---
url: https://superduperai.co/library/build-in-public-behind-the-scenes-format/
title: Build in public: a 45-second behind-the-scenes cut around one decision
description: The founder diary format that earns trust because it shows the decision, not the launch: the prompt structures a week of real screen and desk footage around one choice and one measured result.
category: formats
platforms: [tiktok, reels, shorts, linkedin, youtube]
works_with: [claude-code, claude, chatgpt, any-llm, life2film]
tags: [build-in-public, behind-the-scenes, founder, real-footage, trust, linkedin, tiktok]
difficulty: intermediate
verified: false
created: 2026-11-01
skill: creator-growth
---

# Build in public: a 45-second behind-the-scenes cut around one decision

The founder diary format that earns trust because it shows the decision, not the launch: the prompt structures a week of real screen and desk footage around one choice and one measured result.

## Prompt

```text
Write a build-in-public script for {product} covering {this week's work}. The format works because the viewer watches a decision being made and wants to know how it turned out; a montage of typing is not a story. Pick ONE decision from the week and ONE number that it changed or will change.

Structure (45 s, 9:16, real footage: screen recordings, the desk, a walk, a whiteboard):
- 0-3 s HOOK: the decision as a question I had to answer ('ship the free tier with a watermark, or not?'). On-screen: the question in 6 words.
- 3-10 s CONTEXT: what the product is, in one line, for a stranger. The number before the decision, on screen.
- 10-30 s THE WEEK: 4 clips, 5 s each: the option I rejected (show it), the option I took (show it), the moment it went wrong or surprised me, the fix. One spoken line each, max 12 words. Day stamps on screen.
- 30-40 s RESULT: the number after, on screen next to the number before. Spoken: what moved and what I do not know yet.
- 40-45 s CLOSE: 'What would you have done?' No download ask; the product name is on the screen recording and in the bio. Reserve the ask for a launch video.

Word budget: 110-120 words at 165 wpm. On-screen: the question, two day-stamped numbers, day stamps on clips, nothing else.

Return: the decision and the number (one line each), then a table (time, clip, spoken line, on-screen), then a LinkedIn-length caption (under 600 characters) that tells the same story in text with the two numbers.

Product: {product}
This week: {what happened, roughly}
Decision: {the choice}
Numbers: {before and after, if known}
```

## Example

Product: a photo app for sellers. Week: added a small 'made with' credit on free exports. Decision: credit on free exports or not. Numbers: shares per day before 40, after 7 days 64.

| Time | Clip | Spoken line | On-screen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-3 s | Whiteboard with two columns | Put a credit on free exports, or keep them clean? | CREDIT ON FREE EXPORTS? |
| 3-10 s | App on a phone, exporting a photo | It cuts product photos out on the phone. Forty shares a day, nobody knows where they came from. | MON · 40 SHARES / DAY |
| 10-15 s | Mockup of a big logo on a photo, crossed out | Option one, a logo. Rejected, it looks like a stock photo. | MON |
| 15-20 s | Code editor, a two-line credit in the corner of an export | Option two, a small line in the corner, paid tier removes it. Shipped Tuesday. | TUE |
| 20-25 s | A one-star review on screen | Wednesday, a review called it a bait and switch. Fair, I hadn't said it anywhere. | WED |
| 25-30 s | Pricing page, a new FAQ line | Thursday: it's on the pricing page now, with the removal in the paid tier. | THU |
| 30-40 s | Analytics chart | Sixty-four shares a day by Sunday, up from forty. I don't know yet how many of those come back as installs; the link in the credit is tagged, so next week I will. | SUN · 64 SHARES / DAY |
| 40-45 s | Face at the desk | What would you have done? | |

Caption: Added a one-line credit to free exports this week. Day 1: 40 shares/day. Day 7: 64. One review called it bait and switch, which was fair, so the pricing page now says it and the paid tier removes it. Installs from the credit: unknown until the tagged link has a week of data.

## Tips

- Say what you do not know yet. 'Installs: unknown until next week' is the line that makes the rest believable.
- Life2Film finds the scene changes in a week of desk and screen footage on the device, so the four clips you need are a shortlist rather than a scrub.
- The brand-credit idea in the example is from the creator-growth skill: disclose it on the pricing page, let the paid tier remove it.

## Works with

- Claude Code: Runs as a skill or a prompt in the terminal; can read your files and write the result.
- Claude: Paste into claude.ai or the Claude app.
- ChatGPT: Paste into ChatGPT; works with any GPT model.
- Any LLM: Model-agnostic: Gemini, Mistral, a local model.
- Life2Film: The montage app: analysis, segment scoring and cuts on your device.