Danielle EllenI went to a #tv workshop and was told the current desired length for hour-long pilots is 48-50 pages and for half-hour pilots it's 24-25.
Can anyone working confirm?
J.R. Orci@danielleellen
For dramas, can confirm. We aim for 46-48 pages.
For dramas, can confirm. We aim for 46-48 pages.
Thank you for confirming! I have a lot to learn...
David H. Steinberg@danielleellen seems short to me. If you’re writing a pilot on spec I think 52 is fine for hour and I wouldn’t go under 28 for half hour. Maybe a shooting script for broadcast might be shorter but for a spec, you’re fine going a bit longer.
@DavidHSteinberg Oh, that's an interesting distinction btw what's written for an actual show vs what I might write for a sample for staffing. I hadn't thought of it that way.
Mark Harris@danielleellen Haven't written on but it seems about what I expect, from the books I read. For plays (that I direct) I reckon on a page a minute-ish but TV has to have space to fill in adverts.
@nzlemming It's interesting. I've read more than a thousand pilots and so many half hours have been 35 pages or so. I wonder if the length has something to do with rounds of exec notes? Or maybe shorter is a newer convention?
@danielleellen I can't speak for the industry as I'm not in it, but maybe they want to keep them shorter if it's un-commissioned work. A really good script that grabs the reader from the go might still get read even if it's longer. Count how many minutes of adverts in a TV half-hour show - it's probably going to be about 7-10 depending on the broadcaster. I worked a stage show once with someone whose day job involved shaving seconds and minutes from Coronation St. so they could fit ads in.