Project Overview
A hiring task from a creative agency: create two fan-like social posts for two classic cartoon brands, built only from existing footage. I researched live trends and four years of past activity, scored the ideas, and delivered a pitch, a production brief and a mockup for each post, with an AI-native workflow. AI did the heavy lifting on research and production, and I made the creative calls.
The Brief
Deliverables for each post: a client pitch, a production brief an editor or designer could work from, and a mockup.
Alongside both: the tools and models used, a prompt or skill with its real output, and what I checked, changed or rejected along the way.
The Two Posts
01 · Looney Tunes · A Current Social Trend
Stop the Wedding (Part 2)
The idea: Bugs Bunny talks himself out of his own wedding, and TikTok's favorite warning-signs song says it for him.
Why it works:
- It's part 2 of the account's own Lola and Bugs post (2.4M views), so fans get the callback.
- The lyric delivers the punchline: "stop the wedding" lands on Lola's horrified face.
- The trend was peaking: 51 of the top 84 #stopthewedding posts were from October.
- The joke stays on Bugs's cold feet, never on Lola.
TikTok feed video · 9:16 · 12.7 seconds, built to loop
02 · Scooby-Doo · Scoobtober
#ScoobyDoobyDuet: Run with the Gang
The idea: the gang has been running from monsters since 1969. This Scoobtober, fans duet the classic chase and reveal their Halloween costume.
Why it works:
- In four years of Scoobtober, the account had never asked fans to post their own video.
- Costume reveals were a top Halloween format: 143 of 162 #costumereveal videos sampled were posted after 15 September.
- The chase is the show's signature, with a nod to its famous repeating backgrounds.
- Any fan can be any member of the gang, with one phone and about 15 seconds.
TikTok feed video and fan duets · 9:16 · 12 seconds, loops
Mockups: the TikTok screens are simplified, and handles and counts are placeholders. The fans in the duets are AI-generated.
How I Worked
Research
Audited 46 Looney Tunes posts and 331 Scooby-Doo posts across four Scoobtobers, and dated every TikTok from its video ID.
Score
Built an 8-point fit scorecard into each custom skill, then scored 4 trends and 6 concepts out of 40 before choosing.
Pitch
Wrote each idea as a client pitch: what the audience sees, the platform and format, and why it fits the brand now.
Brief
Production briefs an editor could use: creative direction, edit list, copy, audio and rights, specs, community replies and open checks.
Mockup
Storyboards and rough edits in a TikTok feed, made from official clips, AI fan placeholders and CapCut.
01 Looney Tunes Storyboard
Stop the Wedding (Part 2)
Bugs starts "downsizing" the wedding.
Says: "Or we can get married in Vegas."
On screen: "when you ask him about the wedding plans" (top band, to 0:06.5)
Audio: Bugs at full volume; the song low (about 20%)
Smaller still. Lola listens.
Says: "Or we can just go down to the courthouse right now."
Audio: the song stays low under the line
Bugs points: the warning sign.
Says: "Or we could just… not get married."
Audio: the song starts to rise as his line ends (0:05.9)
Hard cut to Lola's horrified close-up.
On screen: no text, so the lyric lands on its own
Audio: the song at full volume: the "stop the wedding" section
Freeze on Lola with a slow push-in (100% to 115%).
Audio: the section plays out and fades over the last 0.4s
Then: cuts straight back to frame 1
Mockup for review. Stills from the official @looneytunes TikTok, used for illustration only. TikTok screen simplified; counts are placeholders.
02 Scoobtober Storyboard: The Official Post
#ScoobyDoobyDuet: Run with the Gang
What happens: All five of the gang run through the frame, mid-chase. Shaggy and Scooby bring up the rear.
On screen: "the gang's running late for Halloween"
Audio: The chase song, from the clip.
Source: WB Kids, "Musical Chase Scenes", 5:30.6–5:32.9.
What happens: The same run plays twice more, so the gang never gets anywhere. It's a nod to the show's famous repeating backgrounds.
On screen: "…still running."
Audio: The chase song continues.
Source: The same run, looped with hard cuts.
What happens: The gang has gone. The empty corridor holds, leaving space for the fan.
On screen: "your turn 👻"
Audio: The chase song continues.
Source: The empty corridor, at about 5:33 in the same video.
What happens: The end card invites fans to duet in costume. The video then loops back to the start.
On screen: "#ScoobyDoobyDuet" / "run with the gang this Scoobtober 🎃" / "bring a costume, hit duet"
Audio: The chase song continues.
Mockup for review. Frames from the final mockup video. The gang is official WB Kids footage: "Scooby-Doo! | Classic Cartoon Compilation | Musical Chase Scenes", from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, "Scooby's Night with a Frozen Fright" (1970). The TikTok interface is simplified and the counts are made up.
02 Scoobtober Storyboard: A Fan Duet
Example Duet: A Shaggy Reveal FAN ENTRY EXAMPLE (AI placeholder)
He runs in as himself, in a T-shirt and joggers.
Then he turns and presses his palm to the lens.
His hand covers the lens, hiding the cut.
The hand pulls away: he's Shaggy, in the green shirt, flares and wig.
He waves, then runs with the gang.
Both arms up in a big "Zoinks!" face, as "your turn" appears.
