We are creators of content. This can be anything from a well-thought out journalistic article, a photo gallery for a product launch, or a short film showcasing an athlete, event, or something else. For the past 3 years I'd been pining to tell the stories of the digging/build crews at Red Bull Rampage, the premiere event in mountain biking. If you're unfamiliar with the event, get up to speed here.
In October 2015 we were finally granted permission to shoot on the premises of the sacred Virgin, Utah grounds. We chose to work with the build teams of event favorite Graham Agassiz, potential dark horse Tyler McCaul, and Diamondback's great hope, Carson Storch. What resulted was a short film that showcases immense emotion and effort- but simply a small slice of the pie that is Red Bull Rampage.
When producing this piece we struggled with the length. Did it make more sense to create one long-form piece or multiple pieces that create sort of a mini-series? When considering our target audience- action sports enthusiasts and mountain bike lovers everywhere- we were really on the fence about what to do. On one had, shorter content is easier to absorb and digest. On the other, it just fades into the background quickly and has less of a chance to make an impact on the viewer. With this last thought in mind we opted to make a longer piece.
At over 17 minutes it was a big risk. The average mountain bike video clocks in around 2.5 minutes. However, the this isn't an average video, and it's not telling an average story. Each team is well documented within the piece, and since each has a vastly different story, the length was easy to comprehend. Once the piece was released there were few complaints about length. We heard the story was engrossing to the point of not even realizing the time had passed.
What are your thoughts on content length? Does size matter or does it really just depend on the story being told?
