Is it frowned upon to have:

X amount of seconds pass..

In your script?

Or is it better to have 'Beat'?

For example:

The crowed panics. Everyone dashes around, trying to stay dry.

Three seconds pass.

Four ear-splitting gun SHOTS rip through the museum. The place ERUPTS. People spurt like wild fire to get out of harms way.

Brandon, a lot of writers/readers get miffed with 'beat'. This is because something's supposed to be actually happening in that beat/pause i.e., characters staring each another down etc. It can indicate the writer is just being lazy - let's throw a beat or pause in.

If it was to be an exact three seconds then you can show that easily with a clock, or a character looking at his/her watch, or a bomb about to explode, counting down the seconds etc. That's the basic way.

In your example of the museum - I would have QUIET, (MOS) show the seconds ticking around the dial of a clock for example, then four ear-splitting gun SHOTS etc. Sound returns to normal - people run, scream, etc.

Are your examples just random? What context are you speaking of?

Quoted from LC Are your examples just random? What context are you speaking of?

It's from one of my scripts.

It's inside a museum. The sprinklers start spraying from the roof, everyone starts moving around etc. And then gunshots are heard.

Right, so mainly it comes down to it being a style choice, but personally I'd steer clear of 'beat'.

See what others think as well...

Does it matter it's 3 seconds or not?

Quoted Text It's inside a museum. The sprinklers start spraying from the roof, everyone starts moving around etc. And then gunshots are heard.

If not, why not just write it like that?

Personally I think '3 seconds pass' needs a good reason as to why it are exactly 3 seconds.

IMO, If you are literally talking about 3 seconds - no - don't indicate it. There must be hundreds of instances in every script where seconds pass between one action and another. Can you imagine the clutter if a writer interrupted the action every time they wanted to show seconds passing? I think the sequence is okay without any indication of time. e.g.,

The crowed panics. Everyone dashes around, trying to stay dry.

Four ear-splitting gun SHOTS rip through the museum. The place ERUPTS. People spurt like wild fire to get out of harms way.

But if you are determined to indicate the time - I would rather have you put some meaningful action in between (i.e., something to take up the 3 secs). Just making this up - but something like:

The crowed panics. Everyone dashes around, trying to stay dry.

A MOTHER SCREAMS - can't find her child

Four ear-splitting gun SHOTS rip through the museum. The place ERUPTS. People spurt like wild fire to get out of harms way.

Quoted from eldave1 People spurt like wild fire to get out of harms way.

Not sure why this sentence makes me chuckle. Perhaps it's because I generally think of 'spurt' in terms of liquid spraying. The image I have after reading this probably shouldn't be repeated.

Quoted from DustinBowcot Not sure why this sentence makes me chuckle. Perhaps it's because I generally think of 'spurt' in terms of liquid spraying. The image I have after reading this probably shouldn't be repeated.

It was just something that happens in the spurt of the moment?