**HOW TO VLOG LIKE CASEY NEISTAT by CASEY NEISTAT โ€” Transcript & Summary | SozAI** Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/how-to-vlog-like-casey-neistat/ Casey Neistat explains his vlogging method: treating daily life as a three-act story, mixing handheld and locked-off shots, using the best available camera, stabilizing footage, and using time-lapses ## Key Takeaways - Treat daily vlogs as short movies with narrative structure rather than journals of everyday events. - Balance static and handheld shots to orient viewers while keeping energy. - Use the best camera available and prioritize stable, purposeful footage. - Use time-lapses and drones only when they add narrative or contextual value. ## What the video covers - Video opens with Casey complaining about New York's rainy June weather, which leads into the main topic. - He recounts vlogging history, starting in March 2015, and contrasts it with earlier point-and-shoot diary-style vlogs. - His HBO series with his brother Van (2008, aired 2010) influenced his approach of stringing short story vignettes together. - A Belgium trip test in 2015 using movie-like cinematography inspired him to start daily vlogging on his birthday that year. - Core principle: every episode should follow a three-act narrative (setup, conflict, resolution), not simply record the day. - He balances locked-off tripod shots (establishing context) with handheld shots (conveying spontaneity). - Rule for hardware: use the best camera available, whether a 4K cinema camera, phone, or point-and-shoot. - Keep footage steady; shaky, nonsensical footage is discarded because it hurts viewer experience and editing. - Time-lapses and drone shots should serve a purpose: transitions between scenes or showing broader context, not just for their own sake. - Be original; authentic personal perspective is what makes YouTubers succeed. ## Chapters 1. 00:00 Intro: Rainy June Weather Complaints 2. 02:10 Introducing the Vlogging Guide and Vlogging History 3. 03:10 From HBO Series to Daily Vlogging 4. 03:56 The Belgium Experiment and Decision to Start Daily Vlogs 5. 05:00 Foundational Principle: Three-Act Story Structure 6. 05:52 Handheld vs. Locked-Off Shots 7. 06:22 Hardware: Use the Best Camera Available 8. 07:22 Cinematography: Stabilize and Use Time-Lapses and Drones Purposefully 9. 11:00 Being Original and Closing Thoughts Answers ## Questions about this video What is the main storytelling framework Casey Neistat uses for his vlogs? He applies a three-act narrative structure to each episode: setup, conflict, and resolution. He notes that not every episode is this literal, but he aims for it to give each vlog a satisfying arc. How does Casey decide which camera to use for his vlogs? His rule is to always use the best camera he has at his disposal. He uses a 4K camera with a wide lens for planned shots, his phone for runs, and a point-and-shoot in his backpack as a more dynamic backup. Why does Casey say time-lapses and drone shots need a purpose? He says viewers don't care about these shots by themselves, so they should either transition between scenes or give broader context about a location that a single camera angle can't capture. ## Full Transcript โ€” Download SRT & Markdown 00:01 Speaker A [Music] C hey little sister tears what is up with this weather June 6th summer should be here already nothing just the same cold rainy [ \_\_ ] every day these guys are good [Music] though nice work thank you man if you're 00:55 Speaker A a if you're a regular viewer of this show you know just how much my happiness and good mood and just general positivity is tied to the weather you'd also know that all winter long I've been waiting for summer 01:12 Speaker A [Music] [Music] [Music] I'm trying to illustrate a point here which is that it Reigns a disproportionate amount of days in New York City but as I'm making charts and then looking at the data I'm realizing it rains on average 11 to 15% of the 01:55 Speaker A days kind of making me feel like a little bit of a beat for complaining about it so much maybe I should have looked this up before I did this whole scene so with it pouring rain outside with it pouring rain outside 02:10 Speaker A today seems like an opportune day to make a video I've wanted to make for a very long time called I wanted to explain to you the audience exactly how I make my Vlogs like what I see as the recipe for 02:25 Speaker A creating these videos first a quick history lesson I started vlogging in March of 2015 now before I started vlogging vlogging was typically individuals carrying around like point and shoot cameras that were sort of documenting their day into a camera it 02:45 Speaker A was a much smaller genre back then and it was pretty linear day begins here day ends there come with me throughout my day I found the genre fascinating I was obsessed with like Ben Brown I was obsessed with fun for Louie I was 02:59 Speaker A obsessed with BF for versus GF Charles Trippy was great I think what fascinated me the most about the whole genre was the idea of using your your life as a narrative for a daily series now when I made my HBO series 03:13 Speaker A this is a series I did with my big brother van it was on HBO in 2010 we made it in 2008 that's 10 years ago my brother and I used our lives as a backdrop for a TV show