Review
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So what do you write your scripts on? Lined yellow foolscap with a green biro? Your grandfather's old typewriter? Or a computer?
There are two kinds of software that can make your life easier. You can add something to your ordinary word processor - ranging from simple templates to clever-dick macros. Or you can splurge out on multi-featured programs that do everything except make the coffee (promised for version 9).
Your own word processor
ScriptSmart
ScriptMaker
ScreenWriter Pro
Final Draft
Summary
Bog standard word processor?
Starting at the bottom, what's wrong with the bog-standard word processor you already have?
Well, nothing. If you know the correct format - font, margins, alignment, etc - there is absolutely no need to spend any extra money. Furthermore, with a little basic skill you can make your life even easier, creating a template with paragraph "styles" allocated to each different script element - direction, character, dialogue, action, scene heading and so forth.
And to save you doing it yourself, we've done it for you - you can download script templates for Microsoft Word and Lotus WordPro - US and European versions.
These templates offer the correct formatting and even a small amount of automation (for example, after a character name, the template will set you up ready for dialogue).
ScriptSmart (PC only)
free
www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/help/scriptsmart.shtml
Staying with free software, the BBC has developed some even snazzier templates for users of Word for Windows (Mac versions are promised). Hit the icon for Scene Heading, or Slug Line, for example, and a macro pops up with options to choose INT. or EXT. - DAY or NIGHT, and a space to put the location.
ScriptSmart will set up dialogue correctly, add parentheses and even allow you to write dual dialogue side by side (for when people speak at the same time). It can number scenes if you wish (but only on the left-hand side).
Dedicated ScriptMaker (PC only)
free
www.freefilmsoftware.co.uk/
So why bother with dedicated scriptwriting software? ScriptMaker by Ian Pegler is a free program designed for creating scripts from scratch. (Sadly also Windows only). But the experience is completely different from using a template.
The first thing you notice when you fire it up is that the screen is divided into two. In the left-hand window, you start to build your script in a tree structure, not unlike Windows explorer.
You start by adding a new scene onto the "tree" - and ScriptMaker then immediately prompts you to choose INT or EXT, DAY, NIGHT, etc and add the location ready for the scene heading. You then build the scene out of one or more "chunks".
You write a synopsis of each chunk (for example, "Charles Harris chats up Harvey Weinstein.") then you write the text of the chunk itself. You enter the text in separate elements: different pop-up boxes prompt you to enter directions, characters, dialogue, transitions, etc, and ensure everything is laid out correctly on the page.
It even knows to add those little extras, such as (CONT'D) when a character speaks twice in succession, or dialogue is split over two pages.
The program is very efficient, if a little strange at first, as you are dealing with small pieces rather than the whole scene in one go. However this could be good for those writers who need to learn to slow down and think in cinematic elements rather than paragraphs. And the ability to see the structure, scene synopsis and text side by side is very useful.
ScriptMaker keeps a list of character names that you've used in the script, and will allow you to change all the uses of (say) Fred to Freda in one go, should you wish. It can even display the script in "index cards" that you can move around (saves spreading real cards out all over the floor!)
Niggles include a slightly awkward series of keypresses every time you want to save your script; and it insists that characters should always be in capitals even in descriptions, which not all writers prefer. But against that, it's free.
ScreenWriter Pro v3.5 (PC)
$29.99 - free demo available:
www.virtualamnesia.com
Moving up in price, ScreenWriter Pro (again PC only) is advertised at $99 but currently sells for $29.99. What do you get for your money? Well, first you get up to five windows rather than two.
A large, central window gives the text of each scene while smaller windows offer a scenes list (with synopses); a character list (with descriptions); a location list; and a workspace for notes.
As with ScriptMaker you work on each scene individually. However the writing feels more natural, without the need to insert every piece of text into an electronic "form". Building up the treatment, scene by scene, is simpler - and the software helpfully offers structural hints to start you off.
