![]() said I now needed Final Draft to be taken seriously. I used that for years, until my agent in L.A. That turned out to be a headache so I found this software called Sophocles (discontinued). ![]() When I started I used Word and formatted the screenplay manually. ![]() There’s a few free platforms out there which you can use to get started. There’s also “real time collaboration” with other Final Draft users, online.ĭo you need to pay $250 to start screenwriting?Ībsolutely not. Plus, because most of the rest of the industry are using this program, the files are easily shareable and communication is less likely to fall apart during shooting. So, to have Final Draft take care of this is very useful, if you ever get into production. You can imagine what a nightmare it would be if there are a lot of changes being made during production and the pages and scene numbers keep changing. Eg: page 11 followed by 11a and 11b then 12 etc… ![]() “Is that the old page 11 or the new page 11?” That’s why the industry developed a practice where once the page numbers are locked, to add pages you must insert them with a letter attached. This is important because once in production, you can’t keep changing the page numbers otherwise everyone will get lost. There’s some pretty useful functions when it comes to production, like being able to lock page numbers. When it comes to production, the software is able to number your pages, re-number your pages, and allows you to edit page numbers individually. They say version 11 has “Over 300 templates for screenplays, teleplays, comics, immersive storytelling, graphic novels, and stage plays”. There are a number of formats, for TV and movies. It saves your locations and character names, so they become faster to type once memorised. What can I say? It does the job (with some quirks). Unfortunately, the mobile version is only available for iPhone or iPad. Indeed, they claim it’s used by 95% of the industry. It’s one of the “industry standard” programs, which means that you will be in sync with other industry professionals (should you need to be). This is the one that I know as I’ve been using it for many years. I bought Final Draft over 15 years ago, almost rarely use the extra features and haven’t updated it since version 9 (which is 5 years old). ![]() The truth is, all you really need is to format your screenplay. Well, none of that stuff is going to improve your writing. That once you have this amazingly powerful screenwriting software installed, you will be transformed into Aaron Sorkin. I know it’s tempting to believe they will. This formula isn’t 100% accurate, but it is a decent estimate.Īlthough many programs offer you all kinds of extras, like brainstorming boards, beat boards and story maps, they won’t make you a better writer. On average, 1 page of script = 1 minute of screen time. If you send your script to someone in the industry, incorrect formatting will mean they most likely won’t read it (although they might advise you to format it correctly).Ī correctly formatted screenplay should not only tell you what happens in the story, but how long the motion picture of the story will last. But essentially, formatting your screenplay makes it easier to read and conforms it to the industry standards. Why do you need to format your screenplay, anyway? Well, I go into more detail here. Since the invention of word processors and then home computers, there has been software created which does the job of formatting for you. ![]()
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