Mariano Casaca: My Most Underrated Tool Is A Nap, But Not For Sleep, For Story (Filmaker, Casaca Films, 81K Followers, Sydney)

Mariano Casaca Interview

Cinematic storytelling isn’t about expensive gear, but about breaking rules and finding magic in the ordinary. Whether it’s using everyday tools or embracing a minimalist setup, creativity thrives in simplicity and the human touch, that’s what keeps filmmaking accessible and endlessly inspiring.

Q. Many of your reels break down complex camera and lighting concepts into concise, visually satisfying snapshots. Can you describe a recent moment when you intuitively broke a 'rule' on set, only to find it became a defining part of your creative process?

I used to start every shoot by setting a perfect white balance with a card. Recently, I stopped chasing 'correct' and started chasing what feels right.

A good example was a quiet morning scene at home. Cool daylight was spilling in, and a small lamp was giving off warm amber. Instead of neutralising everything, I looked at the monitor and rolled the balance until the skin felt honest, the lamp kept its glow, and the room held that early morning calm. On paper it was 'wrong.' On screen it felt like memory. That balance became the backbone of the reel. Viewers later described it as cosy and cinematic, which told me the choice was doing real story work.

Since then my flow is simple. I still carry the white card, use it as a quick reference, then I look with fresh eyes. Face, background, practicals, mood. I nudge until the image matches the feeling we want. It is not random. It is training the eye and trusting what the image is giving you in the moment.

Breaking that small rule changed my process. White balance stopped being a checkbox and became a storytelling tool. Now I begin with the emotion, and let the numbers follow.

Q. You often champion the accessibility of cinematic content for creators at any level. What's an 'ordinary' tool or technique from your own daily life (not work-related) that you think everyone underrates?

My most underrated tool is a nap, but not for sleep, for story.

When the blank page hits, I lie down, close my eyes, and run a quiet rehearsal. Five slow breaths. I watch a tiny film in my head. I see the opener, the camera move, the light, the sound, even the caption hook. I let it play once for feeling, then again for shape. Hook, beat one, beat two, payoff, call to action. No phone, no apps, just attention on the images. It is a daily reset I use at night, first thing in the morning, or in the afternoon when energy dips.

After five to ten minutes I sit up and capture the spine in Notes or drop a quick outline into ChatGPT. Now the idea is not abstract. It has a mood and a beginning, middle, and end. That small ritual keeps me generating even on tired days. It costs nothing, travels anywhere, and turns quiet into momentum.

Q. Imagine a day where you are not permitted to pick up a camera or edit any footage. How would you structure this 'creativity fast', and do you think anything from that day might find its way into your next reel or tutorial?

I do not shoot every day. I need reset days. On a creativity fast, I keep life normal. Beach in the morning, a walk or the gym in the afternoon, cinema at night. No camera, no editing.

Even then my head stays in filmmaker mode. At the beach I think how I would frame it next time, what focal length, what shutter for the water. On a walk, I note how the light shifts between shade and sun and how that could teach white balance in a simple way. At the cinema, I pay attention to coverage and transitions. I am not trying to work. It is just how my brain runs now. Filmmaking is part of my routine, not separate from it.

I only capture short notes. One line for a hook, one line for a demo, one line for a result. For example, “teach white balance with one lamp and a window.” The next day I take those lines into the studio and build the reel fast because the idea is already clear.

So yes, those days always show up in my work. The reset gives me cleaner hooks, simpler demos, and a tone that feels lived in, not forced.

Q. A lot of your social presence champions experimentation in aesthetics and formats, from ultra-wide cinematic frames to AI-driven edits. What's a visual trend you secretly hope never comes back, and why?

I do not keep a blacklist of trends. I rarely follow them. The only recent one I leaned into was the ultra-wide cinematic format on Instagram. I had a folder of raw Bali footage shot on an anamorphic lens that I had never edited, and that frame felt like the perfect home for it. The format served the images, not the other way around, so I posted it.

Most of the time, I let trends pass. They do not bother me, and I do not spend energy wishing any of them away. My focus is the same every week. Light, composition, pacing, and a clear idea. If a trend helps me express that, I might use it. If not, I ignore it and keep building work that feels honest to my style.

So the short answer is none. I do not hope for any trend to disappear. I hope creators keep choosing what fits their story

Q. If you had to create a 'behind-the-scenes' reel of a mundane daily task- brushing your teeth, making coffee, a morning walk, what unexpected cinematic techniques would you use to make it captivating for your audience?

I would pick making coffee, it is part of my routine and one of my early reels this year. For a BTS, I would keep it simple and unexpected.

I use household tools, not pro gear. A white bedsheet or baking paper to soften a window, a dark T-shirt as a flag, a mirror to bounce a thin highlight. A little incense for atmosphere. Plastic wrap on the lens edge for a subtle bloom. A towel under the phone for a smooth slide. 

