Rory’s Story Cubes

This addictive little app has kept me entertained all week. It’s a virtual version of the original product: nine six-sided dice, each with a different image on them.

Every time you shake, the dice fall into different combinations of pictures, guaranteed to get your imagination working and combat the dreaded writer’s block. There’s pictures of keys, planes, lightning, sheep, question marks, footsteps, clocks and speech bubbles to name a few.

Because of the symbolic nature of these pictures, there are millions of ways you can interpret them. You can use them at any stage of your writing project, whether you need a kick-start idea or you’re halfway through and feeling uninspired.

A depressed man finds a key to an abandoned house
that contains a mysterious book.

I challenged myself to come up with a logline based on one combination and came up with this: A depressed man finds a key to an abandoned house that contains a mysterious book.

You can take photos of your cube combinations for later reference too. Easy!

This one is definitely worth the $2.49 it costs.

Celtx

Finally! Celtx is available on iPhone!

This fantastic screenwriting program has everything you need for a beautifully polished, professional looking script. If you already use Celtx on your computer, it’s perfect for when you’re on the go and inspiration hits. You can sync it up to your computer so the script you’re working on updates.

Finally! Celtx is available on iPhone!

The only concern that one reviewer had with this app is that it doesn’t include index cards which are helpful in building the story as you go. This is true, however I think you could easily use a basic note-taking app for that (try Stick-it eNotes, a nifty little free app).

The app version of its free online counterpart is ironically $12.99 but I guess they have to make the moolah somehow, the cost is still nothing on Final Draft!

Methodology-Oblique Strategies

Another great writer’s block tool, this app uses the famous Oblique Strategies: a series of flashcards developed by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt.

Each flashcard has a cryptic phrase or word that will force you to think laterally. They’re especially helpful when looking at the overall creative process, when you’re thinking about your project as a whole. For example, ‘merge two different ideas’ can relate to an element of your script itself or the overall story.

Each flashcard has a cryptic phrase or word
that will force you to think laterally.

These kind of writer’s block tools I’ve found are much more helpful in sparking your imagination then other kinds that randomize storylines and limit your scope.

For over 100 new flash cards, this one is only $2.49.

Leonard Maltin Movie Guide

What screenwriter isn’t an avid lover of film? Leonard Maltin brings his extensive film knowledge and criticisms to the bite sized world of the iPhone apps.

This is a fantastic app that rivals IMDB with Leonard Maltin’s extensive movie knowledge. On the opening page, he gives a list of his own current picks, movies both old and new.

He may be the nerdiest looking guy on the Internet
but he knows his movies!

You can watch the preview for the film straight away and read Leonard Maltin’s review. There’s also a function that enables you to keep track of your favourite movies and list the movies you want to see, a handy tool when someone’s raving about the latest blockbuster!

He may be the nerdiest looking guy on the Internet  (his mug is the app picture) but he knows his movies!

If you’re a fan of the man, it’s worth the $2.49.

Contour

This is another app based on a full sized product of the same name. Contour is a program developed by Jeffrey Alan Schechter, an L.A. based screenwriter.

Its aim is to help you flesh out your story and characters using tried and true development methods.

For example, it will take you through four questions that are at the core of every good story: Who is the main character? What are they trying to accomplish? Who is trying to stop them? What happens if they fail? The app gives about seventeen screenplays put through this process.

I found this a valuable part of the app, especially as the movies are recent and well known (Slumdog Millionaire, Star Trek and Up to name a few). It also provides a structure for breaking the screenplay into three acts as well as a structure report and beat sheet.

Contour offers a similar service as the Save The Cat app reviewed last time on The Story Department but at a much more writer-friendly price.

Contour will set you back $5.99

Cherie Lee

I studied acting for three years and hold a graduate diploma in writing from Sydney’s UTS. My interest in film and writing was solidified through interning at The Story Department and gave me the opportunity to fine tune my skills. I’ve been involved with several film projects, the most recent of which was shortlisted for Tropfest.

With the knowledge gained from university and my experience at The Story Department, I’m now specialising in professional feedback on short films and documentaries.

Cherie Lee once again puts her social life in jeopardy to spend some time with her iPhone.

Let’s look over her shoulder at the newest and coolest apps for you, fresh from the App Store. (If you have experience with any, please leave your comments below)

Save The Cat

Based on the story structure made famous by his books, Snyder Enterprises continues the features found in the desktop version of the software and provides them in the compact format of the iPod/iPhone.

Starting a new screenplay in the app prompts the user for Title, Logline and Number of Pages. These are entered by yourself with no guidance along the way.

On the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet  screen, you fill in the classic Snyder 15 beats of your story. When entering each field of beats, you receive advice on what that particular entry will define in your story, thankfully providing examples as well.

