Typically, when a client has approached me with an idea for a website video, they tend to tell me that they’re picturing something in the neighborhood of 2-3 minutes. When they put pen to paper they tend to write a 4-5 minute script. It’s tough to reel our ideas down to the right length, but I have a few insights to help you steer your videos to the perfect duration.

First, one ground rule. “Watchabilty” is defined by the percentage of people that make it to a certain point in your video. I use 50% as my gold standard. So if I create a video and less than 50% of viewers make it to, say, the 6 minute mark, that tells me that my video should be less than 6 minutes.

Motion Graphic vs. Live Action

The type of video that you’re making is the first consideration to make. To me the biggest surprise is that motion graphic (2D and 3D animation) videos don’t seem to hold up as long in front of a set of eyes as a live action video (i.e. footage shot with a camera).

About two-thirds (65%) of viewers made it to the 3 minute mark.

This is interesting and I speculate that it’s because we’re socially geared to be courteous to other people. There’s a touch of guilt in cutting someone off who’s looking you in the eye and sharing their thoughts. It’s just a recording but live action video generates greater suspension of disbelief and this blurs reality. I’d go further and say that we tend to watch these talking heads way past the point that we’re really interested in the content.

Only 37% of viewers made it to the 3 minute mark.

This isn’t great news for us motion graphic designers and it suggests that if your message can’t be explained in 60 seconds or less you may want to consider live action video. That said, a great looking animation shows a sense of “big-ness” that live action video rarely achieves, any schlep can record himself with a webcam.

How Good Can You Make It?

Time to be honest with yourself. How great can you actually craft the video? How great are your writers? How good is your lighting? How great is your talent or voiceover artist? And even if you’ve assembled the dream team, is everyone going to get the time necessary to be their best? For a moment we have to turn off the “ever-optimist” in ourselves and admit that perhaps some part of our work flow may generate less than an A+ this go around. If that’s the case, shorter is better. Sure, the best of the best can get people to sit still for an hour and a half. But even they can only make something that watchable when given a year of time in the pipeline and top talent at every phase—and even then they often fail. If you’re making your first video (or your first go at a type of video) find ways to keep it short. Your mis-steps will go unnoticed in a 30 second video, they’ll become the prime entertainment in a 3 minute video. For example.

How Badly Does Your Audience Need To Hear Your Message?

Recently, I wanted to learn how to use an old-fashioned safety razor. The top rated videos on YouTube run about 10 minutes or so. That’s an eternity in online video standards, but I could live with that because not giving these videos my time meant that I’d be dragging a razor over my bare neck without a clue how to do it right. I needed to hear that video’s message—twice actually. Most video makers find themselves in the opposite situation. Often they need people to watch their video more than people need to hear their message. That’s ok, fortunately most people will give you 30 seconds make your pitch, more if they’ve got something on the line (like the success of their business or their health). That’s why the de facto length of product explainer videos is right around 60 seconds.

If enough people aren’t making it to the end of your video, then it raises the question: was it was really worth the effort to make that last minute? One of my favorite moments is that moment after watching a great video where the screen is black and silent. It’s in that moment that I let myself exhale and say “wow” to what I’ve just seen. Often, I wish that it was still playing out and I’m left craving just a little bit more than what I got. This is the moment that we as video creators should aim to create, and if we can make it happen, we’ve hit the perfect video length.

UX Magazine recently published the article “Should We Focus on User Experience?” where they make a strong argument for taking some of the focus off of designing the ideal user experience and refocusing on creating positive memories associated with your site. The argument being that if a user can’t recall having had a positive time on your site, the design of your site has done little to earn a second visit.

Does The Premise Hold Up?

The answer comes down to this… 1 hour after leaving your site, some memory is left with your visitor; but what about 24 hours later? Did your site do enough to inspire them to noodle you around in their heads? Enough to make it stick? If not, then a tree has fallen in the forest, but no one stuck around to hear it strike the ground. The article explains it well:

In an almost dictatorial way, our remembering self selectively picks what parts of an experience it wants to remember. And later, it makes its decisions based on those memories.

