How Long Should a Brand Film Be? It Depends on Where It Runs
By Kamal Abdelrahman, brand filmmaker and marketing strategist, Dubai
"How long should our video be?"
I get asked this a lot, and the honest answer is a question: where will people watch it?
A film on a big screen at a launch event has a captive audience. A Reel has to fight a thumb. Someone who clicked on your website is already interested. Someone seeing your ad is not. Those are four different viewers, and they don't have the same patience.
So don't start with a number. Start with the place, then the person, then the length.
Length by placement
These are the rough starting points I use. They aren't laws. They're a place to begin the conversation.
Instagram Reels and TikTok: 15 to 45 seconds. You're interrupting someone. Get to the point, make one point, and stop. If a topic needs more, that's two Reels.
Paid ads: 15 to 30 seconds. Put your message early, because many people won't reach the end. Test a few openings instead of one long edit.
Your website homepage: 60 to 90 seconds. The visitor has shown some interest. Give them enough to understand who you are and why they should trust you, then send them to the next step.
LinkedIn: 30 to 90 seconds. People watch here with a work head on. Lead with the insight or the result, and add subtitles because a lot of people watch on mute.
Events and launches: 2 to 3 minutes. The room is watching and the sound is up, so you can let the story breathe. This is the one place a slow, cinematic opening can really earn its time.
YouTube and detailed explainers: as long as it stays useful. People come to YouTube on purpose. A ten-minute video that keeps teaching is fine. A three-minute video that repeats itself is too long.
The real rule
A film is too long the moment the viewer stops caring. I've watched 40-second videos that felt endless, and a five-minute film that I wished would keep going.
Here's the test I use in the edit. For every scene, ask: if I cut this, would the viewer miss it? Not me. Not the client who loves that drone shot. The viewer. If they wouldn't miss it, it goes.
Cutting is where most films get better. The audience doesn't care how hard a shot was to get.
Why you should plan several lengths at once
This is the part that saves real money. Most businesses don't need one film at one length. They need one story cut for several places.
If you plan it before the shoot, one production can give you:
- → A main film for the website or the launch event
- → A 30-second version for ads
- → Several short vertical clips for Reels and TikTok
- → A LinkedIn version with subtitles and a clear message up front
The key word is "before". If nobody plans for vertical on the day, you'll end up cropping people's heads later. If nobody films a short, punchy opening line, the 15-second version will feel like a trailer for a film nobody asked to see.
How to decide for your project
Answer these three questions and the length usually becomes obvious.
1. Where will most people first see it? Pick the main placement. That sets the master version.
2. How much do they already know about you? A cold audience needs less information and a stronger hook. A warm audience can take more detail.
3. What should they do next? If the next step is big, like booking a viewing, they may need more trust before they take it. If it's small, like following your page, keep it short.
A common mistake
Many companies try to say everything in one film: the history, the values, the team, every service, the awards, the CEO's message. They're afraid of leaving something out.
But a viewer will remember one thing, maybe two. If you say twelve things, they remember none. Choose the one message, and let the rest live on your website where people can look for it.
That's how I approach it as Kamal Abdelrahman, after 500+ videos and 9+ years of watching what people actually sit through. The right length is the shortest one that still does the job.
Have a film planned? Tell me where it will run and who it's for, and I'll tell you the length I'd aim for.
Looking for this kind of work? See brand films in Dubai.