Circuit stuff

Alright, this is a hardware question about circuits and chips:

Im making motion detectors right, well, so far, you get a + whatever voltage when somebody breaks my beam thingy. Thing is, if someone quickly runs by, it triggers for like 1/10 of a second and thats not long enough to notice!

What can I use to set something off for at least 5 seconds or so…

I was thinking of using 555 timers and using the input voltage as the trigger and using a potentiometer to adjust the length of time, but then I need one 555 for each input I have… wanted to know if theres an easier way…