Casey Neistat is a film producer, director and writer.
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» All Scriptwriter InterviewsI'm the co-founder of Beme and a YouTuber! I've produced two feature films, wrote and directed an HBO series and created a number of short films for the New York Times. In early 2014 my focus shifted to creating a platform that enabled users to share their experiences and perspective via video without the burden of having to create a video.
Here's proof! And here's my Formative Moment.
Yo Casey!
One question, an annoying one:
Beme! Android! When?!
hi! Beme is there on Android. We have hundreds of users on Beme on Android in the wild. Matthew our Android lead is a tremendous engineer and he's been killing it. BUT our iOS app is still in beta, still under construction in a major way. We roll out a new version every two weeks and are charging ahead on our product road map at full steam. Rather than have a beta product out there on two platforms we are keeping it public only on iOS until we pull it out of beta then we'll launch Android.
Has user adoption at BeMe met, exceeded, or fallen short of your and Matt's projections? How much do you attribute the growth of the platform to your independent success and visibility as a web-celebrity?
It's doing well for a beta product. The crazy launch was a result of my visibility and social reach. The reason why I seldom talk about it on the Vlog now is because we want to see how people react to the product, not my marketing. What we are seeing now, in the absence of marketing, is hugely optimistic.
Your time-management skills never cease to amaze me. What's your absolute most important priority for each day?
Is there one constant? Or does it shift as/if needed?
Getting home at 6pm to give Francine a bath. That's number 1
What would you say is the most defining characteristic that distinguishes Beme from Snapchat?
great question! Snapchat is about creation, creating little snapsterpieces with video, filters, images and text. Beme is about sharing. Sharing is as passive as we could design; no review - no preview, no seeing what you're capturing, no manipulating. You see something and share it in it's purest form.
i do love snapchat, the stuff they're doing is amazing. especially lenses, puking rainbow will always be my favorite but the place these two products occupy in my brain is very different.
Will Dollar-Pizza ever make its return to the vlogs?
I hope not. That stuff is toxic
Sometimes your wife seems angry with the camera or maybe with your constant vlogging... is she happy with your vlog?
Yes! She's a huge supporter of the vlog, if she didn't she wouldn't appear. When I started she had no idea how to be or act (she also takes issue with how some folks act fake on youtube). We talked about this a lot. Eventually she got comfortable with just being herself. She's NOT a do-nothing person. She doesn't apologize for who she is and she certainly does not feel a need to smile or be cute because the camera is around. People misinterpret this and disapproval, the reality is this is just her being her. Candice is what honesty looks like and she doesn't give a shit if commenters take issue with that.
Do you think you can estimate how many dollars worth of equipment you have broken?
no idea.. too much ; )
What is Owen going to study in college?
He's currently interested in computer science. I hope that sticks but he's young and keeping an open mind is very important at that age.
Dear Casey,
Question about RUNNING: How did you progress into running more and more miles each time? How did you make your runs longer?
Thanks, huge fan!
I always give the same advice here. Focus on time. Minutes spent running. If you can run for 5 minutes without a break then start there. Push to ten, then 20 and so on. When running an hour feels easy buy a watch and pay attention to distance and speed. Good luck!!!
If you were to choose one of the three giveaway items available, as per your most recent youtube video, what would you choose and why?
Tough question!! That's why I picked them. They were the 3 best things i could think of. Certainly the camera is the most practical but the Boosted board is just so fun and that drone is incredible.. so I don't know. for all who have no idea what i'm talking about-> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYqE8dSiXJE
As a big cyclist myself, I'm curious, what's the most you've ever biked in one day? If you can run dozens of miles regularly and enjoy biking I feel like you'd be a great endurance cyclist too. P.s. my record is 151 miles :)
Probably close to that. I've done 4 Ironman Triathlons. They include a 112 mile cycle portion. Training for those races included some serious distance
Why canon over nikon?
I have no loyalty to Canon. I mostly use their gear (which generally is great!) because it's easier to use hardware from one manufacturer. My 7D batteries work in my 70D and my 5D, my lenses fit on all my bodies etc. I don't know much about Nikon or Sony but I am sure they make quality cameras.
Tips on waking up early and being productive at that time?
Mornings are such a productive time of the day. I hate getting up just like everyone else but sleeping in always makes my days feel rushed and short. It's never easy though!!
Hey Casey, your vlogs are sick and I've been wondering what's a normal run week look like for you and how many times do you hit the gym to allow yourself to not use your feet as much?
I try to run 6x a week. Depending on my training schedule 55-75 miles. I go to the gym 4 or 5 times. I hate the gym but feel weak when i skip it. We recently installed a pull up bar here at Beme HQ, that makes me happy !!
What are your thoughts on soylent, huel, joylent etc? Seems like they'd be right up your street in terms of sorting your diet out and stretching out every useable second of the day?
(I've been using huel for a while and its totally changed my life)
Some of the team here at Beme used Soylent for a few days. It did not go well. They all got angry and irritable. It was funny. Sometimes I will go on a strict raw vegan regiment. I love the way it makes me feel but it's too expensive to maintain.
Will this AMA be in the Vlog?
No. Text + Video is a hard sell ; )
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I tried to be super clear in the vlog. It's something talk about, not much more. Any move would be years off.
WILL BEME HAVE A SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL?
No. Beme will not have a Superbowl commercial. Alternatively the Superbowl will not be advertising on Beme... so their loss really.
Casey, what did you spend your HBO check on?
Started a production company with my former partner and my brother. That's what we did in the years after selling the show. Eventually my partner and my brother pursued other interests and I transitioned what was left of that company into my own production company which was what I did right up until starting Beme.
Hey Casey,
I know that you're always looking for ways to grow and improve, but at what point in your life did you realize that you made it and all the risks that you took paid off?
I am not there yet, that's for sure
How do you feel vloging daily has helped or hurt your career?
It's matured my own understanding of the media landscape in a way I could have never imagined. It's also made me a much much better filmmaker. As far as my career as a YouTuber.. much more difficult to assess. The main focus of my career is running Beme, not YouTube. I am not pursuing television or movie deals, not going after branded content or ad deals and not being proactive in exploiting all that comes along with a successful YouTube channel.. except, of course, if it benefits Beme.
I think I will be much better suited to answer this question in a few years.