Reader Question: “How many scenes are there in a movie?”

Could 200 be the average?

I just started teaching a one-week online ScreenwritingMasterClass.com course called Core VI: Scene. It’s one class in my eight-part Core curriculum. A writer taking the course posted this:

Would you agree that most movies have about 200 scenes?

Here is my response:

I don’t think so. That would make each scene about 1/2–3/4 of a page. Perhaps an action movie. But then, it depends on what you call a scene. Your question is a fair one because what you may be thinking of is some of the shooting scripts (production drafts) floating around which have numbered “scenes,” but that includes every scene heading. And if the writers or production team us scene headings for every shot, then that total can add up in a hurry. There may be 3, 4, 5 or more shots in one scene. But because the script uses Scene Heading instead of Shot, we read the script and see those numbers climbing up to or going above 200, that provides a false sense of how many actual scenes are in the movie.

As a point of comparison, here is an anecdote involving David Lynch:

“Accepted into the institute’s Center for Advanced Film Studies in 1970, Lynch studied with the Czechoslovak film maker Frank Daniel, whose course on film analysis shaped his writing and directing habits. ‘’It’s a simple thing he taught me,’’ says Lynch. ‘’If you want to make a feature film, you get ideas for 70 scenes. Put them on 3-by-5 cards. As soon as you have 70, you have a feature film.’’ Except that he now dictates to an assistant, Lynch still works this way.”

70 scenes. That feels more like it. I’ve read where the length of an average movie scene has shrunk from 2 pages to 1 1/2 pages over the last few decades. 1 1/2 x 70 = 105 which interestingly is what my Hollywood writer friends feel is a great number to hit nowadays, instead of the old standard for a feature length film: 120.

But it varies from genre to genre, writer to writer, so not set amount. Just write the story the way it needs to be told. The scenes and scene count will work themselves out.

While a writer can choose to use Scene Heading for every scene and every shot — no rule against that in part because there are no screenwriting rules — but here’s another reason why I prefer to only use scene heading to indicate an actual scene.

Let’s say I’m writing a first draft. 75 pages into it. I can do a quick check of how many scenes I have and get a sense of how long each scene.

For example, if I’ve written 60 scenes, that means my scenes are on average 1 1/4 pages long. But if I’ve written 30 scenes, that means my scenes are on average 2 1/2 pages long.

Depending upon the genre, that could be an issue. Let’s say I’m writing an action movie. Generally, they have a higher scene count because shorter scenes creates a more staccato pace which can translate into … you know … action. If my scenes are 2 1/2 pages long, that suggests I probably need to do some tightening

On the other hand, if I’m writing an character-driven drama, but the average scene is 1 1/4 pages long, is that approach serving a movie which focuses on the intimate interactions of key characters?

In any event, I just like to know as I write what the average length of my scenes is and I can do that if I only use Scene Heading to start a new scene and not use them where I can instead use Shot.

For more on how David Lynch comes up with his 70 scenes — it involves chocolate milk shakes and lots and lots of sugar — go here.