Screenwriting : Script length by Shrirang Nargund

Script length

according to cletx standard, that is courier, font size 10.5. approx. how many pages are required for a 100 min. movie?

Felicia Kane

From what I have learn each page to page an half is about a minute. So if you want to make 100 minute movie, it would be about 100 pages more or less. That's just what I have learned though.

D Marcus

Font size is 12pt. Always.I believe you are asking the wrong question. You should be asking how many pages are required to tell your story well.

Ginger Marin

D Marcus is right. While standard feature scripts come in between 90-120 pages, the script for "All is Lost" starring Robert Redford was about 34 pages given that it was all action with just a few lines of dialogue - that's all the screenwriter required to tell his story.

Marvin Willson

The standard guide is 1 page = 1 minute

Danny Manus

Yes, font size is 12pt. Always.

Bob Corso

I just happen to watch All Is Lost last night. How this film got 4 stars is beyond my comprehension! Lousy script, shallow! No back story and no reason why anyone would care what happened to this Old Man. Anyone could have played this humdrum role. Boring!

Gordon Olivea

Buy Final Draft or Movie Magic and all these types of questions can be put aside because the software gives you the correct format, font size, everything. Screenwriters need the right tools just like any other profession. We need the right software the way a carpenter needs a table saw.

Jeffrey Stackhouse

12 point Courier, yes, and sometimes Courier New. 1 page is accepted as equaling 1 minute. Please remember that, unless you have an "in," you are not writing for an audience, but for a Reader. You have to get that person to pass it upwards, and so you are giving them the least reason possible to say "no." Thus, margins, font-size, tabs, and page-number all have to be targeted and industry standard.

Shrirang Nargund

but in celtx, its 10.5 by default. can we change it to 12 point?

CJ Walley

Celtx uses the correct size typeface when it produces the pdf Shrirang, are you looking at the editing screen which is quite small by default?

Bob Corso

Jeff is right, 12 Courier or New Courier is the standard. Hands down.

Shrirang Nargund

thanks CJ, if celtx converts it to correct font size in pdf then no problem. I asked this because when I exported document to text format and opened it in MSword, it shows 10.5, that's why...

CJ Walley

Then there's nothing to worry about Shrirang. Text format has no font settings embedded, it's just raw character information. What you are seeing is Word opening the file and applying it's own standard typeface.

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