(upbeat music) - Casey is just so run and gun. - So four minutes till the movie's done, and I don't even know what the rest is. - The editing here is like
what really makes this pop. - It's one of the things that
makes him special is contrast. - It's so stylized and cool to watch. (light music) - Jackie, you picked out today's video. This is Casey Neistat. You wanna tell us what
we're about to watch here? - This is basically a
producer's nightmare, which is why I love it so much. That's Jackie Wegwerth,
the production manager for Daniel Thrasher.
- Bazinga. - It just makes me anxious, you know, whenever we have an idea
on our team, you know, I like to sit down, I like
to plan, I like to delegate. Casey is a one-man show. He has an idea and he just runs with it. And it works because it's
that authentic sort of video that just really clicks
with the YouTube audience. So I'm so excited to show you guys. Let's dive in. Not to stop it so soon. The other thing I wanna point out is that this is a sponsored video. The fact that this is
so popular, so engaging, and it's an ad is such a feat in itself. - I Also love, it's so slow. The whole first bit, no sound, no music. It's like an unboxing
video with some jump cuts. No talking, no dialogue. He just takes out a wristband. - He just runs. - And I would say that's
classic filmmaking where you show, don't tell. - That's Mark Celestino. He worked at Buzzfeed before he moved over to "Watcher" as an in-house director. - And it'll let us know that
you guys want to communicate. - I've worked plenty with
brands where they're very, some brands are very finicky with like how you word certain messaging. It has to be very specific. So to have a content creator
that they just fully trust to do something like this is amazing. - The message on the box
is like life is a sport. That's like Casey Neistat's whole thing. - This is Chance Nichols. He's a writer for some
of the biggest YouTubers on the platform, and he also
makes some of his own videos. - On your phone too much.
You're too distracted at work. (objects crashing) - Let's keep going. Oh, by the way, we have
to just call this out. He's setting up at second 10 the visual meme of the video. This shot of him in the lower third running from left to right. The first time We see that
shot is 10 seconds in, and there he goes. And we don't know it yet, but
that's about to become this. - That's the setup for it. - Reincorporated moment
throughout the entire video where we see him running in the
bottom third, left to right. - Nike asked me to make a movie. - Yes.
- Oh yeah. - It's not a video or
whatever. It's a movie. That's how he sees his
creation, which is cool. - Scrolling credits. It's a movie. - Yeah. - What makes Casey extraordinary? I think he's really good at
understanding when to use music. And so right as you're reading this, instead of making their movie, I spent the entire budget
traveling around the world. Literally, when I get to the phrase, traveling around the
world, (mimics drums), and it's right when I'm
reading that in my mind. The millisecond that that music
comes in is so intentional. It comes in at exactly the right moment to juice our anticipation and excitement. - We'll definitely make this flight, but we're cutting it close. So far the trip is off to a
fairly irresponsible start. (suspenseful music) - So again, producer's nightmare, running late for the flight. You know, he doesn't storyboard,
he doesn't script it. - What? When you're telling a story to camera, do you write out a paragraph of what you're gonna say?
- No, never ever. - As he's traveling, he knows, okay, maybe thematically I
want to get this shot. I could do all these match cuts. But yeah, it's really all
very natural and candid. - Yeah.
- Yeah. Which is like I think a
quintessential YouTube thing, because I always say that
a creator's YouTube channel is an extension of themself. My first job was writing
for a late night talk show. It was in the Midwest. It was
called "The Mystery Hour." And we would do shoots
like this all the time. All right, run into the Best Buy and do, like just quick, just make it quick. Like don't look, like just look down. Like I have the camera down here. - It's actually ladies' night, so if you don't have any
ladies I can't let you in here. - Really?
- Yeah. - And that's just such an
exciting way to make stuff, and I wish I still did
more stuff like that. But yeah, there's
something about like, oh, we're not really supposed to be here. That's fun, and I think that's part of what makes a lot of his
videos really interesting, is there's this feeling I get constantly, which is watching his videos, which is I shouldn't be seeing this. He was shooting airport stuff, really before you saw a
lot of airport footage on YouTube channels. - How you doing? - It's like he's got a camera in a place that he shouldn't have a camera. And he should not be
broadcasting this to me, but I get to see it. (relaxed music) He's I think the one who made
the like travel airport vibe with the techno music
like really exciting. Like now sometimes when
I'm going through security, I listen to like deep house and it makes me feel like
I'm in a Casey Neistat video. It's because like he built that, he made it feel that way, you know, with these types of shots
in that run and gun style. Watch him here. ♪ I'm trying to learn how
to keep my mind in check ♪ (hypnotic music) Classic Indiana Jones shot. - Got to Paris. It's 17
degrees outside the airport. - There's the running shot. - Welcome to Cairo. - He didn't set up Cairo with
like a Egypt lower third. He caught the taxi driver saying, well, and that's all, you know
exactly where you are now. - All in all, very successful. We visited (muffled speaking). - I'm glad you pointed that out, because if you notice how
people respond to them when they're filming just out in the wild, no one seems to be uncomfortable. And I do believe that is part
of how you approach people or how you film. - We had Casey on the
show a little while ago. And one of the things he
mentioned is when he films, he often holds the camera here
if he's talking to somebody. A lot of people hold the camera
here and look at the camera, and he holds it here
and talks to the person. And sometimes he even
intentionally tilts the camera so that the viewer knows
that he's paying attention to the person he's talking to, not paying attention to the camera. Because he wants people to have that sense that like they're a fly on the wall. - I can still hold the
camera side of my head perfectly steady, but I need the audience to know. It's a way of letting the audience know that I'm not paying
attention to the camera. - Wow, his focus is with
the other human in the room, not the audience. He's like very intentional about that. - And so different from how
so many things are nowadays. On like TikTok, everyone's
holding their phone in front of their face,
and it just disconnects you from the person you're talking to. So he's able to like
maintain those connections by changing up how he's
shooting these interactions. - Where we rode horses.
