A 30-second spot, an e-learning module, a corporate film: every format dictates a duration, and the script has to fit. Before booking a studio, a script timer answers the only question that matters: does your text fit your format?
Spoken aloud, everything is counted in words per minute. A calm read, meditation or audiobook style, runs around 120 words per minute. Standard narration, corporate or e-learning, around 150. An energetic commercial climbs toward 170. The same 300-word text therefore runs from 1 min 45 to 2 min 30 depending on the intent.
As a guide, at the standard pace of 150 words per minute:
| Format | Duration | Text volume |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube bumper | 6 s | ≈ 15 words |
| Pre-roll | 15 s | ≈ 35 words |
| TV or radio spot | 30 s | ≈ 75 words |
| Long spot | 60 s | ≈ 150 words |
| Explainer video | 90 s | ≈ 225 words |
Language first: a French adaptation is almost always longer than its English original, count roughly 10 to 15% more. Pauses next: a breath before a key message, a silence to let a picture live. Music and sound design finally, which claim their space. A good script lets the text breathe rather than filling every second.
Paste your script into ScriptTimer: the word count, the script's duration at three paces and its fit with standard formats appear instantly. Free, no sign-up.
Cutting without losing the message is adaptation work: it's what our team does every day before each recording, on the projects we produce. Tell us about your project and arrive in the studio with a script that fits.