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Casey Neistat

The homemade DIY filmmaking gear Van Neistat can’t live without

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You might be forgiven for not knowing who Van Neistat is, but as the name might suggest, he’s the brother of filmmaker and YouTuber Casey Neistat. After their HBO series, The Neistat Brothers, the two took very different paths. Casey went full-on into YouTube and Van… well, he kind of disappeared. Recently, however, Van’s done an about-turn and finally created his own YouTube channel.

It’s filled with some pretty unique stuff compared to most of the content we see on YouTube these days and it still has that very raw feeling of Casey’s early YouTube videos and the work the pair did together. In his latest video, Van talks about some of the DIY camera gear he’s made for himself and how he finds it invaluable.

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$35 superzoom lens on a smartphone: is it even worth buying?

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You know how many photographers say that gear doesn’t matter and that the story is more important than the gear you use? YouTuber Casey Neistat has made one of the most ridiculous (but pretty fun) comparisons between two pieces of gear. In this video, he tests a crappy $35 smartphone zoom lens against a $1,000 Sigma zoom lens. Can they even compare?

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Filmmaker shows a journey from “impossible” idea to a successfully finished project

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Most of the creatives have those ideas that keep stuck in their head and just won’t go away. Some of them are pretty crazy, they sound cool, but you don’t know if they would actually work. Filmmaker Max Joseph had an idea like this, and he shares how he turned it into a finished project although it didn’t seem possible.

Max wanted to use the dividers in the middle of a highway, cover them in art and film them as he drives by, so they turn into an animation. The project seemed impossible at first for many reasons. But with some brainstorming, adapting, help from friends and lots of trial and error – he did it and created an inspiring in-camera animation.

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Get past the haters, get over the doubt, and create what you can’t

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A couple of weeks ago, the Oscars were on. And there was one big moment of it that stuck out in a lot of peoples minds. No, not that moment, I’m talking about the one during the commercial break. The one where Casey Neistat introduced the world to “the rest of us”. Reminding everybody that there is a big filmmaking and creative community outside of Hollywood.

It showed a bunch of content from various popular and completely unknown creators on YouTube with Casey’s voiceover and a simple message. When we’re told that we can’t, we all have the same answer. “Watch me”. And it ended with the line “Do what you can’t”. Now, Casey has elaborated on that closing four word sentence with his own video, in typical Casey fashion.

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The DJI Mavic Pro footage looks like a cheap HD action camera compared to the Phantom 4

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For some, the image quality is going to take a distant second to ease of use and convenience. There’s no doubt that the new DJI Mavic Pro is super convenience. Fitting into a small bag, or a large pocket, it’s easy to take wherever you go. But, is that convenience going to be enough? Is it going to make Phantom 4 owners sell up and replace it with a drone that costs almost as much and doesn’t offer the same quality?

Well, for Casey Neistat, the answer is a definite yes. To satisfy some of the haters from his previous video showing off Mavic footage at a mere 1080p, Casey shot today’s video in 4K. In it, he puts the DJI Mavic Pro head to head with the DJI Phantom 4. He also includes the GoPro Karma. Ok, well, he sort of includes the Karma. He doesn’t have a Karma yet, but he does have a GoPro Hero 5 Session, which is the camera the Karma uses.

But, here’s the footage, check it out for yourself.

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Casey Neistat Smashes Canon 70D With An Ax, Fails Anger Management

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When I get angry, I like to break things.  When I get very angry, I like to smash them to smithereens.  It’s like therapy – stuff-shattering therapy.  Granted, this hasn’t happened in a while…perhaps all that self therapy paid off in the long run.  But, regardless, I can identify with the urge to smash the crap out of anything that’s not working.

That is why I have empathy towards photographer and serial vlogger Casey Neistat who yesterday released a video in which he demolishes a Canon EOS 70D that was being temperamental and kept flashing the dreaded “Movie Has Been Stopped Automatically” error, prohibiting him from continuing to record.

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