Instagram reel script for the Hero-Victim Cycle theme. 45-second target run time, vertical format (1080 × 1920 px), talking-head with text overlays. Designed to hook in the first 3 seconds and deliver one clean insight.
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Format specs
- Aspect ratio: 9:16 vertical (1080 × 1920 px)
- Run time: 45 seconds (can extend to 60s; cut at 30s if needed)
- Audio: George's voice on-camera, no music or minimal ambient
- Captions: Burn in for sound-off viewing (essential — 85%+ of IG viewers scroll with sound off)
- Setting: Natural light, neutral background, eye-level framing
- Energy: Grounded, low-volume, direct gaze. Wabi-sabi energetic register — not motivational-speaker. The contrast with hype content is itself the hook.
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The script
[0–3s] HOOK · text overlay only, no voiceover yet
Bold sans-serif, white-on-dark, centered, holds for 2 beats
You're working harder
than everyone else.
Quick cut, same style:
And falling further behind.
[3–8s] OPEN · George on camera, soft direct gaze
"This is the hero's ceiling."
Brief beat. Hold eye contact.
[8–22s] THE PATTERN · George on camera, conversational pace
"You become the one who handles things. The one who takes initiative. The one who never needs help."
Slight smile. Beat.
"And for a long time — it works."
[22–35s] THE BREAK · George on camera, slight shift forward
"Then you hit a problem hero energy cannot solve. A business outgrowing solo execution. A relationship that needs vulnerability. A body that won't keep working on the same fuel."
Beat.
"You push harder. You find the angle. You solve it the only way you've ever solved anything."
Beat.
"And it doesn't work."
[35–43s] THE TRUTH · George on camera, slower delivery, calmer
"Because the problem at the ceiling isn't a problem of effort. It's a problem of structure."
Beat. Settled.
"The work on the other side requires what hero energy cannot provide."
[43–45s] CTA · text overlay over final frame
Same hook style:
Subscribe to my Thursday letter.
Link in bio.
Optional spoken tag at the very end: "Thursday letter in my bio."
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Caption (post body)
The hero archetype works until it doesn't.
If you're the one who's always handled it, and you're hitting something that won't move — the problem probably isn't effort. It's structure.
I write more about this every Thursday. Subscribe in bio.
🏷️#leadership 🏷️#executivecoaching 🏷️#personaltransformation
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Cutdown — 30-second version (if needed)
Cut the middle examples in [22–35s] section. Replace with single line: "Then you hit a problem hero energy cannot solve. You push harder. It doesn't work."
Keeps the structural insight intact. Loses some specificity but gains tightness.
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Publishing notes
- Publish target: Saturday of Hero-Victim Cycle week (reel slot in weekly rhythm)
- Source: Newsletter — What I Had to Feel (
/me/georgeyueh/a444e5) and methodology page (/me/georgeyueh/707be4) - Companion pieces: All Week 1 Hero-Victim Cycle waterfall pieces
- CTA architecture (updated 2026-05-13 v2): Bridges Tier 1 (IG Discovery) → Tier 2 (Newsletter Relationship+Depth). Previously pointed to Substack; updated to point to newsletter signup after Substack cut from funnel.
- Bio link should point to newsletter signup (Flodesk landing page)
- Production notes:
- Record straight-through if possible (single take feels more grounded than cut)
- Text overlays added in post via CapCut or Premiere
- Caption burn-in via auto-captions + manual edit pass for accuracy