HOLLYWOOD DREAMS IN A BOX; SCRIPT SOFTWARE LETS WRITERS CUT TO CHASE.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer FADE IN: (Music is The Beatles' ``Paperback Writer.'') INT: The Writers Computer Store in Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. , an almost sterile facility with high, open ceilings. Blond wooden bookcases neatly stocked with Adj. 1. stocked with - furnished with more than enough; "rivers well stocked with fish"; "a well-stocked store" stocked furnished, equipped - provided with whatever is necessary for a purpose (as furniture or equipment or authority); "a furnished apartment"; how-to books and shrink-wrapped software Refers to store-bought software, implying a standard platform that is widely supported. line the brick walls, which are festooned with movie posters signed by screenwriters This is a list of screenwriters: A–F
Written text that provides the basis for a film production. Screenplays usually include not only the dialogue spoken by the characters but also a shot-by-shot outline of the film's action. . Lookie Lou and several other customers are also in the store. Lookie Lou approaches Mason. LOOKIE LOU Hi, whatcha buying? BRUCE Some support software stuff, like story boarding. LOOKIE LOU So, you're a screenwriter? BRUCE Yeah, I'm getting ready to make a short movie. LOOKIE LOU Use any screenwriting software Screenwriting software applications are word processors specialized to the task of writing screenplays. The need for such programs arises from the presence of certain peculiarities in standard screenplay format which are not handled well by generic word processors. for your short movie? BRUCE Scriptware. Had it for three years. LOOKIE LOU Like it? BRUCE Yeah. It seems to format what we're going to do. Like a lot of stuff in Hollywood, when it comes to screenplays, form comes before substance. And in the business of screenwriting, formatting, like that above, can count as much as substance. Oh sure, the words on the computer screen are vitally important because without them there are no characters, action or story. But for the story to make its way in front of the right people, those that buy the scripts, the story must be in the right form. A cottage industry cottage industry: see sweating system. in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, makes sure form is followed, turning personal computers into screenplay formatting machines. The companies in the segment are small - the largest, Burbank-based Screenplay Systems Inc., has 36 employees - and privately held so they do not report financial results. Most, though, say sales have been steadily increasing. The programs go back to the early 1980s - Screenplay Systems Scriptor, one of the first tools, was created 15 years ago. It is considered the grandfather of the screenwriting programs and in 1995 the company won a special achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for developing it. Company President Stephen Greenfield, a screenwriter himself, helped write the program. ``Writing software is a lot like writing a screenplay. It takes the same kind of creativity. You are the master of your domain and you decide what will happen within that software universe,'' Greenfield said. There are about six screenwriting programs on the market from a handful of companies that make up the segment. Prices range from about $149 to $400. These companies also make specialized software for budgeting, scheduling and story analysis. Some examples: Final Draft (screenwriting), Dramatica (story analysis), Movie Magic Scheduling (shooting schedules), Production Manager (script breakdown, props, etc.) and the 1996/1997 Industry Labor Guide (who gets paid what for doing all the behind-the-scenes work). Put them on one hard drive, and a budding budding, type of grafting in which a plant bud is inserted under the bark of the stock (usually not more than a year old). It is best done when the bark will peel easily and the buds are mature, as in spring, late summer, or early autumn. screenwriter can look like a full-fledged studio. Marc Madnick, president of B.C. Software in Mar Vista, whose company created Final Draft, said the software developers are akin to toolmakers of a previous century. ``In (the California Gold Rush  The California Gold Rush 1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill. of) 1849, the only ones that were making money were the ones selling picks and shovels. Well, we sell the picks and shovels,'' he said. Tarzana resident Bob Koster, a movie producer for 35 years, is selling the tools withAout even opening a storefront. He sells all of the software via an Internet site, taking orders from customers, passing the information along to vendors and collecting the cash. ``It's just me and my computer,'' he said of the business. ``I don't keep any stock here and no money from the client ever passes through my hands. The vendors do the actual sales and I take a commission.'' There are basically two types of screenwriting software. Programs like ScriptWizard are add-ons that turn Microsoft Word A full-featured word processing program for Windows and the Macintosh from Microsoft. Included in the Microsoft application suite, it is a sophisticated program with rudimentary desktop publishing capabilities that has become the most widely used word processing application on the market. into a full-service script processing program. It supports major formats for feature films, sitcoms  The perspective and/or examples in this article do not represent a world-wide view. Please [ edit] this page to improve its geographical balance. , radio, soaps and interactive CD-ROMs.
