How long should chapters be in a feature? at DVinfo.net

Heath McKnight · September 11th, 2003, 06:32 PM

Since I'm still fairly new to DVD production, how long should chapters be on my feature? 10, 15 or 20 minutes? I think 15 are good, around that time frame (depending on when a scene or sequence).

Any thoughts?

heath

Keith Loh · September 11th, 2003, 06:40 PM

Chapters should not have an arbitrary length. They should be based upon scenes or thematic breaks in your story.

Heath McKnight · September 11th, 2003, 06:42 PM

I've seen some movies with 15 chapters, others with 40 (two hour films, usually).

heath

Rob Belics · September 12th, 2003, 09:15 AM

Not sure what you mean by "chapters". Feature films usually have three acts or more. Each act is composed of sequences which are made up of scenes. I'm thinking you mean sequences.

Never write a story based on screen time. Though there are restraints on what you should do, no one movie uses the same time limitations. As Keith said, your story determines the length.

Jake Russell · September 12th, 2003, 11:14 AM

Nope, Heath meant chapters. Chapters are on a dvd and allow you to skip sections of footage(well actually bring a lot more to the table than that but anyway) or even jump straight to a part of a film from a submenu for scene selection.

Jake

Heath McKnight · September 12th, 2003, 11:23 AM

yeah. I own MEETING PEOPLE IS EASY on DVD (Radiohead doc) with NO chapters. What a bitch to navigate through to my favorite spots! God Bless chapters!

heath

Rob Lohman · September 12th, 2003, 01:45 PM

Wait till you get some David Lynch DVD's (I have Mulholland Drive).
He never ever has scene selection because he believes a movie
should be seen from beginning to end, not in pieces. I think he
also never has any commentary tracks because he wants people
to see the movie with their own eyes and heart, not through his.

Heath McKnight · September 12th, 2003, 01:48 PM

Hmmm, interesting. But what if you want to watch your favorite scene? What a pain to search through it.

I can understand that with commentary, but I still enjoyed giving out little trivia things and laughing it up with our co-writer and actress.

heath

Rob Lohman · September 12th, 2003, 01:59 PM

Well, most players & discs allow you to jump to a specific moment
in time. So if you know the hour:minute:second you can enter
that on your remote and jump there (check your players manual)

Keith Loh · September 12th, 2003, 02:35 PM

I was amused to find that my Russian Ark DVD (released this week) has chapters.

Alex Taylor · September 28th, 2003, 01:53 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Keith Loh : I was amused to find that my Russian Ark DVD (released this week) has chapters. -->>>

Of course, so you can skip to the start of the take, the middle of the take, or the end of the take ;)

I'll have to pick that up some time, I have yet to see Russian Ark.

Peter Moore · September 29th, 2003, 06:33 AM

Here's a tip:

Divide the chapters based on what you would entitle them. In other words if the chapter has a good, logical title, then it should be a chapter. If different things happen within the "x"-minute sequence you were thinking of making a chapter, maybe you should divide it up.

Typically, though not always, a chapter mark would occur only at a scene break in a movie, so you can use that as your starting point.

Heath McKnight · September 29th, 2003, 08:45 AM

I did sequences, but one was so long (about 14 minutes), I cut it off at 9 minutes, ie, the end of one scene.

I also am not entitling them, because I think it would ruin it for those who haven't seen the movie yet.

heath

Rob Lohman · October 6th, 2003, 04:32 AM

Well, people shouldn't be going into chapter screens if they
haven't seen the movie yet. Just hit play. I tend to never read
the backside of a movie when I rent it either. Also don't make
a spoilery menu like some discs I've seen.

A chapter of 14 minutes doesn't necessarely have to be a
bad thing, depending on feature length and the kind of scene.

How many times did you actually use chapters on a DVD? I
know I did a couple of times to get watch a certain point, but
mostly I watch the whole movie or the behind the scenes
stuff.

Bryan Mitchell · October 20th, 2003, 01:12 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Keith Loh : I was amused to find that my Russian Ark DVD (released this week) has chapters. -->>>

When I just read that, it made my day. I am very amused as well :)

I didn't know it was out on DVD already, it's a good thing I stumbled upon this older post. It never played here in Vegas, so I couldn't see it, but I did watch the trailer about 11 times. I think I'm going to go buy that on DVD today, now knowing that it's out.

