Size Doesn’t Matter…

…Even if you’re a Little Big Fish!

We all have an obsession with length.

All sorts of statistics demonstrate ideal lengths of films, with the perceived wisdom being keeping it 2 minutes or under.

Now there is a lot of truth in that but it’s also a very cold way of looking at the films, so whilst it is absolutely a consideration we believe it shouldn’t be an obsession.

You only have to look at the world of feature films. The standard length is supposed to be 100 minutes, and yet,’The Godfather’, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘The Good the Bad and the Ugly’, ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ as just a few examples are way over that length but yet they are some of the most celebrated films ever made.

Back in the world of corporate communications, we have made 3 minute films that felt briefer than two minutes and were more engaging. Why? Because that increased length allows a better narrative, it allows light and shade and it allows you to explore more than merely a perfunctory message for the film.

We believe that it’s those things that turn a viewer off. Of course, you’re going to switch off after less than two minutes if the film isn’t telling you anything, if the characters aren’t complex or the narrative is so tight it’s not structured right.

So we believe that whilst a film should absolutely be as tight as it can be, sometimes it’s not that the length is wrong, it’s that the film hasn’t been made right.