Screenwriters are a strange and suspicious lot. Or maybe they’re just loyal beyond reason. I know I am. Take my scriptwriting software, for example. I’d used the same old program, Scriptor, for about six years. It was comfortable and familiar. It was outdated in a kinky, cool sort of way. Until it crashed altogether. Suddenly I was shopping for a brand new program and—in the process—seeing exactly what I’d been missing in the world of scriptwriting technology. On my path to newfound software success, the first thing I noticed was the glut of celebrity endorsements for some of the products. Final Draft, for instance, boasted glowing quotes from such famed moviemakers as Tom Hanks, Alan Ball and James L. Brooks. At the same time, such equal notables as Frank Darabont and Francis Ford Coppola touted the wonders of Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000. Not all programs I looked into had such star backing, but all promised professional results. Let me share with you a few of the options I discovered in my quest for a better screenwriting mousetrap...

Add-On Software

Hollyword • List Price: $84.95 • A low-priced formatting program • Runs within Word to provide professional formatting in an existing program n Mac & PC • www.hollyword.com

Hollyword was designed by Bill Simon, prolific  author of five feature films and 12 books. The first thing that struck me about this program was that it seemed geared more toward the beginner than the experienced screen­writer, and Simon himself has said as much.

Hollyword is designed to work within Microsoft Word, providing professional script formatting while allowing Word to handle all of the word processing chores. Like almost all of the programs out there, Hollyword relies on the “Return” key rather than the command buttons: type in the scene heading, hit “Return,” then the action, “Return,” the character name, “Return,” dialogue and so on. If you want to do something kooky like insert a parenthetical or write a second paragraph of action, the command buttons are options.

Hollyword is a bit low on frills. It does include some advanced items like automated character name input, but even the manual admits that setting the thing up is kind of “a nuisance.” Still, if you’re just starting out, you might very well find the rather intuitive nature of Hollyword to be to your liking.

ScreenStyle • List Price: $29.95 alone (ScreenStyle XL: $99.95 bundled with Scriptware and Story Craft) • Add-on for Microsoft Word n Automatic formatting using just the Tab and Enter keys • Includes Scene Numbering and Outline views • Mac & PC (XL version is PC only) • www.screenstyle.com

ScreenStyle is another powerful addition to Word. With a short learning curve and all the basics of screenplay formatting (not to mention a lower price than a stand-alone program), ScreenStyle is an excellent choice for a beginner on a slim budget. (And what beginning screenwriter isn’t?)

ScreenStyle depends on the Tab and Enter keys for almost all of the formatting, making it very simple to learn and use. Though it lacks the flexibility and heavy-duty features of Final Draft or Movie Magic, it works quite well as a simple writing program, and creates files compatible with any other Word-equipped computer.

ScreenStyle even includes a multi-site license, allowing installation on several computers, which is a very handy feature. The XL package includes Scriptware, a stand-alone program, and Story Craft, a story development program, along with several other extras. Additionally, the ScreenStyle.com Website offers a smorgasbord of information and products for screenwriters—including free shipping and great “bundles” of extras for screenwriters on a budget (free books, software, magazine subscriptions and more).

Script Wizard • List Price: $149.95 • Add-on for Microsoft Word n Supports 12 different script formats • PC Only • www.warrenassoc.com

Script Wizard bills itself as “the best add-on for Microsoft Word for Windows.” If you already have Word on a PC and you’re comfortable using it, Script Wizard can add the formatting capability of a stand-alone program to the familiar Word environment. And that may be simpler for you than learning a whole new program.

Says TV producer David J. Latt of the program: “I find Script Wizard to be easier and more intuitive to use than other programs I’ve tried. If I’m collaborating with someone, using e-mails to send revisions back and forth, Script Wizard is seamless. Whenever I use Final Draft, for instance, I run into problems.”

Stan Harris, who works in corporate marketing in San Jose, CA and uses Script Wizard for advertisements and industrial films, concurs: "Once I learned the formatting keystrokes, I could fly with this program. Plus, since it was a Word type of program, it worked flawlessly in my Microsoft Office environment—and in e-mail copies of ‘scripts in progress’ to my clients for review."

Script Wizard users I spoke with also mentioned that Stefani Warren, who designed the software and runs the company, is easily accessible and an indispensable resource in navigating the program.