September 11th, 2003, 06:32 PM	#1
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	How long should chapters be in a feature? Since I'm still fairly new to DVD production, how long should chapters be on my feature? 10, 15 or 20 minutes? I think 15 are good, around that time frame (depending on when a scene or sequence). Any thoughts? heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

September 11th, 2003, 06:40 PM	#2
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	Chapters should not have an arbitrary length. They should be based upon scenes or thematic breaks in your story. __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

September 11th, 2003, 06:42 PM	#3
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	I've seen some movies with 15 chapters, others with 40 (two hour films, usually). heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

September 12th, 2003, 11:23 AM	#6
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	yeah. I own MEETING PEOPLE IS EASY on DVD (Radiohead doc) with NO chapters. What a bitch to navigate through to my favorite spots! God Bless chapters! heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

September 12th, 2003, 01:45 PM	#7
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Wait till you get some David Lynch DVD's (I have Mulholland Drive). He never ever has scene selection because he believes a movie should be seen from beginning to end, not in pieces. I think he also never has any commentary tracks because he wants people to see the movie with their own eyes and heart, not through his. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 12th, 2003, 09:15 AM	#4
Rob Belics Major Player Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 581	Not sure what you mean by "chapters". Feature films usually have three acts or more. Each act is composed of sequences which are made up of scenes. I'm thinking you mean sequences. Never write a story based on screen time. Though there are restraints on what you should do, no one movie uses the same time limitations. As Keith said, your story determines the length.

September 12th, 2003, 11:14 AM	#5
Jake Russell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 177	Nope, Heath meant chapters. Chapters are on a dvd and allow you to skip sections of footage(well actually bring a lot more to the table than that but anyway) or even jump straight to a part of a film from a submenu for scene selection. Jake

September 12th, 2003, 01:48 PM	#8
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	Hmmm, interesting. But what if you want to watch your favorite scene? What a pain to search through it. I can understand that with commentary, but I still enjoyed giving out little trivia things and laughing it up with our co-writer and actress. heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

September 12th, 2003, 01:59 PM	#9
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Well, most players & discs allow you to jump to a specific moment in time. So if you know the hour:minute:second you can enter that on your remote and jump there (check your players manual) __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 12th, 2003, 02:35 PM	#10
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	Russian Ark DVD has chapters I was amused to find that my Russian Ark DVD (released this week) has chapters. __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

September 28th, 2003, 01:53 PM	#11
Alex Taylor Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 390	Re: Russian Ark DVD has chapters <<<-- Originally posted by Keith Loh : I was amused to find that my Russian Ark DVD (released this week) has chapters. -->>> Of course, so you can skip to the start of the take, the middle of the take, or the end of the take ;) I'll have to pick that up some time, I have yet to see Russian Ark. __________________ alextaylor.org

September 29th, 2003, 06:33 AM	#12
Peter Moore Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Arlington VA Posts: 1,034	Here's a tip: Divide the chapters based on what you would entitle them. In other words if the chapter has a good, logical title, then it should be a chapter. If different things happen within the "x"-minute sequence you were thinking of making a chapter, maybe you should divide it up. Typically, though not always, a chapter mark would occur only at a scene break in a movie, so you can use that as your starting point.

September 29th, 2003, 08:45 AM	#13
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	I did sequences, but one was so long (about 14 minutes), I cut it off at 9 minutes, ie, the end of one scene. I also am not entitling them, because I think it would ruin it for those who haven't seen the movie yet. heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

October 6th, 2003, 04:32 AM	#14
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Well, people shouldn't be going into chapter screens if they haven't seen the movie yet. Just hit play. I tend to never read the backside of a movie when I rent it either. Also don't make a spoilery menu like some discs I've seen. A chapter of 14 minutes doesn't necessarely have to be a bad thing, depending on feature length and the kind of scene. How many times did you actually use chapters on a DVD? I know I did a couple of times to get watch a certain point, but mostly I watch the whole movie or the behind the scenes stuff. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

October 20th, 2003, 01:12 PM	#15
Bryan Mitchell Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 316	Re: Russian Ark DVD has chapters <<<-- Originally posted by Keith Loh : I was amused to find that my Russian Ark DVD (released this week) has chapters. -->>> When I just read that, it made my day. I am very amused as well :) I didn't know it was out on DVD already, it's a good thing I stumbled upon this older post. It never played here in Vegas, so I couldn't see it, but I did watch the trailer about 11 times. I think I'm going to go buy that on DVD today, now knowing that it's out.