Stephen Follows loves a good data challenge, and in doing this one he has discovered a lot of interesting information as well as revealing data. When it comes to screenplays, the rule of thumb is that one page of a properly formatted film script will equate to one minute of screen time in the final movie.
This is useful to a number of people, including;
- Screenwriters who can estimate how long each scene will be for the audience,
- Directors who can ensure the film unfolds at their desired pace,
- Producers and Studios who can check if the film is within the boundaries of commercial exploitation,
- Actors who can get a sense of their character’s screen time,
- Post-production staff who can estimate how much work they may have to do on the final edit.
This isn’t a comprehensive list but already you can see that many different types of industry people rely on the rule being at least broadly correct.
But is it? Click here to read the results