Casey Makes It Count

It seems that Casey Neistat never sleeps. It was only the other day that he was tweeting about drinking a “disgusting amount of coffee” and posting pictures of energy drinks at 1.46am while on set. Of course, these entries from his social media feed meant that he was working on something to add to his bulk of entertaining and often fascinating online videos. The latest, a teaser for Nike’s current Make It Count campaign, was uploaded this week, and it’s another commendable effort from the man.

“I really like the teaser video,” says Neistat, repped by HSI for commercials. “The brief was brief: make something that will get folks from all walks excited about a product we can't mention – so there was nothing to sell but an idea. The copy was tricky; we (Nike and my team) shot about a dozen iterations before landing on the final and in the end I thought a tone, an energy, would be enough to get people pumped.”

The product that the brand couldn’t mention was finally announced yesterday after weeks of speculation and build-up to the all-important 19 January date. It came from the running arm of the firm, and is a new device that takes the Nike+ running wristband to the next level. Nike FuelBand will measure calories, distance and steps allowing users to ‘earn fuel’ no matter what the activity.

While we doubt the sports brand condones heavy caffeine intake, we can definitely see why it chose Neistat to shoot the teaser campaign. After all, New York is his playground and making moves is what he does.

“The principal shoot was one day, but every time there was a change in the copy we had to hit the streets as all of the titles were filmed optically, none in post,” reveals the director and artist. “Getting a cab driver to let us write a title on his car in permanent black oil paint was interesting. Anytime you go outside in NYC with a camera something interesting happens and this shoot was no different.”

As well as shooting intriguing campaign ads for the innovative sports brand, Neistat wrote, edited, directed and stars in a HBO show with his brother, Van. Filmed in 2008, the series follows the two and is currently airing on the channel and on demand via HBO Go).

“It was a great experience and the last project I did with my brother before he moved to LA and we started working independently,” explains Neistat, who also reveals that the series is the body of work he’s most proud of. “The show's called The Neistat Brothers and it’s an evolution of the short films Van and I made together. The subject matter is more focused on us but the style and tone maintains the feel of all our other work.”

His assortment of videos is definitely a must-see for directing enthusiasts or general film lovers. But where do his ideas for shooting come from, and what inspires the man to do what he does?

“Inspiration is a tricky word. It's more of a mandate, I feel obliged to make films on all kinds of stuff and whatever occurs to me,” he ponders. “It's never a whimsical moment of inspiration. It's more like, fuck... that guy’s being such a dick – I need to make a movie about that.”

One example is the film he made about bike lanes in New York last year. It may be the piece of work with the most views, but he doesn’t think it’s his best and there’s countless just as good, if not better on his YouTube Channel (Be warned, you may be there for a while).

If he wasn’t a director, Neistat claims he’d be homeless in a half-serious, half-joking way. He does have to make money, and despite making films for his own creative entertainment and enjoyment (as well as for his thousands of fans) he holds a respect for advertising and making commercials.

“A lot of the folks I’ve met through ad work end up working with me on personal stuff... so that's great. But really the best part, and I say this not in a crass way, is getting paid to do what you love. It's a validation that what you do has value and that elicits a certain pride in me,” says the director. “When I get hired to make a spot, I take it on as a challenge to make something that exceeds everyone’s expectations. There are no expectations for my own work. No one's watching. Advertising is the opposite and I find motivation in all of that.”

So with the new FuelBand finally out there, we wondered what product would make his life easier, if a company was going to make it for him? “A pill to replace food... Replace sleep... I’m a fan of anything that makes it easier for me to work.” And how will he be ‘#makingitcount’ in 2012? “The same way I did in 2011 and every year before that; do more, run faster, jump higher, reach further. The day I slow down is when I stop making it count.