Final Draft

[Rob Lohman]

Hmmm.. interesting! Never knew Avid could do that. Perhaps I
should take a closer look it in the near future. Thanks for bringing
it to my attention!

[John Threat]

Most of the bells and whistles on final Draft are clunky and a waste.

just format my frigging script. I dont need it read with microsoft speech or character name suggestions. that just keeps the price high. They stick a lot of bullshit features cluttering it up, instead of actual tools that you can use.


That said, I own a copy that I bought thru amazon.com. It serves me well when i am lazy and dont want to format it myself,

[John Locke]

Whoa, Jeep!

Some, such as myself, find the bells & whistles useful...and hardly consider the price for Final Draft as expensive.

It's okay to disagree...but let's try to keep it a bit more diplomatic, please.

[Robert Knecht Schmidt]

Jeep's got a point--if Microsoft Word had a macro that formatted scripts reliably, it would decimate the market for Final Draft and Screenwriter.

[Ken Tanaka]

http://www.scriptwerx.com/

[John Locke]

Robert,

I agree he has a point...but there are more diplomatic ways of expressing opinions.

If Person A endorses something, then Person B comes along and says it's "clunky and a waste" and has "bull**** features cluttering it up"...that translates to Person B basically saying "Person A, you're an idiot."

That's not why we're here...and that type of exchange achieves nothing.

Disagreeing is great...but back up what you're saying with a few details, and be sensitive to the fact that others might not agree with you.

I, for one, have never cared for Microsoft Word...even though I use it daily in my work. I get tired of it constantly trying to second guess my efforts. Plus, being a Mac user, I'm constantly plagued with compatibility issues. They say that Mac and PC users alike should be able to exchange files and work without fear of formatting losses and such. I can tell you that just isn't true. The team that I work with on a daily basis are located in four different countries...all of whom have different language operating systems, different versions of Windows, and different versions of MS Word. Let me tell you, compatibility is a nightmare.

With Final Draft, all you need is the viewer...just like a PDF file...and anyone can open it, and the formatting remains the same.

Still...I realize some people have cut their teeth on MS Word and feel more comfortable with it. To each his own. I'd say the most important thing is the words and ideas you put onto the page, not how the page is handled.

Now...see what I did? I gave a differing opinion, backed it up, and hopefully didn't make anyone feel slighted. That's what I'm talking about.

[Robert Knecht Schmidt]

True--yet, I'll bet you still know you'll feel better if you just let it all out. Go ahead. Say it. "MS Word is bull@#$%!" There: didn't that feel better?

--- Microsoft Word lover
|
V

[John Locke]

Okay then...I WILL say it!

MS Word is bullatpounddollarpercentexclamation

...whew! I DO feel better!

[Robert Knecht Schmidt]

Ken, I've never tried ScriptWerx, but I have tried a lot of the similar Word plugins, and none of them worked to my satisfaction. Do you know, can ScriptWerx:

• Autocomplete sluglines?
• Break up a long line of dialogue between two pages and put (MORE) in between the broken dialogue, then remove the (MORE) when a deletion/addition before the broken line reunites the two pieces on the same page again?
• Do the same for (CONTINUED)s for scenes?
• Predict which character will be speaking next after typing just the first letter of the character's name? (Helps speed writing dialogue--by a lot!)
• WYSIWYG viewing and printing that doesn't change when you send the file to somebody else?
• Script notes that you can choose to print or not print? (Might be possible with Word XP which I believe does have a note function.)
• 15 NUMBER SCENES CORRECTLY? 15
• Go back and renumber the scenes upon making a scene addition/deletion?
• DISTINGUISH SCENE HEADINGS FROM LINES OF ACTION DESCRIPTION THAT JUST HAPPEN TO BE ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS?

I don't need budgeting breakdown or a partner IM function built into my screenwriting software, but I do want features that help speed funneling thoughts onto the page before they drip right out of my head. As soon as Word can do all of the above--I'm there.

[Richard Alvarez]

Scriptware will do what you want, without extraneous bells and whistles.

Yeah, they were the first Screenwriting program. Still one of the best.

[John Locke]

For you guys that don't want to use Final Draft or any programs with bells and whistles, this link has some script helpers for MS Word, as well as storyboards, releases, shot lists, call sheets...you name it. And all free to download.

http://www.dependentfilms.net/files.html

[Ken Tanaka]

Robert,
I was not promoting ScriptWerx, per se. Mainly pointing it out as a Word-based alternative to packaged scriptwriting programs.

I do have ScriptWerx but have not used it enough to crow its virtues over alternatives. Having used Word since its creation on the PC platform (back to DOS 2.1 days of the early 1980's), it's become like a prosthetic device to me. From my perspective, ScriptWerx was a nearly free tool appropriate for formatting short scripts and storyboards written by an amateur (me) using the very powerful word processor that I already have. To that end it seemed like a better choice than the less powerful, but more task-specialized, dedicated scriptwriters.

Honestly, if I eventually resolve to undertake more challenging writing projects I'll most likely hire a professional writer to handle clerical tasks involved.

[John Threat]

<<<-- Originally posted by John Locke : Whoa, Jeep!

Some, such as myself, find the bells & whistles useful...and hardly consider the price for Final Draft as expensive.

It's okay to disagree...but let's try to keep it a bit more diplomatic, please. -->>>

Excuse the profanity, but I think my point was made, including the fact that I purchased a copy for my orginzation which i think speaks volumes. I outlined what I thought was flawed and what you pay for. I see the company add lots of features that make the program buggy and bloatware, in order to justify a new version release.

The format for writing scripts hasn't changed much in 50 years, but this program sure has. Of course, upgrading is up to you, older versions work just fine.

There are features in there that are great, like export to avid metasync, if you like to cut like that, then there are features that are large and clunky and will not help you get a script sold or assist you in writing a script.

[Robert Knecht Schmidt]

John:

Nice link, thanks. The various non-Word files look to be fairly useful also.

[John Locke]

Myself and others who use Final Draft, including...

* J.J. Abrams
* Robert Altman
* Darren Aronofsky
* John Badham
* Alan Ball
* Michael Bay
* Steven Bochco
* James L. Brooks
* William Broyles
* Stephen J. Cannell
* Rob Cohen
* John Cusack
* Pen Densham
* Steven E. deSouza
* Andy Dick
* John Fasano
* John Favreau
* Bruce Feirstein
* Terry Gilliam
* Tom Hanks
* Amy Heckerling
* Todd Holland
* Gale Anne Hurd
* Peter Iliff
* Lawrence Kasdan
* Brian Koppelman
* Tim Kring
* Steph Lady
* David Levien
* Jon Lovitz
* James Mangold
* Paul Mazursky
* Anthony Minghella
* Christopher McQuarrie
* Matthew Modine
* Dan Myrick
* Nancy Meyers
* Sydney Pollack
* Jan Sardi
* Oliver Stone
* Charles Shyer
* Ben Stiller
* Bonnie Turner
* Terry Turner
* Kevin Williamson
* John Woo
* J.D. Zeik