He initially shot 14 hours' worth of footage of paint drying in 4K resolution and opened a Kickstarter campaign to pay the BBFC's per-minute rate for a film as long as possible.

All filmmakers wishing to release a film in British cinemas are required to receive a rating from the BBFC or exemption from the local authority.

[10][11] Paint Drying is a protest against both film censorship in the UK, and the unfair cost to independent filmmakers imposed by the BBFC's mandatory classification requirement.

Shackleton stated that he knew of several planned cinematic releases from independent filmmakers that had to be abandoned because the cost was too high, which he added was "terrible for British film culture".

[8] It had raised £961—worth 2 hours and 1 minute of footage—by 18 November, and an individual unaffiliated with the campaign created a website that tracked in real time how long Paint Drying would be.

[8] Shackleton acknowledged that Paint Drying would likely not have a large impact on film censorship within the UK, but nevertheless hoped that it would encourage people to debate the practices of the BBFC.

[19] He further stated that people accepted the BBFC solely because of its age, claiming that if a similar organisation were to be founded today to censor literature or music, there would be public outrage.

[10] Despite suggestions from backers for Shackleton to secretly insert a penis into a single frame of Paint Drying, he ultimately decided against it as he believed it would have detracted from the point of the film.

[24] To coincide with the examination, Shackleton held an 'Ask Me Anything' (AMA) question and answer session on the subreddit r/IAmA, during which he stated that he did not himself watch the film in its entirety.

It added that "The BBFC is a non-profit organisation that works to protect children, from content which might raise harm risks and to empower the public, especially parents, to make informed viewing choices.

It implements Classification Guidelines that reflect changing social attitudes towards media content through proactive public consultation and research.

Club said that a "14-hour director's cut is presumably forthcoming",[32] and Gizmodo AU stated that uploading the film onto YouTube would be an ideal place for its "cinematic brilliance" to be permanently available for anyone to view.

[23] British magazine Dazed said that if Shackleton had allowed Paint Drying to be shown in cinemas, it would have been a great way to prank one's significant other on Valentine's Day.

[35] Shackleton reflected on Paint Drying in an article he wrote for Vice in April 2017, in which he stated that the BBFC remained unchanged since his protest, and "continues to ban films outright".

[39][40] Although Shackleton had no plans for a wide theatrical release, he stated on 25 January 2016 that he was in talks with a cinema in London about possibly showing the film.