Final Draft at DVinfo.net

Bob Zimmerman · December 5th, 2002, 03:37 AM

Not sure where to put this thread,,,but Chris will moved it to the right place!!!
I'm looking at some screenplay software. Final Draft has one that looks really good for use with video. Has anyone tried there stuff?

Rob Lohman · December 5th, 2002, 12:44 PM

Take a look at this thread: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=4730

A lot of people seem to really like Final Draft. Try out there demo
at www.finaldraft.com

Don Donatello · December 5th, 2002, 05:09 PM

if you are referring to the AV final draft it needs work ..IMO not worth the $$ ... i have final draft .. when i asked them when would the AV allow you to store photo's, graphics , sound along with the scripting they said look again in 2004

Jeff Donald · December 5th, 2002, 05:38 PM

Wow, over a year away. That's really disappointing.

Jeff

Robert Knecht Schmidt · December 5th, 2002, 08:55 PM

I use and like Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000. Hunt around on the web for good deals--you shouldn't have to pay too much for it.

December 6th, 2002, 12:17 AM

Mark me down for MM2K as well. It's excellent, and it generates awesome production breakdowns. Another thing I like about it is the ease with which it imports and exports other file types. And it writes .pdf files if you want to e-mail a script to somebody who has no scriptwriting software. Beside all that, it's has long been the industry standard in the big production houses.

I used Scriptware for several years before switching to MM2k. It does a decent job and may even be easier to use right out of the box than MM2K is. It also has a pretty decent AV format (but I couldn't tell you if it imports graphics into AV because I never tried). But Scriptware had virtually no production breakdown capability... at least it was nothing to write home about.

Now, if you want to use a screenwriting program that'll make industry snobs think you're a rank amateur, go for Sophocles.

Bob Zimmerman · December 6th, 2002, 03:31 AM

I was looking at Moviemagic too. Thanks for the input on that.
Something about Final Cut AV just looked kind of cheap...thanks again.

Bob Zimmerman · December 6th, 2002, 01:49 PM

Will Moviemagic work on a Mac?

Robert Knecht Schmidt · December 6th, 2002, 03:36 PM

The Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 CD-ROM comes with both Windows and Macintosh (OS 9 I believe) versions.

Charles mentioned Screenwriter's PDF export capability. I can't speak enough towards the usefulness of such a function, for e-mailing non-editable scripts to partners, placing scripts on the web, and baking for WYSIWYG printing. The plain text import and export features also work fairly well. Screenwriter has many other bells and whisles that most people will never use. As far as I know, it has no image import capability.

Jeff Donald · December 6th, 2002, 03:57 PM

PDF export is built into OS X on Macs.

Jeff

John Locke · December 6th, 2002, 05:05 PM

I bought the very first edition of Final Draft...way back when...and it has come a looooong way since then. So, if you take into acount the difference between the first FD edition and today and apply that same probable progression to AV, you can bet that AV will be a killer program before too long.

Vinson Watson · December 7th, 2002, 06:53 PM

When you look at the two, MM2K and Final Draft, side by side, MM2K blows Final Draft away as far as functions and such. It's the one I plan to get.

-Vinson

John Locke · December 7th, 2002, 07:53 PM

Vinson,

I just went to the Writer's Store and compared Movie Magic and Final Draft feature-per-feature and they appear almost identical. In what way does MM blow away FD in your opinion?

Richard Alvarez · December 7th, 2002, 08:58 PM

Screenwriting software is a bit like nle software... you should understand what your end product is going to be... what you NEED now, and later.

Having said that, I bought the first version of Scriptware back in.... '93 I think. I've written all my scripts on it. Export via ASCII txt whenever I need to send it to someone as a text file. It will convert to dual collumn AV format, or STAGE format. Not sure what new bells and whistles are on the current version, but a decade has come and gone so I imagine it will do a lot. Works great for me. I've won awards, optioned two scripts, and written eight. (features, not counting shorts).

I don't think the new version has much in the way of importing graphic abilities, or budget breakdown. I do own an Avid ExpressDV system, and I can import the script right into the system. It will attach scene graphics and cutaways, and mark the dialogue... more power and abilities than I probably need, but nice to know it has them. Does FCP or VV offer script importing?

Jeff Donald · December 7th, 2002, 09:28 PM

I believe only Avid allows you to import scripts. Final Drafts also saves in a special .txt extension to allow importing into Avids.

