by Rich Wilson (c) 2001-2003 All Rights Reserved
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In my related article Seven Basic Truths about Screenwriting Software, I claimed that you do not need software at all to create a screenplay that meets "industry standard" formatting requirements. A person can do that with a typewriter, or by paying somebody else to type a handwritten original.
Admittedly, most such alternatives are less convenient. But for some people, computers can be daunting. So it's important to know that technology is not necessary to format a screenplay.
To put it in perspective: The rules for a game of beach
volleyball are more complicated than the rules for formatting a screenplay.
Anybody should be able to learn how to do it - and compared to playing beach
volleyball, screenwriters have an advantage in that they don't have to look
good in swimsuits. (If you've ever met a few at a writing conference, you know
why that's important.)
The basic rules for page formatting are available many places. The closest source is right on this website, at http://www.online-communicator.com/faqs.html. Other sources are the Writers Guild website at http://www.wga.org, other websites, and books like Cole & Haag's The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats, Part I: The Screenplay, among many others.
In this contrast between necessity and convenience, let me make it clear that I'm a big fan of convenience. I like most of the programs reviewed here. But all they do is to make script formatting a bit easier and a bit faster - that's all. You can still make a very ugly-looking screenplay with any of them, if you do not know what you are doing. And it should be obvious that not one of these programs will make a boring screenplay more interesting or exciting.
This article will not pick a single product as being right for all people. Having been both a reviewer and a software consumer for many years, I believe that "Editor's Choice" designations are often meaningless, and sometimes irresponsible. It's far more important to match each type of buyer with the appropriate product. In that quest, this article will cover a wide range of technological and financial abilities - and let the reader draw his/her own conclusions.
The Starving Artist
In most parts of the world, particularly in the U.S., technology has gotten cheap enough that virtually anybody can afford a personal computer of some kind. And if you're going to spend months on a big writing project, you will appreciate any convenience you can get. Despite my discussion of typewriters above, it is not unreasonable for a beginner to want a computer.
But that doesn't mean you need the latest thing. One can write screenplays on nearly any old PC - or an old Macintosh, if you insist. I wouldn't recommend anything less than a 386, but one can buy such a machine for pocket change at garage sales these days. I've even seen early Pentium-based PCs going for a hundred bucks on eBay. With a cheap or used printer, your hardware might cost virtually the same as a typewriter. But then we face the software question.
The Starving Artist should try to buy a computer that includes at least an operating system - DOS, and/or Windows 3.11, if the computer can handle it. Remember - Windows is not necessary for writing a screenplay. Your screenplay is a text-only document, so DOS - a text-only operating system - will do. What is necessary is some sort of text editor or word processor. Early Macintoshes had the advantage of built-in operating systems and rudimentary software, so some of this may be moot if you are picking up a used Mac.
Whatever word processing software you get, keep in mind that your screenplay is not going to place huge demands on its abilities. Think about it - the standard script format was established back when all writers used manual typewriters. As a result, everything in a screenplay relies on margin settings, tabs, and line spacing. Those three features are very basic, so all you need is a very basic word processor. And even most "basic" word processors will outdo a typewriter by offering features like cut-and-paste, search and replace, spell check, and more.
Now, let's say you get this old PC from a charitable relative, or at a garage sale, and it has MS-DOS - but no software at all, not even a word processor. Well, if all you want to do with that PC is write screenplays, and if you can scrape together $179 (list price), you could buy a DOS-only version of Scriptware. No, it will not help you balance your checkbook, surf the Internet, or any of that, but it will make quick work of your screenplay formatting tasks.
To my knowledge, it's the only dedicated script formatting program still being sold for old PCs running DOS. Of course, it also runs on newer PCs as well, so if you have such a machine, and want to buy a cheap older laptop, this might be a logical choice for both. Note that the DOS product is not as powerful as the newer Windows and Mac versions of Scriptware reviewed below. But it has all the core benefits of any dedicated formatter, and will run on older hardware.
Whether such a purchase is a good decision will depend on you, your budget, your hardware, and your goals. For the truly poor, there used to be several shareware word processors around. If you can find a copy on the Internet or from a friend, it might suffice. (Remember: Shareware is not free, and you should pay for it if you use it, but it may be quite cheap.) So, as you can see, even at the bottom of the economic ladder one can still enjoy some degree of convenience.
The Fiscal Conservative
This category is for the person who already has a more recent computer, something capable of running Windows 95/98/Me and so on. That should be enough hardware to run nearly any formatting product on the market. But screenwriting may well be a sideline for this user, so again one must ask if specialized formatting software is necessary for such a person.
