Screenplay or Movie script writing software

[sigamy]

Does anyone know of a good and cheap (or free) app for writing a movie script? Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter seem to be the best but they are around $150.

I'm looking for something much cheaper. Maybe a MS Word template?

TIA,
BA

[Guitarius]

I just use apple works. It works for me. I plan to get a copy of MS Office soon, so I'll just use that.

I don't really understand the point of special screen writing programs. What do they do special for you? Do they tab automatically?

I'm not trying to be an ass or anything, I'm seriously curious about it. I'm a playwright. I just never saw any particular reason to buy a special program for it. I guess I just don't understand what they do.

[jared_kipe]

Final Draft 7.0
http://www.finaldraft.com

[Gee]

I use Word, and I've set up the margin, fonts, paragraphs, etc, myself. Seems to work. I also don't understand what scriptwriting software does that a wordprocessor can't, as the chap above mentioned, so any info on that would be cool...

By the way - when you finish your script, check out inktip.com - really cool and useful site if you're looking to market it...

[sigamy]

All,

Thanks for the replies. I guess I should have said it in my post--I agree with you in questioning the value of dedicated script writing software. That is why I asked for cheap or free software or even MS Word templates.

The only reason I'm looking for software is because I know NOTHING about the format required. The only thing I do know is that there is a set format required for scripts. I've read two scripts in my life and I barely remember them. So, I'm just looking for a tool that can handle all the formatting and just let me tell my story and type.

So, anyone care to share their AppleWorks or MS Word template?

TIA,
Brian

[Guitarius]

Script format is simple.

http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/artweb/playwriting/formatpage.html

That's for play format anyway...screen plays should be the same.

[crookedcharlie]

The big difference between using a word template and dedicated script writing software is obvious to anyone who has used both. Script writing software like Final Draft does everything for you, so you can just get to the writing, instead of hitting Tab six times, starting to type, realizing you over-tabbed, copying what you wrote, moving back to the correct position, pasting what you had copied, and then... trying to figure out what you were writing again.

The reason most working (notice that word) screenwriters use programs like final draft is the same reason most creative people use macs: it gets out of your way and allows you to simply create your art. You know it's going to be formatted correctly, and can't simply get down to the business of telling your story.

It's the same reason you use a hammer to put a nail into a board. You could use a brick...


PS -- No matter what you do, make sure it's formatted right. If the formatting is wrong, no matter how good it is, the script won't be taken seriously.

[Guitarius]

Hmmm...I see...Would you suggest getting a copy of Final Draft? I'm a lazy SOB and always looking for making things easier.

Do the screenwriting programs work equally well for stage plays?

[~Shard~]

I gotta throw in my vote for Final Draft as well - it's what I currently use. I understand where some of you are coming from, saying "what does the software actually do over and above Word?!", for instance, and I was in the same boat until I started using the program. Final Draft just makes writing so much easier - I can just write and I don't have to worry about formatting, etc. Final Draft allows you to select whether what you're typing is a scene heading, dialogue, action, a transition, etc., then will fill in commonly used scenes for you, directions like INT., MATCH CUT, FADE IN, etc., character names as you type them, and again, format everything perfectly and professionally. It's nice to name a character, have the software capitalize it for you, remember the name for future use, center it, then once you hit "return", it changes automatically to "dialogue" format since it knows you're having the character speak. And the software does several similar functions like this which make the writing experience easier and more enjoyable. If you want to get detailed, Final Draft will also print out reports for you, based on scenes, dialogue (i.e. how many lines each character has, who they speak to the most, etc.), and all sorts of other useful peices of information.

It's a really powerful tool that let's me write what I want to write without having to worry about the formatting, etc. details. As a result, I have become a much more efficient writer thanks to the program, which is what good programs should do for their users.

If you would like further tips, advice, etc. on screenwriting, just let me know - I'd be happy to help you out. :cool:

[~Shard~]

Do the screenwriting programs work equally well for stage plays?

The version of Final Draft I have came with a lot of built-in templates for TV shows, movies, etc. - although I haven't looked into it, I wouldn't be surprised if there were ones in there for stage plays as well.

Oh, and another cool feature I like about Final Draft - there is built-in speech recognition, so that you can assign different voices (which you can modify yourself) to different characters and basically listen to your script being read in different voices, etc. It's sometimes handy for timing and judging lengths of scenes, but it's also simply fun and cool to play around with sometimes. ;) :cool:

[Guitarius]

If it's good for stage plays as well as screenplays, count me in. I may have to check it our more.

[crookedcharlie]

Oh, and another cool feature I like about Final Draft - there is built-in speech recognition, so that you can assign different voices (which you can modify yourself) to different characters and basically listen to your script being read in different voices, etc. It's sometimes handy for timing and judging lengths of scenes, but it's also simply fun and cool to play around with sometimes. ;) :cool:

Have you ever used that? I tried it once. I pulled up a script, assigned all the voices, got myself a cup of coffee, hit "GO," and then got creeped out by what sounded like a Rich Little Imitation Bot trying to sound different reading the script. Do you have good experiences wiht it?

