Your Video Is Too Long. Here Is What to Cut.
Answers how long should a video be
Length is not a property of the footage. It is a decision, and most films are between twenty and forty per cent longer than they should be. The good news is that the cuts that fix it are concentrated in five places, and you do not have to rebuild anything to make them.
One: the first eight seconds
Almost every film starts too early. The title card arrives before the audience knows why they should care, the establishing shot holds for three seconds longer than it takes to establish, and the first line of dialogue is a greeting.
Open on the most interesting frame you have and let the audience catch up. The information that feels essential to you is usually available fifteen seconds later, for free, from context.
Two: the last ten
This is where the money is. Endings run long because the editor knows what is coming and the audience already got it. The last card is explained twice, the final shot holds past the point, and there is a second conclusion after the first.
Cut the last ten seconds and watch it again. Then cut five more. The film will feel faster and the ask will land better, because an ending that arrives slightly early is a film that respects you.
Three: the middle, where the argument repeats
Somewhere in the body there are two beats making the same point with different footage. This is the hardest cut to see because both versions are good and you chose them both.
The test: cover the second one and ask whether anything is missing. If the answer is nothing, it is a cut.
Four: every pause
Not the dramatic ones. The ones where someone is thinking, or breathing, or waiting for a cue. On a talking-head film there are usually four to eight seconds of them, distributed so nobody notices individually.
Do not cut them to zero. Cut them in half, and the film keeps its humanity while losing the dead air.
Five: everything after the ask
Your film has one thing it wants. Once it has asked, the film is over. Everything after the card is a title sequence for a film that has already finished.
How long should it be
There is no correct number, but there is a correct question: how long does the audience need, and how long will they give you? A case study for a buyer who is already interested can run four minutes. A social cut for someone scrolling has two seconds to justify its existence.
The answer to "how long should it be" is almost always "shorter than the rough cut, and shorter than you think".
The uncomfortable part
You will not find these cuts by watching it again. You will find them by watching it with someone who has not seen it, and noticing where they look away, check their phone, or ask a question you already answered. Every one of those is a place the film is too long.
If a film is not landing, send it over and the read will be about structure rather than taste.