Two questions here:
We've all heard a page a minute as long as we've been writing. We've also heard Courier New is the correct font, but there's this thing called Courier Final Draft. The two can result in a 20 page difference in a full length screenplay! So what's the actual industry standard these days and the closest to "page a minute?"
(1) What's the deal with page count nowadays?
(2) Can screenwriters get away with cheating our page count?
Re the first question.
I touched on a related bit of business in this recent post:
In years past, I used to teach that the average scene was 2 pages long. Since a typical script clocked in at 120 pages, then you could basically expect to see around 60 scenes in a script.This is all part of a trend starting in the late 90s...
However, I think that has changed. I have no numbers or facts to bear this out, but it just feels to me like scenes are getting shorter - and as a result, there are more of them in contemporary movies. Perhaps between 75-90 scenes per script.
Today when I write, instead of keeping in mind a 2-page per average scene, I'm thinking 1-and-a-half pages per scene.
[Those numbers will vary according to the genre of the script, the style the writer chooses to take in telling the story, and other factors.]
Where movies are getting shorter.
Here's a USA Today article from 2002 that tracked the trend even then:
Films have been getting shorter since 1997, when the average movie was 109 minutes long. This year, the average is 103, according to box office firm Nielsen EDI.As the poster child of short movies...
The article cites Men in Black II...
Which clocked in at a mere 82 minutes.
Ironically, of course, we've got all these big budget movies...
Like The Dark Knight and Transformers: Rise of the Fallen...
Which fill out 150 minutes.
So what the hell is going on?
My guess is that page count...
Is now more genre and format dependent than ever.
For example, animation is super-expensive to produce.
Therefore, it behooves the filmmakers to make shorter movies.
Here are some run times of recent animated films:
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs -- 94 minutes
Up -- 96 minutes
There's a similar thing re family movies...
They're shorter because:
(A) The thinking is that kids have shorter attention spans.
(B) Therefore the studios can get away with shorter (read: less expensive) movies.
Aliens in the Attic -- 86 minutes
G-Force -- 88 minutes
Shorts -- 89 minutes
Then there are your basic comedies.
Aimed at teens and adults, their run times tend to be just a bit longer.
The Hangover -- 100 minutes
Land of the Lost -- 101 minutes
The Proposal -- 108 minutes
Sci-fi and fantasy can run even longer...
Primarily because they have more story to cover.
Terminator Salvation -- 115 minutes
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra -- 118 minutes
Star Trek -- 127 minutes
Same as 'smart' movies.
You know...
Ones with actual plots?
Aimed at 'adults' (anyone over 35).
The Soloist -- 117 minutes
The Taking of Pelham 123 -- 121 minutes
Duplicity -- 125 minutes
Then there are the huge spectacle / event movies.
They can run really long.
Why?
Because being the 800 pound gorillas they are...
With their $100-200M budgets...
They do it because they can.
Plus, the studios believe that these viewers want a bigger bang for their buck.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- 153 minutes
And the aforementioned Transformers 2 (150 minutes).
My take on this re screenwriting:
(1) You have to be cognizant of the genre.
If it's a comedy, action, or family movie, aim for 90-100 pages.
If it's a drama, thriller, or a movie aimed at adults, aim for 100-110 pages.
(2) A 120 page script nowadays is probably perceived as being a 'longish' script.
(3) Even though some movies may run in the 80-90 minute range...
I would be hesitant to write a script less than 90 pages long.
I don't care what genre it is...
If I read a script that's 90 pages or less...
I immediately think -- "The story must be thin."
It's easier to cut material than be forced to generate more...
To 'pad' the story later.
Re cheating page count.
Wow, things have changed.
I remember an old screenwriter telling me that back in the (analog) day...
He'd squeeze more into his scripts by repeating page numbers.
[On his manual typewriter!]
In fact, there were certain numbers he felt were 'safe' to repeat.
I don't remember all of them, but P. 73 is one I can recall.
Then came computers and screenwriting software.
And there are all sorts of cheats.
Different font size.
Text line spacing.
Blank line spacing.
Margins.
How many lines allowed per page.
Where, as jmay suggests, you can change the page count...
By 20 pages.
Look.
I know this area really well.
As I'm always trying to save lines...
Because I write long...
Then trim and trim and trim.
I confess...
I have used cheats before.
But you pay a price.
First, you put a lot more black ink on the page...
And that has a psychological affect on a reader.
