by Dave Trendall

Does sexy equal practical?

The number of word processors out there is countless. With most doing similar things, why should we even consider getting something different; or even crazier… pay for it?

One piece of software that has mountains of users who often describe it as ‘sexy’, is Scrivener. I was interested to see why, and if, it was good for writing. Sexy is one thing but does it actually stand up to a long term relationship… and is it really worth paying for?

Pros of the Processor

Getting inside a writer’s mind can be a treacherous minefield, a forest of ideas where trees are mangled and roads lead nowhere. When starting out on a project there are avenues to explore, ideas to grapple with. Where to start?

Scrivener really understands the writers mind as it is logically laid out but doesn’t tie you down to any format like most other software does – what it does do is encourage flexibility.

Scrivener really understands the writers mind

Research and organisation are key in writing your magnus opus and to have access to the mind maps and scribblings in a click can make this process easier. Most processors or text editors will have you open 3… 4… 5… different windows as you begin minimising, maximising, moving and closing windows, trying to access those hard-to-find character bios and scene ideas.

All the ideas you put on your scratch pad and other documents can be a daunting and complicated excercise in organisational dilligence but on Scrivener you have everything you need on show with easy access.

Organisation

On the right of the interface you have the inspector, on the left you have the binder which has all your files and character notes displayed just one click away. On the right, the inspector which shows the synopsis, step outline, ideas or comments. In the centre is a clear writing part.

You can also build collections for each project which is a great help. Despite the neatness of it all and the ability to minimize these collections, there’s a lot of info on display and it can look a little busy, so what if you just want to write?

The full screen function allows you to have the page, a photo of that lovely deserted island in the background and nothing else, which helps you focus on the task in hand and not on toolbars, configurations and statistics. It’s a nice touch and the simplicity is refreshing.

What if you just want to write?

The program comes with a plethora of options so you can adapt it to your liking. F or example you may want the blank page to fade down, change the paper width or change the paper position. It’s all about adapting to your needs.

The final stage!

Something that Scrivener has, is the ability to export your script/novel onto an ebook for kindle, epub, Word or even Final Draft among others. This motivational and inspirational tool brings you one step closer to self-publishing or selling and getting it out there. It is mostly geared toward novel or non-fiction/research writers however the impetus and injection of ‘reality’ and coming face to face with a realistic ‘published’ finish piece is quite the motivation!

It is also possible to sync the scribblings from write room, index card and simpletext for iphone/itouch or Ipad. This is for the Mac only, however the windows beta version is soon to catch up in this respect.

This motivational and inspirational tool brings you
one step closer to self-publishing or selling

Index card features

An excellent interface that really is second to none in terms of pure chic: the corkboard interface has clear index card features for you to design your plots and characters in a great, organised and colourful fashion.

It’s not just the je-ne-sais-quoi, but the ease of use and detail you can put into it is a great attribute. It allows you to brainstorm in order for you to really nut out the structure and outline before going to work on the screenplay.

An excellent interface that really is second to none

You can also use the cards as scene ideas, change the font and change the colour to indicate theme or concept. It is gorgeous and makes the writing thoroughly enjoyable – it’s nice to have a different view with the corkboard that really makes you feel you’re in the planning room.

I am a lover of index cards – this is so close to the real thing that you can almost smell the paper and feel the cork. The other processors look and feel like a computer – this doesn’t.

This is so close to the real thing
that you can almost smell the paper
and feel the cork.

Feedback/forums/support

It’s options are a burden and a blessing. Really, it’s like a brain… complicated yet fascinating, or a complicated enigmatic character: hard to decipher. There are numerous options and drop down menus to explore and you sometimes feel like you just don’t get it, but then, suddenly, it all makes perfect sense and you feel quite enamoured with yourself for doing so darn well.

What is important in such software is the technical support, and it is excellent. I’ve never really had the support in terms of software like this before. On the website there are video tutorials, that are simple and easy to understand, as well as a fully detailed manual that could provide a few nights of scintillating bedtime reading… If that’s your thing. The forum is also full of hints, tips and tricks.

I’ve never really had the support
in terms of software like this before.