[mimi90]

hey,
does anyone know of any good screenplay programs that can work on apple macs? free would be brilliant!

[Gee]

hey,
does anyone know of any good screenplay programs that can work on apple macs? free would be brilliant!


Scrivener is very good, and nearly free. THey have a demo you can try out first.

[cooknwitha]

I use Final Draft too.

It is expensive but when you consider that you'll only be buying it once, it's great. Sure, there are updates but it's just more bells and whistles.

You can download a demo to give it a whirl and see if it does what you want it to. My only criticism is with stageplay formatting. You can't assign character and dialogue elements on the same line which sucks if you want to follow that type of format. Apart from that, you can customise the formatting to fit most medium and country's preferred format.

update: I just realised that this was a resurrected thread. Sorry!!

[GanChan]

Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter (which I use) are both considered to be industry standards, and in the direct comparisons I've read, they both come out about equal.

I think Screenwriter has auto-formatting for screenplays, stage plays, novels (!), TV and radio scripts. You can also tweak any of the formats to customize them further if you want.

[coocooforcocoap]

if u are an indie filmmaker, then final draft has the advantage of exporting the script in a format that can be read by storyboarders like frameforge3d. let's face it, if you have to do ur own thing and u are writing for film, the next step is to build boards for shooting. many of the final draft tags are translated into useful storyboard elements automatically. i am not sure if frameforge is even on mac... as i just converted to a mbp...but i am going to find out soon. what i really want to see is an start-to-end solution for the indie filmmaker, something like finaldraft-->storyboarder-->FCP/AE project files. but maybe i will have to wait till the next lifetime;)

[MacHipster]

Another vote for Final Draft. I used it when I was writing stageplays back in the 90s and kept using it now that I've transitioned to screenplays.

[stenoeyes]

I like screenwriting more than anything. It’s complicated though as I feel every one in LA has a written a script and is just waiting for their big break. To be honest, I’ve written a few that I felt were almost there.....Of course the operative word is "almost". Writing a story that will leave a mark on your audience is not exactly a walk in the park (http://www.filmschool.ph).

[hoops105]

just been reading this forum in the hopes of finding something similar myself, and would just like to point out to anyone else, a little gem i found whilst searching the internet.
firstly, www.scriptfrenzy.org, is a fantastic little website (in my humble opinion). it offers advice and tips on formatting etc.
it was here that i stumbled upon Celtx (www.celtx.com), a free program for writing stage plays, screenplays, audio plays, storyboards and more.
i havent been using it very long but i am already extremely impressed with it!
formatting is done for you in a simple way, and it doesnt impede the writing process. there are also little extras you can do like characters sheets and location sheets and more.

felt obliged to point this program out, as it has been thus far perfect for me, and i know that hours of trawling the internet could have been saved if someone here had known about it.

hope this helps anyone!

[Warheart1188]

Cinergy Script Editor is great...and it's free...but it's a Windows app right now. If you have Windows on your Mac, you can use it but for now we have to wait until they have a Mac version.

[grooveattack]

its all about celtx...

[ukmacpro]

I use Final Draft, but there's also a pretty good template that comes with Pages which would serve most peoples needs...

[TRoman]

I really like FinalDraft and Storyist. They both translate well into storyboards for pre-production and clean shot lists for production.

[macswitcha2]

Hmmm...I see...Would you suggest getting a copy of Final Draft? I'm a lazy SOB and always looking for making things easier.

Do the screenwriting programs work equally well for stage plays?

working smart rather than working hard is not lazy.

[coocooforcocoap]

I see this post is still active, so let me update our studio's position:)

We use Final Draft 7 and Tagger in conjugation with Toon Boon Storyboard Pro to produce scripts, then storyboards and animatics that have the script integrated.

We do mostly short docus, music vids, commercials, etc. But I am not so happy with the workflow - yet I don't see an alternative at this price point. Toon Boon software is cartoonish and immature inmo. The import from Final Draft is a mess, and just gets worse with Final Draft 8. However, we can produce boards that our clients like, and more importantly, can understand.

Is there anyone out there has a found better software with a smooth workflow?

Cheers,
Coocoo

[pimentoLoaf]

Movie Magic Screenwriter and Contour (http://www.marinersoftware.com/sitepage.php?page=138), the latter being a story development tool. I chose MM after working with demos of it and Final Draft and not liking the latter.

If you want to save some money, try Celtx (http://celtx.com/) (pronounced "KEL-tex"). Haven't done much more than play with it, alas.

[IntelliUser]

"We've actually been using Movie Magic Screenwriter once we discovered how much it kicked the ass out of Final Draft."

Trey Parker, Director/ Writer/ Producer Co-Creator, South Park

'Nuff said.