And Max was off his. (people laughing) (upbeat music) - Okay, that's the first moment where you start to like feel
the time passing, right? It's like those quick cuts
to all the airplane food. And you're like, oh, he's
taken like 30 flights now. And I think he does a really good job of like pacing throughout
this video, right? That first, you know, minute and a half he visits Paris and Cairo. And then the pacing starts to
pick up and we're like, oh, he's going all over the place now. It keeps you interested because it doesn't just feel
like there's kind of one thing, next thing, next thing. It's not predictable. It's
like acceleration, you know? - Definitely, especially since he opened with it took 10 days to
run outta the budget. and so it starts slow. You're like, okay, yeah, he went to Paris. You could do that in 10 days. Oh, Cairo. Okay, well, that's
just down a little bit. And then he just keeps traveling, and it's amping up the pace
and you're like, oh my God, how many places is he
gonna go to in 10 days? - And on top of that, I do love the copy that he chooses to like,
that inspires people, that also brings it back
somehow to the brand messaging. - Right. - And I thought that
was like very organic. - Now, there's no way to know
this. It's just speculation. But do you think that he had in his mind that he was going to
interject all these quotes throughout it? Or do you think that's something that came in the
post-process where he's like, I feel like it needs something and sort of to take it to the next level. He found all these quotes
and threw them in there. - I think the latter, because, for me, if I was gonna
put copy on purpose, I would create shots, empty
space for those copy, right? But if you notice where he puts the copy, it's just on random shots. - True.
- Just a guess. (relaxed music) - Okay, that's the first
shot where we see the running kind of go all the way
across the screen, right? - Match cuts.
- Yeah. - So there's this match cut
of him turning his head. - Yes. - There. See that?
- Yes. Let's watch that. That's beautiful. See that has to be, I don't think that was planned. That's just good editing. I'm guessing he is only
turning to the right 'cause he's probably right-handed. That's just natural.
- Yeah, it feels natural. It doesn't feel like,
you know, Max is there, like, oh, turn around. It seems like he probably
hollers up at him, and it's just a natural oh, what? - We gotta get the turnaround shot, quick. - Yeah. No, yeah. - To me the editing here is like what really makes this pop. - Yes. Yes, it's so much eye candy. If Ryan Trahan and 30 Rock
are packing it with jokes, Neistat is editing his videos, or is is packing his videos
with editing prowess, right? He's just like, and this cool edit and that amazing edit
and this stop-mo thing. And it's fun to watch. It's eye candy. - And there's so little like
dialogue or explanation. Like it's the minimal amount to be able to give just enough context to keep the story pumping forward, which is a cool way,
and it's very his style of like creating movies as he calls them. - Right.
- Right. - Once again, show, don't tell. - That's the motto. - (muffled speaking) to
the fasten seatbelt sign. - We're in Johannesburg,
South Africa right now. Just got to Zambia. (upbeat music) - There's the running
shot again. More running. - Just quotes, just filling
it with just quotes. - Now I think the running
theme really comes into play. - This is the moment where in
my mind it ties it back to, oh yeah, this is for Nike. Oh yeah. This is like about
active and like making it count. It's like before you're
like, he's on an adventure. And now it's like bringing
back in the brand, but subtly; it's like you're not being
annoyed and like, oh yeah, this is an ad and turning it off. You're still like, where's he going next? And still engaged with it. - Boy, this may be a bit abstract, but I feel like Casey, his
planning is probably not, is very different from Michel Gondry. Instead of thinking second by second, it's almost like Casey's
thinking of like themes, like the feeling of like fucking up, like the slipping and the
being late for the airport, like being behind schedule. And then the editing is what
organizes all those themes into something that like
makes sense and is cohesive. But it's just like a
different way of planning. It's a planning around concepts and ideas versus second-by-second
breakdown storyboards. - Yeah, the concept of
Nike: running, movement, he has both literal running and then just being in an airport, which feels, even if you're
standing still at like security, the whole vibe of an airport
feels like go, go, go, go. Get there, get there, get there. So like so much airport footage interspliced with so much running footage and driving footage. It's all the same idea, but just presented in different ways. - Right.