but it wasn't so 03:23 Speaker A daily it wasn't so episodic instead we kind of plucked interestingness out of our Lives shared that interestingness as tiny little stories strung those stories together and called that a TV show episode so on one end of the spectrum 03:35 Speaker A we've got your daily vloggers in 2014 2015 sharing every aspect of their daily lives into a camera and on the other end of the spectrum we got this TV show that I made a decade ago where I share little 03:46 Speaker A stories from my lives as short movies so I went to Belgium in 2015 this is a month before I started vlogging and I wanted to test out one thing what would happen if I sort of vlogged about my 03:56 Speaker A trip but instead of talking into a camera I used really precise cinematography what would happen movie like cinematography but it was just me going about my daily life going into my hotel room coming out of my hotel [Music] 04:15 Speaker A [Music] room and I love that video that video worked you should watch it it's linked below and that got me super excited and that's when I made the decision that on on my birthday 2015 I would start daily 04:28 Speaker A vlogging it wouldn't be this all day long instead I wanted to figure out how to make something that felt a lot more like a movie every day so that was the thinking that's what went through my head prior to starting to 04:42 Speaker A Vlog so with that understanding here are the foundational principles that I apply to almost every episode of of this daily almost daily Vlog number one the most important thing is of course the story but what is the story here's a super 05:00 Speaker A basic breakdown of a story and every good story follows this rule that is the rule of a threea narrative you've got a beginning you've got a middle you've got an end setup conflict resolution Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a 05:12 Speaker A pill of Water Act One Jack fell down and broke his crown act two Jill came tumbling after act three setup conflict resolution now in some episodes that's super super super literal for example my all-time favorite episode that I've ever 05:27 Speaker A made of this Vlog which is called my all-time greatest is such a literal example of setup conflict resolution it just felt so good to make that there's a setup here's what happened there was a conflict oh my God 05:39 Speaker A what's the outcome going to be and then there was a resolution happy ending that's not always so literal in every episode but I strive for that in every episode because that is what's at the core of a well- told story and a story 05:52 Speaker A is what drives any video like this and that right there was sort of the promise or the deal that I made with myself was never an obligation to share with you the intimacies of every day of my life 06:04 Speaker A this isn't a journal but instead could I find every day in my life a three-act narrative to share now a couple of the more granular aspects I always found it kind of hard to watch non-stop shaky camera Vlogs it 06:21 Speaker A was disorienting it was always a little claustrophobic so so what I try to do is have an equal amount of handheld locked off shots locked off means on a tripod like this and then establishing shot the wide shots those establishing shots let 06:35 Speaker A you know where I am so it feels more like you're here with me these locked off shots let you the viewer forget about the camera for a second and focus on what I'm saying and the environment that I'm in and then the handheld shots 06:45 Speaker A like this enable you to sort of feel the spontaneity and the urgency that is whatever is taking place in my daily life Hardware as in what cameras I use I have a simple rule for when it comes to 06:56 Speaker A hardware and that is always use the very best camera you have at your disposal so right now I'm shooting this on my big camera I'm shooting in 4k with a nice wide lens this is a perfect shot I've 07:05 Speaker A got a light right there I'm trying to make myself look good this is the best I have right now but when I'm out running in the morning and I want to film my runs the best I have is my cell phone I 07:13 Speaker A keep a point and shoot in my backpack in case I don't have this big camera because the point shoot is a little bit more Dynamic than just the cell phone so I'm not beholden to any certain kind of 07:22 Speaker A Hardware or any certain quality of Hardware it's what I have access to cinematography part two hold the camera steady no one wants to watch super shaky cinematography it hurts your brain it's hard to see what's going on it's not 07:36 Speaker A pleasurable for for you the viewer and it's not easy for me the editor to put it together if it's super shaky if it's nonsensical it goes straight in the trash what's up Marlin I almost ched your pockets man 07:50 Speaker A I'm making a movie Marlin about how to make how I make my Vlogs really yeah like it's not so much a tutorial but it's a little bit of like I don't know ask of it I've never really shared right 08:01 Speaker A so you know what you should have done you should have S sat with me and um taught you sit with me and and teach me how to do it okay the next version of Casey ni stats vlogging Secrets will be 08:13 Speaker A with Marlin where going I teach him