I like action based transitions, a match cut on the pour, a whip to steam, a hidden cut in a reflection. Sound carries the rhythm, grind, click, pour, cup down. I set white balance by eye for mood, then finish with my CINECA look to hold warm highlights and cool shadows apart.

That is the point of the reel, to show that you can make something cinematic with what you already have at home, and let the BTS reveal the simple tricks anyone can copy.

Q. Your content spotlights both high-end gear and minimalist setups. Have you noticed any parallels between simplifying your technical kits and simplifying aspects of your own routine or approach to life?

Yes. The more I simplify my kit, the more I simplify my life.

On set I default to a lean setup: one body, one lens, one practical light, my CINECA look, and a few presets in the Blackmagic app. Fewer choices mean faster decisions. I spend energy on story, blocking, and performance instead of gear swaps.

My routine mirrors that. I plan one clear outcome per shoot day, batch similar tasks, and keep a short checklist I can run in any location. Idea capture is one place only, Notes or ChatGPT, so nothing leaks. I reuse script and caption templates, then tweak for the specific video. Weekly I do a quick reset, archive what is done, and pick the next three priorities.

The result in both worlds is the same. Less friction, fewer variables, more attention on light, timing, and emotion. Constraints sharpen taste. Simplifying the tools and the routine creates the space where the work actually gets better.

Q. With over 15 years in motion design and creative direction, collaborating with brands like Spotify, TikTok, Netflix, and Pepsi, has your approach to short-form content on Instagram shifted from that corporate background, and if so, how?

Yes. The agency years taught me craft, discipline, and how to build clear systems. The flip side was anonymity. My name rarely travelled with the work. That pushed me to start Casaca Films and speak directly to people, not committees.

On Instagram my approach is simple. One-line brief. One clear hook. Shoot the same day with a lean setup. Often iPhone with the Blackmagic app, practical light, and my CINECA look. Teach something useful, keep it cinematic, and measure saves, comments, and DMs. If a brand appears, it is because I use it in my real workflow.

The result changed everything. Brands now find me through the work on my page. I am collaborating with companies I always dreamed of, and I get new emails every day because of the personal brand, not a deck. Today I was named a finalist in the RØDE Creator of the Year Awards in the Filmmaking category, which tells me the decision was right

Q. You integrate AI into your workflow. What's one task you've deliberately chosen NOT to automate or delegate to AI, and why does that manual process still matter to you?

The one thing I do not automate is the core idea.

AI helps me a lot, but the spark has to come from my life, not a prompt. Ideas arrive when I am at the beach, at the cinema, making coffee, or walking without my phone. I catch a feeling, write a one-line hook, and decide why it matters. That first decision is taste. If I outsource it, the work starts to feel average.

After that, I am happy to bring AI in. I use it to organise notes, shape a beat sheet, tighten copy, create caption options, clean transcripts, and turn a hook into a simple shot plan. AI is my operations assistant, not my creative director.

Keeping the idea human protects my voice and keeps the reels personal. Viewers can tell when a concept comes from a real moment. That is what makes people save, comment, and come back.

Q. If you had to distill your entire philosophy of 'filmmaking for creators' into a single, actionable daily habit that someone could adopt tomorrow, what would it be?

One daily rep.

Do one creative action every day. Keep it small, keep it real, and let the task rotate. Take one photo to train composition. Film a 10 to 20 second moment to practice timing. Do a quick light test at home with a lamp and a window. Watch one scene from a film and write a single takeaway. The action changes, the purpose stays the same, learn and improve your storytelling.

End each rep with two short notes, what worked and what you will change tomorrow. Theory is useful, but practice builds taste. If you repeat this for a month, your eye will be sharper, your timing cleaner, and you will have a small library of ideas and shots ready to turn into reels.

Bio:

Mariano Casaca is a Sydney based filmmaker and educator, and the creator behind Casaca Films. After 15+ years in motion design and creative direction with brands like Spotify, TikTok, Netflix, and Pepsi, he built Casaca Films to make cinematic storytelling accessible for creators at any level. He is known for practical, minimalist setups, iPhone and Blackmagic Camera workflows, and his signature CINECA look for color. 

Across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, he breaks complex lighting and camera concepts into simple, repeatable steps that anyone can use at home. He has collaborated with and worked for brands such as RØDE, Sony, Nanlite, Godox, Logitech, Tilta, Aputure, SmallRig, BenQ, and more. Mariano collaborates with leading creative tech brands and runs the Casaca Films Creators community. His passion is cinema. Favourite films include Back to the Future. Favourite series include Dark and Stranger Things. In 2025 he was named a finalist in the RØDE Creator of the Year Awards in the Filmmaking category.

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Interviewed by - Divya Darshni