Pick your face: you, an AI avatar, or none: Short-Form Video Master Course

Step 1: Compare the 5 formats

Format	Best when	Your time per video (rough)	Watch out for
You on camera	You're comfortable and have proof to show	15-30 min	You'll skip weeks when you're busy
AI avatar of you	You want your face and voice without filming	About 5 min after one 30-min recording	Needs a good base recording; disclose it where rules ask
Faceless story	Your buyer cares about answers, not about you	About 10 min	Needs one consistent look to be recognizable
Mascot	Your buyer has objections you can turn into villains	About 10 min	Works best for products, less well for services
AI UGC	You sell a product and want creator-style ads	About 10 min	Ad rules: label it, never fake a review

Step 2: Pick one and commit for 30 videos

Don't mix formats while you're testing. You can't tell whether the format or the idea made the difference. After 30 videos, use Lesson 9 to judge.

Step 3: Set it up

On camera: one spot, one light, phone at eye level. Batch-film 5 hooks in one sitting.
AI avatar: record once (about 30 minutes of you talking to camera), train the avatar in HeyGen, then write scripts and generate.
Faceless, mascot, UGC: fix one look (colour, character, setting) and reuse it on every video.

The prompt

Help me pick a short-form video format. My business: [one line]. My buyer: [one line].
Hours a week I can give video: [n]. Am I comfortable on camera: [yes / no / sometimes].
Do I sell a product or a service: [x].
Compare: me on camera, an AI avatar of me, faceless stories, a mascot, AI UGC.
Recommend one, explain why in 3 lines, and list the setup steps for week one.

Checklist

You can make 5+ videos a week in this format without it becoming your full-time job.
Your buyer would trust this format (an AI mascot won't sell a $20K service).
You've picked one look and written it down.
You know your disclosure rules for AI content on each platform.
You've committed to 30 videos before you judge the format.

Example

One founder's AI clone account reached 22M+ combined views and 80K+ followers on Instagram in 6 months. All of it came from one 30-minute recording session. Months 1-2 looked like nothing was happening. Growth started compounding in months 3-4, and the big numbers came in months 5-6.

Pick your face: you, an AI avatar, or none

Why it matters