---
name: record-one-minute-videos
description: "Use a phone to answer one real customer question. Save the clip so your team can use it."
category: Content Factory — Produce
stage: Produce
definitive_article: /one-minute-video-guide
status: complete
---

# Record one-minute videos

You know things your customers need to know. This guide helps a business owner turn one real question into a short video. Pick a question, give a clear answer, and save the file for your team.

**The path:** Real question → One short answer → Saved clip → Editor.

**Use this when:** You have a real customer question and need a new source clip.

## Inputs
- One question from a call, email, comment, or the topic queue. Keep a link or private note that shows where it came from.
- The owner or team member who knows the answer, a charged phone, and a quiet place with good light.
- Permission from anyone who will be shown. Keep private customer details out of the shot.
- The brand’s approved raw-video folder and content tracker, plus access to add files and rows. Name the person who will edit the clip.

## First-run prompt

> Use the question and source I give you to help me plan one short video. Give me three speaking notes, a file name, and a tracker row. Ask only for facts you need. Do not write a fake customer story. Check the saved clip and list what is still unverified before handoff.

## Steps
1. Choose one question you can answer from real work. Note who needs the answer and what they should understand by the end. Use [Topic Wheel](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/) to place it under the right topic; a question is not the WHAT ring. WHAT means the offer at the center.
2. Place the phone at eye level. Keep the lens clear, your face lit, and the background simple. Choose framing that fits the planned use. A vertical phone shot is a useful starting point for a short answer.
3. Make a short test. Check framing, the microphone input, and the saved file. For an agent review, use silent frames and available captions; mark sound quality unverified until someone has checked it under the allowed media rules.
4. Use three notes, not a script: the question, one true example, and why the answer helps. Say the question, answer it in plain words, then give the example. Do not make up a customer story or a result.
5. Aim for about one minute. The source guide accepts 45–90 seconds. Keep a useful take even if a word is rough. Record a new take if the answer is wrong, the sound fails, or the key point is missing; do not pass a broken take to save time.
6. Name the file YYYY-MM-DD-topic-person. If there is more than one take, add a take number so you do not overwrite the first. Upload it to the approved raw folder and wait for the upload to finish.
7. Open the saved file from its folder link without starting sound. Match its name and length to your local file. Add the source question, topic, length, permissions, file link, and editor to the tracker.
8. Mark it “Raw — ready for Process” only when the checks below pass. If a check is missing, state what is missing and who can resolve it. Hand off to [Upload the source to Drive and Descript](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-1-upload-video-to-google-drive-and-descript#task-step-1-upload-video-to-google-drive-and-descript).

## Definition of done (QA checklist)

- [ ] One real question and its source are recorded; the answer stays on that question.
- [ ] The speaker uses their own words and true facts. The saved take is 45–90 seconds, or a stated exception has been accepted.
- [ ] The face and needed details are clear; sound quality has an actual check, not an assumption from the file existing.
- [ ] The saved link opens for the editor, and the tracker includes the topic, permission state, and next owner.

## Example(s)

**Fictional teaching example — not a client result or completed run.** Maple Cycle is a made-up bike shop. Its owner, Alex, wants to answer this sample customer email: “Should I bring my bike in before asking for a repair quote?”

Alex’s three notes are: “A photo can start the chat”; “We need to see the bike before we give a firm quote”; “Call first so we can set a time.” In a sample 62-second take, Alex explains that a photo of a loose part may help the shop plan the visit, but it cannot prove what work the bike needs.

The teaching tracker row reads: topic = repair quotes; source = sample email; file = `2026-09-06-repair-quote-alex-take1.mp4`; length = 62 seconds; next role = editor. In a real run, add the actual saved link and permission evidence. This sample has neither, so it cannot be logged as a completed clip.

## Handoff and Content Factory context

The named editor receives the raw file, question, topic, rights notes, and tracker row. The next task is [Upload the source to Drive and Descript](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-1-upload-video-to-google-drive-and-descript#task-step-1-upload-video-to-google-drive-and-descript). Editing, posting, and ads are later work.

This task serves **Produce** in the [Content Factory](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/). Produce makes or prepares source material. Process edits it, Post puts approved work on a channel, and Promote helps it reach people. Only the steps and handoff above are part of this task.

## When this runs

Run once for each question or agreed batch. Repeat when the real topic queue needs more footage. This file does not create a daily job or a reminder.

## Run with an agent

The agent can prepare the plan, organize allowed files, and check the evidence it can actually access. A person records real stories, supplies permission, or resolves an account step when needed. Save the current state in the project files and tracker. A model name does not create memory, access, a scheduler, or permission to act.

For all agent media checks, keep the player muted and its volume at zero before playback. If that cannot be checked, use captions, metadata, or still frames. Do not claim sound quality was heard when it was not.

## Write up the real run

For every actual attempt, [write the run’s meta article](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/). Link this exact task and its source revision. State the start, work done, evidence, result, gaps, and next owner. Keep failed, partial, and blocked work visible. Writing the record does not authorize publishing it.

Use one stable execution ID for this task’s actual run. Internal retries, checks, and new versions do not add runs. A separately scoped child task may have its own ID linked to the parent. A teaching example has no real execution ID and must not enter the run count. Follow the [recipe and meta-article guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/) for that distinction.


<!-- factory-layer:start -->

## Factory chain (do not treat this as isolated)

- **Phase:** Produce
- **Importance:** 5/5 `●●●●●` — frequency 5, revenue 3, gating 3 (runs every factory cycle or weekly)
- **Suggested previous station:** `batch-record-50-raw-clips-in-one-session`
- **Suggested next station:** `capture-client-stories-on-phone`
These stations are generated neighbors, not verified prerequisites or handoffs. Follow the task’s actual Inputs and Handoff sections.
- **Handoff:** Raw files in Content Library `01-Raw/` plus a tracker row (question, date, speaker). Next skill never needs the chat — it needs the files.

## Model routing (same factory, any engine)

- **This task's lane:** `any` — Any capable chat model (Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini). SOP following, drafts, checklists.
- **Single-engine path:** Use the capable AI app you already have. Check its required tools and access before starting. Pass the actual result and proof to the next task.
- **Optional multi-engine:** A tested local model may draft; a stronger model may review facts and voice. Use supported tools for approved actions. Pick models from observed quality and cost; a model name does not prove it can run this task.
- **Never** store the working state in one vendor's memory. Files in the Content Library are the bridge.

<!-- factory-layer:end -->
## Definitive article & links

- Canonical article: https://blitzmetrics.com/one-minute-video-guide
- Exact task: [Record one-minute videos](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=record-one-minute-videos#task-record-one-minute-videos)
- Publishing standard: [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [One-minute video method](https://blitzmetrics.com/one-minute-video-guide/)
- [Topic Wheel: stories, topics, and offer](https://blitzmetrics.com/topic-wheel/)

## Review and evidence still needed

The contributor status in the source header is preserved. It is not a claim that this draft has been independently accepted or that a real run has passed. The worked example above is for teaching only.
- A real clip, recipient access check, and sound review remain required for an actual execution.