Timing your script.

A

Allan Black

Veteran
How do you guys time your story when you're writing it, I mean when you're planning the Acts, eg: if 1 page = 1 minute, do you plan Act 2 to start at page 50?

So you don't overrun your planned timing, estimated budget and locations?

Cheers.
 
I let the story flow and find that I usually get 30 pages for the first and third act. What remains is the second. 1 page equals 1 minute for a feature. In shorts the timing will vary much more. Hope that helps.
 
I don't think that the "Timing" of the script should be a very big priority when you are writing. It is definitely part of the process, but FIRST, write the story, which is the hardest part. Then start to work out the logistics, which very much includs timing the script. IMHO, if you are writing a long form narrative script "By the numbers" I think you are off on the wrong track. Write the script to tell the story that you want to tell then re-write that to get the story down to where you want it. Once you have that, then go through it with logistics/timing in mind. This will probably necessitate the writing of multiple additional drafts until you have a film-able project, but that is OK also. BTW, 1page = i minute is BS. It all depends on how you write, but I seen scenes that are 1/8th of a page in the script turn out to be 3, 4, or almost 5 minutes long and I have seen 4 pages of script dialogue take up a scene that is less than a minute of screen time. I also suggest a very dynamic screen writing process where before a line of dialogue is put to paper it is said out loud and much of the action is acted out. Of course, everyone to their own on that. Don't worry about timing and logistics when first writing. Tell the best story you can and then par that down and shape it to the logistics that you have available.
 
David, the 1 page = 1 minute rule is true for features because those things you mention average out over the course of 90-120 pages. That's also why those rules don't really apply to shorts. If you are writing in the proper lean screenplay format this rule is relatively accurate. If you are writing in big chunks of prose then all bets are off.
 
It all may average out to roughly a minute over the course of 100 pages + or -, but what kind of film you are writing for will certainly influence that; a slow-moving period drama as opposed to a fast-paced action. If you write each page thinking it will translate to roughly a minute on film, then you will have nothing but headaches. I might, for example, write something like - the chase travels across town, through alleys, a park or two and every red light.

This may take up a 20th of a page, but play out to 7 minutes of full-throttle action on film (after the three hours of footage is edited). There will always be multiple interpretations via a director, cinematographer, actor, producer, etc., on how and why to film a scene this way or that - the guys and gals that take the written word and move it to film. The above scene might take up 7 minutes with one filmmaker, and only 3 with another, so along with what KIND of film you are writing, you should expect that any one page of script might translate to 1, less than one, or even up to 10 minutes, and another scene you see vividly in your head as needing 3 minutes to lay out, could end up edited to 30 seconds. Course, if you are filming your own material, you have a little more control over that - depending of course on whose money is making it all possible.

You need to just write it. As you go back and edit, trim the fat and babies, you can set your timing - when to slow things down, when to speed them up, when to info dump, etc. No two scripts will have the same solutions, regardless of 'formulas' for writing.

alex
 
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This has already been answered from a bunch of different angles, so I'll add my $.02. I only deal with page count and beat timing after I have a story. Then I work it into an outline based on my experience of writing other screenplays.

That said, I think reading and studying other produced screenplays helps... a lot! I just finished writing and shooting my first feature length film (written many, never shot a feature length) and my page count was 80 pages, the edit ends at 82.5 minutes. Pretty darn close to 1 page per minute.

It was critical to know this before I shot so I would know if I actually had a feature (or an epic...). But, lets just say this politely, if you have not learned the pacing from produced screenplays, then page count means nothing. If you overwrite, your page count may be 70 minutes (generally consider the minimum length for a feature) but your movie may fall way short because you have swollen exposition/action. If you underwrite (generally harder to do) you may have a 10 page screenplay that you think will take a weekend to shoot, and be unpleasantly surprised to have to ask your actors, location reps, and crew back because you mis counted.

Hope that helps...
 
"How do you guys time your story when you're writing it, I mean when you're planning the Acts, eg: if 1 page = 1 minute, do you plan Act 2 to start at page 50?

So you don't overrun your planned timing, estimated budget and locations?

Cheers."


What I do is usually come up with tons of audio notes first, working out scenes, plot developments, and character info. Then when I feel I have a full movie in there, usually it's because the major turning points have become clear. I do subsribe to the three act paradigm, although a midpoint change could split it into 4, if you want to think about it like that. The big one is to set up the second act, and that happens in the 20s. It doesn't matter where exactly, as long as it's in the ballpark. If I get to 32, and it's still in act one, I know I've padded the beginning too much.

On a really short script that I know is going to be 85-90 pages, it can be sooner than 20, but then it's something to think about. I think the key is to know the story first, then worry about what to leave in and what to cut. As long as you have enough meat for a good beginning and ending, and plenty of rising conflict in the middle, it seems to work itself out, to my liking anyway.
 
To my understanding, or my rule of thumb every page is approximately 1 minute. So 90 pages is roughly 90 mins, obviously that is super dependent upon what the content/context is of the script. 2 pages of a couple arguing could just be 60 seconds in length since they are just going so fast, or like indie style you turn 5 lines of dialogue into a 5 minute scene :).
 
I don't think it's the worst thing in the world to have in mind how long you want your acts to be, page-wise. It's not iron-clad, but it'll actually help you when you're writing the initial story as it forces you to think about how you're telling the story, and the relative importance of individual parts of it.
 
Agreed David. I am kind of a structure nut, and am trying to loosen up. But I cannot see myself letting go of the relative boundaries of act breaks and page count. If for no other reason than to self-inflict pressure on my story telling.
 
First, IMO, you need to figure out what each act does.

That's not easy because people argue about acts all the time.

Then the Syd Field proportions kinda fit. And then it's not unrealistic to use page numbers as targets.

The answer to your question is: figure out the purpose of each act.
 
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