The most common mistake in explainer videos is not the picture or the voice. It is a script written for a longer film than the one being made, then read too fast to fit. Viewers notice: subtitles fly past and nothing sticks.
The fix is to choose the length first and write to it.
How many words fit
A clear narration voice speaks at roughly 130 to 150 words a minute, a little over two words a second. Leave a second at the start and the end for the picture to breathe, and you get:
| Length | Spoken words | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| 15 seconds | about 25–30 | One point, one picture. A hook or a teaser. |
| 30 seconds | about 55–65 | One idea explained: the problem, how it works, the result. |
| 45 seconds | about 85–95 | A process of three or four steps. |
| 60 seconds | about 115–130 | A short story: before, the turning point, after. |
If your draft is over the count, cut a point, not the pauses.
Which length for which job
- Social feeds (TikTok, Reels, Shorts): 15 or 30 seconds, vertical, subtitles on. The first two seconds decide whether anyone stays.
- A landing page: 30 to 60 seconds, landscape. Visitors who press play want the whole idea, not a teaser.
- A product launch: 30 seconds for the post, 60 for the page. See product launch videos.
- Teaching one concept: 45 to 60 seconds, often as a whiteboard explainer, so each drawing appears as it is named.
- A data finding: 30 seconds for one finding, 60 for a before-and-after. See data story videos.
Longer is not more
A 60-second film is not twice as useful as a 30-second one. It has to keep attention twice as long. If a topic needs more than a minute, make a series: one idea per film, same look, same voice.
Let the length drive the script
On our generator you pick the length before anything is written, and the director, Claude Opus 5.5, cuts the script to it: a 30-second film gets a 30-second script, not a long one read fast. Write your one sentence, choose 15 to 60 seconds, and make the film.
Claude and Opus are trademarks of Anthropic. This site is independent and not affiliated with Anthropic.