I finished a new version of The Sharkbiter Interview. I split the video, which runs 9:16, into 14 parts.
My goal with the new version is to cut it into parts that run about one to one and a half minutes long. I read that videos longer than that are less popular. The audience retention statistics on YouTube showed that the audience for Make ’em Squirm: The Sharkbiter Way had dropped to under fifty percent by one minute into the video. https://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/filmlist/make-em-squirm-the-sharkbiter-way/
My first attempt was in early July. I ended up with seven parts, which ran between 1:24 and 2:22. The average was 1:45. I thought that worked OK, but the videos were still longer than I wanted.
I watched the videos several time before I decided where to cut them. Some I left as they were, while others I cut into two parts and, in one case, into three parts. The 14 parts ranged in length between 0:45 and 1:33. The average was 1:11.
I found Part 1 difficult to do and I had to redo it several times before I had it the way I wanted it. Part 5 came in too short, so I had to add some dialogue to bring it closer to the average. I did new introductions and closes for all of the videos. Beyond that I found I needed to add or change a few words so each part could stand on it’s own.
Over all I’m happy with them, but there were a few that I think don’t work as well as separate episodes. I will think more about those and I may recombine some of the parts.
When I first wrote the script, I thought of it as a single video and I think that made it harder to split up the way I did. If I had that idea from the start, I could have avoided that problem. I suppose I could do a more drastic rewrite now, but I think it is better to finish this off and move on to other projects.
I plan to start posting them next week.
