A tale of two columns
Script formatting gets simple with Final Draft AV upgrade

Since the advent of the computer and the word processor, people thought they had it easy with writing AV scripts. You could make changes somewhat easily (once you had the template), but if you were making any major revisions, you were in for a rude awakening. Enter Final Draft AV version 2.5, software that makes script composition -- and the inevitable edits that come with it -- far more manageable.

Released last fall, Final Draft AV 2.5 includes PC and Mac versions on the same CD-ROM. It retails for $199 (or $49 for registered users of previous versions), and you can download a demo from the Final Draft Web site. The company also offers a Hollywood-style scriptwriting version that I won't be reviewing here because it's more for feature-length scripts. Final Draft AV is formatted for exactly what I do: two-column scripts with camera shots and audio clearly marked on separate sides.

Start Typing
The disc loaded in my Sony Vaio laptop in less than a minute. I watched the brief video tutorial included on the CD-ROM. Basically a PowerPoint presentation, it explained all of Final Draft AV's capabilities. The manual is easy to read and includes another tutorial. After watching the demo, I began writing a script for the local chamber of commerce.

When you click on the icon to activate the program, your template appears on the screen. I appreciate this because when I used Microsoft Word I had to create a two-column table that would constantly need to be changed. Invariably I would forget to enter the client information on the top and have to re-create my table. Then, if I was in the video column and had to move to the audio column, it took forethought.

Final Draft AV opens with a window of keyboard shortcuts. Simply enter your information for agency, client, project title, etc., and that information will appear on the top of the first page. Each subsequent numbered page begins with the video and audio columns. Every person working on the project, as well as number, contact info, and more can be included.

The menu bar at the top of the page is similar to Word. Under View, you can choose from a variety of layouts for AV, radio, or linear scripts. Most helpful is the Insert Menu offerings -- video description, character, dialogue, parenthetical, and new scene -- each of which corresponds to a keyboard shortcut for quick access.

Script formatting was mundane and time consuming in Word, but selecting "video description" puts a small dash outside of the video column where you can type in your shot. "Character" moves you to the audio column and capitalizes and underlines anything you type (NARRATOR). "Dialogue" enters any dialog into the audio column, while "parenthetical" puts whatever words you type in parentheses (he gasped).

If you misspell anything, Final Draft AV will underline it in red (just like Microsoft Word). A spell checker and thesaurus is also included. You may also change the font and case size at will, but it's nice to know that Final Draft AV will do it all for you. You can even left, right, and center justify.

Easy Edits
The icing on the cake comes in two layers. First, you can make any changes, additions, or deletions in either column -- and just like an NLE program, the software aligns everything. If you were adding another paragraph to a particular shot, just type in as many words as you wish and the video column makes space accordingly. The same holds true if you decide to delete something; the open spaces close so everything fits.

The truly tasty new feature, however, is Rearrange Guide Line, which lets you drag and drop a video shot or audio line and have it align with its corresponding action. For example, suppose you had a line of dialogue you wanted "re-arranged." Simply highlight that audio with your mouse, drag that section across the vertical divider line and a nifty blue line appears. Drag the audio between some text in the video column. The blue line even allows you to split your shot between words. When you release the mouse, a new shot is created at the point you determined.

If you've ever written a script for a picky client, you know how often the video or audio elements need to be changed. With Final Draft AV, I no longer mind making changes because it does not have to be a reformatting war. You now have the ability to write any kind of script, and the software allows you to do it easily with a less than five-minute learning curve.

If all this weren't enough, you can also send your script to a prompter without reconverting (another new feature for version 2.5). Plus, you can save your script as a PDF, rich text, or a myriad of other options.

If you do any kind of AV writing, you need a software program that allows you to spend your time writing the script, not worrying about making changes. All of the formatting issues have been handled; I will no longer have to fight with Word when trying to incorporate changes. You can even register your script with the Writers Guild if you click on that option.

In the past, once a video project had been completed, the "final" script often didn't match the final product. A worn script, full of handwritten notations, would be the most accurate copy. On a few government projects I have worked on, the clients required a final copy of the script that reflected exactly what the video contained. I actually had to go back and re-type the scripts using my previous Word document and my handwritten notes so that it exactly matched the video. Now, it's easy to turn in a pristine copy with the video because the script is already in Final Draft AV.

Chuck Gloman is an awarding-winning producer/director of photography with more than 800 commercials to his credit, and is a member of the faculty of DeSales University. Contact him at chuck.gloman@desales.edu.