hi, i plan on making drawing and painting video tutorials and putting them up on my site. they will be quicktime videos i think, i havent got the camera yet. but i was wondering, with the current bandwidth (for cable users) how many minutes should i make each part of the tutorials? any help greatly appreciated. thanks. derek

or 1- how long for streaming videos
2- how long for non streaming videos

thanks. derek

It depends on the video itself and how often you plan on posting videos. There isn't any one set amount of time your video should be. As with writing your video should be as long as it needs to be to say what you want to say.

However here are a few thoughts from someone who consumes a lot of content. I'm subscribed to a lot of blogs and many use video at times. If the video is under 5 minutes I'm likely to watch it. If it's between 5 and 10 minutes I'll watch if I think it'll be interesting in some way. Anything over 10 minutes means I better really think the video will be good before watching it.

If I already have a good relationship with your site, if I've liked your content in the past I'll give any length video a try. The longer the video is the more you need to do a good job keeping me interested early. Long videos are a commitment. Your audience likely has many other things to do with their time.

If you only plan on offering video every so often and the content is something that would work well with a longer video, then by all means go for the longer video. Alternatively you could record an hour long video and then break it up into 10 - 12 shorter videos on your site.

awesome thanks for that vangogh! i will chop them up into smaller , thanks again. derek

Video must be not long, I look videos only first 30 seconds , if it`s not interesting shutdown. If an instructive video i watch first in information, at start of the video there must be something that will interest man who looks it. Maybe give some questions , which will deter watchers and they will wait for answer.

Glad to help Derek.

Andre I think it depends on the video. Typically like you I'll watch the first 30 seconds and if it's not interesting I'll leave. However there are plenty of videos that I know are an hour long and know I want to watch. I won't drop what I'm doing to watch, but I will watch when I have more time.

CSS Tricks is a good example of a site with longer video tutorials that are worth watching. Chris doesn't release a long video every day or week so you don't get overwhelmed with the length.

Considering most internet user attention span, it would be wise to keep the videos within 3 to 5 minute range for non-streaming. If the video is any longer than 5 minutes, an attractive summary as an intro to keep the viewers. Intro summary should be within first 30 seconds. For live streaming videos, I can often stare at my favorite artist, paint for hours. I just sit back and watch. Unbelievably entertaining. You could also see other users who are online.. If the artist has credibility and has many followers, I think that ~an hour long streaming would be acceptable. That's just my personal experience and observations. Where can I find your videos, once their made?

Like everyone says it depends on exactly what your looking to convey in them. Just remember if you stack it with too much filler people will become bored no matter how long it is, whether its 1 minute or 10 minutes. Stick to enticing people to stay using some key phrases that everyone uses to sell things. It helps people's attention not drift when things get a bit boring.

I would say 3-5 minutes any longer and you may lose people unless the content is really amazing. Dont forget to upload them on a bunch of sites or you could make them exclusive and charge to gain access to them.

There is no set formula, but I think vangogh said it best when he said to break them up. My advice would be to plan everything out before starting to make the videos. Plan what will go into each. Have a look at other similar tutorial websites that offer videos and see what they are doing. The other thing to keep in mind is that your not creating ad videos or viral videos so length isn't as much of a factor, nor is the web surfers attention span. Because people who are watching your videos are going to be people who want to learn what your teaching. So they'll be grateful for videos that are slightly longer, but give them the information they need. But don't go all out. My advice would be to cover one technique or topic per video and then just make sure to always tie into and direct your viewers to the next video in the series.

Make the video short and simple, detailed, straight to the point video. Because if I'm the viewer I would pause and scroll to the parts of the video that is important.