Nas Daily makes cameo in SG film, says social videos are '10x easier'

Vlogger Nuseir Yassin, founder of the Nas Daily channel, has made his debut into acting in a Singaporean short film titled The Last Song. Produced by local actor and online personality Andie Chen, Yassin was roped into the film as he was mentoring for the STOREYS initiative.

STOREYS is an initiative to discover, fund and promote independent content creators launched by media agency CreativesAtWork and supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).  It is also part of IMDA’s efforts to extend the reach of public service content to digital platforms. Through STOREYS, content creators are encouraged to create impactful stories to drive positive social change in Singapore. Yassin was brought in by CreativesAtWork and IMDA to guide selected content creators in their work.

Speaking to Marketing, Yassin said that he was in the midst of advising 15 local Singaporean teams on their respective films when Chen offered Yassin to make a cameo in one of the films. Portrayed as the best friend of the lead actor in The Last Song, Yassin said the making of a Nas Daily video is “ten times easier” than the making of The Last Song.

“It's incredible the amount of hard work, passion, and grit that goes into films like these. I hope people who watch the film appreciate how hard Chen and the crew worked on it,” he added. According to Yassin, the biggest challenge "was getting cut in half [in the show] and filming his death scene".

When asked by Marketing if he sees himself taking up more acting gigs, Yassin said his main interest is in making more Facebook videos and in building Nas Studios and Nas Academy. “Sorry to disappoint - Currently, there is no real interest in going to the big screen,” he added. 

The film The Last Song will be shared online through social media, while through the STOREYS initiative; the short film with the highest number of local views will receive funding to produce a second video. The initiative also looks to distribute these stories to global audiences, by submitting the videos to international film festivals.

Yassin joins the likes of Tosh Zhang (aka Tosh Rock), Nora Lum (better known as Awkwafina), and Canadian YouTuber Lilly Singh who initially started off as content creators and entered the show business.

Zhang’s vlogging days were back in 2010, when he uploaded commentary on everything from social and political issues to food and others. He climbed to fame through the Jack Neo's Ah Boys To Men films. While Awkwafina was a video creator and rapper who rose to fame through hit films Crazy Rich Asians, Ocean’s 8 and Jumanji: The Next Level. Singh, on the other hand, now hosts her own talk show and has also played cameo in films Bad Moms and Fahrenheit.

Widely known for his one-minute videos, Yassin recently moved the Nas Daily company from the United States to Singapore, following which the content creator and his girlfriend Alyne Tamir have been actively producing content out of Southeast Asia. The duo said in an Instagram post then that Singapore is “the hub of Asia, and arguably a major hub of the world" when asked why the team chose to set up shop here. His move came shortly after the Nas Daily team, fronted by Yassin, posted six videos about the country in a span of one week in 2018. In September that year, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also made a cameo in a Nas Daily video about Singapore being an “almost perfect country.”

Yassin also sat in a hot seat at Marketing’s Content 360 conference last year, sharing his knack for content and why he chooses Facebook over YouTube. Brands that have partnered and worked with Nas Daily include NTUC Income and Agoda.

[MARKETING is delighted to bring back Content 360 for another year following a hugely successful conference in 2019. Content 360 will bring together industry leaders to discuss challenges and share insights on future content marketing trends, as well as successful strategies to help tackle the complex marketing landscape. Sign up here!]

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