the short version
the first page you see after you sign up for underway now has a one-minute film on it. clay, our animated presenter, says where you are, what happens next, and the one thing that will ask something of you later: a code we email you when you start episode 1. it sits under the episode 0 card, beside what's here, and it only plays when you press it. on the phone it is in the same place, on today, before your series is set up.
why a film, and why there
most people who sign up arrive from an ad, on a phone, inside instagram's own browser. they tapped something in a feed, wrote an email address, and landed on a page that says episode 0. that is a strange word to meet first. episode of what? zero why? the page has always answered in a sentence, have a look round first if you like, and the buttons are right there, but a sentence is easy to skim past when you were scrolling ten seconds ago.
a minute of someone talking you through it is easier. so the first page now carries one. it is short on purpose. it does not try to sell you anything, because you are already in. it tells you where you are and what the next three steps are, in the order you will meet them, and then it gets out of the way.
what clay says
you are on today, which is where every episode starts. right now it says episode zero: the beginning of your series. take the tour if you want a look round first. when you are ready, press set up my series and answer a few quick questions: who is filming, and what you are documenting, in one line, in your own words.
then episode zero. it is a conversation, not a performance: no camera, just your voice. your co-host asks what you are building, who it is for, and where it honestly stands, and it stays private until you choose to share it. and one more thing: when you start episode 1, we email you a code to check it is really you. you type it in and carry on.
every one of those lines is true of the app on the day the film went up, and the film shows the real screens while it says them: the episode 0 card, the setup question, and the episode zero page.
the code before episode 1
the code deserves a word of its own, because it is the only step that might surprise you. signing up from the free page puts you straight in, with no email to wait for, so you can make episode zero the moment you arrive. before your first daily episode, we check the address is yours: the page says confirm your email, we send a code and a link to that address, and either one carries you on to the start you were on. it happens once. the phone counts as proof already, because it only signs in with a code from your inbox.
the film mentions it so that the code is expected rather than a speed bump. a step you were told about is a step you take. a step that appears from nowhere is where people leave.
who clay is
clay is the presenter of every video in the underway manual, the course that explains each screen and button. he is a generated character with a generated voice, drawn as a clay figure on purpose, so nobody takes him for a founder or a customer. the app behind him is real. if you want more of him, every screen with a lesson has a how this screen works line, and the whole manual is a playlist on the underway youtube channel.
faqs
does the welcome film play by itself?
no. it shows a still of clay with a play button and its length. nothing plays until you press it, and it never comes back once your series is set up.
do i have to watch it?
no. set up my series and take the tour are above it, and everything works without it. it is there for anyone who would rather be shown than read.
will it work in instagram's browser?
yes. it is a plain video file served from underway, not an embedded player from another site, so it plays inside the in-app browsers that instagram, facebook and tiktok open links in.
why do i need to confirm my email before episode 1?
so the archive you build belongs to an address that is really yours. you can make episode zero first; the code is asked for once, when you start episode 1.