So What Makes a Site Stick?

If I’m at liberty to oversimplify: first, the site gave the visitor what they came for and second it found a way to surprise them.

The Use Case: Your Widget

Let’s boil this down to the simplest use case, you have a new widget or service that you’re trying to sell. You need a web page to promote said widget. The goal of this page is simple: to motivate every page visitor to order the product. So we need to drum up some “must-have momentum.” The trouble is your widget is complicated, or it’s so simple that I can’t see any reason why I’d choose your product over someone else’s.

This is the point at which most pages roll out a bulleted list of features… and it’s the point where most pages fail. If your copywriter is a delightful lyricist your list is going to give me the information that I was looking for. But unless you have a bullet that boasts your ability to make me 4 inches taller or teaches my dog to appreciate the fine service of the FedEx guy, there’s no chance that your page is going to surprise me—much less create a memorable experience.

Using Video To Pull It Off

So here’s my proposition: scrap the bulleted list and drop in a video. Even an unimaginative video allows you to take that bulleted list, speak it, and provide visuals to play along with it. This is the classic explainer video. At it’s most creative, this video has the power to move your audience. I’ve seen videos about products and services that speak to a true pain point in my life—and propose to solve it. Here’s a great example from the folks at Zendesk:

Zendesk wasn’t inspired by user experience, they were inspired by the power of the “remembering self” when they created this touching, playful story. While they may count on good user experience to occasionally close the deal, it’ll be the video that creates countless easy sales.

On a weekly basis, I have this cringe-worthy moment with my co-workers where I sheepishly paraphrase something from 37signals’ blog Signal vs. Noise. I’ve always been a bit nervous about anything evangelical in the tone of my voice, and nothing makes me more embarrassed than quoting Jason Fried or worse yet, one of his twitter-rific apostles. The problem is, these guys are thinking so hard, about the things that we in the tech industry take for granted, that they’ve turned themselves into inspiration machines.

REWORK is their condensed sampling of some of their favorite blog posts from over the years, converted into a New York Times best seller and to expand their audience beyond those interested in reading a blog on “design and usability.”

Is It Worth The Read?

No question, if only so that you’re able to carry on a conversation about startup philosophy in the tech world. This book is referenced so frequently that you’d expose yourself as either a little out of the loop or not much of a reader. Beyond that the book is packed with gems that have the power to truly re-shape an organization’s approach to creation, for example:

If you build software, every error message is marketing.

And ideas that may come be incredibly reassuring to self-conscious startups…

Small is not just a stepping-stone. Small is a great destination itself.

The Elephant In The Room

Here’s the kicker with this book: it’s inspiration, not a manual. If you tried to implement all of the suggestions in the book, you’d run the risk of collapsing your business. Let me give you an example:

Workaholics don’t actually accomplish more than non-workaholics. They may claim to be perfectionists, but that just mean they’re wasting time fixating on inconsequential details instead of moving on to the next task.

The truth is, sometimes they do accomplish more than their non-workaholic brethren. Sometimes one gal pushes hard enough to move the company forward one late night all on her own. Everyone has been that person at one time or at least seen the results. I don’t doubt that being a workaholic isn’t exactly a viable way to operate, but most of us don’t see ourselves that way; we put on the superman cape for a day and we go back to being Clark Kent the next.

The Trick To Enjoying This Book

That’s right there’s a trick to enjoying this book. It’s worth it though. The trick is to remind yourself that not everything in this book is for you. Some of the ideas are going to be a perfect fit for your business; some are going to make you roll your eyes, and those ideas are either dead wrong or they’re for some other guy’s business.

37signals prides themselves in making a few waves. This book is almost entirely waves and if taken literally, it’ll prove a little choppy and a little obnoxious for most. For added obnoxiousness try the snarky audio edition. But if you can temper your reactions, this book is an incredible read and a great toolbox of thoughts for shaping the place you work into somewhere great. Not to mention, the snarkiness is half the fun.