviewed for an assistant art director
position with the show and was hired on.
His early exposure to the film industry had come through cameramen,
grips, and gaffers. The design aspect of filmmaking that he discovered
in the art department had never occurred to him. Lazan realized he
enjoyed the work and that he was good at it, and went on to assistant art
director for the movie The Linguini Incident. During filming, he connected
with production designer Marcia Hinds, who hired him to work with her
on Paradise.
After gaining some experi-
ence art directing commer-
cials, Lazan landed his first
feature as an art director on
the film Candyman. The pro-
duction designer, Jane Ann
Stewart, later hired him to
art direct the series Love, Cheat
& Steal. His association with
production designer Howard
Cumming yielded work on the
television movie Indictment:
What do you like
least about your job?
"I dislike the disorganiza-
tion of the decision
making process. It
could be more efficient.
Also, going job to job is
very difficult. You're a salesman your whole
life. You're selling yourself on a new job
every time. You're an independent contrac-
tor, so you're always looking for a new
job."--David Lazan
What do you love most
about your job?
"I love that every job is different: new people,
new situations, new designs, and new prob-
lems to solve."--David Lazan
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
"It's important to
me to work with people I
like and respect, because
you work so closely with
them. You want to learn
from them, but it's also up to you to learn,
meaning you don't rely on everyone else for
your experience and knowledge. You have to
go and get it by asking questions, figuring
things out, and researching."--David Lazan
CAREER TIPS
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