Which software should I get?

kahless

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Does anyone else use Scripped?

I've been using it for a few months and its very user friendly and has all the tools required. The is a free version as well as a "Pro" version which you pay for.
 

bellabar

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Do you by any chance have a Mac? Scrivener is lovely to work with, and you can download a thirty day trail for free.
 

bellabar

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Sorry. Thirty day trial obviously. Why are typos so much clearer after you hit the reply button than before?!
 

graceangela9

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Final draft is the best software for UK based residents.Final Draft is screen writing software for writing and formatting a screenplay to meet the screenplay submission standards set by the theater, television and film industry.
 

movieman

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Final draft is the best software for UK based residents.

So long as you don't mind it randomly deactivating itself so you have to either call California or send an email and wait for the next day to be able to use the software you paid for. That happened to me at least three times with Final Draft 7 before I gave up and went back to Final Draft 6 with just the CD check.
 

ddarion153

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I use Scene Writer Pro...which costs but you can work on individual scenes without messing up your entire script.
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Dwaltjj

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Hello,
I've actually been told by people that scripts wont be read if they are not written on Final Draft as it shows that you are not professional. I've gotten to the point where I just nod my head and try to move onto to another topic.

The bottom line is, a writing program is only as good as the writer, it main function is to take care of the formatting so that you only have to concern yourself with the work of writing and telling your story.

That being said, Final Draft is a great program if you can afford it, so is MovieMagic Screenwriter and Celtx. Those are the three I've used and bounce around from depending on the project and who I'm working with.

If you want to write and are on a budget, then Celtx is the way to go. It saves out quickly to a PDF and like others have said you'll never use the bells and whistles.

For the other, more expensive ones, it comes down to the bells and whistles. I like Screenwriter for its simple outline feature, and honestly ever since my copy of Final Cut got corrupted I haven't had a need to use it. But, I think the newer version, and correct me if I'm wrong, has some really good features for online collaborative writing and it handles track changes very well.

Hope that helps and good luck!
 

Screenwriting

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Disagree...

If the software made a real difference, you might have a point. Free or very cheap is definitely the best way to go until such time as one needs the bells and whistles of Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter.

It's what one writes that makes the difference.

Also, one can always import later from Celtx to Final Draft:
http://support.finaldraft.com/article/1001/546/

Is that true of the ones you recommend? I couldn't find anything on the Final Draft website about importing from them. Didn't check how to go from other formats to Movie Magic Screenwriter.

Sorry, this is not the "correct" attitude-go for "x" software essentially because it's free.

For beginning screenwriters, Celtx is actually bloated with a lot of functions that they will never need. The script writing component is a small part of the total 'package', which is really geared toward pre-production, and use by production people (obviously).

If it is free that is most important to you, there are other more suitable scriptwriting software applications which deal only with screenwriting: Roughdraft, Page2 Stage.

There are other on-premise screenwriting software equally as good which cost only a small amount of money:screenpro ($10-$20), scriptgenie ($30).
 

inkwork

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I use "Rough Draft"
Quick simple....dose screen play other options like line space 1.5 for editing.
 

sekime

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Final draft is the best software for UK based residents.Final Draft is screen writing software for writing and formatting a screenplay to meet the screenplay submission standards set by the theater, television and film industry.

Horrible advice.

Best free software: WriterDuet.
Best paid software: Fade In Pro $50 USD

Best software to date for screenwriting: Fade In Pro. I does so much and if there's a problem, there's free support the developer answers/fixes/listens to anything/everything to improve the software.
 

odocoileus

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Horrible advice.

Best free software: WriterDuet.
Best paid software: Fade In Pro $50 USD

Best software to date for screenwriting: Fade In Pro. I does so much and if there's a problem, there's free support the developer answers/fixes/listens to anything/everything to improve the software.

That post was from 3 years ago. FIP had just launched, and WD didn't exist yet.

On top of that, neither program has TV templates for different types of sitcom and hour drama as Movie Magic and Final Draft do.

I hope you pay better attention to your writing than you do to message board posts.
 

sekime

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That post was from 3 years ago. FIP had just launched, and WD didn't exist yet.

On top of that, neither program has TV templates for different types of sitcom and hour drama as Movie Magic and Final Draft do.

I hope you pay better attention to your writing than you do to message board posts.

If you're a Movie Magic and Final Draft user, good for you, but there's no reason to be stuck with either program.

Nothing stopping you from making your own template. ::rolleyes::

I hope your more resourceful in your writing than you are in your board posts and template fears.
 

dpaterso

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Yeah this is an old thread but it's been left open because "Which software should I get?" is always going to be a question someone wants to know the answer to. Everyone should feel free to update as new software becomes available and known.

Snarky bickering always makes you look cool, knock yourselves out.

-Derek
 

ComicBent

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Best software

The best software, of course, is what works best for you.