So many options, but are they all useful? There are numerous configurations to behold and wonder at and it’s well worth trying to get to know them all to make it exactly to your liking.

Cons

What I found problematic however, was in transferring documents onto scrivener, particularly screenplays. When I tried to import scripts from two different screenwriting programmes the alignment, fonts and formatting were all over the place and it took time to get it back to normal.

Although you may find ways around this problem – a ‘how to’ video tutorial and extensive information on exporting and importing will help – it was a time-consuming process and an extensive lesson in jargon. Other users have noted it is difficult to use with blogs and can be a lavishly laborious process to export certain documents onto, or out of, Scrivener.

it is difficult to use with blogs and can be
a lavishly laborious process
to export certain documents

The corkboard is lovely, sexy even, though it’s not the most important thing for writing. There are feasts of different views and colours to change this to that and put that in a drop down menu while you tweak this and paste this into that folder… I confused myself when operating it and getting to know it.

It’s nice to have a software that is as complex as it is interesting. And that’s interesting in a good way but is it too much for what is essentially a virtual binder, paper with pen?

Added to this, index cards themselves are available on other programme, such as Celtx, for a smidgeon of the price.

A fast car is good driving

You will get what you paid for with Scrivener and understanding just what it can do will take an enjoyable or frustrating amount of time, depending on whether you like getting to know the options or just want to get writing.

No doubt this is a great piece of software. It’s a neat looking, intuitive programme which has everything you need right in front of you, for you to use at your disposal. It’s perfect for writing and particularly organising thoughts ideas and structuring them into a coherent order.

Then, after having sussed out this little gem, you can start the marriage with a day of getting to know each other, to start afresh and forget what had gone before. Word? Who was that flash in the pan?

Some may argue If you need to go from A to B do you really need a Dodge viper with extra torque, whatever you decide, it certainly looks nice in your garage and feels great when you’re in the driving seat.

-Dave Trendall

My name is David Trendall and I am from the land of Braveheart. I studied Film and Television in Wales and it was there I found a love and passion for writing scripts. Since then I have written four screenplays and many short films. I hope to reach 10 within the next 5 years and am continuing to write and hone my skills in screenwriting and story structure. And yes I do like Braveheart.

I have installed version 8.0.0.,  the latest available version at the time of writing.

Because I work with clients who use a variety of software, I often find myself converting and exporting between platforms. In this area, FD hasn’t improved much since FD6 (from which I upgraded). That said, a typical screenwriter may not need to convert that often.

PRO:

– The overall feature set has improved.
– The layout is slightly more pleasing to the eye than before.
– Scene Navigator is a cool feature.
– Not too many bugs (See below: Cons).
– The top toolbars can be customised to contain a range of commands.
– The page count manager. (don’t think you’re allowed to use it, though!)
– FD can be active on two computers; installed on as many as you like.
– An ever improving knowledge base on the FD web site.
– Upgrade is only $99.

CON:

– FD8 saves as .fdx by default, even for imported FD7 scripts.
– Copy and paste between documents has resulted in crashing.
– No good solution for tracking changes.
– Cost: $249 (To compare: MS Word is $229).
– The interactive troubleshooter on the web took forever to launch.
– Key Shortcuts: if you select text and change the style, the text is deleted.
– Chat support times: for OZ writers this support closes at morning tea.
– Phone support is free only for 3 months and for 20mins only.
– The format assistant could have been improved.
– Importing from .rtf resulted in blank pages with “(CONT.)” here and there.
– No competitive upgrade offer to be found on the web site.

If you’re earning money writing for the screen, you should have Final Draft. If you’re not, I believe you can find better value alternatives.

Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.

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Our guest this week is Eric McDonald, CEO of Zhura.com.

While screenwriting is rarely credited as a driver of new technology, it certainly benefits from technical innovation.  Screenwriters have enjoyed continuous improvement in the tools that allow them to work more efficiently, from the typewriter to personal computers to niche word processors.

A new wave of technology is improving things again, fueled by distributed computing and ubiquitous Internet connectivity.

