Using the calculator
Each row is one scene. The left field is a label for your own reference (scene number and heading, like 14 INT. DINER - DAY), and the right field is the scene's length. The calculator only does math on the length field, so the label can say anything.
Lengths go in one of three ways:
- a fraction of eight on its own:
4/8,7/8 - a whole number and a fraction:
2 3/8,1 6/8 - a plain number:
3, or a decimal like2.5, which is rounded to the nearest eighth
If a length can't be read (2-3/8, 3/16, 1.5 pages), the field turns red and a message appears under the rows. Fix that row before trusting the totals, because an unreadable row is left out of the sum.
Add scene adds a blank row. Clear wipes everything and leaves a single empty row. The pages per day box at the bottom accepts the same formats, so 3 4/8 works there too.
How the math works
A script page is divided into eight parts, roughly an inch each, and every scene is measured to the nearest eighth. See page eighths for how that measurement is taken off the page. To add scenes, the calculator turns everything into eighths, sums them, and turns the total back into pages:
- pages = total eighths ÷ 8, with the remainder shown as eighths
- decimal pages = total eighths ÷ 8, to up to three decimal places
- estimated shoot days = total eighths ÷ (pages per day × 8), to one decimal place
Worked example with the starting rows
The four sample rows come from a fictional script:
| Scene | Length | Eighths |
|---|---|---|
| 14 INT. DINER - DAY | 2 3/8 | 19 |
| 15 EXT. DINER PARKING LOT - DAY | 4/8 | 4 |
| 22 INT. MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT | 1 6/8 | 14 |
| 23 EXT. MOTEL POOL - NIGHT | 7/8 | 7 |
| Total | 5 4/8 | 44 |
44 eighths divided by 8 is 5 with 4 left over, so the total reads 5 4/8 pages, or 5.5 as a decimal. At the default pace of 4 pages per day (32 eighths), 44 ÷ 32 = 1.375, which the calculator shows as 1.4 shoot days.
That 1.4 is where people get into trouble. Scenes 14 and 15 are day work at a diner, and 22 and 23 are night work at a motel. No 1st AD would try to shoot those in a day and a bit, because there is a company move between them and the night work would wreck the next morning's call. Use the page total to size the job, then split it into days on the stripboard.
What the calculator doesn't handle
- It doesn't measure the script for you. You still need each scene's length from a breakdown or from the script itself. How to calculate film script page counts walks through measuring a page.
- The note under the tool says a scene shorter than an eighth counts as 1/8. That's the rule, but the calculator doesn't enforce it: a row left at
0or blank adds nothing. Type1/8for tiny scenes like an insert or a single line. - Blank rows still count toward the "across N scenes" figure under the total. Delete rows you aren't using.
- Omitted scenes have no length, so leave them off the list.
- A-scenes such as 42A are counted like any other row. Keep the number in the label so you can match them back to the breakdown sheet.
- It uses one pace for everything. A page of dialogue in a kitchen and a page of car chase get the same weight. The shoot days estimator adds company moves, slower night work, and contingency.
- Rows aren't saved. Refreshing the page brings back the sample rows.
Where the numbers go next
Page counts show up on the breakdown sheet header, on every strip, on the day break strip as that day's total, and on the call sheet next to each scene. If you're building those by hand, the script breakdown sheet template and how many script pages can you shoot in a day are the next two reads.
When a script is uploaded to Storiara as a PDF, it measures each scene in eighths from the page layout (minimum 1/8) and shows lengths like 1 3/8 in the scene list. Those values can be edited by hand if a measurement looks off.