Script Werx • List Price: $129.00 • Add-on for Word • Creates toolbar for characters, automates frequently used words and names • Mac & PC • www.scriptwerx.com

This is the Word add-on used by Saturday Night Live, the Website claims. As with Script Wizard and other add-ons, the benefit of this software is in having a familiar user interface. The 12 templates included cover all the bases, from screenplay to two column-A/V script to corporate video treatment.

Larry Barr, assistant planetarium director at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, has used Script Werx extensively. “Besides the work I do on my independent film projects, I also write a tremendous number of scripts for the planetarium presentations. I find Script Werx to be very creatively enabling—you never have to worry about formatting.” Barr, who test-drove as many programs as he could before making his decision, decided on Script Werx because it was “so easy to use, not to mention the seamless tie it has to Microsoft Word. No bugs, no problems, nothing. The program just seems to know where you want to go, but it will also help you get there when you don’t.”

Rick Schmidt, author of Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices (Penguin), is also a fan of Script Werx. “It offers several scriptwriting templates, paired with the classic Word program. Instead of inventing a new screenwriting language, Script Werx lays out the central commands in the perfect, left-to-right order for writing.”

ScriptWright • List Price: $129.95 for newest versions ($99.95 for older and Mac versions) • Add-on template for Word • Draft, master and shooting script templates • Mac (Word 6 only) & PC • www.kois.com

ScriptWright is yet another Word-based screenplay template. It has all the basics, like Tab and Enter formatting, industry standard templates like stage play, screenplay and sitcom and broad compatibility between PCs. Mac users will be disappointed to note that the template is presently available for Word 6 only (though a new version is in the works). There are two discounts available: one is a $49.95 deal for students and the other is a $59.95 special for anyone “crossgrading” from a competing program.
Another version, called ScriptWright Pro, is designed exclusively for production scripts. Both are available through the online store.

Stand–Alone Software

Scriptware • List Price: $199.95 ($99.95 for the Competitive Upgrade) Stand-alone screenplay software • Auto-formats as you type • Supports all kinds of scripts • Mac & PC • www.scriptware.com

The first stand-alone program I tested was Scriptware ($199.95). Like the others, Scriptware employs the Tab key to execute most of its functions. Hit the Tab once for “action,” hit it again for “character,” then “dialogue,” “parentheticals” and so on. While fairly easy to navigate, I found it to be something of a chore when I wrote in shorthand. Sometimes I want to move a character from the living room to the kitchen, and maybe it’s me, but I don’t think I should have to write “CUT TO:” then “INT. THE KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS,” every time.

On the plus side, there are some fun bells and whistles. If you want to import something from another system (like, say, Final Draft) it’s a piece of cake. Nice tricks like “cheating” the margins to increase or reduce the overall length of the screenplay also come in handy.

Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 • List price: $229.95 • Stand-alone software • Includes formats such as feature film, sitcom, radio and stage play • Includes templates for popular TV shows and films • Mac & PC • www.screenplay.com

Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 is the newest screenwriting program from Write Brothers (formerly Screenplay Systems), the makers of my beloved Scriptor (who won an Oscar in 1994 for their contribution to screenwriting and state that since 1990, over 80 percent of the Academy Award nominations and 95 percent of the Emmy awards went to companies utilizing Write Brothers/ Screenplay Systems’ software).

It was obvious to me why writers like Francis Ford Coppola and Frank Darabont agreed to have their names and pictures on the box, and why it is the featured software of the Writers Guild of America East and Project Greenlight. Everybody from Matt Damon to Wes Craven appears on the Website touting its value as a creative tool.

“Many people at the company had used the product and liked it,” says Larry Tanz, senior vice president at Live Planet, the production company that runs Project Greenlight, when asked why they choose Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 as their official software. “Matt Damon and Ben Affleck used an earlier version of Movie Magic Screenwriter to write their award-winning screenplay for Good Will Hunting, and they continue to use the product, so we thought it was a logical choice.”

While Tanz says that the program one uses has no effect on the judging of scripts for Project Greenlight, he does say that they require all submissions be sent in PDF format, and that Movie Magic makes that conversion very easy.

Continues Tanz, “Dedicated word processors such as Movie Magic Screenwriter automate screenwriting far better than Microsoft Word with add-ons. [Movie Magic] has built-in checks to make sure you’re not making mistakes, as well as Internet collaboration features—something Word add-ons aren’t designed to do.”

