Knob

Runtime

You might say: video length, duration

How long the video runs. Platform limits constrain delivery; for YouTube mid-roll placement, the guidance points to natural pauses, scene changes or breaks.

What it does

Sets how much room the story has and which feed the video lands in.

Ask

What is the shortest version that still delivers everything?

Trouble

Padding for a monetisation threshold can make the story drag.

What to look for

1. Duration visible on the player
2. Natural pauses, scene changes or breaks
3. Different lengths landing in different platform feeds

Catalogue: Platform

• YouTube Short: Up to 3 minutes for square or vertical uploads since 15 October 2024.
• Instagram Reel: Up to 3 minutes in the app since January 2025 (was 90 seconds).
• TikTok in-app: TikTok’s documented in-app creation limit is 3 minutes; upload limits vary by account and region.
• X standard: Up to 140 seconds without X Premium.
• X Premium: Premium accounts can upload videos shorter than 4 hours at up to 1080p, with a maximum file size of 16GB.
• YT mid-rolls: YouTube's mid-roll guidance favours natural pauses, scene changes or breaks rather than padding to a clock.
• LinkedIn: Up to 15 minutes for a standard video post.
• TikTok Series: Paid Series collections allow up to 20 minutes per video.

Sources

1. YouTube Blog, Mid-roll ads updates explained, Mid-roll ads and viewing experienceInstead, aim for natural pauses, scene changes, or breaks in the content.
2. Todd Sherman, Tall updates coming to Shorts, Shorts up to 3 minutesStarting on October 15, you can upload Shorts up to 3 minutes long.
3. TikTok Newsroom, Introducing a new way for creators to share premium content with Series, March 7, 2023; 20-minute Series videosOne Series can include up to 80 videos, each up to 20 minutes long, giving people a new, longer format to watch their favorite creators and content.
4. Social Media Today, Instagram Officially Expands Reels Length to 3 Minutes, January 18, 2025Today, Instagram has officially announced that users can now create 3-minute Reels in the app
5. LinkedIn Help, Share videos on LinkedIn, Video requirementsMaximum video duration: 15 minutes Minimum video duration: 3 seconds when uploading from desktop and 2 seconds when uploading from the LinkedIn mobile app.

Use it on your project

teardown-apply: hold "Runtime" (runtime) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/content-creation/ against my project

Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.

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