How many lines per page?
Today’s question isn’t really a question at all, but rather an investigation into how many lines of type should fit on a standard screenwriting page. While this may seem frivolous — a little like “How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of a Pin” — almost every screenwriter has tweaked and shuffled, nipped and tucked to get a draft a few pages shorter.
Lines-per-page translates into lines-per-script, which is arguably a better metric than page count for how long a script “really” is. So I applaud Jeff trying to figure it out.
I have a seemingly simple formatting question that I cannot find the answer to anywhere: How many lines should fit on a page?
I don’t ask for help with out trying to help myself first, but believe me, this one has got me stumped. My research yields vastly different results and even an interesting (disturbing?) modern trend. (I know it’s a long read for an e-mail, but I’ve done the research and I would really like your thoughts.)
I know all about setting margins and screenwriting software, but even following those suggestions, there appears to be a large discrepancy in the actual number of lines per page from script to script. Here’s how I have counted lines per page for purposes of this research:
Open a screenplay up to any page, start at the first line of screenplay on that page (a scene heading, character name, dialogue, action; not white space or a page number) and count that as ONE. Then, count every line after that (including white space) all the way to the last line of screenplay on that page (not including bottom CONTINUEDs if the script has them). The number you end up with is what I call Screenplay Lines per Page.
I have checked dozens of screenwriting books and asked various professionals that I can manage to speak with. Not one book mentioned anything about the number of lines that should fit on a page. One producer told me that there should be 56 lines per page because scripts are broken down into 1/8th’s of a page, each 1/8th being seven lines long. Eight times seven is fifty-six. Sounds logical.
So I checked scripts. While I didn’t count every page of a screenplay, I sampled a few pages to get the general feel for the average lines per page. What I found was interesting:
While I figured that page length would vary within a script, I found that most scripts were pretty consistent, with few pages outside plus/minus one off the average. (That is, a script that usually had 56 lines per page, would mostly have pages with lengths from 55-57 lines.)
Older scripts tend to have more lines per page. A completely random sample: Apocalypse Now has about 57 lines per page. Body Heat, also about 57. Aliens has many pages pushing 60. This corresponds to the info from the producer. Fifty-six lines per page seemed to be a good number to shoot for.
However, more modern scripts tend to have fewer lines per page. Another random sample: Both Big Fish and Go look to be in the 52-53 line range. Bruce Almighty is about 52. Even Saving Private Ryan with its 162 pages and four inch dialogue margins falls about 52 lines per page.
Here’s the issue: The old 120 page average has become the 120 page maximum. The average now looking like 110 pages, some sources even saying 100 pages isn’t too short. But on top of that, we seem to have “lost” about 4 or 5 lines per page. Those five lines account for almost 10 additional pages. So, in reality, a 110 page script of today is really 20 pages shorter than a 120 page script of say, twenty years ago.
Obviously, executives have chopped about 10 pages off the old 120 because they don’t want to read, want the movie to be cheaper (shorter), and want it to have more screenings per day (shorter). But have writers also cut another 10 pages (consciously or subconsciously) by reducing the number of lines per page?
As a side note, doesn’t this say something about the old one minute per page rule? If you really want to mess with that, look at Schindler’s List: 155 pages, a mere 41 lines per page, and a run time of 194 minutes!
With all the strict rules on formatting and the adherence to the ‘one page equals one minute’ concept it seems that having a standard number of lines per page would be a clear way to reinforce appropriate screenplay length. However, just the opposite has occurred — no one talks about lines per page. I realize that no one is going to toss out a script because they notice (which they won’t) that the script has about 56 lines per page rather than 52.
So, the question remains: How many lines should fit on a page? Is there a rule? If not, why does it seem that modern scripts have fewer lines than in the past? Something had to happen to lessen not just the page count but the line count as well.
I only ask because I want to get the most out of my pages while keeping the format correct and in touch with modern trends. This is no small matter: there are 10 pages hidden in the difference between 56 lines per page and 52 lines per page. Any insight is appreciated.
–Jeff
Los Angeles
So what’s the real answer? Obviously, there isn’t any hard and fast rule. I can only offer one more example:
Warner Bros. is the only studio that still has a script processing department. I’ve never met the people who work there, but based on terrible experiences I’ve had, my mind’s eye sees them as four women in their 60’s who smoke, watch soaps, and make fun of these dumb screenwriters and their high-fallutin’ words. True typists who average 80 words per minute, they clack away on vintage IBMs terminals with burnt-in amber monitors, grateful to whatever union keeps them employed despite complete irrelevance.
But I digress.
When you’re hired to write a script for Warner’s, they send along their style guide. I dug mine out for Barbarella. According to it, there should be 60 lines per page. Right above that figure, however, they list the font as being Prestige Pica or Courier (12 point, 10 pitch), which tells you immediately that they really haven’t adjusted for modern times. While point sizes are still used, pitch is a vestige of typewriters.
Incidentally, even if you follow Warner Bros.’ formatting guidelines, they retype your script anyway. This undermines any authority of Warner Bros.’ formatting guidelines: the scripts they produce are without question some of the ugliest and least-readable screenplays I’ve read.
