Basically, a two-hour, 120-minute movie can be broken down into eight
If you want some guideline numbers here you go: The expected average would be a 120-page script with approximately 2 to 3 pages per scene thus resulting in about 40 to 60 scenes.
Number of Scenes
The average script has 110 scenes – just over one scene per page. Action scripts have the greatest number of scenes (an average of 131.2 scenes) with Comedies having the fewest (just 98.5).
The general rule of thumb is that a screenplay written in the proper format is equivalent to one page per minute of screen time. Therefore, a screenplay for a two-hour movie will be 120 pages (2 hrs = 120 mins = 120 pages).
Scenes usually range between one and three minutes (one to three pages in your screenplay). In a short movie, you can get away with including some short scenes that last a little under a minute. This means that in a 15-minute film, you may end up with only about 15 scenes.
Focusing on a movie's runtime means you're not focusing on the movie. At that point it becomes The 20-Minute Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Note that Brotman's Law only states that if nothing happens after the first reel, nothing is going to happen.
The rule John is referring to is that a film based on a (properly formatted) 90-page screenplay will be roughly 90 minutes long.
Characteristics of 120 Film
Film is held in an open spool originally made of wood with metal flanges, later with all-metal, and finally with all plastic. Length of the film is typically 30 inches, sometimes up to 32-33 inches.
A roll of 120 film offers 16 exposures per roll in 6×4.5 format (for some cameras, only 15), twelve for 6×6, ten for 6×7, nine for 6×8 and eight for 6×9. Overall the uncut film is 82 cm long. (For 220 film the frame counts will be twice this.)
Much like food, film has an expiry date. Thankfully, it doesn't go mouldy like a block of cheese or curdle like milk! But it does have a limited shelf life. A roll of film usually has an expiration date of two years after the date of manufacture.
8 sequence structure is the idea that a feature-length movie can be broken down into eight parts (AKA: sequences) (AKA: reels). Basically, a two-hour, 120-minute movie can be broken down into eight sequences that are roughly 12 to 15 minutes each.
A good scene length is between one and six seconds.
This might mean paring down your text or breaking longer scenes up into two or more to keep things short. That being said, there's still quite a bit of difference between one second and six seconds. Keep these factors in mind as you pace your scenes.
A feature film is a film that typically has a run time between 80 minutes and 180 minutes long. This distinction, however, can depend on who you ask. The Screen Actors Guild defines a feature as a minimum of 80 minutes whereas The Academy defines a feature as a minimum of 40 minutes.
Scripts written in proper screenplay format average a page per minute. A feature is roughly an hour-and-a-half – two hours long. Thus the 90 – 120 page rule. Screenwriting books and expensive screenwriting gurus will all tell you that scripts should fall within the 90-120 page rule.
How long is a scene? Most scenes in most films will last one to three minutes, or approximate three pages of your script. It's not a rigid number, because I've seen 20-minute scenes, but if your scene is extending past three pages, it may be time to take a closer look at why, and if it needs to be.
The average page count for a movie script is between 90 and 120 pages. The reason for this is because the average movie's runtime is between an hour-and-a-half and two hours. As we will cover in more detail below, one page = one minute of screen time (on average).
120 film looks different to 35mm and generally produces more detailed images. You can usually take between 12 and 16 photos on a 120 film roll.
Because it is a larger film, this means each roll contains only 16 shots instead of the 36 shots on a 35mm film. You know what that means – yep, it's way more expensive to shoot 120mm.
I would keep the film out of direct sunlight if possible, but a light proof bag should not be necessary. I normally keep exposed rolls in room light for days to a couple of weeks until I process them, and I've never seen a problem under those conditions.
The greatest difference between 35mm and 120 is that 120 offers better resolution and detail because of its larger negatives. Photos shot on 120 film also tend to have more depth than their 35mm counterparts.
220 film is the same width as 120, but with double length (144 cm) and thus twice the number of exposures per roll. ISO 732 also specifies the dimensions of 220 film. Unlike 120, there is no backing paper behind the film itself, just a leader and a trailer.
120 Roll Film
Initially marketed to consumers for snapshots, it later became the preferred format for professionals. At 2 ¼ inches wide, the negatives are larger than 35mm, delivering higher resolution and sharpness.
Feature film scripts usually run between 80-120 pages for an approximately 1.5 or 2-hour movie; each script page corresponds to approximately one minute of screen time.
Getting Into The Story — A question of length… THEY say that a script's length in pages is an approximation of its film's length in minutes. So a 187 page script 'would' be a three hour film. THEY don't make many of those anymore for many commonly understood reasons.
Sometimes, just getting a working outline can be a Herculean effort. We've all heard of a 'vomit draft' but for me, even that can take weeks. You may be surprised, however, to learn that some of our favorite screenplays were written in just a couple weeks, even a couple days.