As I understand it, the Follows dataset is based primarily on scripts by entry-level writers. Scripts by professional writers and scripts that get produced (as opposed to shooting scripts) would probably trend even shorter, since professional scripts are more likely to be fully trimmed.

According to the Follows article, scene length has also trended shorter: “ The average script has 110 scenes — just over one scene per page. Action scripts have the greatest number of scenes (an average of 131.2 scenes) with Comedies having the fewest (just 98.5).” If action scripts average 106 pages (according to Follows), then the average action scene would be .81 pages. Average comedy scene would be 1.1 pages. Dang, that’s short.

So contemporary readers and moviegoers are expecting not only shorter scenes but more of them.