We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Casey Baum. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Casey below.

Alright, Casey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

There has never been a moment in my life where I did not want to pursue a creative path professionally. I always credit my parents for giving me the spark and I am thankful every day for the fire that it lit inside me. They met at a theater company in DC, so I have always said that the arts is in my blood. I would perform skits for them or make videos with friends since I was a kid and it has never been a question as to whether I would do that for the rest of my life. I think deep down, I’m too indecisive to choose a more traditional career and being a creative storyteller is my way of getting to do a little bit of everything. And to have as much fun as possible along the way.

Casey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi, my name is Casey Baum and I am filmmaker/creative currently living in Los Angeles, CA. I started my journey as an actor in the DMV area on the east coast, where I not only fell in love with performing, but with film. I was able to cultivate this love at Filmsters Academy, a local film program for kids in my hometown of Annapolis, Maryland. I began to develop more as a filmmaker than an actor and studied film at Temple University, where I was able to grow my community of artists and work for some amazing companies like HBO and NFL Films. I worked at NFL for about a year and eventually transitioned to Los Angeles, where I am now working as a Post-Production Assistant for Marvel Studios. Additionally, I have just come off the heels of my directorial debut, Sea Creatures, and am consistently making projects with my friends.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There were a lot of tears on my most recent film set. I recently directed this film called Sea Creatures, which is a story mainly involving kids. I wanted to challenge myself and decided to work with young actors, one as young as seven. It turned out to be the most difficult, yet rewarding experience of my life. On the first shot, I overestimated how much our young actor would enjoy making a mess and as her co-star through cake batter around the kitchen, she began to cry. We immediately cut the take and I came up to her to give her a bit of a pep talk. She kept saying, “I don’t wanna do this anymore!” Which is scary to hear as a director, but the people are always more important than the project. I employed my skills as a camp counselor and talked her through how she was feeling, emphasizing that we wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want to do. Eventually, we changed the scene around so that she would be more comfortable. This was the first of a few outbursts, but the kids trusted me enough to know I would never put them in harms way. Our tactics, along with the amazing support of the crew and their parents, made the movie even better. I hope to have given the kids an experience they can look back on fondly and I feel extremely proud of how I handled that set.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal as a creative is and always has been to spread kindness and empathy. All of my films have themes of love and compassion, even if they aren’t always the happiest. I often feel like our culture has emphasized individualism and personal gain and I want to rethink those goals by highlighting stories that bring people together and show the goodness of people. I never want to take my life and my gift for granted. I feel so privileged to have had the arts encouraged as a kid and to pursue them with little standing in the way. I think it is important for everyone to share the talent they have and my way of giving back is to tell genuine stories in the hopes of inspiring folks. I strongly believe in the kindness of others and I would not be where I am today without it. If I can contribute positively, even in the smallest of ways, to someone’s day, I will feel accomplished. I feel like I owe it to the people who have helped me to spread that kindness.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casey.bomb/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseymbaum/

Image Credits

Sea Creatures BTS – Maria DiPietro

Michelangelo BTS – Emily Krisky