It’s
Christmastime. Of course we’re all
counting the minutes.
I’m also
counting the minutes until John Carter comes out, but that’s another
story entirely.
You know
who else counts minutes? Script
supervisors. It’s one of those credits
you see in film and television that a lot of non-industry people don’t really
know what it means.
Very simply
put, the script supervisor (often called the scripty) keeps track of things. He or she’s the one who notes exactly what’s
been filmed (what shots and sizes and angles and lines) from each scene. Like lots of other key folks on set, the
script supervisor does their own breakdown of the script. And the scripty’s breakdown is all about
time.
The standard estimate for a screenplay is a page a minute If you talk to most script supervisors,
they’ll tell you it’s actually closer to fifty-odd seconds (I want to say
fifty-three), but a page a minute is a solid estimate. There’s always going to be some wiggle room, of
course, especially when you’re dealing with action. As I’ve mentioned here before, the lobby
scene in The Matrix is less than half a page. According to Hollywood legend, the chariot
race in Ben Hur was just one line in the script.
This is why
most professional readers groan when they get a screenplay that’s 140 or 150 pages
long. That’s two and a half hours. Any script that long has a major strike
against it before the reader’s looked at page one. I read two scripts this year that the writer had “squashed” to make them shorter, but I could tell they were both
over 200 pages, easy. That’s close to
three and a half hours. Possibly even
more if they’d had action sequences in them.
Which they did.
If you’re a
screenwriter, look at your script. If
you’ve got a solid page of dialogue, that’s a minute of talking heads. A minute is a brutally long time in a movie.
Don’t
believe me? Try this. Look up at the ceiling and count off ten
Mississippis. Don’t cheat, don’t rush...
just look up and count them out in your head nice and steady like you’re
supposed to. Go on. I’ll wait.
That was
ten seconds. Oscar-winning screenwriter
Bruce Joel Rubin pointed out once that ten seconds can be an eternity on
screen.
So think
about how long some of those character monologues are. It may be brilliant on the page, but there’s
a good chance it’ll be torturous to watch.
It’s important to understand the distinction between how long something
takes on the page and how long these actions and conversations will actually
need (or not need).
This goes
for prose writers too (just so you don’t feel left out). I’ve mentioned the pacing issues that can
happen if action gets stretched out too long. Certain things happen at certain speeds, and
if they get slowed down with dialogue, descriptions, or excessive action
they’re just going to look silly. Not in
the good way.
And when
something reads silly, people put your manuscript down in the big pile on the
left.
Next time,
I wanted to tell you a story about telling you a different story.
Until then,
go write.
Mr. Clines,
ReplyDeleteI greatly enjoyed Ex-Heroes and Ex-Patriots. I hope there is another book or two or more in the series. I had a question? If Regenerator can regrow body parts, why doesn't he just cut off the infected limb at the shoulder and let the limb regrow free of infection? Thank you for the good books. Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, etc.
Hullo, Mr. Anonymous, ;)
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the kind words. It's always great to hear these stories made a connection with someone.
I'm working on a third book now, and there may be one or two after that. You can find out a lot more over at my excessively cheap Facebook fan page. It's got links to a bunch of interviews and random threads where I answer questions about all sorts of stuff.
Although some answers may have to wait... :)
Stupid software wouldn't let me log in under Livejournal. Found your Facebook page and posted the question there. Looking forward to the next book then.
ReplyDeleteEben