The others, like Final Draft, ScriptThing and MovieMagic Screenwriter, include self-contained word processors and tools like index cards so scripts can be charted scene-by-scene to make editing easier. Madnick, who joined B.C. Software in 1991, says these kinds of programs make the life of a screenwriter easier because the formatting is controlled by the Tab and Enter keys rather than having to manually set margins, tabs and capitalizations. ``It looks and feels like, say, Microsoft Works An integrated software package for Windows and the Macintosh from Microsoft. It provides file management with relational-like capabilities, word processing, spreadsheet, business graphics and communications capabilities in one package. but it's a word processor designed for writing scripts,'' he said of Final Draft. ``You can try to write a screenplay on Microsoft Works, but you would probably commit suicide Verb 1. commit suicide - kill oneself; "the terminally ill patient committed suicide" kill - cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays" , what with all the rules and formats and stuff.'' These tools won't put words on the screen but they do take the drudgery out of the pursuit of that elusive, lucrative sale. How lucrative? Selling a feature-length film, which is typically 120 pages long, brings a $85,000 minimum paycheck, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is a term often referring to the joint efforts of the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, west. Jointly, the two guilds act as the collective bargaining representative, or labor union, for writers in the motion picture and . And a sale brings automatic membership into the guild, where the initial fee is $2,500 and annual dues total 1.5 percent of each members' gross earnings. But the software developers aren't targeting the guild's members, all of whom have already written for film or television and probably have software programs. No, the software companies are targeting the countless thousands of dreamers across the country working on a screenplay. For example, about 35,000 screenplays are registered with the guild each year. ``From what I understand, screenwriting software is very widely used among screenwriters. Most of our members have computers and most of those are using some form of specialized software,'' said Chuck Slocum, the guild's director of special projects. The software isn't just for formatting. It can also help those with a severe dose of writers block. Screenplay Systems Dramatica Pro won't think for fledgling screenwriters but it can act like a writing partner, posing a series of questions to help get the story back on track, said co-creator Chris Huntley. ``It makes you think about things in your story that you have not thought about before,'' said Huntley. ``It tracks the story as a whole as well as a chain of events. If you change something about your character it will let you know that it will affect the action.'' Web leads way to test-driving options Got a screenplay roiling around inside your head and confused about which formatting software to purchase? Most of it is available in cyberspace Coined by William Gibson in his 1984 novel "Neuromancer," it is a futuristic computer network that people use by plugging their minds into it! The term now refers to the Internet or to the online or digital world in general. See Internet and virtual reality. Contrast with meatspace. , which means you can give it a test drive before you buy. The software companies, retailers like the Writers Computer Store in Santa Monica and organizations like the Writers Guild of America all have Web sites that can get you to where you have to go to download demo versions 1. demo version - An early, barely-functional version of a program which can be used for demonstration purposes as long as the operator uses *exactly* the right commands and skirts its numerous bugs, deficiencies, and unimplemented portions. 2. of the products. Here's a look at some of them: The guild's site (www.wga.org) offers some software reviews and links to places like the Writers Computer Store. Santa Monica's Writers Computer Store can be found at www.writerscomputer.com. The salespeople sales·peo·ple pl.n. Persons who are employed to sell merchandise in a store or in a designated territory. there are computer savvy and will provide support after you purchase products. About 35 software products are available. ScriptPerfection Enterprises in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. markets ScriptThing at www.screenwritersutopia.com. Kenny Schaefer, the founder, is a screeAnwriter whose credits include television shows like ``The Munsters'' and ``Star Trek  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. , the Next Generation.''
Self-preservation motivated him to write his software.
``I just got frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: with the software that was available. It didn't meet my needs as the coordinator of the project or as a writer,'' he said. Screenplay Systems Dramatica Pro can be previewed at www.well.com/user/dramatic. Screenplay Systems executives say more than 85 percent of the last year's Oscar nominations went to productions using the company's software. B.C. Software Inc. is at www.bcsoftware.com. The company also has a toll free number, (800) 231-4055. Tarzana resident Bob Koster sells software through his company, Starcomp, at www.leonardo.net/starcomp, soon to be changing to www.starcomp.net. Starcomp sells all commercially available software writing and production products at a 10 percent discount. CAPTION(S): Photo, box Photo: Screenplay Systems President Stephen Greenfield, left, and Vice President Chris Huntley show film-format software. Evan Yee/Daily News Box: Web leads way to test-driving options (see text) |
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