“Screenplay software is an integral part of my writing process, as it’s a very simplified way to maintain proper formatting,” states Nicholas Brandt, who describes himself as a writer “with a drawer full of scripts,” but no representation. “[Movie Magic] frees up that little bit of extra time which is so critical when balancing a job that pays the bills with writing time.”

The program also boasts full compatibility with Movie Magic Scheduling software and free technical support by phone. (Final Draft charges by the minute.)

Final Draft 6 • List price: $199.95 n Stand-alone script software • Formats for stage, film and TV n Includes popular TV and film templates • Mac & PC • www.finaldraft.com

Another heavyweight with celebrity endorsements galore, Final Draft boasts moviemaking luminaries such as Anthony Minghella, Christopher McQuarrie and Alan Ball as users. It is possibly the best-known screenplay software, and for good reason. The interface is very similar to Word, and it is a remarkably simple program that makes formatting nearly effortless. Like Movie Magic, Final Draft has a card view, allowing writers to arrange a script visually much as they would with actual index cards. (The added advantage is, of course, that it’s much harder to lose one of these cards behind the couch.)

Of the many writers I know who use Final Draft, several state choosing it simply because it seemed everyone else was using it. But all of them have stayed with it over the years, both for its ease of use and because it is regarded by many as “industry standard.”
“The thing that made me stay with Final Draft was that it seemed organic,” states Hans Rodionoff, the screenwriter on Clive Barker’s Tortured Souls. “Everything happened the way I expected it to.”

Final Draft includes CollaboWriter, an online tool that enables multiple writers to work on a script simultaneously from any computer with an Internet connection, an invaluable bonus for long-distance writing partners. It also exports a script in several different file types, like PDF, Avid (useful for subtitling during editing) or Movie Magic for budgeting and scheduling. Among the other production features Final Draft offers are scene numbering, multiple revisions and Script Notes (the digital equivalent of Post-It notes at various spots on the page).

Trevor Sands, who has been writing and directing since graduating from USC in 1996, uses Script Notes extensively. “When I’m on my third or fourth pass, I go through and cut everything I can without hurting the story. I can save every bit of cut dialogue and stage direction in a Script Note, and it’s there to reconsider when I go through it again.”

Final Draft is brawny enough for a seasoned professional, but also simple enough for anyone with experience using Word or another word processing program.

Movie Magic Screenwriter and Final Draft are by far the most powerful screenwriting tools in this group. They have nearly everything you could want at the touch of a button: command buttons and tabs, automatic formatting and easy cheats. No confusing or even mildly annoying hang-ups, like figuring out how to shorten scene headings. On top of that, you can read the files from other programs (though I should mention that both programs gave me a little trouble importing my old Scriptor files).

Despite its many features, I found Final Draft 6 phenomenally easy to use. The instruction manual is much smaller than Screenwriter 2000’s, but more importantly, I barely had to refer to it in the first place. It’s involved, but not complex. Specific, but not binding. Convenient, but not at the expense of quality. Movie Magic, for all its fine features, was a bit more complicated to use.

The writers interviewed didn’t agree on whether or not formatting software was a necessity or a luxury. “Would I want to go back to the old way now that I’ve gotten so used to Final Draft?” asks writer Herb Ratner. “Absolutely not. But would I say that screenwriting software is imperative for an aspiring screenwriter? Absolutely not! All a screenwriting program does is allow you to type faster by doing your formatting for you. The mechanics of the work will become second nature once you’re writing and the creativity is flowing.”

Sarah Watson, who has written for Dawson’s Creek, disagrees. “While you don’t need to go out and spend $100 to get your writing career rolling, I would highly recommend it. Trying to format your material in Word is an undeniable pain in the ass. I think it’s difficult to let the creative process flow while you’re trying to figure out how many spaces go before a character name and what a slug line should actually look like.”

All of these programs get the job done. Choosing one comes down primarily to taste, needs and budget. Depending on what you’re looking for, it’s hard to go wrong with any of the mousetraps I’ve mentioned. MM

Neil Turitz is a Columbia graduate whose first film, Two Ninas, is available on DVD/video and can be seen on cable television at all hours. His next film, Knots, which he co-wrote with Greg Lombardo, will shoot in NYC this spring. Turtiz’s work has previously appeared in US Magazine, Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, Cosmopolitan and TV Guide.