Screenwriting : Script Length by Barry Smith

I haven’t read them, so these comments are guesses. If they are great they can be 400 hundred pages, but let’s assume they are just good and avoid that conversation.

Thick of the impression the reader will have before they start. Your script will look like a lot of work. If they get paid per script, yours is costing them time.

Rather than waffle on, here is a video on editing techniques to get page count down without losing story. I hope it helps.

https://youtu.be/9vhfwwMUxJw

Thanks Dan, I will hopefully avoid stupid ones. :)

Cheers Craig, very helpful video, great advice, I will look at that in the future, though I do try and figure what each scene is saying, and different scenes also. Sometimes a script is just less good if you take things out of it, and it doesn’t read as well, and I have tried this. All the best with the revolution.

Hi Barry, I don't write screenplays over the one hundred page count (all genres). Its best you keep your writing under the 120 page count. Its industry standard.

One good thing about stupid producers is that they go out of business pretty quickly.

Barry Smith cheers! This ongoing debate will never wither for lack of discussion.

I read the script for Badlands. 75 pages.

I submitted to a feature competition. 85 pages. Crime thriller. 90.

Solid short feature / comedy. 100.

"Save-The-Cat"-style feature spec, standard 110 pages.

At that point if you can do it in 120 you can do it in 110, etc.

And as the story grows the sky is the limit.

Hi Daniel, you look familiar. Badlands was a great movie. 75 pages? Guess that’s why they had so many beautiful moody shots of the scenery. Certainly worked though.

Thank you BA Mason, wise words. Well, they sound wise to me.

Barry Smith cheers! Yes we're connected and chatted on messages a few months ago, great to see you!

Great to see you Daniel! And to chat too!

@Barry My feeling is its not the exact page count that is crucial but is the story fine tuned, re written and consolidated to its very best advantage to work on set. Even a short script can waffle. Also low budget independent producers may sometimes hold the view each on average one minute page costs but it’s chicken and egg cos a studio may well want an ongoing epic .

You want to get it at 110 pages. Much of that can be done by using better words - words that do the work of several words.

Have you read your 5 favorite screenplays and then read yours? To see if it's comparable to professional work?

Thank you @william Martell, that is kind advice, I have actually looked at many screenplays, some are quite abrupt, with little detail, which seem to be by more established writers, some with big blocks of text, which also seem to be by more established writers. IMHO, I haven’t used too much detail, but the story is quite twisty with some nuance, which seems to take more time.

@Debibie, thanks for this balanced view, I hope you are right.

Hi, Barry! Thanks for posting!

Me, it's more about the content...although I'm happy as long as I don't exceed 129 pages between "FADE IN" and "FADE OUT."

When it came to the three scripts I started typing out last fall, I tried to make an effort to use fewer scenes to tell each story so that I could keep from exceeding 119 pages from "FADE IN" to "FADE OUT." (So far, I was able to keep "Cynthia Harmon" from getting out of hand...and as long as I play my cards right, I'll be able to keep "Kitten on the Keys" and "Small Flyers" from reaching 120 pages apiece, yet still be able to adequately tell the story.)

All the VERY BEST to you! So glad you're here on Stage 32!

Hi Jim, my pleasure, it would be good if the people who read it were you! Very best with Kitten, Cynthia and Small Flyers.

Barry - I'm sure you've figured out by now that there is no definitive answer. The story will dictate the page count whilst some folk want a specific page number.. I tell students that the first draft needs to be as long as it needs to be to fell the story. Then I SUGGEST that the production script ought to have a target of ABOUT 100 pages. Obviously there are well known exceptions (Shawshank Redemption comes to mind). Conversely, the script for Juno was something over 200 pages - for production, it was trimmed/cut/tightened to 103 pages. Obviously there is a lot of leeway - don't get hung up on the specifics.

if everything adds to the story and character and plot then those page numbers are fine and if it gets optioned, then some harsher editing may be done by others. My first draft of my latest script I am working on was 141 to just get story out of my head. 3 weeks of refinement and it's down to 118.

Don't get to obsessed with page numbers. (within reason) Naturally you don't want to be taking a script to market of 160 page, especially when you are an uncredited and unrepresented no-one like me. Nor do you want to write a kids family film that drags on for more than 100 minutes. But generally, 95 -130 pages is acceptable but the key is does every scene, every word, every action add to that story.

Sadly a 90 page script makes a readers eyes light up (or a producer in terms of cost) but could be 90 minutes of crap. Often people are told to cut down their page numbers where there are films and scripts that would have done better with an extra 10-15 pages, especially around the characters development.

When I started I probably spent too much time describing sets, especially the non-important ones. I was describing a coffee shop used once in the film to the smallest detail. Now I would describe it in I or 2 lines. Save the more in depth description for when it's really needed and adds to story or showing something about character. And even then, dont go over top.

Depending on genre, I aim for 100-115 pages completed and polished. Somethings I've written have come under while others have gone over.

The 1 page = 1 min rule is good and is a generally followed example, but we all know its flexible. 1 page could be 35 seconds. 1 page could be 3 minutes depending on what is going on.

Thank you Doug Nelson , always great to hear your thoughts. Juno was pretty dialogue heavy wasn’t it, but with a lot of wit.

@Petewhiting thanks for the in-depth response, very true what you say about the 1page=1minute rule; and every scene adding to the story. I will do my best to make sure it does. Top advice.