Eighths of a page are the film industry's unit for measuring how long a scene is. A script page is divided into eight equal strips, and a scene is written as the number of eighths it fills, like 3/8 or 1 2/8. Schedules add up eighths to size a shoot day, because page length is the fastest rough guide to how much work a day holds.
What is an eighth of a page?
The convention comes from the physical page. A standard screenplay page holds about eight inches of text inside the margins, so an AD with a ruler could split any page into eight strips and count how many a scene filled. The measurement survived the move to software because it is simple and it adds up.
How do you count them?
Three rules cover almost every case:
- Measure the scene, not the page. A scene that starts two-thirds down a page and ends one-third down the next is 3/8 on the first page plus 3/8 on the second, so 6/8.
- Round to the nearest eighth, minimum 1/8. A scene shorter than one strip is still 1/8. Nothing is 0/8.
- Carry whole pages. Ten eighths is not 10/8; it is 1 2/8. Keep the eighths under 8 and roll the rest into pages.
| Scene text length | Eighths | Written as |
|---|---|---|
| A single slug line | 1/8 | 1/8 |
| A third of a page | 3/8 | 3/8 |
| Exactly one page | 8/8 | 1 |
| One and a quarter pages | 10/8 | 1 2/8 |
| Two and a half pages | 20/8 | 2 4/8 |
Why does the schedule care?
Because the first thing a producer needs from a locked script is a page count, and the first thing the schedule needs is a way to size each day. Eighths give both. An independent feature shoots about 4 to 6 pages a day, which is 32 to 48 eighths. Total the eighths on a strip board and you have a day; total the days and you have a shooting schedule.
Day 1 has the most pages and is the easiest: daylight, one set, no effects. Day 2 has fewer pages and is the hardest, because a night exterior with a stunt is slow no matter how short it reads. That gap is the whole caution about eighths.
How eighths flow through the paperwork
- Breakdown. Each scene gets its eighth count once, when the script locks.
- Strip board. Every strip carries its eighths; the day total is the sum.
- Day totals. Pages scheduled per day, the number the AD balances.
- Daily production report. Pages scheduled versus pages actually shot. Three days at 80 percent is a schedule that needs re-cutting.
What comes next
Eighths are the output of the script breakdown and the input to pages-per-day planning. Once every scene carries its count, totalling them per day is how a scene list becomes a shooting schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Why eighths and not tenths or quarters?
History and habit. A standard script page is about eight inches of type between the margins, so a first assistant director could measure a scene with a ruler and call it in eighths. The unit stuck, and every scheduling tool still uses it.
How do you write two and a half pages in eighths?
As 2 4/8. You keep the whole pages and express the remainder in eighths, so two and a half pages is two pages and four eighths. Schedules never simplify 4/8 to 1/2; the denominator stays 8 so the numbers add up cleanly.
Does a longer scene always take longer to shoot?
No. Page count measures length, not difficulty. A three-page dialogue scene at one table can shoot faster than a half-page fight with a stunt and a squib. Eighths tell you how much script a day covers, not how hard it is.
What counts as one eighth if a scene is only a line long?
Any scene, however short, is at least 1/8. A one-line scene ("EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT. A cat knocks over a bin.") is rounded up to one eighth, because it is still a slug line, a setup, and a slot on the schedule.
Who counts the eighths?
The 1st AD or whoever does the breakdown, once, when the script is locked. Software counts automatically from the scene text. The number then flows into the strip board, the day totals, and the day-out-of-days.