• Corporate Video

  Scripting software

  Posted by Neil Weaver on April 14, 2009 at 11:46 am

  Hi all,
  Can anyone recommend a good, ideally free(!) script writing program… The feature I most miss from my broadcast days is software that calculates the approx length of your script based on words per second. (I’m thinking iNews or ENPS).

  I’ve downloaded Celtx, but I’m not sure what I make of it yet – and it doesn’t seem to have a timer on it.

  Cheers in advance,

  Neil

  Bill Davis replied 17 years, 3 months ago 3 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Mark Suszko

  April 14, 2009 at 1:54 pm

  Try googling Writeware. BTW, if you format your scripts properly, commercials are 30 seconds per page and long form scripts time out to a minute per page on avverage.
• 

  Bill Davis

  April 17, 2009 at 10:46 pm

  Since the 1980s I’ve just used the standard Word Count function in any WP.

  The time honored standards for commercial VO paced “wall to wall” reading was 85 words for a :30 spot. 160 words for a :60.

  That gives you a generic NOT TO EXCEED baseline. Write more than that and your talent will need to work at “full shout car ad aimed at teenagers” pacing.

  Human adult narration should obviously be paced slower.

  Scripts where ACTING is involved also may need to be adjusted for stuff like long lingering romantic glances shared by the leads, etc.

  Your computer’s calculator does the rest.

  FWIW

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