With the rapid proliferation and accessibility of the Internet, software providers are changing the paradigm in terms of how they develop and offer their products.  Rather than sell (or rather: license) you a piece of software that you install on one or two computers, they create software that runs completely online, which you access on an as-needed bases.

Think of software as gym equipment. As a health enthusiast, you could go out and purchase the best equipment available for use in your home.  If you are disciplined, you will use it for an hour or so every day.  Contrast that with getting a gym membership:  no lump sum payment, no equipment maintenance, cost of equipment is spread among users, and an opportunity to meet people with similar interests.    Success for a gym relies on providing a quality service to a motivated group who has the ability to get to their facility.

All of the elements are in place for software companies to provide their software on an as-needed basis.  It’s called Software as a Service (SaaS), and you are already using it.

If you access your messages through Gmail or Yahoo, or you use Facebook, Bebo, Flickr, or eBay, you are using SaaS.  Ever thought about the fact that you have never needed to  “upgrade” Wikipedia?  It’s just out there, always up-to-date and available when you need it.

Software manufacturers are well aware of the benefits that a SaaS platform provides their business:

While none of the traditional screenwriting software providers currently offer products that run online, several new companies provide solutions that are just a mouse click away.  Each of these sport slightly different features and interfaces, so that the consumer can select the one that best meets their needs and goals. Early to market were Plotbot.com and Scriptbuddy.com, which provide basic industry-standard formatting.

More recent alternatives include Scripped.com and Zhura.com, both released in 2007.  Both provide the familiar “tab” and “enter” keystroke shortcuts, and  import/export from popular off-the-shelf software.  Zhura has also added community features and the ability to collaborate in real time.

Security is always a concern when working online.  Zhura, as well as other SaaS companies, believe that the overall security of an online solution is unmatched by desktop solutions.

Statistics show that one out of five hard drives will crash in their lifetime.  We’ve heard horror stories of people who have lost everything on their hard drive, only salvaging files that they had at some point sent through email, since they could log on to re-download.  Guess what, that email program is SaaS, with online storage.

Statistics on stolen laptops are staggering – 2000 are stolen daily in the United States.  It takes far less sophistication to grab someone’s laptop from a coffee shop than it does to crack into your online bank account (SaaS) service.  Online security, even more so than convenience and features, may be the most compelling reason for a transition to SaaS.

Internet data solutions are so plentiful and cheap, companies now routinely run their data centers on multiple, redundant servers, and perform daily backups.

There is an exciting new generation of software being deployed over the Internet.  It requires no installation, no upfront cost, no maintenance, and enables features that were unheard of as little as three years ago.  As these solutions find their way into specific areas such as screenwriting, they offer compelling and exciting new opportunities for consumers.

Unfortunately, they only make your screenwriting experience simpler, you still have to write the story!

Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.

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“Just a few days ago, we released version 2.0 of the Celtx software.

A lot of people don’t quite get what Celtx is about. I guess people see things from their own perspective. If they are screenwriters, they see a screenwriting application, if they are filmmakers, they see a pre-production package, if they are storyboard artists, they see a media application, if they are comic book creators, they see a new tool to help them make the same. And so it goes, each person seeing in Celtx what is useful to them in their own pursuit of creativity.

Don’t get me wrong. That’s all fine by us. In fact, that’s what we hoped would happen. That people would derive their own benefit based on their own needs. We always figured that there were, are, as many different ways to create media as there are users, so we tried to make the Celtx software as flexible as possible.

Thing is, no matter how they work, whether following traditional bottom up approaches to developing their story, or employing non-linear methods, most every media creator uses a lot of the same tools as the next person. It comes down to Story – characters, a situation, and locations.

You see a lot of references these days about the trend towards “convergence”, the merging of many different media formats – film, game, audio – the re-purposing of one media format for adaptation to another format. This in our view, is only describing what has always been the case. Artists have never been afraid to try new forms; to apply, and expand their skills beyond the confines of a single type of media.

Very few, if any, of the existing media software offerings seemed to recognize that fact, choosing instead to pigeon hole users in to one type of media, and through the use of proprietary file formats, and rigid work flows, preventing those same users from expanding beyond their initial canvass.

This, ultimately, is the opportunity we saw – to provide media artists with a tool that would be as expandable as they wanted it to be. One that let them easily re-purpose their media to other formats, and re-purpose their data to other applications.

What was needed was a universally accepted tool. A platform. Whatever you want to call it. But a way for any and all media creators to use one system that supported all of their requirements and let them collaborate without worrying about data formats, and incompatible technologies. Making media is hard enough without being frustrated by files that won’t open or technologies that limit creativity.

This is why Celtx is open source and uses only open standards. It ensures maximum flexibility and a common platform that all media makers can use.

Being an open source software application, Celtx is open to anyone to integrate their own technology in to the system. Just recently, another company developing a script writing offering had indicated that they are developing a tool that ties in to the Celtx software.

That’s the whole idea. To make Celtx the default system for developing media regardless of the specific application you are using to create different aspects of their project. Once saved in a Celtx Project, the media is unassailable, re-purposeable, convertible, and sharable by all.

This usually begs the question of how do we make money from all of this? What motivation do we have to make Celtx a success (other then for altruistic reasons)?

The growing use of web services is an undeniable, and unstoppable trend in the technology business. Every company developing technology sees the writing on the wall. The future is in selling web services that augment the desktop environment.

When the cell phone industry first got going in Europe, everyone agreed (with the help of some gentle persuasion from the regulators) to a common standard. The risk was that without a common standard everyone would go off madly in all directions, balkanizing the cell phone environment in to a myriad of networks, none of which would talk to each other. The result would have been very bad for users.

Instead, an open standard was promulgated, and everyone rushed to innovate off that open standard, introducing new hand sets and new technologies to gain market share. Nokia became one of the best in the industry at being the first to market with new innovations, gaining more and more users. The rest, as they say, is history.

This is what we hope for Celtx – that it continues to establish itself as the open system for creating and sharing media. We may have invented it, but we don’t own it, any more then Nokia owns the 3G cell phone network that they have so successfully leveraged.

The new Celtx Studios is our first commercial offering based on the open standards Celtx software. It is designed to provide media creators with web based access to their media projects, including optimized archiving for sub-versions, collaboration features and the ability to create protected web Previews.

The same offering, or one similar to it, could be developed by anyone using the open source code of Celtx to achieve their goal, just like the Nokia competitor, Ericsson, has also developed new cell phone technologies that work on the same system as Nokia’s.

One open system, many offerings based on that system, all benefiting users. That’s the promise. That’s the future.”

-Mark Kennedy
CEO Celtx

]]> https://www.thestorydepartment.com/from-one-to-many/feed/ 5 1341 https://www.thestorydepartment.com/how-important-is-style-and-layout/ https://www.thestorydepartment.com/how-important-is-style-and-layout/#respond Sat, 16 Feb 2008 01:00:20 +0000 https://how-important-is-style-and-layout/ Read more]]> The first step for many aspiring screenwriters is to purchase a piece of pricey screenwriting software.

Some call it retail therapy.

You are not a screenwriter until you have made that sacrifice, until you have invested money in your career, right?

I call it a waste of $250.

Your first draft should be a quick and dirty braindump. “Don’t get it right, get it written,” dixit Art Arthur.

Of course, it has its advantages to write your first draft in some sort of a script format. See it as an exercise in format and style, plus you have a rough idea of the screen time.

However, for this they have invented free MS Word templates, style sheets or even better: Celtx.

Format and style are totally irrelevant.

If you are fiddling to get the wording of your action right, to make your characters sound like ‘real people’, to come up with really cool visuals, you are wasting your time.

If this is your first draft, nobody will ever see it, except your story editor or script consultant. And if the first script feedback is all about format, style, dialogue and scene construction, you haven’t given the editor the right brief.

Or perhaps you should change editors.

You should be working on that story, which currently may not even be a story yet. If McKee’s statistics are right, ninety percent of what you have written will go. Won’t make it to the screen. At least not for this film.

Now, because of my emphasis on story, it may seem as if I think the presentation of the screenplay is less important.

