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LEARNING LENGTH - Is Brevity Best?

One of the most discussed topics in the film industry is audience attention span-- how long is too long? In a broad sense, a viewer will watch for as long as the film's meaningful nature razzle-dazzles them. Yet, any professional filmmaker knows that viewers are erratic, unruly, antsy, and vastly unpredictable. So, gamblers beware when rolling the dice on more minutes-- you could come out broke.

Media expert and friend of Sermonspice, Phil Cooke, reported some intriguing data about film length on his website: philcooke.com. In a study that measured what percentage of videos clicked on were actually watched until the end, 10.39% of viewers stopped just after 10 seconds, and over half of the audience left after 1 minute. Plus, the longer the film, the quicker erosion.

Video length    % of Audience who watched the entire video
10 sec.             89.61%
20 sec.             80.41%
30 sec.             66.16%
60 sec.             46.44%
  2 min.             23.71%
  3 min.             16.62%
  5 min.              9.42%

So what does this mean for Sermonspice filmmakers? Devotion is earned, not expected. Quality and content are weak contenders versus time. Sometimes what can be said in 30 minutes, could be adequately said in 15... 10 minutes in 5... 2 minutes in 1. As a movie-maker, you are a communicator and an artist-- unfortunately, both like to take their sweet time... and are entitled to. The dedication to your trade and love for your audience will dictate what you offer them. Just remember, you want people to see the films that you make.

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