About the channel
Curious stories. Precisely told.
Six Minutes On… is an independent channel of short documentaries. Each film takes one remarkable place, invention or piece of hidden history and explores it properly, in about six minutes.
The idea
Why six minutes
Six minutes is long enough to understand something properly, and short enough to watch tonight. It is time to set the scene, follow the story and arrive somewhere, without padding.
The films are not all exactly six minutes long. Some stories need a little less, some a little more. The aim is the same: one subject, told well, in about the time it takes to make a cup of tea.
How we make them
The approach
We lead with the surprising fact, then explain it, with maps, archive and footage graded the way the stories feel.
Maps are drawn as simple line art over dark seas, so the place being discussed is always clear. Where a film uses data, archive images or reconstructions, we credit the source on screen. We never invent a statistic.
Every film keeps the same look: deep navy, cool off-white type and a single brass accent, like a well-made instrument. Precise, calm, unhurried.
The programmes
What we cover
Lost Worlds
Places that have vanished: drowned, buried or forgotten, and what they tell us about the land we live on now.
British Culture
The rituals and institutions that quietly shape everyday British life, and how they came to be.
Engineering
The structures and systems hidden beneath and behind the places we live, and the people who built them.
Technology
The inventions we use every day without a second thought, and where they came from.
Get in touch
Follow and write
New films are published on our YouTube channel. Subscribe there to see each one as it arrives.
Ideas for a film, corrections and questions are always welcome at [email protected].