Articles
November 12th, 2004 at 11:48 am
The “Cole & Haag” and “Warner Bros” templates in Final Draft 6 are both 54 lines to a page.
I think studios are generally more concerned about writers sneaking in EXTRA lines, rather than too few. Both FD and MMS offer ways to cheat margins and make leading “tighter” to change page counts.
Rule of thumb I heard from an A-list producer yesterday:
Comedy = 90-100 pages
Epic = under 125
Everything else = under 110
November 12th, 2004 at 2:02 pm
As long as we have moved from the honest lines per page debate to the more nepherious debate of cheating, let’s talk mechanics. Whats the best way everyone out there uses to make a long script short without it looking like you cheated?
November 12th, 2004 at 3:40 pm
Dave,
Depends on the software you’re using, Dave, but you can generally subtract 8-10 pages from your script by tightening the space between your lines. On Microsoft Word this can be accomplished by going into “Paragraph” tool bar and manually type in 0.8 instead of 1 in the “At” section of “Line Spacing.” In Final Draft, go to Loose or Tight line spacing format and change it to Tight.
November 12th, 2004 at 5:41 pm
OK, so I know Final Draft is basically thought of as the standard script writing software, but is it just me or are the margins really spread out on it? I was using Sophocles previously, and I copied and pasted that script into FD and all of sudden it was 10-15 pages longer.
November 12th, 2004 at 6:58 pm
Gary, thanks for the input. I use Final Draft. Setting line spacing to tight looks like you cheated when you print. I wish you could fine tune it, one point at a time.
Here’s what I’ve learned over the years:
Anyone have any other cheats?
November 12th, 2004 at 8:56 pm
Forgot to mention one last bit of Final Draft research regarding templates:
November 13th, 2004 at 2:18 pm
The Raiders rule? Who would go to that much trouble?
The best way to lower your page count is to take a surgical pass through the script and cut out the overwriting. You can always rewrite a sentence, both action and dialogue, to make it shorter and to-the-point.
If you don’t believe me, print off a copy of your script and go through it with a red pen.
November 14th, 2004 at 9:38 am
I agree - spend a day simplifying your language. Get rid of widows and orphans and replace ‘is running’ to ‘runs’ etc.
November 14th, 2004 at 8:20 pm
Believe me, I could not agree more with Kas and Tim. If a script is long, the script simply isn’t tight yet. I can kill 10 pages out of a 120 page script by tightening dialogue and killing widows and orphans. But I’m looking for cheats! What else is out there?
November 16th, 2004 at 6:51 pm
Maximum value is “normally” 61 lines per page.
But the frame grid has 240 twips per empties (which makes it 6 per inches worth of space!).
Now, as an average, the white to the right has more importance when printing comes into action. Orphans add the count, but it’s swiped over when the reading eye catches the instinctive push inside (or, within fractioned… right side margin indentation, anyone!) paragraphs.
There’s no actual format standard that enforces a specific “height” of visually exact ink measures. It’s vaguely real that 12 points would fit in 56 or less, unless the twips are being - not so obviously - altered.
Plus, the “allowed” valid rectangular (a quarter inch gives a whopping 25 twips to work with, even when blanks cut the extra line at the bottom.) area on any 8 1/2 by 11’s.
What’s more intriguing is to find a lonely - DAY or - NIGHT (D/N ??) when I/E. abbreviations are still considered edgy.
There’s no cheat available other than what a printer can churn out.
Thus, the 120 (and others) pseudo-ratio is esoteric enough to fail any proper line counts unless a strict “58(+/-) lines” definitive is applied to all pages.
Sure enough, 3 lines per page expands or reduces the last page number rather than the (first, oops) second rather!
November 17th, 2004 at 8:27 am
Can you recommend a script I can look at to get a feel for the proper format?
I’ve heard people mention “The Kasdan Approach.”
Should I hunt down a copy of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”?
GF
November 19th, 2004 at 6:35 pm
Sylvain, you are officially the fomatting rock star. I’m going to have to read your post a few more times to figure out what it exactly says, but I’m certain the answer is in there.
Gerald, I’d suggest a more recent script. Spec scripts these days a leaner beast than they were when Kasdan was crafting Indy in the 80’s. I suggest clicking on John’s download links and starting there. His writing is outstanding (not to mention his formatting!). If you haven’t had a chance to read his scripts, then you are missing out on a great opportunity.
Cheers and thanks for everybody’s comments!
Dave
January 30th, 2005 at 9:39 pm
Well, obviously, get rid of all the CUT TO:’s, which people don’t use much any more.
Ironic that scripts are getting shorter while movies are getting more ponderous. Maybe it’s a war between us writers and them directors: they want more movie, and we’re trying to rein them in?
Or is it that selling scripts need to be 100 pp. so that the director’s fair-haired writer can add 20?
February 1st, 2005 at 12:18 pm
How short is too short? My Final Draft script averages 51 lines/page and is 100 pages in length. Should I try to lengthen it? Any lengthening cheats out there?