And while screenwriters who got their start during the heady days of the typewriter (like me and many of my generation X) are probably not keen on the idea of writing a screenplay on a tablet, thousands of younger screenwriters have no problem banging out scripts on a mobile device. There are tons of excellent features that make Final Draft a solid writing app, and most folks wouldn’t dream of trading their Final Draft for another screenwriting app.Īnd as far as pricing goes, I have to emphasize that Final Draft does offer a lower-cost version of their app for iOS, as well as educational discounts, so my beef with their pricing isn’t full-on Kobe / Angus. But I don’t blame Final Draft – they’ve created and marketed a great product that basically now dominates the screenwriting space.Īnd that domination didn’t come just through great marketing. $199 for Final Draft 12 is a big chunk of change for most aspiring screenwriters. The game has changed when it comes to simplicity and UI design, yet Final Draft still feels a bit stuck in that 90s Microsoft Word vibe, as does its cousin, Movie Magic Screenwriter, and many other writing apps, if we’re being perfectly honest.ĭislike 3) The price. But it was certainly mine, on two different sets of hardware over several years and on several iterations of operating systems.ĭislike 2) The interface/user experience. Is that everybody’s experience? I don’t know. Though it did crash on the Mac, it crashed a lot less than when I ran it on my pc. And to be certain, Final Draft is a solid app and deserves a lot of credit, and certainly not hate.īut what do I strongly dislike about Final Draft? Three things:ĭislike 1) Before I switched from a Windows machine to a Mac, Final Draft had a penchant for crashing in the most inopportune moments, no matter what version I ran. I reserve that word for shows like The Bachelor. What do I hate? Well, “hate” is a strong word. And 95% of the time, that’s either a PDF or, you guessed it, a Final Draft file.) (And if you’re running a script coverage service like me, you need to be able to open whatever file the client sends in. Once added, you can easily cycle through alternates without cluttering up the formatting.What do I love? Its ubiquity: Everybody uses it. My favorite allows you to save alternate lines of dialogue inside the same script file, great for writers who want to play with a few variations before committing to just one. IDGĪt last, true real-time collaboration arrives with Final Draft 10, even if your co-writers are halfway around the world.Īlthough not lofty enough to gain marquee status, the smaller improvements make a bigger impact in your daily workflow. It’s a huge improvement over the half-hearted collaboration tools in earlier versions. ![]() By default, collaborators are restricted from making changes to a script until the host gives them permission to join in the fun. This requires the host to first share a Session ID number with colleagues, who then use their own copy of Final Draft 10 to join in. Better togetherįinal Draft 10 introduces an improved way for two or more writing partners across town or halfway around the globe to collaborate on a script in real time. ![]() ![]() IDGīeat Board provides a visual way to lay out key plot points, which can then be used to keep your screenwriting on track. Collectively, it’s a powerful trio of features designed to help writers keep their story moving in the right direction. ![]() Those are virtual thumbtacks to help chart a character’s emotions or keep track of where the overall narrative is heading. You can also plan backwards by setting the target length for a script, which helps establish where acts and key plot points should take place.īeat Board entries appear as diamond-shaped markers on Story Map, alongside another new feature called Structure Points. Hovering the mouse over a marker displays a small pop-up preview double-clicking jumps directly to that scene. Enabling this feature adds a horizontal grid sandwiched between the toolbar and page ruler, with grey markers denoting where scenes are located across the entire page count. Story Map provides a high-level view of scenes as they’re being written.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |