How to Select Script-Formatting Software
Industry standards for film, television and theater dictate that writers format their scripts according to a strict set of rules. These include specifications for capitalization, line spacing, font style and margins, among other things. Formatting a script used to be a labor-intensive process, but today, formatting software not only allows screenwriters to format their scripts with much more ease, but also provides story development and preproduction tools.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
-
-
1
Estimate what your budget is. Script-formatting software ranges in price from free to hundreds of dollars. Select the software that fits within the budget for your film.
-
2
Select a program that includes the preproduction tools appropriate to your job. For instance, if you will be performing the roles of screenwriter and assistant director, you need a program that allows you to tag important elements within the script and generate production reports. If you are a writer that likes to use colored note cards during story development, you may want to choose software that includes digital index cards.
-
3
Check with other key crew members to determine what software they will be using. For example, if the assistant director uses Movie Magic Scheduling to generate schedules for the film, its sister program, Movie Magic Screenwriter, may be your best option.
-
4
Visit each company's website and read about their program's features.
-
5
Read reviews from other screenwriters to get a balanced view of each program's pros and cons.
-
6
Check each program's system requirements to make sure that it will run optimally on your system.
-
7
Download a free trial, if available, to test the program and see which one works best for you.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Consider your future career track when selecting your software. For example, if you know you will be joining the Writers Guild of America in the near future, you may want to purchase Movie Magic Screenwriter, which is their preferred program. If you are a young independent filmmaker, you may want to consider Celtx, which is a free program popular with those who work on low-budget productions.
