bonusfootage · Instagram · 02:56

if I produced your next 30 videos

A 2:56 IG reel where a short-form producer reads through ~30 things he'd do BEFORE filming a single video — and the visual is a checklist that grows as he talks.

Posted
May 14th 2026
today
Duration
02:56
8 beats
Format
Listicle
educational
Channel
BO
bonusfootage
§ 01 · The Hook

The bait, then the rug-pull.

Tom Boyd, who actually produces short-form for creators, lays out the 30-item checklist he'd run BEFORE filming anything new with a client. The visual IS the checklist — viewers screenshot it. The closer is one line: 'Put the camera on your face.' Everything before that line is the work.

§ 02 · The Beat Sheet

Six beats. One throughline.

00:00 · BEAT 1 · PHASE 1
Who you are
"What do you actually believe? What do you stand for? I wanna know who you are as a person before we even think about filming."
what do you actually believe / what will you never do / why are you even doing this / what feels easy to you that breaks everyone else
Who you are frame
00:30 · BEAT 2 · PHASE 2
Energy interview
"Talk to you for at least one hour… seeing the subjects that light you up, you start to talk faster, you start to lean in."
1 hour interview / off the court interests / spend an afternoon with you doing one of those things / inflection points in your career
Energy interview frame
01:05 · BEAT 3 · PHASE 3
Audit past work
"I wanna know moments in the career that made you, that almost broke you, that you overcame. You haven't even touched the camera."
moments in the career that made you / what is a win with this content / describe someone you respect / current relationship with your audience
Audit past work frame
01:40 · BEAT 4 · PHASE 4
Mine existing content
"Look at the videos in the last ninety days and see which ones actually brought in followers, see if we can turn any of them into a series. Untouched gold."
which videos actually brought people in / untouched gold / owned audiences / what in your industry is just… wrong
Mine existing content frame
02:15 · BEAT 5 · PHASE 5
Self-disqualify
"Try to figure out is short form even right for you? Maybe it's a newsletter. Maybe it's long form. I'd refer you out to other people that could help you. I want you to win — I don't want you to work with me."
is short form even right for you right now / who else should be in the room / I want you to hit your goals
Self-disqualify frame
02:45 · BEAT 6 · PHASE 6
Resources audit
"I'd see what you have access to. Studio? Backyard? Mics? A video guy? Or just your phone in your car — we wanna build the content around your lifestyle."
resources / how much are you spending on your creative team / talk to the team without you
Resources audit frame
03:15 · BEAT 7 · PHASE 7
First 60 days protocol
"Five-minute voice notes for ten days straight. Save folder of videos you love. At some point you stop consuming content altogether for thirty days — abstain. Test three editors for a month. Sixty days minimum before judging patterns."
voice notes for ten days straight / save every video in a folder / abstain from content consumption for a month / three editors test / 60 days minimum
First 60 days protocol frame
04:10 · BEAT 8 · CLOSER
Put the camera on your face
"Put the camera on your face."
Put the camera on your face.
Put the camera on your face frame
§ 04 · The Script

Word for word.

