For Hollywood-oriented material, agents and studios won’t even look at a script that is not in the standard format. If you plan to submit work to a particular institution, it’s best to read up on their format-most publish their submission guidelines on the web.Īlways submit material (especially unsolicited material) in the format that the receiver requests. ![]() For other applications of scripts (graphic novels, television, radio, marketing, stage plays) the formats are a little less exacting, and primarily exist to enhance communication with the performers and other production professionals. This gives a uniform pagination and readability to most scripts that is demanded by Hollywood system. If you’re submitting material for studio filming, Hollywood has a fairly exacting (and somewhat tedious) format, devised to simulate a typewriter circa 1951. Why not just use a regular word processor like Microsoft Word? Primarily to make your life easier when it comes to format. (I personally use a Microsoft Surface Book day-to-day and love it.)įor the actual writing of script or a screenplay, there are number of dedicate tools. Some people use Literature and Latte’s Scrivener product for this, but the Windows edition is lacking in several departments, not the least of which the user interface fails to work well (out of the box) with high DPI displays like you’d find on notebooks from Microsoft, HP, Dell, and Lenovo. Unlike Evernote, OneNote uses Microsoft Drive to sync or to keep notebooks 100% offline on a USB device. Microsoft OneNote is in many ways a style-wise clone of the excellent but now defunct Circus Ponies Notebook on the Mac. I used to use Evernote, but I found their note editor lacking for my tastes and recent issues around pricing and security became a turn-off. My favorite these days is Microsoft OneNote 2016, which is included with most Office 365 subscriptions. For research, I like having a notebook tool that integrates well with clipping from a web browser as well as taking notes, storing files, images, and other digital whatnot. If you’re looking for a place to start, I usually tell people to start with Robert McKee’s Story and work their way from there.Īll that said, there are software tools that can make the job easier. To use a quote attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright when he was asked what kind of pencils he used, he said, “It’s not the pencil, it’s the man.” The tool is not the key issue in script preparation. I recommend that anyone starting out putting their efforts (and money) into really understanding story construction. People were writing scripts long before specialized software tools came along. Knowing what story to tell and how to tell it counts far more than getting things into the right arrangement of 12-point Courier type. ![]() The flip answer is “a few billion cells between the ears.” As much as you will be told software is needed, your first priority should be storytelling. It is surprising to me that people often ask what software I use. From time-to-time, I prepare scripts both in my working life and my diversions.
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