- Yeah. - Full running shot, lower third. - Jumping off an elephant. - And he just keeps going. - Skating, planes. - Also, like all the
footage is shaky, right? It's all handheld, shaky
wind, you know, foam filters. - All of the street signs are
written in squiggly lines. Isn't that what any letter is? Flight boards two minutes ago. We're in Bangkok. We have a terrible taxi
driver, (indistinct). - It's so funny because it's like he's
in stressful situations. He's like, oh, our flight
boarded two minutes ago. It's like I would be panicking. I'd be like, we're not gonna get there. We're gonna be stuck in South Africa. Like what are we doing next? But it's like, I don't know,
his demeanor is like so calm and the video is like, like you feel like it's gonna be okay, and you're still on the journey. Yeah, the feeling is incredible. - Yeah. It's fascinating what
confidence and money can do. Like Casey is an extremely confident man, and then also he has a budget. So like the idea of
missing a flight is like, eh, no, no, it boarded
two minutes ago, whatever. It's like that's the cool guy
that you wish you could be, but you're like clutching
your carry-on bag. Like, oh goodness, my mom's
gonna be so mad if I'm late. He's like, eh, I'm going all
over the world on Nike's dime. It's such his vibe. And it's also, but it's just
a simple, it's a travel vlog. What we're watching is a
travel vlog essentially, but he's made it into something
that's like, I don't know, it's so stylized and cool to watch. - We forgot to eat today and
I've got the shakes real bad. - Love that. - This is the gnarliest
airplane food I've ever seen. Look at this wiener. - That looks fine to me. - That's so funny too, because it's such a
difference from all the other like travel vloggers, influencers you see, where they put together
this like perfect picture of like, look what I'm eating, I'm here. Like life is perfect. And he's like, oh, like
this hot dog is like jank. It's just so funny and so real. - Yeah, it's also interesting from like a story standpoint, the fact that we really
only see him stopping, or the movement isn't being
shown as it when he's eating. He stops to eat.
- And the plane. Yeah. - Yeah, the plane stopping, 'cause, oh, all right, I'm shaking. I gotta slow down here for a second. Eat it. Good. Now onto the next thing. - Yeah. Refueled, ready to go. - Oh, it's so hardcore. What's inspiring about this is not that everything is working; it's that some stuff works
and some stuff doesn't, just like the rest of us. That's what's inspiring about it. And he shows the full
range of human emotion and existence in this video, right? That shitty airplane food to running next to the pyramids of Cairo. Like it's like you get
the highs and the lows, and it just, I dunno, for me at least, it makes it all feel okay. It makes it feel all worth it, you know, which is an inspiring feeling. - Just trying to make it count. - Exactly.
- Life's a sport. - All right, we're out of
time here, so let's finish. I think this is maybe
a great place to stop 'cause this shot is so epic. - Wow. Geez. - Music cuts. So much anticipation.
- Good editing. - The sound is so good. - You think that's wind and water? - And he really-
- Interrupts it. Yeah. - He really holds that drop. - So I was looking at, is that a boat? - It's like like a sunken house. (water rushing) - I love that sound, again. - The way that he throws
on the brakes there, where it's like in the
time that it took for him to run up to the edge, jump off, and then eventually hit the water, the rest of the video
basically has happened. Like we've seen 40 shots, and in the same time that it took him to do that one slow, deliberate, but still moving forward,
moving down, falling, but the momentum somehow
still felt just as present, which is a really cool,
like you said, good editing. Breaking it up in the middle, that was just a really
masterfully done thing. - What's really cool visually
too is the whole video we're used to seeing him run horizontally, and suddenly he's falling vertically. So that change in
perspective is really great. - I feel like that's one of the things that makes him special is contrast. Like the pacing dramatically shifts in those 45 seconds, right? The time slows down to nothing. And his introduction of like
variance in so many elements, pacing, the range of life contrast between the highs and the lows: missing a flight, being nervous. 'Cause, you know, being hungry and shaking versus like having these
amazing experiences. This idea of contrast, he's so good at just like creating
variance through the film to keep it always fresh
and new and exciting. - Yeah. Guys, I feel like we could, we're not even finished with this video. We're only three minutes in.
- So much more to say. - There's so much more to say about it, and we're out of time, so we gotta cut. But this was so awesome. I mean, thank you so much for coming in and sharing your wisdom
and thoughts with us today. So cool to hear how you
think about this stuff and really appreciate
you guys taking the time. - Yeah, thank you.
- Thank you. - Okay, cool. And we will see you next
time on "Digital Spaghetti." Hope you enjoyed the episode. Adios, howdy, goodbye, arrivederci-
- Ciao. - Ciao. (relaxed music)
