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how long
- Thread starter AvsB
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That is up to you. Typical Feature films runs between 95-120 minutes. But some do go longer and some features have been as short as 80 minutes (even 70 for an extreme few).
Depending on how you are going to market it is another key to this question (make it yourself, sell it to a production company/distributor, just sell the concept, do you have credit for selling something in the past, etc.) Because these factors will determine if someone will read it or not.
Depending on how you are going to market it is another key to this question (make it yourself, sell it to a production company/distributor, just sell the concept, do you have credit for selling something in the past, etc.) Because these factors will determine if someone will read it or not.
If you are producing it yourself and funding then the length can be what ever you want. If you plan to enter into festivals then you will need to read their rules on length for features. If you want distribution, then they will have their idea of what the length should be (unless it's gold to the film world then it can be 65 minutes or 3 hours, but any good producer would need to look at this realistically).
Go with the best rule of thumb, 95-120 for a feature.
Go with the best rule of thumb, 95-120 for a feature.
You're correct. In general one page is one minute. So if
your script is shorter than 90 pages the chances are
good the movie will be shorter than 90 minutes. This
guideline isn't an absolute, but it's fairly accurate.
Forget Sundance. It's not for guys like us. I hear that festival is full of insider politics, and Hollywood big-wigs. I'm still trying to figure out which festivals are the biggest that "regular Joe's" like you and me can get into. Seattle Intl.? Tribeca? SXSW? Etc.? Those are pretty big, right? I don't know, but I think regular old super-low-budget indie filmmakers like you and I can actually get into those ones.
Anyway, to answer your original question, yes, the general rule is a page per minute, but in my experience that depends on the filmmaker. I know a lot of people who say 110 pages equals 90 minutes. I've shot enough of my own writing to know that I tend to move my pages at a fast pace. I just finished typing page 107 of my first feature screenplay, and I've still got the third act ahead of me. I'm thinking my 140 pages will equal 90 minutes. Maybe it's cuz I don't write succinctly, I dunno. All I'm saying is that the general rules of thumb are just that. You can only know your own rule of thumb by writing and shooting your own stuff. So, get to it. And post it here when you've made progress. We all wanna see it.
Anyway, to answer your original question, yes, the general rule is a page per minute, but in my experience that depends on the filmmaker. I know a lot of people who say 110 pages equals 90 minutes. I've shot enough of my own writing to know that I tend to move my pages at a fast pace. I just finished typing page 107 of my first feature screenplay, and I've still got the third act ahead of me. I'm thinking my 140 pages will equal 90 minutes. Maybe it's cuz I don't write succinctly, I dunno. All I'm saying is that the general rules of thumb are just that. You can only know your own rule of thumb by writing and shooting your own stuff. So, get to it. And post it here when you've made progress. We all wanna see it.
That's pretty much what happens to me. My first drafts are always like 130 or 140 pages long.
My later drafts always get down to about 110 or lower though. I have trouble reading beyond 110 myself, so I try not to go too far past that.
A lot of it depends on how much dialogue you have going on compared to action. Also, I cut a few pages off just by removing my 'cut to:'s which I've heard are needless.