<p>James E. Cutting has done a number of studies on this topic in the movie domain. Take a look at <a href="http://people.psych.cornell.edu/%7Ejec7/pubs/cutting&amp;candanProj15.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;Shot Durations, Shot Classes, and the Increased Pace of Popular   Movies&quot;</a> (Cutting, 2015):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;The pace of popular movies has    increased and statements about  this trend can be found in both the popular media and   in  scholarly works (see, for example, Bordwell and Thompson 2004;  Bordwell,   Staiger, and Thompson 1985; Cutting, Brunick, DeLong, Iricinschi, and Candan 2011b; Salt 2006, 2009)&quot;</p>
<p>&quot;...   shorter shot durations make for more cuts, which in turn make for<br />
more intensified demands on viewers’ attention.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>More work can be found here:
<a href="http://people.psych.cornell.edu/%7Ejec7/pictures_film.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://people.psych.cornell.edu/~jec7/pictures_film.htm</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-26T15:58:23.207Z
2016-05-26T21:59:49.133Z
2020-06-17T09:55:31.633Z
Mabu
<p>While watching TV series (Game of thrones, Death in paradise, New tricks, etc.) I try to count how long one shot was shown before the next shot was shown. The duration of the shots almost never exceeded 10 seconds. Is there some psychological reason for that? </p>

<cognitive-psychology>
Why is it that in TV series the major part of the shots don´t last longer than 10 seconds?
Deschele Schilder
# Why is it that in TV series the major part of the shots don´t last longer than 10 seconds?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-05-25)

While watching TV series (Game of thrones, Death in paradise, New tricks, etc.) I try to count how long one shot was shown before the next shot was shown. The duration of the shots almost never exceeded 10 seconds. Is there some psychological reason for that?

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-05-26. Score: 2

James E. Cutting has done a number of studies on this topic in the movie domain. Take a look at ["Shot Durations, Shot Classes, and the Increased Pace of Popular Movies"](http://people.psych.cornell.edu/%7Ejec7/pubs/cutting&candanProj15.pdf) (Cutting, 2015):

> "The pace of popular movies has increased and statements about this trend can be found in both the popular media and in scholarly works (see, for example, Bordwell and Thompson 2004; Bordwell, Staiger, and Thompson 1985; Cutting, Brunick, DeLong, Iricinschi, and Candan 2011b; Salt 2006, 2009)"
>
> "... shorter shot durations make for more cuts, which in turn make for  
> more intensified demands on viewers’ attention."

More work can be found here:
[http://people.psych.cornell.edu/~jec7/pictures\_film.htm](http://people.psych.cornell.edu/%7Ejec7/pictures_film.htm)


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