FINAL DRAFT SCRIPTWRITER’S SUITE > SCRIPTS MADE SIMPLE

Everyone has a story to tell, but is yours good enough for a movie, TV series or documentary? Stage plays, movies, audiovisual scripts, and television episodes have their own unique writing style and format. If the format is not correct or a few sneaky spelling errors pop up, no matter how great the play or movie plot, your hard work will land in the trash pile.

Luckily for beginning and experienced screenwriters, there is Final Draft Scriptwriter’s Suite with Final Draft v7 and Final Draft AV v2.5. Both software programs downloaded seamlessly to an Apple Mac Book Pro. Systems requirements state both programs require Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later, power PC G3 to G5 or an Intel-based processor, 128-256 MB of RAM, and 35-50 MB of available hard drive space.

It’s worth the time to take a play- or scriptwriting course, and purchase a how –to book However, if you have a story burning in your brain, Final draft helps guide you to unleash your passion. There are many supportive features in this program, and a few are highlighted in this review.

In Final Draft, different script templates are provided for laying out plays, movies and television formats. Help is provided with a PDF and hard copy user manual. If you’re really stumped, there is the “Ask the Expert” Interactive problem solver. Open a new file, and note the well –laid-out, self-directing word processing tool bar. At the bottom of the page is the nifty Status Bar that identifies whether you are inserting a heading, action, scene, introduction, character dialogue, etc. Simple, yet very important Continues and Mores can be automatically inserted.

Final Draft allows importing of other scripts, saving time to not retype material. Text to Speech allows the writer to choose different voices for live script readings. The Panels Systems offers the script to be viewed as index cards, in split screens, or multiple panels under the main screen. And Format Assistant can search and alert for errors before printing and submission. Commands and functions on the Production menu help alleviate potential production problems. Final Draft also allows collaborative writers to compare, edit and discuss scripts in real time over the internet. Final Draft Tagger is included, which assists breaking down the script into a shooting schedule format, saving time and money.

Final Draft AV is full scriptwriting software for professional writers of commercials, corporate or training videos, documentaries and presentations. This program simplifies the process, by providing a table format with an organized menu bar. It eliminates the scriptwriter’s headache of aligning columns, and allows writers to tailor their script layout. Columns and scenes stay aligned throughout typing. Video text can dragged and dropped in sequence with audio text, allowing scenes to be reordered. Layouts can be modified and saved as templates for future use. Scripts can be laid out in three different formats (audio visual, radio and linear script). With Apple Keynote (purchased separately), script text can be exported into a visual slide presentation.

Both programs provide 24/7 support with Online Knowledge Base, and are 100% cross-platform for Windows and Mac users. Final Draft and Final Draft AV allow online script registry with the Writer’s Guild of America. For both programs, free online demos are provided at <finaldraft.com>. Final Draft AV v2.5 is now available and discounted for Version 2 users. You have one in a million shot that a Hollywood script reader gives the thumbs up. With Scriptwriter’s Suite, this software provides tools to make your story shine.