Do you scroll Instagram reels or YouTube shorts? Irrespective of age, gender or nationality, everybody loves these short videos. These are short (so we don’t need to think before starting a video) and fun to watch. From a short break from studying to travelling towards home after work, whenever we get some time for passing these are our go-to content to watch. That’s why creators are also inclined towards these short-form videos, which take less time to make and gain more views and engagement from the audience.
Does episode length matter? That might be a point of discussion. In our fast-paced world, do we always want to consume more content in less time? Why do we want to watch any informative video at 2x speed? In the battle between quality versus quantity, does quantity win? Let’s find out the psychology of viewers about these situations.
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Cognitive Load and Attention Span
According to Anderson & Kirkorian (2006), attention is a limited resource of our cognitive process. If somebody gets exposed to complex stimuli for a really long time, it can lead to cognitive fatigue for them. They discussed how viewing television requires sustained attention. Especially for younger audiences, small forms of content help them to manage their cognitive load.
If the length of the episode is short, then it can reduce the cognitive fatigue of the viewer. It helps the audience to stay focused and emotionally invested in the show. On the other hand, a longer episode that is not paced well increases the cognitive fatigue of the viewer. Also, the viewer can’t totally focus on that episode. It can be a major reason for causing disengagement in the content.
Along with the length, the pacing of a video can also influence viewers. Well-paced video helps to manage the viewer’s attention. Fast pacing is important for keeping the audience alert and excited, while slow pacing helps the audience with deeper emotional processing.
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Emotional Engagement and Pacing
Which pacing is best for your content depends on your content type and what you want your audience will feel throughout your content. Pacing directly affects emotional resonance. According to Hasson et al. (2008), different editing styles give rise to distinct patterns of neural activity. It also helps to reflect different emotional and cognitive engagement. He also introduced us to the concept of ‘neurocinematics’, which shows us how our brain activity and emotional response are influenced by pacing.
Rapid pacing or fast pacing, which includes quick cuts and fast dialogue, helps the audience to raise their tension, excitement or anxiety. On the contrary, slower pacing encourages the audience’s introspection, sadness and calmness. For example, if the creator wants to make a thriller or action film, then they will go for a fast pace; however, for a drama or character-driven story, slow pacing is ideal.
Indulge-Watching and Viewer Behaviour
The length and pacing of a video can influence the viewer’s behaviour. Wang & Tchernev in 2012 told that viewers’ personal needs and the structural features of the content can shape the media consumption pattern of the spectators. He found that media multitasking and gratitude-seeking behaviour are related to episode structure and pacing. Short episodes with fast pacing help the viewer to seek instant gratification, which encourages them to indulge. Also, an episode needs to be emotionally satisfying, which allows the viewer to watch other episodes continuously. On the other hand, if the episode is lengthy with slow pacing, it breaks the indulge momentum, especially if the emotional payoff is delayed.
Memory and Narrative Retention
According to Mittell (2015), narrative complexity needs careful pacing, which helps to balance viewer comprehension along with emotional payoff. He argues that strategic pacing is beneficial for storytelling in complex TV series. It helps viewers to retain the plot details and character arcs.
If the episodes are well-paced, then it is good for narrative quality. So in this case, the viewers can remember the key plot points of the episodes and the development of the character throughout the series. Also, short episodes lead to episodic memories. It is specially applied for episodes that have different emotional or thematic arcs.
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Genre Expectations and Viewer Psychology
“Genre shapes viewer expectations, and deviations from pacing norms can either enhance or disrupt engagement.” (Cutting, 2016) According to Cutting (2016), how viewers respond to the pacing and length of the video is influenced by the genre conventions of that video. The expectations of the viewer are shaped by genre norms. Breaking these norms can be a risk-taking challenge for the creator. If the audience likes the content, then it will be a major success for the creator, but if they don’t like it or if it affects their belief, then it can destroy his or her career.
Conclusion
In the world of media and entertainment, episode length and pacing are two vital tools that are very much needed to shape the viewer’s psychology. If we notice in ourselves, we can find that we are also more inclined to short-form videos. Lengthy or slow videos do not catch our interest. And we can’t keep our attention on one video if it is not interesting. Also, longer videos are one of the reasons for cognitive fatigue among viewers.
Pacing of the videos depends on genre conventions. That’s why, for action or thriller movies, we prefer fast pacing, but for soft, smooth romantic drama, we prefer slow pacing. So, emotional satisfaction is also important for it. Ultimately, in the battle of quality versus quantity, quality wins. Through thoughtful pacing and concise storytelling, passive viewing can transform into a deeply immersive and memorable experience.
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References +
Anderson, D. R., & Kirkorian, H. L. (2006). Attention and television. In Singer, D. G., & Singer, J. L. (Eds.), Handbook of children and the media (2nd ed., pp. 229–248). SAGE Publications.
Cutting, J. E. (2016). Movies on our minds: The evolutionary psychology of film viewing. Oxford University Press.
Hasson, U., Landesman, O., Knappmeyer, B., Vallines, I., Rubin, N., & Heeger, D. J. (2008). Neurocinematics: The neuroscience of film. Projections, 2(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.3167/proj.2008.020102
Mittell, J. (2015). Complex TV: The poetics of contemporary television storytelling. NYU Press.
Wang, Y., & Tchernev, J. M. (2012). The “myth” of media multitasking: Reciprocal dynamics of media multitasking, personal needs, and gratifications. Journal of Communication, 62(3), 493–513. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01641.x
