Best Length For Your Documentary
How long should your documentary be? I get this question a lot.
Before I answer, a quick announcement: I have a few spots left in my Inner Circle, which begins Monday, April 30th. I know some filmmakers have said the Inner Circle’s $4000 price is beyond their budget.
So…if the remaining spots are not filled by Friday, I will allow two filmmakers to join at the discounted rate of $2600. You would get two consultations rather than three, plus all the other benefits of being in the Inner Circle, including support from other filmmakers, 12 Mastermind calls and free documentary seminars. Please contact me today if you are interested in possibly joining this 6-month program. Learn more at:
https://newdocediting.com/land/innercircle
Back to the question of best length. Frankly, I think that most documentaries that were not tightly shaped by experienced editor, story consultant or a supervising executive at a broadcast outlet such as HBO are too long. And the problem of “too long”, of course, is that your audience begins to glaze over and feel restless.
So how long should a documentary be? As long as it needs to be. I first heard this truism from Academy Award–winning editor Deborah Hoffmann, whose own personal documentary, Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter, was 44 minutes long. This unconventional length turned out to be the perfect runtime for showing the film at community events and in university classes. The film did very well, according to its distributor, Women Make Movies.
Unless you are under the constraints of a predetermined runtime–for example, a 56:20 or 56:40 PBS length–I suggest that directors listen closely to their editor, their story consultant, and the feedback gathered at rough-cut screenings. Ultimately you may decide to cut various lengths, a longish version for theatrical, a tighter version for television and an even shorter version for the web.
Why do so many directors tend to make their film too long? Famously, directors “fall in love” with scenes and can’t bear to cut them. Editors who spend too much time with the footage can also share this unfortunate, passionate attachment. Having been one, I know. In these cases, an outside advisor can provide fresh perspective. Listen to them!
Another reason inexperienced filmmakers create long documentaries is that they haven’t developed the discipline to weed out ideas that are tangential, repetitive, or run “fat” in the form of bloated sound bites. My mentor Deborah Hoffmann was a genius at running her pen through unnecessary words in a rough-cut transcript.
What can you do if test viewers claim your rough cut is too long? First, look carefully at your characters and see if any of them are repeating the role of another character. If so, make the hard decision to cut one character.
Hire an outside consultant to work with you to cull ideas in topic-based films that really don’t serve your film’s central thesis. Often essay-style documentaries, which are structured around ideas rather than a character’s quest, overwhelm the viewer with too much information. Remember, you’re not making a book.
If you’re making a character-driven documentary, every scene must serve your protagonist’s quest. The exception is if you are weaving in an essay whose points must then be motivated by your protagonist’s actions.
A great example of how to do this can be seen in the documentary Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock. Spurlock could have loaded his food activist film with even more research about the ill effects of fast food, but he found just the right balance, leaving the audience wanting more of his nutritional insight.
For more insight into editing tight and compelling documentaries, check out my upcoming Inner Circle, which begins Monday, April 30th. Learn how you can get professional story consulting and stay on track with fellow filmmakers holding you accountable for your progress at:
https://newdocediting.com/land/innercircle
Note that I’ve extended the early-bird deadline for a few more days. We’re filling up fast, and the last two circles have sold out!
