How this course works

Goal

By the end of this lesson you know what you are committing to, you have a working setup, and you have recorded your first (bad, private) take.

What this course is

This is a 30-day course in making short vertical video about yourself: your life, your work, your ideas. It is built around one belief: the bottleneck is not knowledge, it is the habit of filming. Most people who want to make reels read a lot, film a little, and quit in a week or two. So the course front-loads habit and leaves publishing for later.

The structure:

• Weeks 1-2: build the habit and the raw material. You film every day. You publish nothing. You learn how platforms work, find your thread, start capturing ideas, and get used to the camera.
• Week 3: technique and first posts. You set up your phone, light and sound, edit, and publish your first three reels.
• Week 4: learn from your own data. You read your analytics, run small experiments, and look at the business side: monetization, disclosure rules, pricing.

Each lesson has the same shape: a goal, an explanation, steps, an example, common mistakes, an exercise and a checklist. The exercises are the course. If you only read, you will have learned about reels, not how to make them.

The ground rules

1. A streak beats quality. On a bad day, record a voice note. That counts. A broken streak is the real enemy.
2. No publishing in weeks 1-2. This removes the pressure that makes people freeze. Everything you film in the first two weeks is practice.
3. One change at a time. When something is not working, change one thing (light, hook, length), not five.
4. Your own data beats generic advice. After you publish, your analytics tell you more than any rule in this course.
5. Copy structures, not content. You will study other people’s videos to learn patterns. You will never reuse their words, footage or music without rights.
6. You decide what is public. Lesson 2.3 covers privacy. Until you have read it, do not publish.

What you need

You do not need to buy anything to start.

• A smartphone with a decent camera. This course uses an iPhone as the example, and the principles apply to any phone.
• A place to put notes. Anything works: a notes app, a folder, a markdown file. You will use it as an “idea inbox” starting in lesson 3.1.
• Storage: video eats space. Check you have a few gigabytes free before you begin.
• A computer helps for editing but is not required. Phone editors work.
• A tracker. A paper calendar with an X for each day is enough. The repository also ships a checklist you can copy.

Things that are nice later but not needed now: a lavalier microphone, a small tripod, a window with good light, a ring light.

Set up your tracking

Create a simple tracker with one row per day and columns for: voice note, take filmed, lesson done, published (from week 3). Keep it where you will see it daily. The point is the visible streak.

Decide your minimum day now, while you are motivated. Suggested: one voice note of any length. On any day when you cannot do more, you do that and stop.

Do the first take

Record a 30-second video on your phone, in vertical mode, answering this question: “What do I want from making reels?” Rules:

• One take. Do not re-record.
• Do not watch it back today.
• Do not show it to anyone.
• Delete it or keep it private.

Why it works: you have now broken the seal. The first take is the highest barrier. Everything after is easier.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the perfect setup. You will not get one. The set-up improves over weeks.
• Skipping the first take “until tomorrow”. That is how the habit dies.
• Planning to publish early. You are not ready, and it is not the goal.
• Making the minimum day too big. If your minimum day takes 30 minutes, you will skip it. Make it five.

Daily practice

• Minimum (keeps the streak): a voice note of any length.
• Today’s take (about 30 seconds): Your first take from this lesson counts as today’s take. From tomorrow, any topic.
• Weeks 1-2 everything stays private; from week 3 follow your publishing plan.
• Don’t watch the take right away (lesson 4.1). Tick the day in your tracker.

Reading (optional)

This week’s book, about 15-20 minutes: Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist. A loose suggestion; it does not have to match the lesson. More in resources and the schedule.

Checklist

• I know the three phases of the course.
• I have a tracker and a defined minimum day.
• I have enough free storage.
• I recorded and did not watch my first 30-second take.
• I recorded today’s voice note and take.

What comes next

Lesson 1.1 explains what the platforms actually measure. It is short, practical and changes how you think about every video you make.

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Course index | 1.1: What the platforms actually measure →