A good friend of mine sent me an Instagram post showcasing a twitter thread from Ron Iver (snapshot below) questioning why 90 minute meetings exist when in the same timeframe a movie can uncover a story plot from beginning to end, explore complex themes, and touch on emotional points.
It got me thinking about two things:
- Concise storytelling
- People who thrive in meetings
I’ll start with the first point, and later you can judge the irony of the length of a blog post on concise storytelling.
On Storytelling
Shrek, a case study: Movies take time to story block, write, produce, direct, voiceover and release. Shrek, which is referenced in the tweet, was based on a book published by William Steig in 1990. It then took over 6 years from start to screen (Jim Hill Media, 2004; Looper. 2023) with painstaking 1990s animation technology. It potentially saved DreamWorks financially. It won an academy award. Lastly, but most surprising to me, it was added as one of 25 movies in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2020 (Business Insider, 2023). This movie was so profoundly impactful to our country, that even the government took note. 90 minutes can lead to compelling conclusions.