about dan
Daniel Finley (he/him) is a Thai-American designer and animator, born and raised in Wisconsin, educated in New York City, and now based in Seattle. He loves telling stories as a motion designer, comics artist, and author. In his sordid past, he’s been known as a New York Times featured filmmaker, a published/award-winning writer, and a photographer inducted into Nikon’s Emerging Photographer Hall of Fame.
On the Meyer-Briggs personality test, Dan is an INTJ-A. You can read more about what that means here.
Contact: dannyjive@gmail.com
when dan isn't chained to his desk he is:
Walking his dogs
Writing Sci-Fi/Horror Novels
Taking landscape photos
Dan uses a Toyo 45 A2 with Ilford HP5, black and white film which he develops at home. He develops with a Stearman Press SP-455 developing tank and uses Kodak D76 developer (He prefers Rodinal but it’s getting hard to find).
Reading memoir comics
Some of his current favorites are Eleanor Davis’ You and a Bike and a Road, Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese, Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do, Jame Kolchalka’s American Elf.
testimonials
“Daniel’s work is very deliberate and thoughtful. It’s fresh, impactful and makes me smile. I note that Dan shoots with a filmmaker’s eye which in my opinion, gives him an edge.”
“Personally, I have worked with Daniel as a director and writer and can testify to his commitment to his craft and his determination to do only his best work.”
“Daniel has an incredible command of his craft and has a proven talent in writing, producing, and directing. I’ve watched as he has improved an idea, putting that final element of ‘pop’ on a piece that we didn’t think we could take any further. He’s not just creative, but also extremely reliable and well prepared. A very rare find in my experience.”
“Daniel was a pleasure to work with; he took last minute changes in stride and still delivered a quality product within looming deadlines. His openness to other people’s opinions and ideas added to a smooth development process and created an outstanding piece of work. His level of professionalism, creativity, skills, and speed helped make our project a success.”
“Daniel’s work ethic is of a very high standard. His performance and his attitude in handling changes have been excellent. Companies often have difficulties seeking the right talent for their organizations. I would recommend Daniel to any company.”
“Again, it was a pleasure working with you, and I can say that you’ve been the most professional and pleasant director that I’ve ever worked with. I loved how you gave us freedom to act the way we felt was best, but at the same time you directed us to get the best results.”
“Daniel is a professional committed to excellence in filmmaking and is often modest in his assessment of his own abilities. He’s a pleasure to work with.”
“I’ve found Daniel to be very insightful and a pleasure to work with. He establishes a relaxed and laid-back environment, but remains focused and diligent. He has an eye for talent and a keen sense of what does or doesn’t work, and his diverse expertise covers all aspects of the filmmaking process, from the script all the way to hands-on production. He loves making films—you can see it in his enthusiastic work ethic.”