You force me to make your next 30 videos, this is exactly what I would do, and this is partly grounded in the numbers and partly grounded in trust me, bro. So one, what do you actually believe? What do you stand for? I wanna know who you are as a person before we even think about filming. What won't you compromise on? What formats don't you like? We want you to have energy around everything that we're building. Why are you even doing this? Is it for your family, your kids, someone to prove wrong in high school? What drives you and it makes everything else easier. Talk to you for at least one hour, probably more, where I'm seeing the subjects that light you up, you start to talk faster, where you start to lean in. I'm looking at your body language, your tonality. I wanna understand the things that actually give you energy. I wanna know your off the court interest. What sports are you in What teams do you like? I wanna know all of this so we can build the entire world. Spend a whole afternoon doing one of these things. That's where the little pockets of realness come out. Actually spending time doing the shit that they love. Excuse my language. Hopefully, there's no children. But if there are children, take notes because this is what it's all about. I wanna know moments in the career that made you, that almost broke you, that you overcome. You haven't even touched the camera. Why did you stop working with editors or producers or writers? What about that relationship didn't work so we can avoid that? What is a win with this content? What is the goal? What's the result we're going for? Describe someone that you are spec. I wanna know the people you look up to. I wanna understand reflections you're trying to mirror in your content. I wanna understand the relationship with your audience. I look at the videos in the last ninety days and see which ones actually brought in followers and see if we can turn any of them into a series. Untouched goal, whether it's your podcast, your newsletter, try to figure out if we can turn any of the existing anecdotes, stuff you've already created into short form content. I look at your own audience conversation, whether they're responding to your emails and your newsletter. How can we turn those conversations into short form content? I'd ask you what in your industry is just wrong? What do you disagree with? Behind closed doors, what are you yelling about that you wish you could say out loud? Try to figure out is short form even right for you? Is this a a good investment of of your time and energy right now? Maybe it's a newsletter. Maybe it's long form, and I'd refer you out to other people that could help you produce that. I want you to win. I want you to hit your goals. I don't want you to work with me. In fact, I don't even do this. I'm just saying this is what I would do. Resources. I would see what you have access to. Is it a studio, a nook in your backyard where we can film? Is it mics? Is it a video guy? Or is it just your phone in your car, and we wanna build this content around your lifestyle? I talk to your team without you. They can help me kinda see the blind spot and the opportunities they think that you could be focusing on. I would have you send me five minute voice notes for ten days straight about your work content, like ideas niche, brain dump to me for five minutes. I would have you save videos that you love and we create a shared save photo on Instagram. At some point in the process, you stop consuming content altogether for thirty days. Abstain. Because so much of what we do as creators is, like, we look at other people, we mimic them subconsciously. Remove all of that just so we can focus on you and your unique style and delivery. I'd have you work with three editors, and we test them for a month, and then we pick our favorite. The same thing with writers. Unless you like to write. And then I'd have you do this for sixty days minimum because we wanna see the patterns and not only what is working for you, but what is working for the audience. Put the camera on your face. — full transcript · listicle · 8 beats
§ 05 · For Joe

The list IS the lead magnet.

Killing Excuses / MCN+ playbook

Persistent-checklist overlay + single-take talking head + contrarian closer. One shot, one location, one graphic layer — saveable, screenshot-friendly, and the disqualifier IS the conversion.

  • Pick a list with 20-30 items where the items themselves are the proof you know your shit. Bonus: a few must be counter-intuitive (Tom's '30-day content abstain' is the algorithmic accelerant).
  • Put the list on screen the whole time. Make it look like a hand-drawn checkbox doc — viewer's screenshot is the lead magnet. Don't gate it; the screenshot IS the funnel.
  • Hide the real thesis until the last 4 seconds. Tom's whole bit reframes the moment he says 'put the camera on your face' — everything before that becomes the lesson, not just the list.
  • Build in a self-disqualifier mid-video. 'If I'm not your guy, here's how you'd know.' Reads as integrity. Converts the right-fit clients harder than a hard sell would.
  • For Joe: same exact format, $6-Stack edition. Title: 'If I built your stack from scratch.' 30 checkboxes (domain, Vercel, Supabase, Contabo, etc.). Closer: 'And you'd still be under $6 a month.' The list is the lead magnet AND the proof of expertise.
  • 60-day patience window (item 30) is the thesis to bake into MCN+ pitch. You're not testing one reel — you're testing the operating system. Don't judge before week 9.
§ 05 · For You

Most of the work happens before the camera turns on.

If you're trying to build content and feel stuck

The reason your content isn't landing usually isn't your edit — it's that you skipped the part where you figure out what you actually believe and what energy you want on camera.

  • Spend an hour answering Tom's first four questions in writing: what do I believe, what will I never do, why am I doing this, what feels easy to me that exhausts everyone else.
  • Voice-note for five minutes a day for ten days straight about your work. Don't edit, don't structure — just talk. Listen back for what you said with energy.
  • Audit your own content from the last 90 days. Which posts brought in new people? Make a series out of the top one. That's your 'untouched gold.'
  • Try the 30-day consumption fast — stop watching other creators' content. Tom's claim: most of what makes your stuff feel derivative is subconscious mimicry, not lack of skill.
  • Don't judge whether short-form is working for you until you've been at it 60 days. One reel proves nothing. Ten reels show a pattern.
§ 06 · Frame Gallery

Visual rhythm.