Again, no. Chances are that this computer came equipped with an above-average word processor, possibly WordPerfect or some other, but most likely Microsoft Word. I've already discussed how even an older word processor can easily format a screenplay, simply because it can do anything a typewriter can do. But things get better with these newer word processors, because they allow you to customize your keyboard with macro commands, and offer other techniques, all of which can speed up the typing and editing of a screenplay even further.
You can write your own macros if you're motivated enough. If not, look elsewhere on this website, at http://www.online-communicator.com/swsoftin.html, and you'll find links and files for screenplay "templates" or macro packages that other writers have made available for download from the Internet. They help you take advantage of your word processor's advanced features, without having to do the programming involved.
Some of these downloadable programs are "freeware," but others are shareware. Again: if you try a shareware package and decide to use it for serious work past a reasonable trial period, break out the checkbook and send the author the requested fee. None of these folks are getting rich off their work. In fact, few of them ever get compensated enough for the effort they've invested in their shareware offerings. So, help them out. It will earn you good karma and a clean conscience.
Another option for the Fiscal Conservative is to get a more advanced, slick package of macros and templates than is usually found in the shareware offerings, for only slightly more money. The two packages reviewed in this article are Scriptwerx and ScriptWright, both based on MS Word for Windows, which is - for better or worse - the de facto standard. Besides providing extra convenience features for screenwriters, these products retain most of the familiar interface of the underlying word processor. Some folks are more comfortable doing all their writing - from treatment to query letter - without having to change programs. That decision comes down to personal taste.
What about specialized software for the Fiscal Conservative writer? I know of only a couple of products that fit this profile, i.e., cheap software that requires a newer PC with a 32-bit Windows environment. One is Page 2 Stage, bargain priced at $79.95. It is a fairly new product from a small company, perhaps not a great choice if you need a lot of support and hand-holding, but it is an ambitious program with some distinctive attributes. A full review appears below.
Coming in at about $99 is Hollywood Screenwriter. This program is based on fairly mature, stable code, since it is a stripped-down version of Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 (also reviewed below), and should have dependable, long-term support. I can't get very enthusiastic about it because it doesn't really do much more than a customized word processor, while its "parent" product does quite a bit more. So this one doesn't appeal to me, but then again, I'm not the type of writer it was meant for. You might be, so try the demo and decide for yourself.
The Wealthy Dilettante and the Committed Writer
These two writer types are grouped together because they will be looking at similar products, although for different reasons.
The Wealthy Dilettante can afford "the best" - or the most expensive, even if it isn't the best. When such a person decides to try screenwriting, he or she will be probably shop for the same tools used by industry pros, the real-life working screenwriters out there. I define the Committed Writer as either a working screenwriter, or a person whose only goal in life is to become one. He or she is looking at screenwriting as a long-term occupation, and if the resulting scripts go into production, that writer is more likely to use advanced features available in some programs.
For example, a "submission draft" (spec script) should not have numbered scenes. But if the script is purchased and goes into development, the scenes will be "locked" and numbered, both for use in pre-production as well as for reference during rewrites. The Committed Writer knows, and does not mind, the fact that virtually every screenplay ever purchased for production will have changes, from minor polishes to massive overhauls. It's a fact of life. In fact, this writer may well make a career out of rewriting other people's screenplays.
There are "industry standards" for script revisions, just as there are for laying out original drafts. So, if you realistically expect to find yourself doing rewrites of production drafts, then it's reasonable to use software that can help track the revisions. After all, by that point you will be working on deadlines. You will, as they said in Top Gun, "feel the need for speed" (screenplay by Jack Epps Jr. and Jim Cash). And it is in the more complex areas of screenplay formatting, during rewrites and production, that specialized software really makes the biggest difference.
The reviews highlight features, potential advantages or disadvantages, and in a very few cases, possible bugs or installation problems you might face. It will take less time to read this article than to install and fully test even one of these programs. On the other hand, that is really the only way you can decide if it suits you.
If you've managed to identify your needs and budget by the categorizations listed above, that will help narrow your search. Then look at the highlights and lowlights described in the hands-on reviews, and pick one or two programs to try out. Find your own comfort zone from hands-on use, rather than relying on my opinion alone. Most products offer trial versions that you can download from the Internet. Some also offer time-limited money-back satisfaction guarantees.
Go to the next section: Add-on tools for Word Processors.
Skip to the last section: Dedicated (standalone) Scriptwriting tools.
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