Brand Founder Academy

The Filming Kit.

Everything you need to film a daily countdown episode on your phone: the gear, the phone settings, the six rules, the 3-take method and the b-roll list. Print it and keep it next to the tripod.

The one thing to understand first: the phone you own is the camera. You do not need a camera, lights or an editing program. Four things, one setup you do once, six rules you follow every time. The whole kit fits in a jacket pocket.

Start here

How to use this

Buy or find the 4 things in the gear list. The phone you already own is the camera.
Set the phone up once with the settings below.
Film with the six rules. Every episode, same setup, so you never think about it again.
Film 7 episodes before you post the first one.

Section 1

All you need

Any brand does the job. The links are places to start looking, not the only option. Prices change, so check before you buy.

What	Why	Where to look
The phone you already own	Any phone from the last 4 years films better than most cameras did 10 years ago. Use the back camera.	https://www.apple.com/iphone/
A clip-on wireless mic	My pick is the DJI Mic Mini. Any small wireless clip-on mic from a known brand does the same job.	https://www.dji.com/mic-mini
A selfie monitor	A small screen that clips to the phone so you can see yourself while the back camera films you. Search "selfie monitor" or "flip screen for phone".	https://www.amazon.com/s?k=selfie+monitor+flip+screen+phone
A small tripod (optional)	Anything that holds the phone at eye height on a desk. A stack of books works on day 1.	https://www.amazon.com/s?k=phone+tripod+desk

Section 2

Phone settings, set once

Back camera.It is sharper than the front one. The selfie monitor is how you see yourself while it films you.

4K at 60 frames per second.Enough detail to zoom in during the edit without going blurry.

HDR video off.It makes colors look odd on other people's phones.

Lock focus and exposure.Tap and hold on your face until the lock shows, every time.

Airplane mode while you film.A call in the middle of a take ends the take.

Clean the lens.Wipe it on your shirt. Half of blurry phone video is a fingerprint.

Vertical.Hold or mount the phone upright. Every episode is 9 by 16.

Section 3

The six rules

Same six, every episode.

Light in front of youA window facing you, or a lamp behind the phone. Never a window behind you.

Mic on, every timeBad sound loses people faster than a bad picture. Clip the mic on before you press record.

Lens at eye heightProp the phone up. A phone held low makes every video look like a complaint.

Back camera, 4K at 60The back camera is the good one. The selfie monitor lets you see yourself while you use it.

Lock focus and exposureTap and hold on your face until the lock shows. Otherwise the picture pulses while you talk.

Three seconds of quiet, then talkPress record, wait, then start. It gives the edit somewhere to cut.

Section 4

The 3-take method

One episode is one sitting. You do not need to get it in one take. You need three.

Take 1: just say it. Anchor-hook, sub-hook, the yapping, cliffhanger. Do not stop for mistakes. This take tells you what you actually want to say.
Take 2: say it again, tighter. Now you know the shape. This is usually the one.
Take 3: the pickup. Only the line you flubbed, or the hook one more time with more energy. The edit stitches it in.

Then stop.

A fourth take is almost never better than the second.

Section 5

What to say

The three lines, plus the yapping in between. The Countdown Sheet fills the anchor-hook and the sub-hook in for you every day. The Hook Builder on the website does the same thing in 10 seconds.

The anchor-hook (same every day)[Day 12 of 100. Launching my hydration brand, Mauna.]

The sub-hook (today's line, with the stake in it)[The sample bags came back. Here's what they look like.]

The yapping (20 to 40 seconds on what you did)[what happened, in the order it happened]

The cliffhanger (the last line)[Tomorrow, the fix.]

Section 6

B-roll to grab this week

B-roll is any footage that is not your face. The edit lays it over the part where you explain what you did. Film 5 to 10 seconds of each, phone upright, and drop them in a folder called b-roll. Once a week is enough.

Your hands on the keyboard, and the screen behind them
A screen recording of the website, the store, the email tool, the spreadsheet
The product, the sample, the label, the box, from 3 angles
Your workspace, wide
You walking in, sitting down, opening the laptop
Whatever arrived in the mail this week, opened on camera
The place you live or work, out the window
A close-up of the ingredients, parts or materials
Your notebook, the whiteboard, the sticky notes
You on the phone (no sound needed)

Section 7

The folder, set up once

One folder for the series. Inside it, one folder per day, plus the b-roll folder. The edit reads from here.

01 countdown / day-01 / (today's takes) 02 countdown / day-02 / ... 03 countdown / b-roll / (everything from section 6) 04 countdown / done / (the finished Reels, one per day)

Section 8

Your Instagram account

Set these before Day 1.

Account type

Creator, not Business. Creator gets the full music library. Business gets a small one. You can switch to Business later in one tap and nothing is lost.

Bio link

Your waitlist page. Every episode ends with the same ask, so the link has to be there.

Post time

The same time every day. Pick one and put it in The Countdown Sheet.

Hashtags

Skip them. Instagram reads what you say and what is on screen. One or two for context is fine, a wall of them does nothing.

The pre-record checklist

Lens wiped

Mic clipped on and turned on

Light in front of me

Phone at eye height, upright

Focus and exposure locked

Airplane mode on

Anchor-hook and sub-hook written on a sticky note next to the lens

3 seconds of quiet, then talk

Not legal or platform-policy advice. Gear links are examples, not endorsements, and prices change. Pete Taylor is a founder, not a videographer. This guide shows the setup that works for a daily phone series so you can copy it and get filming.