Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawan Malik.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dawan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in Atlanta. I graduated from Benjamin E. Mays High School in 2000. After graduation, I wanted to attend film or music school, as those areas were my passions since the age of nine. Unfortunately, my parents forbid it, citing I wouldn’t be able to get a job. So, they made me attend Tuskegee University (TU), as it was the alma mater for most of my family including my grandparents. There wasn’t a film program there, so I decided to major in Mechanical Engineering. While attending TU, I became the Drum Major in the marching band as a sophomore and became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. However, in my spare time, I worked on my personal film and music projects.
After graduation, I still followed my parent’s advice and accepted a prestigious job at Jones Lang LaSalle as a Project Manager in Atlanta. For over 11 years, I held various positions within Project Management in the Global Commercial Real Estate Industry. However, I was very unhappy despite having great jobs, traveling the world, and making a great salary. Just like in college, I was working on various film and writing projects in my spare time. Eventually, I realized I needed to follow my true passions. Eventually, I quit my job after and getting hired for various small productions over the years to focus fully on my film career.
In 2012, I started getting requests to produce small film productions and was even approached by networks like MTV, TruTv, and Discovery Networks due to some of the content I was releasing on YouTube. I was a design contestant on a reality show in 2014 on TruTV “Motor City Masters”. Since 2012, I have experience in writing original scripts and treatments for films, commercials, music videos and television programming, including sitcoms, and reality shows.
Since 2013, I’ve mainly produced, written, and directed film & video content for various sports marketing companies, professional athletes and coaches in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, PGA, ATP, NCAA, NASCAR, WPSL, MLL and NFHL. I have also produced content for Sprite, Boys & Girls Club, Adidas, Nike, Citi Card, 53 Bank, Procter & Gamble, Gillette, and many music celebrities.
In 2018, I wrote and directed my first scripted series Pilot “Bird in The Hand,” which will be released late November 2019. In addition, in August 2019 my first full-length feature film was recognized and partially funded by Invest Atlanta- Creative’s Invest Fund. That project will begin filming in March 2020.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been a lot of obstacles along the way. Trying to replace a high 6 figure salary, growing my business, and dealing with high profile clients were difficult. In addition, I would get hired a lot for small productions and the opportunities for larger projects was very difficult.
Noise Global Media – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Noise Global Media is an intra-disciplinary media company that creates and produces films, television, documentaries, commercials, digital & corporate content, brand partnerships, experimental installations, graphic and interactive design, on any and all platforms.
We are not just a production company. Nor are we just a television studio. Noise is a creative incubator. We collaborate with others to create all things visual. At our very core we are collaborators. We are a community of artists, directors, producers, coders, thinkers, writers, engineers, and problem solvers.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment thus far is producing my first Pilot TV show which is set for release in November 2019.
Contact Info:
- Website: noiseglobalmedia.com
- Email: dawan@noiseglobalmedia.com
- Instagram: dawanmalikfilms
Image Credit:
Chris Montgomery
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