Yes, this thread is old, but as Derek said, a question about which software to get is a perennial one. I have used the following:

  • Final Draft (all versions starting with 4.x).
  • Movie Magic Screenwriter (including the now antiquated but still most recent version, MMS-6).
  • Fade In Pro (this is what I have been using more recently).
I recommend Fade In Pro for various reasons:

  • It is fast, really fast.
  • It lets you develop your own additional styles (helpful in some situations, especially stage plays).
  • It is Unicode compliant.
  • It imports and exports other formats well. In particular, it will import a .fountain file, which is a text file with minimal formatting and markup. This means that you can write with a text editor and import the file into Fade In Pro, which will store the file in its native .fadein format. You can then export to Final Draft format if you need to. By the way, the .fadein format is really an .xml format, similar to Final Draft .fdx, but the Fade In Pro file is zipped. In other words, .fadein is really a zip file. This is not anything that you have to worry about or even be aware of as a user.
  • You can import a PDF from Final Draft and Screenwriter if the PDF was created with the built-in PDF driver of Final Draft or Screenwriter. (However, PDF files created with other drivers do not import so well.)
  • Fade In Pro only costs something like $49, which is a very reasonable price, especially since the license allows you to use it on all of your own computers.
Again, though, the best software is what works for you. Download the free trials and see what makes the world spin for you. :)

AN AFTERTHOUGHT:
By the way, sometimes when I go to the Fade In Pro website, I get a malware alert from my McAfee antivirus software. I do not know why this happens, but I just ignore it, and I have been going to the site for a long time without having any problems. If you download the software, be sure to download the Courier Screenplay font also. It may come with the program (I do not remember), but you can download it as a separate download. There is also a Courier Prime font, but I do not see that it offers any advantage over Courier Screenplay, and it has an italic face that I do not like as much as I do the italic in Courier Screenplay.
 
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Overkill

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I went and created an account at celtx, and I was just in there and it is now telling me that my free trial is almost over and that I will need to subscribe. is that supposed to happen? I THOUGHT IT WAS FREE? DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?
 

dpaterso

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Alas, sometimes companies and developers change their software and/or their terms. Celtx used to be a freebie program that you downloaded to your PC. Looks like they've upgraded to the online version and altered their terms. If you don't like that, there are other software choices, as you can see above and in the tips thread.

-Derek
 
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cbenoi1

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> my free trial is almost over and that I will need to subscribe

You have probably been given the 'standard' plan at C$10/mo for a while as a freebie and now have to pay. Just convert the account to the $0 plan and you should be fine.


> Celtx used to be a freebie program that you downloaded to your PC.

This still works if you have it, but it's no longer available from CeltX.

-cb
 

Fitch

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The best software, of course, is what works best for you.

Yes, this thread is old, but as Derek said, a question about which software to get is a perennial one. I have used the following:

  • Final Draft (all versions starting with 4.x).
  • Movie Magic Screenwriter (including the now antiquated but still most recent version, MMS-6).
  • Fade In Pro (this is what I have been using more recently).
I recommend Fade In Pro for various reasons:

  • It is fast, really fast.
  • It lets you develop your own additional styles (helpful in some situations, especially stage plays).
  • It is Unicode compliant.
  • It imports and exports other formats well. In particular, it will import a .fountain file, which is a text file with minimal formatting and markup. This means that you can write with a text editor and import the file into Fade In Pro, which will store the file in its native .fadein format. You can then export to Final Draft format if you need to. By the way, the .fadein format is really an .xml format, similar to Final Draft .fdx, but the Fade In Pro file is zipped. In other words, .fadein is really a zip file. This is not anything that you have to worry about or even be aware of as a user.
  • You can import a PDF from Final Draft and Screenwriter if the PDF was created with the built-in PDF driver of Final Draft or Screenwriter. (However, PDF files created with other drivers do not import so well.)
  • Fade In Pro only costs something like $49, which is a very reasonable price, especially since the license allows you to use it on all of your own computers.
Again, though, the best software is what works for you. Download the free trials and see what makes the world spin for you. :)

AN AFTERTHOUGHT:
By the way, sometimes when I go to the Fade In Pro website, I get a malware alert from my McAfee antivirus software. I do not know why this happens, but I just ignore it, and I have been going to the site for a long time without having any problems. If you download the software, be sure to download the Courier Screenplay font also. It may come with the program (I do not remember), but you can download it as a separate download. There is also a Courier Prime font, but I do not see that it offers any advantage over Courier Screenplay, and it has an italic face that I do not like as much as I do the italic in Courier Screenplay.

I tried all sorts of stuff on trials including FinalDraft (which I didn't like actually) and ended up with Fade In Pro. The only time I had an issue, I sent an e-mail to their support and had an answer that solved my problem in less than ten minutes.

The SW is ridiculously easy to use and, at least on my computer, has been bug free.

Fitch