Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

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  • Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

    Hey all, this is going to sound incredibly lazy, but I come here for advice because this is something that has always confused me. I have a story I want to write, the plot is simple and I like the way it flows. However, from the beginning I face a problem - I have scenes with sparse dialogue, where the scene flows more on what you see than what you hear. However, as well as this works within the context of the script, on paper a minute long scene last for two or three lines. I don't want to write a prose piece here, but I do wonder, if the general rule is one page equals one minute, then how do you extend such a scene to fit that rule? Short of moving onto another page I'm confused as to what to do. What is the generally regarded format when dealing with such an issue?

    Thanks in advance,

    WnP

  • #2
    Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

    I think "one minute per page" is an average and not a rule at all, for filmed time to achieve per page or anything else.

    ?
    Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

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    • #3
      Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

      Originally posted by WordzNPicturez
      However, as well as this works within the context of the script, on paper a minute long scene last for two or three lines. I don't want to write a prose piece here, but I do wonder, if the general rule is one page equals one minute, then how do you extend such a scene to fit that rule? Short of moving onto another page I'm confused as to what to do. What is the generally regarded format when dealing with such an issue?

      Thanks in advance,

      WnP
      What are the images in the scene that will be important on the screen, that are telling the story without dialogue, that are moving the story forward?

      The script shouldn't just be a list of images that take two or three lines. It should be a description of the images, an effort to show the reader what th audience will see.

      If there's really enough action on the screen to sustain a minute of film, I'd think you could take more than two or three lines to describe it.
      my webpage
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      • #4
        Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

        I can see what pooks is saying, but while the guide probably proves to be true in most cases, and for good reason, I can see where there'd be times when it doesn't apply for good reason.

        Wordz, imo, If you're thinking about adding to the scene just to conform to "one minute per page", against your instincts for how well the scene reads and flows - don't do it.
        Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

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        • #5
          Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

          I'm not sure what genre you write, but if you want to read a script that has
          more "black" than dialogue, read Terminator II. Much descriptive
          action paragraphs, little spoken word.

          Charli

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          • #6
            Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

            Thanks all. I'm not adding any scenes to flesh out the script, I'm simply wondering how you all normally go about writing a scene that has little to no dialogue but lasts for at least 30 seconds or so. Or, say I want to put a long pause in the dialogue, say I want an awkward silence where two characters are simply sitting and waiting to speak, but I want to make it realistic and not rushed for the purpose of establishing their relationship - how would one normally go about writing such a scene? I understand descriptive passages for action scenes, but I also see people telling others to shorten descriptive passages and let the director direct the scene.

            I basically wonder how you do it - because say I have a scene that 'needs' to last a certain amount of time for timing, what do I do - extend the visual description to a full page? I doubt that.

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            • #7
              Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

              If you have an awkward silence between characters, what are they doing instead of speaking? Are they playing with their hair? Looking around the room for someone else? Pounding out the drumline to Wipeout on their thighs? You just need a way to express the emotion of the scene visually. The danger can be 'directing on the page' but if you have plenty of subtext it'll give the actors and such enough to do.
              "If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you"
              "If I didn't have inner peace I'd totally go psycho on you guys all the time." - Carl Carlson

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              • #8
                Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

                Since on one else is saying it, I will:

                You have no idea how long the scene is going to last, you just tell what happens and a director will decide how to shoot it.

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                • #9
                  Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

                  I agree with Joe, to a point.

                  It's not necessary to worry about how long your scenes will play on screen. Tarantino's dialogue fills many pages in a script but he has his actors read them at break-neck speed and his pacing is so fast that what might look like several minutes of dialogue only takes a few seconds of screen time.

                  OTOH timing is an important concern in terms of how tightly structured your story is so the placement of the individual scene story beats in relationship to the whole story.

                  My 2 cents.
                  Fortune favors the bold - Virgil

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                  • #10
                    Standard answer

                    Read a bunch of scripts with visual scenes.

                    The page a minute thing is ballpark - but if you have only 2 lines of action, that's not going to be a minute of screentime. What characters *do* needs to be exciting and interesting - and i's hard for me to imagine 2 lines that will be as exciting to read s a whole minute of film time will be to view.

                    Someplace in here is a happy medium - that's what you should be looking for.

                    I think reading visual scripts will help.

                    - Bill
                    Free Script Tips:
                    http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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                    • #11
                      Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

                      I went to a screening of Broken Flowers, the new indie written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. There were so many extended shots of Bill Murray's face -- Bill Murray just sitting there; Bill M. on an airplane going across country in real time; Bill M. watching TV -- I swear, it was a screenwriting scam. Jarmusch spoke afterwards and admitted the thing took him 2 weeks to write.

                      I can't say I hated the movie -- it was watchable -- but I was very aware of how much more I would have had going on in a full-length movie. Yeah, I could write that movie in two weeks, too. But what would happen if I gave it to a producer? Jarmusch only gets away with that kind of minimalism because he has an indie name and he directed it himself.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

                        "The party continues running down the stairs." -F. Walsh and P. Boyens, The Fellowship of the Ring

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                        • #13
                          Re: Turning a few minutes into a few pages...

                          Originally posted by Joaneasley
                          I went to a screening of Broken Flowers, the new indie written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. There were so many extended shots of Bill Murray's face -- Bill Murray just sitting there; Bill M. on an airplane going across country in real time; Bill M. watching TV -- I swear, it was a screenwriting scam. Jarmusch spoke afterwards and admitted the thing took him 2 weeks to write.

                          I can't say I hated the movie -- it was watchable -- but I was very aware of how much more I would have had going on in a full-length movie. Yeah, I could write that movie in two weeks, too. But what would happen if I gave it to a producer? Jarmusch only gets away with that kind of minimalism because he has an indie name and he directed it himself.
                          Funny you should mention that - my brother bought me Coffee and Cigarettes for my birthday and that is very dialogue heavy, but I hear that was made as a bunch of shorts and then put together. Excellent film. Ghost Dog is also amazing.

                          I think the reason that Jarmusch can get away with it is because he has proven his talent. He annoys me because he's so damn good at making simple ideas into great movies - I watch them thinking, 'why didn't I think of that!'

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