If you want to skip the arithmetic, the page count calculator adds eighths for you. This post explains how to measure them and what to do with them, because the math is easy and the measuring is where people go wrong.
Why eighths
Every scene on a breakdown sheet, strip, schedule, and call sheet has a page count in eighths. It's the unit the 1st AD uses to put a rough size on each scene and to check whether a day has too much in it. A page split into eight is fine enough to separate a two-line scene from a half-page one, and coarse enough to estimate by eye in a few seconds.
Eighths don't measure how long a scene takes to shoot. They measure how much of the script it is. The AD adjusts for everything else: action, setups, background, kids, and effects. See page eighths for the term itself.
Step 1: Picture eight bands on the page
A properly formatted screenplay page (US letter, 12-point Courier) has about nine inches of usable text between the top and bottom margins. Split that into eight equal bands and each is a little over an inch, or roughly seven lines. Some people fold a page into eighths or draw light pencil lines on a template sheet to train their eye. After a few scripts, you'll see eighths without thinking.
The measurement only works on standard formatting. A script with shrunken margins or a small font crams more into each eighth, and the counts will understate the work. If a script looks dense, ask for a properly formatted file before you count.
Step 2: Mark where each scene starts and ends
Before counting, draw a line across the page wherever one scene ends and the next begins, right above each heading. Now each scene is a block you can measure.
A scene begins at its heading and ends at the line above the next heading. Include everything between: action, dialogue, transitions like CUT TO:.
Step 3: Count the bands for each scene on each page
For each block, count how many eighths it covers on that page. Round to the nearest eighth. Two rules:
- A scene that covers less than 1/8 still counts as 1/8.
- When a scene is right on the border between two eighths, most ADs round up. Undercounting makes a day look lighter than it is.
Step 4: Add eighths across pages
When a scene runs from one page to the next, add the pieces. Every 8/8 becomes one whole page.
Here's a run of pages from LOW WATER:
| Scene | Page 22 | Page 23 | Page 24 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 3/8 (top) | 3/8 | ||
| 31 | 5/8 (rest of page) | 6/8 | 1 3/8 | |
| 32 | 1/8 (one line) | 1/8 | ||
| 33 | 1/8 | 8/8 (full page) | 1 1/8 | |
| Page total | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 3 |
Check the math on scene 31: 5/8 + 6/8 = 11/8. Eight of those make a page, leaving 3/8. So 1 3/8.
Scene 32 is a one-line establishing shot. On paper it barely fills an eighth, but it's recorded as 1/8.
Every page adds up to 8/8. That's the check: if a page's scenes total 7/8 or 9/8, one of them is measured wrong.
Step 5: Check the whole script
When you're done, add every scene's page count. The total should match the script's page count, not counting the title page. If the script is 92 pages and the last page is half full, the scene total should be 91 4/8.
A small difference happens when one-line scenes each get bumped up to 1/8. If page 23 has two one-line scenes and a 6/8 scene, the page adds up to 1/8 + 1/8 + 6/8 = 8/8, which is fine. If it has three one-liners and a 6/8 scene, you'll get 9/8 for that page. Most ADs accept that slight overcount rather than recording a scene as zero.
A bigger difference means a scene was skipped or double-counted.
Adding eighths without mistakes
Adding fractions by hand is where errors creep in. Two simple methods:
Add whole pages and eighths separately. For a day with scenes of 1 3/8, 2 1/8, 5/8, and 1 6/8: the whole pages are 1 + 2 + 0 + 1 = 4. The eighths are 3 + 1 + 5 + 6 = 15. Fifteen eighths is 1 page and 7/8. Total: 5 7/8.
Convert to decimals. Each eighth is 0.125. So 1 3/8 = 1.375, 2 1/8 = 2.125, 5/8 = 0.625, 1 6/8 = 1.75. Sum: 5.875. Convert back: 0.875 × 8 = 7, so 5 7/8. In a spreadsheet, keep a hidden decimal column and do the totals there.
| Eighths | Decimal |
|---|---|
| 1/8 | 0.125 |
| 2/8 | 0.25 |
| 3/8 | 0.375 |
| 4/8 | 0.5 |
| 5/8 | 0.625 |
| 6/8 | 0.75 |
| 7/8 | 0.875 |
Most schedules keep 2/8, 4/8, and 6/8 unreduced rather than writing 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4. It looks odd at first, but it means every number on the page is in the same unit.
Using page counts to plan a day
Page counts are the starting point for how much goes in a day. If LOW WATER is 92 4/8 pages over 20 days, the average is 92.5 ÷ 20 = 4.625 pages, or 4 5/8 a day.
Averages hide the real work, though. Compare two days that are each about 4 5/8:
| Day | Scenes | Pages | What's in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 44, 45, 46 | 4 5/8 | Two actors at a kitchen table, one set |
| 11 | 71, 72, 73, 74 | 4 4/8 | Dusk gas station, cruiser drive-by, store interior, 6 background |
Day 11 has less on paper and is the harder day by far: a dusk light window, a picture car on a highway, and a change of set. A good AD gives it fewer pages than the average and makes up the difference on days like 6.
How many pages you can really shoot depends on the director's shot count, the crew's size, and the budget level. How many script pages can you shoot in a day goes through the factors.
Page count and screen time
People often say a page equals a minute of screen time. It's a rough average for a correctly formatted script and not much more. "They kiss." takes one line and might play for twenty seconds. "The chase tears through the market" might be three lines and two minutes of film. A page of rapid-fire dialogue often plays in well under a minute.
The rule is useful for a very rough runtime estimate early in development. Don't use it to schedule, and don't use it to cut a script to length without timing a read-through.
Common mistakes
Counting from a reformatted script. If someone converted the file and the font or margins changed, every count shifts. Measure from the locked, properly formatted shooting script.
Forgetting A-pages. A revised script with page 38A has an extra page. Count it.
Not updating after revisions. When blue pages change a scene from 6/8 to 1 2/8, the breakdown sheet, the strip, and the day total all need updating.
Writing 11/8 or 1 3/8 inconsistently. Pick whole pages plus eighths and stick to it.
Counting omitted scenes. A scene marked OMITTED is 0, and its number stays on the list.
Where the numbers go
Each scene's count goes on its breakdown sheet, then on its strip, then into the day totals on the shooting schedule and the call sheet. The production report at the end of each shoot day records how many pages were actually shot, which the UPM and producers compare against the schedule to see whether the shoot is on pace.
Page counts in Storiara
When you upload a script to Storiara, page counts are calculated from the PDF layout. Each page is divided into eight horizontal bands, a scene starts in the band where its heading sits, and its length runs to the next heading, with a minimum of 1/8. Counts display in the usual format, like 1 3/8, on the Scenes page and on call sheets, and you can edit any count by hand if the layout misleads it, which can happen with dense formatting or scenes split around page breaks.