Alright so I've been assigned to write a 15-25 minute script. Just out of curiosity how much is adequate lines and words, to make my time? Supposing the average human reads 250 words per minute. We could give a lean way of 50 off to make 200 words per minute being said I suppose...but considering this is a script and people will be acting how much longer and audio books recommand at max go at 150 words per minute for it is the best balance for human comprehension. But still that'd be 150*15=2250 words. For a 9 person play, staring two leads roles...we can say a good portion will be with the leads perhaps 45% of it? That gives them about 1012 words.. and the rest for the other 7 actors...I'm not really sure where I'm heading...all I have is a theme and etc so yeah..., considering this is my first play...script I'm writing with minor experiences of acting I'm in need of some guidance from those whose actually writing screen plays before or at least is less lost then I am...
If you follow more or less a Hollywood format, then 1 page should correspond to roughly 1 minute of time on screen, but obviously the director can alter the speed of that as much as they want...
yes, the standard is 1 page = 1 minute of running time... but that's an average for the entire script... some pages may run longer and some shorter, depending on the ratio of dialog to action/description so don't think you have to make each and every page = 1 minute... and that's only for movie scripts... if you're writing a stage play, it won't apply... i mentor many aspiring screenwriters and playwrights, so if you need any help feel free to drop me a line... love and hugs, maia