The numbers in parentheses beside each beat indicate the approximate page number of your script.

Tapping the pin on the bottom left of the screen allows you to view the “The Board”, a snapshot view of the beats in your script and colour coded scene cards.

Tapping on any of your beats will give you a screen with notes you’ve written in the previous step, including the Beat name – Heading – Description – Emotional Change – Conflict – Notes. The right and left arrows at the bottom are a great navigation tool to send you to the next or previous Scene Cards (Beats).

One great feature that is becoming common place amongst these apps is being able to partner with a desktop version. The STC app will ask for your serial number to synchronise with your laptop or desktop, allowing you more control over changes on the run and at home when convenient.

Scratch pad is still there for those wanting to make notes as well.

Although the price is high compared to other apps, as a saving grace to newcomers, you are given a $20 discount off the desktop version.

See the iTunes store for more details.

Screenwriting apps aren’t necessarily easy to work with when you have to type like a pecking chicken. However, if you want to make quick notes or have time on your hands sitting on the train or waiting for your doctor in the clinic, then these types of apps will satisfy the urge to keep working on the next greatest script.

If making notes and gathering ideas is what you look to do and in sync with your laptop, this app is great.

Writer’s Block Assassin

This unique writer’s block application is tailored specifically for help in story advancement rather than just inspiration or idea generation, over 300 questions relating to character, plot development and setting.

Have you considered your character’s motivation? Understanding why your characters do what they do will help you to predict how they interact and how they adopt to events in the story’.

Not just limited to story, there are questions relating to journalism, blogging, literary techniques as well as a punctuation guide and writing definitions.

In terms of screenwriting, the character and plot development questions are definitely the most helpful. Other character questions relate to their beliefs, dilemmas, finances, health, family matters, career, secrets and addictions.

Plot development questions cover various  dramatic possibilities, including killing off a character, adding a new character, changing the setting, natural disasters, an unexpected pregnancy as well as general questions relating to theme, genre and general storyline. There’s room after each ‘question’ for you to answer it in relation to your own story.

As well as the questions, there is a section called ‘scenarios’ which, using your inputted characters/places/things randomly creates new scenarios. Or it can create the characters/places/things itself. For example,’Clarence Hodge divorces Gaven Aitkins’, ‘Gaven Aitkins discovered the car’, ‘Clarence Hodge travels to New York’.

At $4.99 it’s a little pricier than your average writer’s block application but because it’s more complex and can help you in specific areas of your story, it’s well worth it.

Movie Slate (Clapperboard and Shot Log)

When you want to make your script into a movie and feel like a serious director, this app is for you!

You enter the production details onto the clapperboard as well as roll/scene/take numbers. You can make voice/photo notes as you go and email the shot log history to your computer in HTML, CSV and tab delimited formats. You can also rate various shots as you go and order the history in terms of best shots.

For those who value aesthetics you can change the clapperboard colour, background and fonts as well as lock in either portrait or landscape mode.

At $12.99 it’s cheaper than an actual clapperboard but there is a cheaper version of this application by the same company called ‘ToySlate’.

ToySlate has all of the same features except for an integrated shot log history and note taking capacities.

I had fun with this one using the prerecorded phrases such as ‘Don’t look at the camera!’ and ‘Where’s my latte?’

‘ToySlate’ is definitely the better buy at $1.19.

Reel Director

Finally, a video editing app for all those with an iPhone 3GS! This application comes with all the basic features of any professional editing program: transitions, trimming and splitting clips, titles/credits, recording/mixing sound and previewing your film as you go.

The transitions are all very basic, cross disolves, fades, blurs and wipes but it will give you a good idea of what your film might look like. You can also edit your home movies on it, on the go.

This is fairly well-priced at only $5.99 although you need to get in quick because it’s only a holiday special and will go up to $9.99 soon!

Cherie Lee

I studied acting for three years and hold a graduate diploma in writing from Sydney’s UTS. My interest in film and writing was solidified through interning at The Story Department and gave me the opportunity to fine tune my skills. I’ve been involved with several film projects, the most recent of which was shortlisted for Tropfest.

With the knowledge gained from university and my experience at The Story Department, I’m now specialising in professional feedback on short films and documentaries.

Cherie Lee road tested some, built our own Top 5 and reviews them for your technological enjoyment.

With this proliferation of applications for the iPhone, writers of any kind have quickly embraced the wide variety of general note-taking and mindmapping apps. It was to be expected that specialised applications would appear to help with specific tasks for filmmakers and screenwriters.

Let’s have a look at five that could take your story from concept to pre-production.

Screenplay

The only one of its kind, this is a scriptwriting application that could not be easier to use.

Name the screenplay, program in the scene numbers and locations and then write in the same format as the script will appear.