how to Vlog cinematography part three time lapses and and drones here's something very important no one gives a [ \_\_ ] about your stupid time lapses your stupid drone shots that's something I have to 08:27 Speaker A remind myself on a daily basis that kind of cinematography only works if it's serving a greater purpose and for me it serves two purposes one is Transitional so you'll notice sometimes like I'm outside wrapping up a scene where I'm 08:40 Speaker A doing something on my skateboard the next scene I'm in my studio doing something completely different and in between there might be a a beautiful drone shot of the city or might be a beautiful time lapse of the city I'm 08:50 Speaker A using it to get me from one scene or one aspect of the story to the next as that it's an incredibly effective tool the other place where it works is to show the audience a broader sort of a broader 09:01 Speaker A image of where you are and what's taking place in time drones in particular are great for that I'm at a hotel on a cool beach and it doesn't really work pointing my camera the Drone can give you context that otherwise 09:15 Speaker A [Music] [Applause] couldn't if that kind of ambitious beautiful cinematography doesn't have a relationship with the narrative even if it's just a little relationship it feels out of place and it gets boring very very fast now there is a lot more depth and 09:32 Speaker A complexity to it than that things like where does being positive all the time start to just sound like total BS where people don't believe it things like when I'm feeling down and I want to share with you the audience and I'm struggling 09:42 Speaker A with something how do I do that in a way that you actually care cuz we've all got our own problems why should I give a sh about yours things like consistent narratives and you know if I'm on a trip 09:51 Speaker A that's 5 days long how do I make a 5day episode Arc about essentially the same subject so there's a lot of depth to this but I hope that this serves as a good sort of introdu into some of the 10:01 Speaker A thinking that I've had as I do this Vlog I want to end this first kind of instructional sharing video by saying this probably the most important thing to succeeding whether it's in the Vlog game the YouTube game or in the creative 10:13 Speaker A space at all is this you have to have your own thing so if you follow this video perfectly and you make the most perfect Casey Vlogs you will have failed before you've begun they don't want to see your Casey Vlogs they want to see 10:23 Speaker A your your Vlogs they want to see what you can bring to the table my favorite thing in the world is seeing how YouTubers are able ble to iterate and build on other YouTubers Styles and sentiments and ideas until they make 10:35 Speaker A something that's uniquely theirs those are the YouTubers that really succeed so the most important rule is be original and that whole recipe that I just outlined that was what I thought I could uniquely bring to YouTube and help find 10:47 Speaker A success with it all right please let me know below if this is super interesting or absolutely fing Bor see I'm outside now this is the beginning of act three sorry if you remember but it all so unnecessary I don't know if you 11:09 Speaker A remember but in all the episodes where I talk about having gone to Afghanistan as a journalist and connecting with these par rescue jumpers there was one guy that I met who's been in this Vlog before named Roger Sparks 11:23 Speaker A oh okay that's Casey that's me that's Roger right there that's the man that's the PJ and there he is again that's Roger there this is an awesome plaque that that these guys made for me amazing guys Roger was a part of this amazing 11:42 Speaker A campaign to restore coral reefs they made a big movie about it that's the movie screening I'm going to tonight looks incredible going to show the support and to see this great movie [Music] is it the right place what's up man how you doing oh 12:13 Speaker A awesome Ro how you doing so you guys might remember Roger here this is Roger's big movie this is your big movie watch how humble he is it's not a movie about me it's about a cause about uh helping Special Operations veterans and 12:27 Speaker A helping the ocean most humble man on planet Earth it's wonderful to see you Roger congratulations oh thank [Applause] you movie is about to [Music] start the ocean is really the Last Frontier um surreal combat that uh can't cannot really be articulated his 13:04 Speaker A extraordinary efforts under direct immediate danger to his own life resulted in Saving four American lives one host nation civilian and returning Four soldiers killed in action to their [Applause] families fantastic that movie was about taking former soldiers bringing them to help repair coral reefs 13:33 Speaker A by like scuba diving and that being therapy for the soldiers and then also a way to start to repair the damaged environment so it's like helping the Earth and helping these former soldiers incredible story incredible story Roger is also an incredible guy 13:51 Speaker A all I'm going to bed now [Music] he [Music] Topics: Casey Neistat vlogging daily vlog filmmaking cinematography storytelling YouTube tips 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