Mockup for review. Frames from the final mockup video. Left half: official WB Kids footage (see the official post above). Right half: an AI-generated fan placeholder, with stills made in ChatGPT and animated with CapCut AI video (Seedance 1.0 Fast). Handles, captions and counts are made up, and the TikTok interface is simplified.
AI-Native Toolkit
Claude Code
Claude Opus 5.5, in the Claude desktop app
My research engine and production partner. It read and dated hundreds of posts, compared trends, drafted the pitches and briefs, built the storyboards, and rendered the TikTok-feed mockups in a browser page.
Claude in Chrome
Claude working in my own browser
It read live TikTok, Instagram and YouTube numbers in my signed-in Chrome, then built and exported both edits in CapCut web. I instructed and guided every edit and build.
Custom Claude Skills
Two skills I built for this brief
One skill per post. Each turns the brief into a step-by-step workflow, with the brand voice, a no-go list and an 8-point fit scorecard.
ChatGPT
Image generation, free plan
Six photo-real fan placeholders: before, in costume and posing, keeping the same person across three edits.
CapCut AI Video
Seedance 1.0 Fast, free credits
Turned the stills into 3–5 second motion clips for the costume reveals, using 34 of 100 free credits.
CapCut Web Editor
No AI features
Assembled, timed and exported both rough edits at 1080p, with the on-screen text.
Techniques
- Exact post dates decoded from TikTok video IDs, and trend curves counted from each tag page by month.
- Every concept scored out of 40 before choosing, with the final call made on judgement, not the top score.
- Prompts that describe the outfit instead of naming the character, after the AI turned Shaggy into a furry costume.
- One AI clip played backwards gives both the hand covering the lens and the costume reveal, halving the credits.
- Every frame checked so CapCut's AI watermark never shows in the final video.
- Official footage only. Fan posts appear as evidence, never as source material.
Prompt and Output
01 · Looney Tunes · Claude
Getting a True Comparison
Why I wrote it: Claude's first answer pushed a single trend with nothing to compare it to, drawn from notes outside this brief. I sent it back with this prompt, plus the brief's Looney Tunes section and "Ask questions first".
My prompt, as written (one sentence left out):
I want a trend example that works with just the video example of looney tunes and possibly other looney tunes offficial video but doesnt require a creator involvement for the content to work. Use the looney tunes skill and the brief of what is actually asked to be done. [...] Try again, whether its a trend or challenge that can be applied to the video i want to use.
The output: Claude's shortlist (excerpt)
| Trend | Score | Proof it's current |
|---|---|---|
| "Coming Up Roses" couple edits (Harry Styles) | 36 | No. 1 trending US sound, 9–15 Oct; 181.8K videos |
| "Stop the Wedding" (Ashe) | 33 | 157K videos; a Bridgerton fan edit, 7 Oct, 1.6M views |
| "Housewife" character edits (Tate McRae) | 31 | Out about 16 Oct, already 37.2K videos |
| "First in my bloodline to..." | 30 | 19 Oct, 777K views |
My call: Stop the Wedding over the top score. The lyric says the punchline, and it builds a sequel to a post that already worked.
02 · Scoobtober · ChatGPT
One Fan, Three Edits
My first prompt, word for word:
Create a photo-realistic still from a vertical TikTok phone video, portrait format. A man in his late 20s runs on the spot in a small living room at night, filmed side-on from about two metres away, full body in frame from head to shoes. He is in side profile, facing and running toward the LEFT edge of the frame, copying a classic cartoon chase run: body leaning forward, both fists clenched at chest height with elbows bent, right knee lifted high, left leg stretched out behind him, wide eyes and a scared open mouth, as if a monster is chasing him. He wears everyday clothes: a navy T-shirt, black joggers and white trainers, with short hair. Warm lamp light, fairy lights, a carved pumpkin on a shelf. Slight motion blur on his feet only. A natural phone-camera look, not a studio photo. No text, no logos, no watermarks, no cartoon characters.
Two follow-up prompts edited the same image into the Shaggy costume, then the pose, so he stays the same person in every shot.
ChatGPT output: before, in costume, and the pose. AI-generated placeholder.
My Judgement
- Sent back Claude’s first pick. It went all in on one trend with nothing to compare it to, so I asked for research built from my clip and the brief’s rules.
- Ruled out trends that need a person on camera. The brief allowed no new filming or talent.
- Official footage only. Fan uploads appear as evidence, never as source material.
- Chose Stop the Wedding over the top score, for its clearer trend identity and the lyric that delivers the punchline.
- Flagged the music licence. It proved right: the label claimed the song on YouTube as soon as the mockup was uploaded.
- Named the challenge for fans, not clients. #ScoobyDoobyDuet, checked as unused on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
- Rejected AI clips that went wrong: a reveal set in a photo studio, and a Shaggy turned into a furry costume.
- Every fan included. A woman and a man as example fans, and any fan can be any member of the gang.
The Full Deliverable
This is the complete document I submitted for the assessment, with the agency’s name removed. It has both pitches, the production briefs and edit lists, the research and evidence tables, the storyboards, and every prompt, output and judgement call (31 pages, PDF, 5.6 MB).
This was a hypothetical hiring brief from a creative agency. The posts were never published or used for client delivery. Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo and all related characters and footage are © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., shown here in mockups for illustration only. The fans are AI-generated placeholders, and the TikTok screens, handles and counts are mockups.