I get asked this question a lot: "What's the best software for writing a screenplay?" To which I simply reply, "whatever works best for you." There, wasn't that simple? Not really. My students especially want to know what software will help them produce that brilliant masterpiece that will land them an agent and then the big movie deal.
That often leads to the next question: "How do I break into the industry?" We'll get into that some other time... But for now, let's focus on screenwriting software.
For my students, Celtx seems to be the most popular. It's free, after all, and has pretty good cloud sync capabilities. It's also got the ability to write through your browser (if you're at school and don't have access to your laptop, this is a great option). But, it also has some things that need improvement.
I advise my students to only use Celtx once they've mastered the basics of formatting. Why? Because Celtx isn't quite there yet. Their title page always seems to mess things up, and always seems to put this silly "Inspired By" thing in the middle of the page. Next, scene headings often get printed out like this:
INT. JOE'S BAR. DAY
Rather than,
INT. JOE'S BAR - DAY
Page numbering is also and issue. As is the abuse of "MORE" and "CONTINUED" at the end of each page. Unless you know where to turn this feature off, it's thrust upon you as if you don't know what you're doing. And that is a sure sign of a student screenplay I'll read, and quickly know that the student actually doesn't know when and where to use the feature.
But, Celtx is free. And it now has an iPad app that works pretty well. But quite honestly, I haven't found a justifiable reason to do any serious writing on an iPad as of yet. The whole stop what you're doing and touch the screen thing slows me down. Maybe I'll evolve, but I doubt it.
So again, know how it should be formatted, and then Celtx isn't a bad option at this point because you can go back and fix any mistakes. Not that you want to spend time doing that. Kind of the point here...
Adobe Story is another exciting option. At least it was, until I was asked to sign up and pay a monthly fee to use it (there is a free, scaled down version - but why would I want that?) Charge me for the software, fine, but I don't want to keep on paying. This goes for all of the Adobe products, by the way. Story's cloud-syncing capabilities are good, but writing inside a browser is very sluggish (using Adobe Air). It also has the annoying habit of putting a page number on the first page of every screenplay. Tsk, tsk... I can't seem to figure out how to make it stop, either.
Next is Final Draft. Ah yes, the industry standard. Not a bad price attached to this one (if you're serious about writing screenplays). I don't have anything negative, or positive to say about this one. It's simply... functional. Nothing pretty, it just allows you to write your screenplay. But, it really smacks of a Windows/DOS type of software.
Then there's my favorite, Movie Magic Screenwriter. It too has an old and outdated feel to it (see Final Draft). But, I enjoy it's outline feature and the ability to drag and drop scenes in any particular order that I see fit. I also like the title page generator much more than the other offerings. I love the direct integration with EP Scheduling and Budgeting software.
I constantly use the Thesaurus with Screenwriter, and this is really my only complaint. It doesn't work with version 6 on my MacBook Pro (OSX 10.9). I have to Tab over to the internet (bad for writers - distracting), or Tab over to Microsoft Word and use it there. MM Screenwriter desperately needs an update.
So, I guess you could say that when asked the question as to which "tool" to use when writing a screenplay - I can honestly answer, "know your craft, and then spend $200 on it and buy either Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter." If you're going to do it, do it right. A master carpenter doesn't settle for the cheapest tools. And if he does, he's not working on my new addition.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Brazilian Mutation - Opening Sequence
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