More trivially, you can have endless fun adding little icons to each scene to illustrate the content - although the selection is a little idiosyncratic, ranging from a bomb, a gun and a yacht to a heart and a pair of bare feet. If you divide your script into three acts, it will even colour the scene list in three colours to show where each act starts and ends.
When you get to writing the script itself, the software prompts with a scene heading at the top of each scene. Elements such as location, time of day and character names are easily chosen from their lists.
If you type a new character, or a new location, the names are automatically added to their respective lists and again elements such as (CONT'D) are added automatically.
You can also switch between two different versions of any scene, to allow you to experiment as you develop the draft.
The program is not without its faults. It's not always clear what key to press to perform an action, and the version I used took 8 seconds to save a full script (this means a great deal if - like me - you hit "save" every few minutes!) But it has its virtues, especially in developing the early structure, and you can try a demo for free.
Final Draft v6 (PC or Mac)
US $229 boxed or download
http://www.finaldraft.com/
UK £149.95 (£99 download)
www.screenwriterstore.co.uk
free demo available
At the other end of the league, depending on where you shop, Final Draft (Mac or PC) can cost you anything from £99 to £210. But is it that much better? (I reviewd v6, though v7 has since become available).
First impressions are encouraging. No fuss - just a clean screen that looks like a normal word processor - indeed you can happily use it to write letters, novels and other texts. However behind the scenes, FD hides a number of powerful functions.
Selecting the right element (scene heading, character, dialogue, etc) will automatically set up the correct layout, of course, and as with SceneWriter it keeps a list of characters, locations, etc, to fill in where necessary.
Final Draft doesn't force you to write scenes individually, but it does allow you to display the scenes in outline. However, unlike the other programs there's no way to create your own scene synopses. Instead the program gives you the heading and first words of each scene as an aide-memoire.
Like the other programs, you can move these outlines around, cutting and pasting until you have a structure you like, and the script will be reorganised to match, but whereas the other programs can only move one scene at time, Final Draft allows you to drag whole groups of scenes together, which is faster and more intuitive.
There are also various extra functions of varying degrees of usefulness. It offers a wide range of templates, including not only film, but query letters and a range of different TV formats - with advice and tongue-in-cheek examples.
You can number scenes, lock the numbering, mark revisions, add A-scenes, B-scenes and so on. There's a tremendous Thesaurus that makes the Thesaurus in MS Word look like Janet & John - and a database of common names for characters, which in truth felt more of a gimmick.
You can add personal notes and bookmarks and consult a computerised version of script doctor Syd Field as you hit problems. You can even get it to read your script aloud in a range of Stephen Hawking voices - which whiles away a merry moment, but will probably do little for your scriptwriting.
What made FD stand out for me, was the little things. For example, it's bright enough to detect when dialogue is alternating and when one person has spoken it offers the other character's name. And - a nice touch - if you drag a section of dialogue from inside a speech into a new position, it remembers who spoke the lines and automatically adds the correct name.
It's not perfect (I'd like more sophisticated indenting to help with some TV layouts, for example - though there is a separate TV version available - at extra cost of course) but it's solid and nice to use.
Summary
Do any of the templates or programs make it easier to write well? Yes. But they also make it easier to write badly. They won't do the job for you, but they can help.
If you've already started a project, all three programs allow you to import existing text (although ScriptMaker will only accept XML) and all have a stab at working out automatically what is dialogue, direction, heading, etc.
Final Draft was by far the most impressive at this, as with all the basic tasks. It's generally speedier and the technology doesn't get in the way so much as the other two, but it packs in many useful functions.
Every writer has different needs. If you just want a simple way to get the right layout with minimum fuss, try our free templates. A little more fuss and ScriptSmart will help you lay out your script correctly and prompt for the correct elements. If you want a bit more to play with and have Windows, both ScriptMaker and SceneWriter Pro have their strengths. But if you can afford it and want a full range of functions, Final Draft is worth the money.
(all prices ex taxes and shipping where appropriate)
This article first appeared in New Producer
© Charles Harris, 2004
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