How to Write a Feature Film Screenplay: Structure by Page
How to write a feature film screenplay: break 90 to 120 pages into about eight sequences and place each key beat by page number. Eight problems are easier to solve than 110 pages.
Chapters (8)
In this lesson you will learn
- How to set up a feature film project and where the three acts sit
- Why eight sequences of 12 to 15 pages make a feature manageable
- Where the key beats fall by page: inciting incident, plot point one, midpoint, plot point two
- Three questions to ask when you read your outline as a whole
- Why you write a feature in passes, and what each pass is for
- How to build a B story and track your genre's promises with labels
How do you write a feature film screenplay without drowning in 110 pages? This lesson scales everything from the short film up to a feature of 90 to 120 pages, an hour and a half to two hours on screen. In ScreenWeaver you create the project in feature film mode, where the structure goes from title to sequences, beats and scenes.
The key is the sequence: about eight mini movies of 12 to 15 pages, each with its own goal and turn. You will place the structure labels across the whole film with page targets, read the outline as a whole, write in three passes, and give your B story its own beats with the heart label. Genre labels such as tension, comedy and action show the rhythm, and the page count becomes your clock. Lesson 5.1 of a free screenwriting course.
Full transcript
0:04Everything in this course works for a three -page short. Now let's scale it up to the big one. A feature film. 90 to 120 pages. An hour and a half to two hours on screen.
0:17Start with the format. Create the project in feature film mode. Your structure goes from the title to sequences, beats and scenes. Acts are hidden, but they're still there in your head. A quarter of the story for the setup, half for the confrontation, a quarter for the resolution.
0:36The most useful way to tame a feature is the sequence. Think of your film as about eight sequences of 12 to 15 pages. Each one a mini -movie with its own goal and its own turn. Eight problems to solve are much easier than 110 pages.
0:54Then the beats. Use the nine structure labels as a checklist across the whole film. One opening, one inciting incident around page 10 to 15, plot point one around page 25, a midpoint around 55, the low point and plot point two around 75 to 85, the climax, and the resolution in the last pages.
1:17Read your outline as a whole. Is there a heartbeat in every act? Does the midpoint really change the direction of the story? Does each sequence end on a turn that pushes us into the next one?
1:30Write in passes, not in one go. First pass, get to the end, even if it's bad. A finished bad draft is worth more than a perfect first act. Second pass, structure, with the outline open. Third pass, scenes and dialogue, with the assistant as a sparring partner.
1:51Every feature also needs a B story, a second line, often a relationship, that runs under the main plot and carries the theme. In a heist film, the A story is the heist, the B story might be a father trying to win back his son. Give your B story its own beats in the outline, and use the heart label for them, so you can see it weave through the acts.
2:14And know your genre's promises. A thriller promises tension in every sequence. A comedy promises a laugh every page or so. A horror film promises fear before the end of act one. Label those beats. Tension, comedy, action, and check the rhythm across the whole outline. Long gaps with no label of your genre are where the audience starts checking their phone.
2:39And use the page count as your clock. A sequence that runs 25 pages is probably two sequences. A first act that ends on page 40 means the audience waited too long.
2:52Your exercise, if your story is a feature, create its eight sequences in the outline. Place the nine structure labels and check where they fall. Next, writing a series episode. is a feature of the text. writing a series of videos And the text.