Screenwriting : Short film by Brian McAndrew

You sure do ask a lot of the "can there be" questions, Brian. Yes, there can be a montage in a short film. You, as a writer, can do anything you want to do. What exactly is a short film? The AMPAS has their definition. Film festivals have their definitions and many times the length is different. In general a short film is any film that is not feature length; so anything under 60/65 minutes. Check the AMPAS website for their definition.

Yeah, I know I do. I can't afford film school and I live in a very rural area where the film industry isn't really developed. I want to learn about this industry as much as possible and I see websites as a "school" where I can learn.

I did not mean to suggest you ask too many questions. Only that you seem to think there are so many "rules" that you can't do some things. You can have any antagonist you want. You can write a reality web series. You can write anything you want. You can make anything you want.

There can be anything that works within the context and pacing of the story. In a 10 or 20 page short a montage would probably feel rushed or forced, but midway through 40 pages could be a good fit. If there were any rules about this, the rule would be to write it and see how it feels! Everything's worth a try...

Actually, I think a good montage in a short is a great idea. It packs a lot of information in a small chunk of time - relying on images rather than dialogue. The key is that it has to be a GOOD montage conveying precisely what you want. That can be tricky. Good luck.

For a feature nowadays I was told that a studio will baulk in the current climate at anything over 110 pages

Not true Neil. An excellent, well written script with characters that will attract top talent and a concept that will interest a paying audience is what studios in the current climate are looking for. Page count doesn't matter. A trim during the rewriting process is easy.

While I agree page count doesn't matter, readers sadly are baulking at anything over 110pp at the moment.

Any reader who balks at or does not fully cover the scripts they are assigned will not have a job much longer. They cannot tell their boss they didn't cover the script because it was longer than 110 pages. And if the reader doesn't cover the script they don't get paid. Readers do not balk at getting paid....

Whilst I agree with you D - M, there is a defintion issue about what 'Cover' means.

I wasn't aware of that, David. All readers I know, have worked with or have hired "cover" scrips - that's what they do. They are assigned to read and write what I have always known to be called "coverage". Or so I thought. Didn't know there are different definitions of what the written coverage of a script is. What are some of the other definitions of "cover" in this context?

"about what 'coverage' means". Does that help? I do hope so.

Not really. You bring up something that I find quite interesting. I wasn't aware there were definition issues about what coverage means. What are some of the other definitions of "coverage" in this context?

feature is 90 pages or more you can even get by with 80