They like to see white space...
It means they have less to read.
When they see page after page crammed with text...
It gives them an immediate headache.
Second, you're not giving yourself an accurate read per your plot points.
Your script may say that the end of Act Two happens on P. 90...
But if you've squeezed the margins, font size, etc...
What if your page count is actually P. 98? Or P. 100?
If I knew that plot point happened on P. 100...
My impulse would be to look for trims...
Tighten up the script.
But with cheats, I may feel satisfied with what I've written.
So while a screenwriter can get away with cheating page count...
I don't advise it.
Trust me on this:
You can always trim.
Always.
And 99% of the time...
That benefits a script...
Making it a cleaner, leaner, tighter read.
REQUEST TO SCRIPT READERS: I know we have some who read this blog. What's your advice about page count? Does a script vary in length per its genre?
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9 comments:
Obviously I'm not a professional reader, but as a teacher I know when a student has cheated page count and it's annoying. If you don't have confidence in your story and think you need to lie to get me to get a good grade, you suck.
I'm sure you can relate.
In theory there SHOULD be a different page length by genre - but a lot of the material I read is so poor that it doesn't fall into those parameters. However, thinking back on the "best" scripts I've seen in that genre, I'd say your advice is more or less on target.
My gut estimates for the target "ideal" lengths:
horror and comedies - 95-105 pages
drama - 100-110
action - 100-115
sci-fi - 105-115
For a first-time screenwriter, 120 pages is almost always too long. If you're writing a wacky comedy and you end up on p. 121, cut at least ten pages out before you send it. (You'll still probably hear it's "too long" but at least you're in the ballpark.)
Don't be an idiot and try cheat the margins. Most readers read 10-15 scripts a WEEK. Do you honestly think we won't pick up on the slightest deviation in format? It's burned into our subconscious at this point. We don't even have to whip out the rulers - we'll know on sight AND if we're unsure, we'll just compare the margins to any of the other script's we're assigned.
Thanks for the feedback, but what about the main question: Courier New or Final Draft Courier for industry standard font? I'm not looking to cheat, in fact trying to make it look as standard as possible.
Thanks, TBSR, for your feedback. For those who haven't visited The Bitter Script Reader's blog, go here.
JMay, I found this from Dave Trotter's website:
Incidentally, Final Draft gives you the option of using Courier Final Draft, which is a bit darker than standard Courier. Courier Final Draft also provides the standard 54 lines per page. However, if you transfer a Final Draft file written in Courier Final Draft, the size of the type face may change, resulting in a Courier font that measures around 11 characters per inch rather than the standard 10 characters per inch. That can be a turn-off to professional readers.
Courier Final Draft is the default font, but you can select the traditional Courier New font. However, since Courier New only provides 48 lines per page, you may want to adjust the line spacing to a tighter format, but take care not to go over 54-55 lines per page. To change the line spacing, click on "Document," then "Page Layout," then "Options."
For Trotter's comparison of Final Draft and MovieMagic screenwriting software programs, go here.
That's Dave Trottier, not Trotter. He wrote "The Screenwriters Bible."
Also here is Trottier's take on some of the changes in spec screenplay style.
I read 250 scripts in 2 months last fall for the Zoetrope screenplay contest. When I opened a script and saw the page count was over 115 pages, my stomach sunk -- you have officially pissed me off. When I opened a script and saw 102 pages, I'm like - this person is on it. (As long as the rest of it quacked like a script.)
An acquaintance sent me a script the other day that was 107 pages. Okay. But giant blocks of dialog and action that if properly spaced would ring in at 140-150 pages. I'm not going to read it. I'm going to send him a couple of good scripts and tell him to study them and rewrite his script accordingly. Then I'll read it.
Do the work, man.
As a studio story analyst, I just want to second Christina's comment.
No spec script writer, no matter what the genre, should go out with a script that's 120 pages or over these days. 115 or under is the 2000s established norm.
The only people who abuse this rule, ironically, are established writers who don't give a f--k (i.e. they're delivering drafts on pre-sold projects, or aren't worried about getting their projects set up). Their massive, sprawling, over-written drafts (Hi, Eric Roth!) are nonetheless subject to professional readers' contempt.
To those carping about such a rigorous standard, Scott's statement re: revision is absolutely true: you can ALWAYS cut.
Thanks Scott. The lines per page and characters per inch cleared everything up. By the way, I just found this blog last week and am absolutely loving it. Thanks!
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