Van Neistat

Working To Code is the movie series designed for employees of the Tom Sachs studio referred to henceforth as the studio

This is how 10 Bullets, one of my favorite videos on Youtube begins.

"Working to Code" is a movie series designed for members of the Tom Sachs studio team. Required viewing for all employees and studio visitors. ALWAYS BE KNOL...

If you haven’t seen this film yet, you will find some familiarity with Casey Neistat’s older videos. Casey is Van’s younger brother and Van helped produce 10 Bullets.

I particularly like Casey’s older videos that carried this low-tech aesthetic — videos before his daily vlog days. Here is an example of Casey making a Custom Pennyboard Suitcase.

Casey eventually developed his own style that is great for youtube. I think Casey understands attention in the Youtube world better than most people do. But this post is not about Casey, it is about Van.

I think the low-tech production of 10 Bullets is timeless in the way they do special effects. They are not trying to show off their special effects budget or Final Cut skills. They talk about an idea and show it in a plain and natural way. My brain is making a weird connection here as I write — I am thinking of how Scott Carrier writes. Plain but clear, with impact. Lasting.

Another good video from the time of 10 Bullets is the Nautical Challenge on Tom Sachs’ youtube channel. It shows all three people — Tom, Van and Casey. Think about this video foretelling a trajectory of where Casey and Van have ended up.

The trajectory I want to highlight here is Van Neistat’s new channel — The Spirited Man.

It has the timeless style of low-tech production from the 10 Bullets videos. And there is something refreshing about that.

Glimpse into a spirited man's self-reliant analog world. Meet a spirited woman, too.For an in-depth explanation of this channel: https://www.kickstarter.c...

I went to school for engineering, and engineers like me will recognize the principles of 5S in the way Tom Sachs’ studio is set up in 10 Bullets, and also in the way Casey and Van’s studios are set up. A place for every thing, labels everywhere, shadow boards… etc. Engineers are all too familiar with this way of organizing. The difference I notice here is the strong will of an Artist coming through in the organization of the workplace. I think Steve Jobs called it the intersection of liberal arts and technology. In all the places where I set up 5S ended up with neat lines on the floor and printed labels. Instead, Van’s and Casey’s workshops have hand drawn lines and hand written labels which add life to an otherwise dull process of organizing things.

I think this artist-in-action is rare to find in our ever saturated world of DIY’ers and makers.

Something honest comes through in The Spirited Man.

Showing, not telling

Friday, noon. Four of us were on our way to lunch. Someone asked me if I liked the book he had recommended. Friday lunch is to decompress and we are normally frank with each other. I said, “It wasn’t written well”.

I am no judge of English literature. But it was Friday lunch and I was asked for a judgement. There it was.

A good novelist once invited me to find awareness of the difference between showing and telling. I am a slow reader; my mind frequently wanders around the prose while I gaze between the folds of the pages. Years passed since that invitation and years of reading while aimlessly wandering seems to have helped me spot novels that show versus those that tell.

Below are the beginning lines from two novels. See if you can tell.

1

2

The first excerpt paints a beautiful picture that slowly comes into focus. I can’t wait to read further. The second sort of spoils the ending. This chapter continues telling what’s going on with Nicholas’ life. I didn’t read past the first chapter so I don’t know if this was really a spoiler but I don’t feel like finding out.

The first is like sipping a beautiful wine. The second is like chugging lager.

It is not only a matter of taste; it is a question of appetite.