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Scriptwriters will have an opportunity to acquire a powerful, yet expensive writing tool at half price on Tuesday, 26 January. Bits du Jour will offer a one-day special on Movie Outline 3, normally costing $199.95, but available for purchase that day for $99.97. You can download it in advance from Bits du Jour for a test drive, but the purchase itself must be made via the Bits du Jour discount page on the 26th.
The software website offers an excellent and clear 8-minute video demo. Even if you do not purchase the software, scriptwriters will benefit from viewing the demo to understand its conceptual approach to scriptwriting. The software website also offers many more useful resources, including a description of the “step outlining” process, articles about the craft, a screenplay format guide, suggested readings and a list of important links for scriptwriters. And the software company issues a free monthly e-zine, with substantive articles rather than repetitious sales pitches — sign up for a subscription. One can also buy on the site a 293-page PDF e-book which analyzes 12 successful recent movies — it costs $19.95.
Also check out the feature comparison chart of Movie Outline 3, Movie Magic 6 and Final Draft 8.
I’m not a scriptwriter myself, so I do not know exactly how to rate this software. However, the software website offers a remarkable list of links to full reviews in such magazines as Creative Screenwriting, Writer’s Journal and MacWorld, among others. The software package is available for both PC and Mac computers.
Do any of you scriptwriters out there have insights to share about scriptwriting software? If so, please leave a comment for our readership.
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Comment by
MICHAEL DOWNEND
20 Jan 2010
Re Movie Outline: I've just been going over the program Movie Outline, Tom, comparing it with Movie Magic Screenwriter (nee ScriptThing) a scriptwriting program I've been using successfully since the 90's. I can tell you now I wouldn't use Movie Outline. It really wouldn't offer anything new and for that reason alone I wouldn't buy it. However, the major feature we do have with MM Screenwriter which is lacking in Movie Outline is iPartner, the online collaboration tool. We simply wouldn't be without it. To quote from the source: "iPartner™ online collaboration lets you write online with a writing partner thousands of miles away". We use it to collaborate on the same script simultaneously. In a nutshell, here's how it works. My wife and writing partner, Karen Blomain, is in Ireland, I'm in Mexico. Online, we both open MMS with the iPartner feature activated and then work on the same script concurrently, i.e., we see the same script in real time. As we write and edit the changes appear on both computers live and simultaneously. It's really hard to beat, Tom. And finally, for me there's the loyalty factor. MMSW has always been available to help when we needed it and coach us through new features as they were added; the iPartner a prime example. I won't deny there was a learning curve but it was minor.
Movie Outline sounds like a good, basic scriptwriting tool (although apparently most useful for establishing a matrix on which to hang the various aspects of a script).
So, that's pretty much it except for this: none of these programs will write the script for you.
Michael
Co-writer with Karen Blomain of AN AMERICAN WIFE
Comment by
tomcolvin
21 Jan 2010
For those following these comments, you may be interested to know that AN AMERICAN WIFE, the most recent play by Michael Downend [see comment above] and his wife Karen Blomain, is online at HEARTLAND PLAYS [http://heartlandplays.com/catalog.php\\] although not in its entirety. Most of it is there, however, should anyone want to read it sans the final scenes.
Thanks, Michael, for bringing this website to my attention. It will certainly be of interest to other scriptwriters.
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Comment by
WP Themes
1 Feb 2010
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