Courier 10 or 12?

[Klazart]

Okay this might seem like a silly question but from what I've read, both seem to be considered acceptable. A lot of the samples I've seen at IMSDB seem to be in Courier 10. Makes the script look a lot more compact etc.

My current screenplay is 90 or so pages in Courier 10 (which is a little on the short side), and 113 pages in Courier 12 (the magical 110 length). So I'm trying to figure out which one to use. I do have a couple of sub-plots and charecters I'd like to add.

If I used Courier 10 this would be easy as my script would be at 90 pages and I'd have another 20 pages to play with for sub-plots etc.

Appreciate any advice!

[Plot Device]

I always thought 12 was it.

[TsukiRyoko]

I prefer 12, but 10 is also widely acceptable.

[Klazart]

Doesn't 10 change the 1 page = 1 minute mantra? Or does 12 change that?

As I said, my script in 12 is 113 pages (almost two hours)
My script in 10 is 90 pages (an hour and a half)

That's thirty minutes of screen time, which seems like a big difference :(

[zagoraz]

Where is 10 widely acceptable? Certainly not out here in La-la land. 10 will get you into the trash can quicker than you can say Kinkos.

12 point Courier. Live and die by it.

[dpaterso]

Please read this thread, especially ComicBent's article:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30501

It's included in the screenwriting tips (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24087) thread for future easy reference.

-Derek

[Klazart]

Courier 12 it is. Thanks for all the info everyone!

[Rainy Night]

Has anyone noticed that Final Draft has its own courier font?

Just curious what the difference is and why my old FD defaults the font to FD Courier 11?

I'm using MM now, but it's something I remember from my FD days.

[dpaterso]

In a bizarre coincidence, I use MM2000 but with Courier Final Draft set as my default font.

-Derek

[Rainy Night]

In a bizarre coincidence, I use MM2000 but with Courier Final Draft set as my default font.

-Derek
That just seems wrong ...

[dpaterso]

Yeah it's risky, I read something in the Bible about a plague of locusts infesting my armpits, and my first-born being forever cursed to be a screenwriter, or maybe it was a harlot -- but what the hey, I spoke the forbidden ritual aloud, hit the button, and the skies hardly darkened at all.

-Derek

[RainbowDragon]

12 - but you can increase length up to 120 pages relatively safely, and double space instead of triple space sluglines, tighten up descriptions and dialogue to make more room for subplots. Good luck!

[Jamesaritchie]

I think the confusion comes because Courier 10 pitch is the same thing as Courier 12 point. So Courier 10 pitch, as some old Macs and the like used, and that some writers still use, is widely accepted because it's the same size as 12 point.

Most modern word processors measure everything in point, not pitch, so you always want to use Courier 12. Courier 10 is way the heck too small and changes everything.

Courier Final Draft, Dark Courier, and Courier10 BT are all very good fonts for writing a screenplay. I prefer Courier10 BT by a very slight margin, but all three are identical, except for a very slight difference in how dark the print.

[Plot Device]

Has anyone noticed that Final Draft has its own courier font?

Just curious what the difference is and why my old FD defaults the font to FD Courier 11?

I'm using MM now, but it's something I remember from my FD days.


Go click on the link found up above in Post #6 by Derek. And when you get into that link skip down past everyone else's posts and only focus on the posts by the font-guru named ComicBent. He gets into the nit-picky details as to why that is. :cool: