Hello everyone.

I write really lean and tight scripts. I only show, basically, what is absolutely necessary in the most visual way possible. Thus my dialogue is short, and I have a lot of scenes. It's just boom, boom, boom, wow we going, boom, boom, oh my god, i'm crying, boom, boom, the end.

And as such, I always come up really short on pages. Right now I'm at 70 pages, and that's with it still being (I think) good. If I push to 90 I feel like I'm slowing it down, padding with bullshit and making it (basically) worse.

All of this to ask - Do screenplay competitions mark against a script around 70-80 pages rather than the rather arbitrary and holy grail of "at least 90"?

Sorry for the rant, but I needed it.  

As per the standard rules, features should be between 70 to 120 pages.

Each competition has its own set of rules. Some considered it from 70 while others consider it from 90 pages. It all depends upon the competition you submit to. If it's clearly mentioned in the rules of the competition the definitive page length of a script, it is strictly followed.

And they do charge extra per page if you exceed the page limit. Read the rules carefully.  

Quoted from Yuvraj As per the standard rules, features should be between 70 to 120 pages. Each competition has its own set of rules. Some considered it from 70 while others consider it from 90 pages. It all depends upon the competition you submit to. If it's clearly mentioned in the rules of the competition the definitive page length of a script, it is strictly followed. And they do charge extra per page if you exceed the page limit. Read the rules carefully.

The issue here is falling short of the page-count expectation.

You could always pad the end with blank pages

Whoever does the first round of reading is going to assume story elements are missing if the script is "too short."

If you open it up a bit by "accidentally" leaving in some orphans, adding an unnecessary (but tonally appropriate) extra detail to each scene description, chopping your action into smaller blocks, etc. you can visually pad the page count without doing any real padding to the story. I doubt it will cover a 20-page shortfall, but it should help.

Quoted from Yuvraj As per the standard rules, features should be between 70 to 120 pages. Each competition has its own set of rules. Some considered it from 70 while others consider it from 90 pages. It all depends upon the competition you submit to. If it's clearly mentioned in the rules of the competition the definitive page length of a script, it is strictly followed. And they do charge extra per page if you exceed the page limit. Read the rules carefully.

Nicholl's says:

Quoted Text The suggested page count is 80 to 125 pages.

If it's good enough for them...

Quoted from FrankM The issue here is falling short of the page-count expectation. You could always pad the end with blank pages Whoever does the first round of reading is going to assume story elements are missing if the script is "too short." If you open it up a bit by "accidentally" leaving in some orphans, adding an unnecessary (but tonally appropriate) extra detail to each scene description, chopping your action into smaller blocks, etc. you can visually pad the page count without doing any real padding to the story. I doubt it will cover a 20-page shortfall, but it should help.

I'm going for 80 pages, and being done with it. If I add blank pages, well that seems like a bold strategy, Cotton.  

Quoted from Robert Timsah Nicholl's says: The suggested page count is 80 to 125 pages. If it's good enough for them...

Yep. It all depends on the competition you submit to.

Quoted from Yuvraj Yep. It all depends on the competition you submit to.

Thanks

Quoted from Robert Timsah Hello everyone. I write really lean and tight scripts. I only show, basically, what is absolutely necessary in the most visual way possible. Thus my dialogue is short, and I have a lot of scenes. It's just boom, boom, boom, wow we going, boom, boom, oh my god, i'm crying, boom, boom, the end. And as such, I always come up really short on pages. Right now I'm at 70 pages, and that's with it still being (I think) good. If I push to 90 I feel like I'm slowing it down, padding with bullshit and making it (basically) worse. All of this to ask - Do screenplay competitions mark against a script around 70-80 pages rather than the rather arbitrary and holy grail of "at least 90"? Sorry for the rant, but I needed it.

Hmm.

To answer your direct question - my guess would be "yes" - all things being equal.
Remember, you are not having the script read in a vacuum. You're having it read in comparison with other scripts.  

What that means, is right next to your 70-page gem, they are going to read and judge someone else's 110-page gem.  Assuming the scripts are of equal quality - which one do you think is going to advance??

You are also fighting against a paradigm - fair or unfair. The vast majority of scripts these people read are 90 pages at the low end and 130 at the high end. Probably right around 100-110 being the sweet spot.  There are some that are going to think that this is not a feature - it's a one hour film.

So fair or unfair - the answer to me is YES - you will be down-graded.

Quoted from eldave1 Hmm. To answer your direct question - my guess would be "yes" - all things being equal. Remember, you are not having the script read in a vacuum. You're having it read in comparison with other scripts.   What that means, is right next to your 70-page gem, they are going to read and judge someone else's 110-page gem.  Assuming the scripts are of equal quality - which one do you think is going to advance?? You are also fighting against a paradigm - fair or unfair. The vast majority of scripts these people read are 90 pages at the low end and 130 at the high end. Probably right around 100-110 being the sweet spot.  There are some that are going to think that this is not a feature - it's a one hour film. So fair or unfair - the answer to me is YES - you will be down-graded.

Thanks, Dave. It makes me laugh because in all my life all I've heard about how we should be economical with our scenes and dialogue, only showing what is absolutely necessary. Then, when you do that, you really learn a lot about the difference between a screenplay and an actual film.

My problem is, I agree with them. A lean script makes for a better film that moves and doesn't get slow and bogged down - but people aren't yet watching the film, they're reading it.

I've decided, right or wrong, I'm going to err on the side of a better story/film and I am not going to confuse, slow and bore the story down with bullshit padding to reach some mythical paradigm rule.

"Writing is a journey into the unknown"!

Quoted from Robert Timsah Thanks, Dave. It makes me laugh because in all my life all I've heard about how we should be economical with our scenes and dialogue, only showing what is absolutely necessary. Then, when you do that, you really learn a lot about the difference between a screenplay and an actual film. My problem is, I agree with them. A lean script makes for a better film that moves and doesn't get slow and bogged down - but people aren't yet watching the film, they're reading it. I've decided, right or wrong, I'm going to err on the side of a better story/film and I am not going to confuse, slow and bore the story down with bullshit padding to reach some mythical paradigm rule. "Writing is a journey into the unknown"!

It certainly is. Best of luck