Yeah, the voice thing is really helpful.  

Martin's point is good as well, however...those "reports" have become invaluable.  I'm really quite pleased with FD.  

I used the report and it told me something that I never knew about my own series, the character Kenny is basically the character who carries the epsiodes.

In my head Jason was always the main character but if I were to believe the reports (Which why wouldn't I) he talks about 40 times per episode and Jason may talk a third of that if even that.

Thanks Mabuse, that's a very telling little tool.

Yeah, it's great. The best feature IMO.

I just looked at the reports function. That's pretty cool as well. It confirmed what I already knew about Initiation...Zechariah carries the film and David whines a lot...and I mean A LOT.

The cast report gives a nice overview and a place to start on figuring out which cast members to mess with. I'm sure "all of them" is the right answer, but for some reason, I don't feel like digging into Townsperson 1's single, solitary line. I'm glad this little program makes for a tool beyond just formatting.

Final Draft vs. Movie Magic Screenwriter

Rivalries in Hollywood aren't limited to studio heads. Two major screenwriting programs, Write Brothers Movie Magic Screenwriter  and Final Draft's namesake product, have been playing a game of one-upmanship for years. The most recent versions offer the best feature sets yet, and they both run in Mac OS X. The laundry list of features common to both Final Draft 7.1 and Screenwriter 4.7 is extensive. Both include standard script templates for TV and film; script-to-PDF output; extensive and easy-to-use formatting assistance; import from other applications; quick-type lists for frequently used words, such as names, scene slugs, or locations; embedded script notes; text-to-speech; index-card view; Internet collaboration; and production features, including scene breakdowns and character lists.

Each program also has exclusive features that the other lacks. Final Draft's big one is an ’Ask The Expert with Syd Field’ help area, based on Syd Field's popular screenwriting books, that works as an automated script doctor. Screenwriter’s exclusives are more production-centric and are heavily integrated with Write Brothers other products (such as Movie Magic Scheduling), shooting and revision reports, and password protection. Though Screenplay has more features overall than Final Draft, the real difference between these two applications lies in the execution of their common features - and what a difference it is.

It has been argued that Final Draft's dialogs, menus, and icons look right at home in the Mac interface, while Movie Magic Screenwriter  feels more like a Windows port.  Movie Magic Screenwriters interface possesses a preferences window and onscreen menus full-to-the-brim with options and provide many customization opportunities, such as assigning functions to menu commands. Final Draft's preferences window offers less than a dozen options, with all the feature-specific ones integrated into the menus. Some users might find this limiting, but others will enjoy being able to start writing without having to master complex options.

Basic functionality, including auto-formatting for different types of screenplays, automatically switching between elements (dialog, action, and character), and industry-standard page breaks (mores and continues), are virtually identical in both applications. Both programs can also import old scripts from Microsoft Word format  in either RFT or ASCII text and let you collaborate over the Internet, provided you and your writing partner use the same program.

Choosing between the two comes down to two things: the feel of the application and whether you're a working screenwriter (meaning others actually pay you to write and then shoot the film themselves). Writers who deliver scripts to mainstream studios, or independent producers with the intention of also shooting their own work, are better off with the added production features and customizability of Movie Magic Screenwriter. Writers who work on spec or who primarily submit scripts to contests or readers will probably feel more comfortable working in Final Draft.

If you ever write a masterpiece SPEC script and the producer asks for a latest draft to be sent via an email attachment then I would choose Movie Magic Screenwriter because invariably the producer will be using Movie Magic and can make notes, production breakdowns directly in your screenplay from within the program itself – Final Draft is unable to do that.

Movie Magic Screenwriter and Final Draft are both excellent programs and either one can handle most script-writing needs.  If anything, Movie Magic Screenwriter has the edge and it does appear a lot more of Hollywood professionals are beginning to use it. Even the ‘Project Greenlight’ screenplay competition, sponsored by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, request that screenplays be submitted and uploaded in Movie Magic Screenplay file format.

If anybody on SimplyScript boards would like their screenplay formatted in Movie Magic Screenwriter and or Final Draft, if you do not have these programs then get in touch with me and I'll do this for you. I'll also print the screenplay to PDF format from Movie Magic for you too.. I would send all these file formats back to you as an attachment.. Just email me..

Working demos are available to download for both programs for both PC and MAC at the addresses below..

FINAL DRAFT
http://www.finaldraft.com/

MOVIE MAGIC SCREENWRITER
http://www.screenplay.com/products/index.html
http://store.write-bros.com/Default.aspx

I'm working on a feature script in Final Draft 7. Occasionally, I write on my work computer which only has MS Word installed. When I save from FD to RTF and open it in Word, my script ends up between 10 and 20 pages longer.

I use the default settings in FD7 and I assume this is correct. When I open it in word, the format looks fine, but it's just a lot longer.

Right now, when I open my first act in MS word, it's 45 pages as opposed to 29 in FD. Which is the more accurate (page per minute) length? I assume it's FD.

Anyone else have this problem? It really screws up my act breaks.

I usually create PDF from MS Word (due to the huge file sizes in FD) so this will seriously alter the length of my script.

The exact thing happens to me (including the "writing at work" part  ) It seems that the page count increases because page margins get changed when saving to RTF, but I´m not sure.

Other thing I noticed is that page numbers dissapear when saving to rtf.

Yeah, the page number thing is annoying.

Since posting, I've discovered that the discrepancy is due to the font change. If you open your script in FD and change the font from 'Courier Final Draft' to "Courier New' you'll get the same extended page count as in MS Word.

That doesn't really solve my problem though. I want the script shorter not longer. I guess the answer is to download 'Courier Final Draft' font for MS Word.

I'll look into it.

Problem solved. Download the demo of Final Draft and it adds Courier Final Draft to your font folder.

It happened to me. I did without I know!

I'm prob being retarded...but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to save the title page in Final Draft with the rest of my document.  I can open the title page...I fill it out hit save...close it...open and go to to the title page which is blank with the defaults in it.

Anyone else have this problem...or figure it out?

thanks in advance

Jaykur

I know how to do this in Final Draft 7.1, which is to open the title page and fill it out like you already know how to do. Once you're done, you hit file>close, which will close the title page, and then save it. If you are just going from window to window saving your file without closing the title page, it won't save it.

Had exactly the same problem in the beginning until I dug through the help file for a little while.

Thanks George...appreciate it.

Yep, George is right.. You have to save it..

Once you've created the "title page" and clicked "close" then save it as the script file with it's title as a file name and the script will contain the title page for you..

Here's what the help file says:

Title Page
Displays the Title Page template.



This template was developed from guidelines published by the Writers Guild of America.

The Title Page is a Text Document, with most menu commands available including File > Print.

Edit the template's information to include all the information desired for the current script.

When File > Print is chosen there is an option to also include the Title Page at the same time. Default is disabled.


When File > Save As PDF is chosen there is an option to also include the Title Page at the same time. Default is enabled. To have the Title Page excluded, see (Windows) Tools > Options > Document or (Mac OS) File Menu > Preferences.

When edits to the Title Page are done:

Choose File > Close (there is no File > Save function).

Note: When the script is saved the Title Page is saved, too.

I have FD7 and I'm pretty sure there's a bug which means if you save to RTF you get no page numbers and no title page. I'm yet to find a way around it other than manually adding it in MS Word. If you save to PDF you get a title page but the file is 3mb. Admittedly I dont have any patches for the software, but I'm happy to say I didnt pay for it either. For the price they charge, it's buggy as hell and there isn't much support for the paying customers.