Screenwriting Software Buyer's Guide

What is screenplay format?All screenplays, whether a student low-budget short film or a Hollywood blockbuster, are written with the same particular format that has existed for many decades. This format dictates spacing, capitalization, and page count requirements that standardize screenplays for production and filming purposes. Whether your screenplay is written with a homemade Microsoft Word template or a professional program like Final Draft 8 or Movie Magic Screenwriter, the final product must meet Hollywood 's standards.

If you'd like to learn more about screenplay format, we have a free article How to Format a Screenplay on our website. Otherwise, we recommend the excellent book by Dave Trottier The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script.

Professional Screenwriting SoftwareThe "professional" category includes Final Draft 8 and Movie Magic Screenwriter. These two programs are used by probably 99% of Hollywood films and television shows. They are also used almost exclusively in major film schools like USC, UCLA, and NYU.

Remember that screenwriting software has two purposes. The first purpose is to help you write a properly formatted screenplay. The second purpose is to turn your words into action. Your screenplay will start out as a spec script but eventually must be turned into a shooting script for film production. Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter 6 are the only programs that integrate all drafts (including revisions) with professional production software such as scheduling, budgeting, storyboarding, and editing software.

The many pros of Final Draft 8 and Movie Magic Screenwriter are that they're professionally designed; continually updated to studio and industry standards; they offer many templates besides just screenwriting (including TV, stage play, graphic novels, treatments, and novels); they provide professional technical support; and they work equally well on PCs and Macs.

The cons of course are that these are professionally priced products. The list price for both these products are above $200 although we have special offers on both Final Draft 8 and Movie Magic Screenwriter for our ScreenStyle customers. And students can always get a slightly better deal.

"Indie" Screenwriting SoftwareThere is a second category which we'll call the "prosumer or independent" screenwriter category. These niche programs are not widely adopted yet throughout Hollywood but they're gaining popularity. Some of these programs have unique features found nowhere else. And they tend to be a little cheaper so they have started to be adopted throughout more high schools and universities. These programs include Montage for Mac and Movie Outline. I will also put Scriptware in this category. Scriptware is still an excellent program but has not been updated for many years so it's a little long in the tooth. Still, many screenwriters swear by it.

For many years, Microsoft Word templates were very popular for screenwriters. We still sell Script Werx. However, Microsoft disabled certain features of Microsoft Word when it released Vista in 2007. Therefore, these programs no longer work if you're running Vista or Max OS 10.5.

If you're attracted to the interface or a specific feature in one of these screenwriting software programs then, by all means go for it. When you hit "Print", your script will still be formatted perfectly.

10. What's the difference between the download version and the shipped version?The short answer is there is no difference. After all, software on a CD is the exact same digital file that you can download to your computer. The obvious reason to download software is you can be writing immediately. Some people prefer to receive the boxed version because they don't like to download software, want a CD for backup purposes, or are giving the software as a gift. At ScreenStyle, you don't have to choose. You can choose a Download + Ship version with Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter.

If you've never downloaded software before, then we recommend you buy the Shipped version so you can receive all the installation instructions and the CD.

Downloadable versions are available for Movie Magic Screenwriter, Final Draft, and Movie Outline. We do not sell the downloadable version for any other.

9. Can you recommend one for me?Obviously we recommend Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter as the professional options. But, seriously, if your budget is limited or you're just writing for fun with no plans to produce or sell your script then check out some of the web-based options described above. Some are even free. You can also write your script in Word and then import it later into Final Draft or Screenwriter even if the formatting isn't perfect.

If you have a writing or producing partner that already uses a particular brand of screenwriting software, then seriously consider using the same one. Both Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter have collaborative functions that allow writing partners to work in real time over the internet with a private chat function. You can be in different countries and time zones and still work together. But you and your writing partner must be using the same software.

6. Can someone who doesn't have my screenwriting program still read my script?In most cases, yes. All the programs we sell will let you save your program as a TEXT or a Word file. And all the programs we sell will open a TEXT or Word file into a screenplay. So you can write your script in Final Draft, save it as a TEXT file, send it to a friend with Screenwriter, and he can then open the script in Screenwriter. Final Draft and Screenwriter will also export your scripts to Adobe PDF format so anyone can read it in perfect format.

Unless you have specific production purposes, there is no reason to ever purchase more than one screenwriting software program. You can always import and export files back and forth.

5. On how many computers can I install the software?Most software companies require you to activate your software before you can fully use it. Final Draft allows you to activate the program on two (2) computers at one time. Movie Magic Screenwriter allows you to activate the program on three (3) computers at one time. You can always deactivate one of these computers at anytime and you will have a new activation to apply to another computer. Activation can be done online or over the phone.

Movie Outline also allows you two (2) simultaneous activations. Scriptware, Scriptware, and Montage do not limit the number of activations.

If calamity strikes, we will work with you to replace your software the best we can. If your hard drive crashes, you can contact the manufacturer with your information and they will help you. However, in all cases, you should do three things: 1. Keep a copy of your receipt. 2. Register the program with the manufacturer. 3. Keep multiple copies of your customer and serial numbers. Doing these three things will save you a lot of time and headaches if your computer is kidnapped by Martians.

4. Do you offer academic discounts?Yes. We have special academic/student/military pricing on Final Draft, Movie Magic Screenwriter, and Movie Outline. To get your discount, you must provide us proof of academic/military status by faxing us a copy of your id/registration/schedule to 419-793-2305 or emailing us a scan. We need this proof before we can finish your order; we need to provide proof to the manufacturer so we get our discount.

Currently, there is no difference between the Academic version and the Full version.

1. Will Screenwriting Software teach me to write a screenplay?Not really. No more than buying a guitar will make you Jimi Hendrix. These programs are tools but they are just a tool. It's up to you to use it. We still recommend that you take a class, read up online, read some screenwriting books, and even join a writing group.

Now having said that, Movie Magic Screenwriter does come with a Michael Hauge template called The Six Stages Plot Structure. Michael is a screenwriting teacher and author of Writing Screenplays for Hollywood. This template gives you invaluable advice on screenplay structure. Movie Outline is a wonderful step outlining program that comes with a lot of screenwriting instruction. And Final Draft has an Ask the Expert section that makes it easy answer questions while you're writing.

We have built our business on our value-added bundles exclusive to ScreenStyle. In addition to just the software, our bundles including training CDs, screenwriting DVDs, audio CDs, magazines, script supply kits, and other screenwriting tools. These packages are available nowhere else and one reason why we are one of the top sellers of Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter in the entire world.