Find your show

Start with three possible shows. Write each one as a single line: a show people know, meets another show people know, with your twist.

Pick famous shows, ones almost everyone can picture. The twist is the part only you can do.

Do this

• Write three lanes, one line each.
• Under each one, write why you like it and what problems you would have to solve to film it.
• Show the three to five people who know you. Watch which one makes them lean in.

Choose one lane. Do not mix two together. A blend sounds bigger on paper and confuses viewers on screen.

Use this check. A good lane:

• can be filmed every week without inventing anything,
• has a clear goal the viewer can root for,
• shows your skill without you having to explain it,
• connects to what you sell.

If two lanes tie, pick the one you could start filming tomorrow.

A micro show is one short format you repeat every day, with one way viewers take part: a vote, a comment or an answer.

Mathew's micro show is Scam Check. Someone shows him a message they received. He gives his opinion. Viewers vote below: is this a scam? People come back because they want to play.

Build yours

• Same opening line every time.
• Under a minute.
• One question for the viewer at the end.
• It points to the long show.

Short clips send people to the long show. The long show sends them to your story. Your story sends them to what you sell.

Before you film, write the show bible: one page that says who is in the show, where it happens and what each episode is for.

• People. You, plus the two or three people who show up most. Each needs a role viewers can name.
• Places. Two to four real locations you can come back to.
• Episodes. Five, one per feeling: the underdog, the special gift, the struggle, the special method, the payoff.
• Real moments. For each episode, one moment that actually happened or will happen.

Keep the bible short enough to read in two minutes. You will use it on every shoot.

A football team watches film before running the plays. Do the same with your show. Make a short sizzle, about a minute, that shows the feeling, the pace and the exact shots you plan to film.

Build it from a shot list. Use stand-in footage, stills or drawings if you have nothing yet. Say clearly that it is a plan, not the real thing.

Show it to the people who will be in it. When they can see the plays, the real shoot goes faster and nobody is surprised on the day.

Then film the real sizzle on your first shoot day and swap it in.