It looks like a mini-Final Draft, with options for action, character, dialogue, transition, parentheses and scene headings. Now you can write a script page on the train – in proper format!

First time here? Why not Subscribe! It’s free.

One feature allows you to re-order whole scenes if you need to and you can type the script in landscape or portrait mode.

You can export your script into most scriptwriting programs for the computer or email the draft to yourself (or your editor).

This could become a very popular app for screenwriters, particularly for those who get their scene ideas on the go!

It’s not too expensive at $3.99 either.

Movie Idea Generator

This is a fun little app that could actually be quite useful.

It simply puts three phrases together and there you have it, your next movie. Well, kinda…

It appears that the developers have taken a collection of existing loglines and the Generator shuffles the parts.

The three phrases are: the Hero’s quality/flaw (dimwitted/enchanting/jealous etc.), the Hero’s function (photographer/college student/exotic dancer etc.) and an Inciting Incident an Objective or an Inner Journey (gets run over by a bus/seeks revenge/learns true meaning of Christmas).

Some results may spark an instant cult classic, such as: ‘Agoraphobic farmer craves human brains’; others are broad enough to get you thinking. What about ‘Vengeful mobster gets taste of his own medicine’ ? Could be Tarantino’s next!

This is the kind of application that you could play with for a laugh or use seriously to get past writer’s block.

Anyway, at $1.19 it’s a safe bet.

Storyteller-Story and Character Generator

If a movie starts with the doors of all the houses opening simultaneously, rest assured the screenwriter used this app.

Slightly more elaborate application than the movie generator, this isn’t limited to one plot – and it’s not limited to movies. The Storyteller helps inspire ideas in all areas of the story in terms of setting, theme, character, events, twists etc. There are even visual aids, for example pictures of locations.

Some examples really don’t work on the screen – e.g. the opening line “The weeping stopped.” – and it may not be directly practical to screenwriters but Storyteller gives you a few ways of getting the creative juices flowing again.

We had fun reading the examples on the site, which contain a twist on ‘Hansel and Gretel’ with the main suspect being a flustered monk. It is set in icy mountains with a bomb exploding that starts it all off. The theme of the story is that ‘a leopard cannot change its spots’.

Feeling inspired? It’ll only cost you $2.49.

Super Index Cards

For those times of brainstorming and story planning, this application is nifty! It is essentially an organisational application for arranging ideas however you choose. You write stuff on the cards and then you can change the colour of them, rearrange them and look at them in either portrait or landscape mode. There is also a publishing option that sends the cards straight to your email in Word format.

This one costs $5.99 but there’s a version called ‘Super Index Cards Local’ which for $2.49 is probably the better option. The only difference is that it does not sync up to a server or perform back up and your work will not be accessible on multiple devices. You can still email it to yourself though so it’s not a problem!

Hitchcock

This one is exceptionally useful for all kinds of filmmakers: it’s a storyboarding composer for your mobile.

Import pictures from your phone onto the board or take photos straight from within the program, then insert the camera movements; tracking shots, zooms, dolly movement and pans.

You have the option to place stand-ins if you can’t get the actors in the photos and need to see how and where they’ll fit into the shot. You can even record audio over the shots, either dialogue from the scene or notes on what’s happening technically. Play it back in the storyboard in real-time and you’ll get a good sense of what it will look like.

Another great feature is the PDF export of your storyboards so that you can share it.

The application may help you brainstorming your film’s structure, or instantly video-test a possible filming location you happen to stumble upon. Take a couple of photos, load them into Hitchcock and there you have it: a basis to start visualising your film.

At $23.99, Hitchcock may seem on the pricey side but it incorporates a lot more powerful functionality than the other apps in this review.

Movie Genie

For film lovers rather than filmmakers – and therefore out of competition – but all the more fun is the nerd-ready Movie Genie. Are you like me, who can’t watch a movie without pulling out IMDB? Who is that actor again? What else they’ve been in? And what other movies has the director done?

Movie Genie accesses IMDB with a simple, clean interface – rather than going through Safari and miss half the movie.

Upcoming functions include movie reviews from ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ as well as trailers for movies. There are well worth sticking around for.

Movie genie is $2.49.

Are you using an application that isn’t listed? Let us know in the comments!

Courtesy of Cinemek, for our US readers we have 5 free copies of HITCHCOCK for iPhone. To go in the draw, send an email to contest@thestorydepartment.com and give us the title of the Hitchcock movie set in a lifeboat.

Cherie Lee

I studied acting for three years and hold a graduate diploma in writing from Sydney’s UTS. My interest in film and writing was solidified through interning at The Story Department and gave me the opportunity to fine tune my skills. I’ve been involved with several film projects, the most recent of which was shortlisted for Tropfest.

With the knowledge gained from university and my experience at The Story Department, I’m now specialising in professional feedback on short films and documentaries.