But can you afford to shop around an excellent story but scripted in a way that looks sloppy and rushed?

Of course you can’t.

I was talking about early drafts.

Once you are sending a script for consideration to producers, studios or talent, it has to be immaculate. Nothing must distract from a smooth read.

Your formatting has to be completely in line with the standards of the country (Letter format if you’re based in the US, A4 elsewhere), the company (if it’s a major studio) or even the person (if it’s, say, Spielberg) you are sending the script to.

Why am I so paranoid about this?

Because others are.

Imagine this: a reader or executive has just read an ‘okay’ story. But it was a terrific read: an elegantly flowing script, no typos, great style, a fast read with “lots of white”.

Your script is next.

Your story is on par with the previous one, but by page 10 this reader has found three typos, a couple of “we see”‘s and some awkward sluglines.

Your story may have had the same potential. Yes, it could have been produced for less money and audiences might have loved the movie better.

Still, you’re out.

The other writer might have been equally talented; he was more professional. If you want to play with the pros, you’ll have to be ready to write fast, re-write fast, and keep the same level of professionalism. If you can’t even get that first spec script right – which they know you have laboured over for years – you’re not up for the challenge.

And guess what: in the books of this reader, producer or company, not just your script but even you may be history. They probably have a sufficient amount of fresh offerings every day so they feel perfectly happy to bar you from ever submitting anything ever again.

If you are serious about earning six or seven figure fees in your new career, prove it. Before you send out your script, invest a few hundred dollars in having it read and polished by a pro.

Now…

Did you just realise your script has gone out to more than one company? Like… all of them?

Bad format and style can kill your career.

Better start thinking about a cool ‘nom de plume’.

Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.

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I have just returned from SPAAmart, Australia’s film financing market, where Wojciech and I pitched THE MORTAL COIL to twenty-four industry executives from Australia and overseas. It was only the second time ever I applied for this competitive market. One hundred percent hit rate. Luck? Possibly. But my recent string of successes cannot be ignored as an unusually high hit rate. An AFC project manager with impressive film credits recently told an audience how his applications used to be rejected at a rate of 8/1. No future for me as an AFC project manager, I guess…

If luck is one factor, what other factors are there? The talent of the writer, first and foremost. I have the honour and the pleasure of working with brilliant people. Without an interesting concept you can edit until the cows come home. THE MORTAL COIL has the support of Richard Taylor at the famous Weta Workshop in Wellington. Given the amazing track record of that effects house, their attachment is a major bonus and it helps convincing decision makers that this project will fly.

STORY VS. SCRIPT EDITING

There is no doubt in my mind that the story development approach is another crucial factor in those recent funding successes. I used to get sucked into reading, analysing and assessing screenplays. Most scripts have enough weaknesses on the scene level for a script editor to provide his money’s worth in surface level feedback. The writer takes on board all the comments and does a – often completely useless – rewrite. My rejection rate used to be higher than average until I changed my development strategy. By focusing on the story, the writer doesn’t touch the screenwriting software until the structure works. This sounds like a longer process, but the reality is just the opposite.

If there is an easier way, why do we keep getting caught in this trap? Why do we all give feedback based on the script? I believe that we are scared to tell you – the writer – to fundamentally review the story. What if you walked away to find yourself another editor? It would mean the potential loss of some hard-earned business. Will those essential story changes guarantee a movie that works? Of course not. The most quoted line in the movie industry is William Goldman’s “Nobody knows anything.” But a well-structured story will increase the chances that better people read your script and give you better feedback so you get a step closer to funding.

Once you have successfully applied the principles of story structure and you’ve made it past the Ordeal of story and script development, remember Vogler and don’t confuse the Sword with the Elixir. I, too, am fully aware that the Final Confrontation is yet to come.

SHORT FILMS AND THE PRINCIPLES OF STORY STRUCTURE

The Australian Film Commission is paying $60,000 towards the production of ACID SUN, the first project I took on as a producer after becoming a father late 2004. Parental responsibility had brought with it a greater focus and a more radical selection of projects and short films just didn’t seem to cut it any longer. “Short films no longer work as a calling card.”

Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers.

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