Jeff

December 5th, 2002, 03:37 AM	#1
Bob Zimmerman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Illinois Posts: 888	Final Draft Not sure where to put this thread,,,but Chris will moved it to the right place!!! I'm looking at some screenplay software. Final Draft has one that looks really good for use with video. Has anyone tried there stuff?

December 5th, 2002, 12:44 PM	#2
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Take a look at this thread: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=4730 A lot of people seem to really like Final Draft. Try out there demo at www.finaldraft.com __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 5th, 2002, 08:55 PM	#5
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	Try Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 I use and like Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000. Hunt around on the web for good deals--you shouldn't have to pay too much for it. __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 6th, 2002, 12:17 AM	#6
Guest Posts: n/a	Final Draft Mark me down for MM2K as well. It's excellent, and it generates awesome production breakdowns. Another thing I like about it is the ease with which it imports and exports other file types. And it writes .pdf files if you want to e-mail a script to somebody who has no scriptwriting software. Beside all that, it's has long been the industry standard in the big production houses. I used Scriptware for several years before switching to MM2k. It does a decent job and may even be easier to use right out of the box than MM2K is. It also has a pretty decent AV format (but I couldn't tell you if it imports graphics into AV because I never tried). But Scriptware had virtually no production breakdown capability... at least it was nothing to write home about. Now, if you want to use a screenwriting program that'll make industry snobs think you're a rank amateur, go for Sophocles.

December 6th, 2002, 03:36 PM	#9
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	The Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 CD-ROM comes with both Windows and Macintosh (OS 9 I believe) versions. Charles mentioned Screenwriter's PDF export capability. I can't speak enough towards the usefulness of such a function, for e-mailing non-editable scripts to partners, placing scripts on the web, and baking for WYSIWYG printing. The plain text import and export features also work fairly well. Screenwriter has many other bells and whisles that most people will never use. As far as I know, it has no image import capability. __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 5th, 2002, 05:09 PM	#3
Don Donatello Hawaiian Shirt Mogul Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: northern cailfornia Posts: 1,261	if you are referring to the AV final draft it needs work ..IMO not worth the $$ ... i have final draft .. when i asked them when would the AV allow you to store photo's, graphics , sound along with the scripting they said look again in 2004

December 5th, 2002, 05:38 PM	#4
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Wow, over a year away. That's really disappointing. Jeff

December 6th, 2002, 03:31 AM	#7
Bob Zimmerman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Illinois Posts: 888	I was looking at Moviemagic too. Thanks for the input on that. Something about Final Cut AV just looked kind of cheap...thanks again.

December 6th, 2002, 01:49 PM	#8
Bob Zimmerman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Illinois Posts: 888	Will Moviemagic work on a Mac?

December 6th, 2002, 03:57 PM	#10
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	PDF export is built into OS X on Macs. Jeff

December 6th, 2002, 05:05 PM	#11
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	I bought the very first edition of Final Draft...way back when...and it has come a looooong way since then. So, if you take into acount the difference between the first FD edition and today and apply that same probable progression to AV, you can bet that AV will be a killer program before too long. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

December 7th, 2002, 06:53 PM	#12
Vinson Watson Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 79	When you look at the two, MM2K and Final Draft, side by side, MM2K blows Final Draft away as far as functions and such. It's the one I plan to get. -Vinson

December 7th, 2002, 07:53 PM	#13
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	Vinson, I just went to the Writer's Store and compared Movie Magic and Final Draft feature-per-feature and they appear almost identical. In what way does MM blow away FD in your opinion? __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

December 7th, 2002, 08:58 PM	#14
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Screenwriting software is a bit like nle software... you should understand what your end product is going to be... what you NEED now, and later. Having said that, I bought the first version of Scriptware back in.... '93 I think. I've written all my scripts on it. Export via ASCII txt whenever I need to send it to someone as a text file. It will convert to dual collumn AV format, or STAGE format. Not sure what new bells and whistles are on the current version, but a decade has come and gone so I imagine it will do a lot. Works great for me. I've won awards, optioned two scripts, and written eight. (features, not counting shorts). I don't think the new version has much in the way of importing graphic abilities, or budget breakdown. I do own an Avid ExpressDV system, and I can import the script right into the system. It will attach scene graphics and cutaways, and mark the dialogue... more power and abilities than I probably need, but nice to know it has them. Does FCP or VV offer script importing?

December 7th, 2002, 09:28 PM	#15
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I believe only Avid allows you to import scripts. Final Drafts also saves in a special .txt extension to allow importing into Avids. Jeff