A complaint that has dominated proceedings for a while now when it comes to the OTT space is about ‘pacing.’ Unless you can produce a Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story and the select few series that justify their long runtimes and longer amount of episodes, this complaint about having longer and more episodes has become a recurring factor in more and more web shows in India lately.
The latest prey to the firing of these shots is perhaps the most popular web show in India in the past six years – Mirzapur. Opinions are aplenty about how the third season lived up/did not live up to the expectations but saw the constant – ‘ye season thoda slow lag raha hai?’ What is it about the pacing of shows that clock nine to ten episodes with an average runtime of 45 minutes that perturbs the viewer to this extent?
Used To It
The one belief that runs amok is how the attention span of a viewer continues to get lesser and lesser with days passing by and short-form content taking over. While that is true to an extent, it doesn’t encompass the entire spectrum of viewing experience. Long-form content works wonders and has been known to be the most consumed form as long as it engages you and keeps you intrigued.
It is also true that the option to just switch over to the plethora of content and not return to it happens more often than not but what one cannot take away is the organic nature of staying hooked on to a story that speaks to you. A rational viewer has gotten used to having longer and more episodes, which becomes a constant once the said show attains a certain level of popularity. But acting as a double-edged sword, the same decision becomes a problem if and when not done well. Then those long episodes seem never-ending and thus the pacing gets to the viewer.
Less Is More
The idea of having fewer episodes isn’t just based on the fact that a viewer is ‘bored’ much easier than before but it is based on the motive of delivering a satisfying viewing experience that doesn’t stretch for the sake of it. The small screen (television) literally runs on the belief and who am I to advocate the ‘less is more’ concept when TV shows in India have been not only running for 14-15 years but a few of them clocking over 4000 episodes and so on – but the demographic it caters to is widely different.
Nevertheless, the OTT space thrives on making crisper episodes and still not compromising with the storytelling. What is usually a factor with films is the idea of having a time crunch and always having to chop and pop the bits that somehow tell the story effectively but the introduction of OTT became a writer’s and a filmmaker’s paradise with no barrier on time and indulge in deeper aspects.
However, for a while now, this has become a bigger concern where filmmakers have become almost too indulgent and end up putting filler sequences and banal developments to just fill up an average that is possibly a demand.
The Economic Side & Changes Needed
What might not be understood is that there is an economic aspect involved in the commissioning of episode orders and there are several instances where the creative team of the particular show doesn’t have much of a say in it. While this is a deterrent to the sheer idea of telling a story on streaming platforms, it is a reality many face and need to adapt with.
I remember watching the likes of shows like KIller Soup, Taj Mahal 1989, The Great Indian Murder, Aashram and many more thinking how much has the commercial aspect involved in making and presenting a web series taken over the more nuanced way to convey a story with tropes that are needed and not that are just forcefully put in.
As mentioned in the beginning, a mega show like Mirzapur 3 also became the victim to what was possibly a demand to have ten episodes. Clocking ten episodes and the show coming after a long gap of four years, the pacing was always going to be questionable and it turned out to be a factor indeed. This wasn’t one of those shows that takes its time to slow burn leading towards a big crescendo but had more filler scenes than one can imagine and several that did not entirely fit the purpose.
Changes are needed where the makers need to be cognizant about the purity of storytelling and how it is important to not quite compromise on your vision in a way that deters the core structure of a saga in ways that don’t just affect its impact now but in the longer run. Or else, you produce a show that justifies its long runtime and large amount of episodes and that is no formula that needs to be cracked but just be more intricate with the way you tell your story.