THUNDERCLAP82  I was very eager to try Montage and adopt it for my main screenwriting software. While the GUI design is nice and very Mac-like, there is one big problem with the software: page breaks. By that I mean when you are writing dialog in just runs onto the next page. Proper formatting would include the characters name as it re-organizes the page. Montage doesn't do this forcing you to do it manually. But then, if you make revisions, then there are extra page breaks and have to go through and clean it up all over again. It's very time consuming and not professional enough yet to justify making it your main screenwriting program.  
(Version 1.5.3)

CARLOS85  The speed of importing .txt files is much improved over previous versions, but does not retain formatting as nearly as well as Movie Magic Screenwriter 6. When importing a .txt file using the Screenwriter 6 template, extra lines are interspersed, ACTION text in ALL CAPS and SCENE HEADERS without INT./EXT. are converted to CHARACTER CUES, Centered text is moved to the left, ACTION lines between dialogue are formatted as dialogue. Using the Screenplay template for this same importing reduced the page count of a 116 page script to 97 pages. Action between dialogue was included in the above character cue's dialogue.

Importing .rtf yielded similar results. At this point it would be faster for me to retype a script from scratch than to import it from a text file into Montage.

Another thing:

Why does Montage treat FADE IN: as a scene header?  
(Version 1.5.2)

DAVID MUTNICK  After receiving numerous emails from Mariner Software urging me to act quickly to get their best price, I bought the program. 2 days later, it was already offered cheaper on MacUpdate. I emailed the company about this, feeling they were dishonest with their marketing. They couldn't care less. We're talking $10 here. You would think they would just refund the $10 to keep a customer happy. Instead, they were rude and didn't even offer an apology. Hey Logan Ryan..way to lose a customer and get some negative feedback over $10, you loser. All I wanted was to be treated like a valued customer.

So to sum up: Don't fall for their marketing BS. Don't expect this company to give a damn about you. Oh, the software? Spotty at best. Good for a beginner, crap for a pro.  
(Version 1.5.1)

TRENINO  Unforunatelly people do not seem to learn from their mistakes and I am one of them. I must say I am sold to the idea of an all around program that does everything... and I really love the full screen mode. but Alas! if I have to sacrifice the stability and integrity of my work. NO! NO! No!

I was not planning to write any more reviews as I really think that non-beginners can easily sea the shortcomings of montage.

One think I will just mention and I really wonder who puts all these stars in the ratings. It is full of bugs, bugs, bugs. I just lost hours of work because there is no auto save option... There is a backup option but this does not help when the software crashes.. and believe me it WILL crash. It crashed on me while I was performing the undo command, which surprise-surprise, is buggy as well. Try to use it and you have your "action" change to "character" and all the elements swinging around.

I am very angry with them but mostly with my self that trusted my working hours to montage and traded security with an inferior product.

By the way, synopses, outlines, treatments can so much easier and hassle free be created with apple's "pages" which are as smooth as silk.

when it comes to the script itself, perhaps the template pictures are fun to play with in the preferences, but in the end it is what you write that counts...

Also,I wonder why the praising review - below, has been posted on versiontracker with another alias?  
(Version 1.5.1)

ANTHONY HARMON  There are two main ways of breaking down Montage 1.5.1; first as a native Macintosh application, and second as a screenwriting application.

Under the first category, Montage is an excellent program. There are small areas where "fit and finish" need work, but these are small considerations compared to the overall stability and usefulness provided by the program. Unlike Final Draft 7, which STILL looks like an OS 9 application that has been left in the backyard to rust, Montage has all of the look and feel of what an OS X application should be.

Application menus are clear and concise, and the commands work like you would expect them to. Borrowing concepts like the "Snowflake Method" of building a story, the user is given a wide variety of informational inputs to collect and write his or her story with.

What gives Montage its most modern feel, is not the programming interface, a but a new paradigm in document and information collection; Conceptualization.

Conceptualization is where Montage's second great strength comes into play. Programs like Final Draft are the end stop for the writing process. There is no information collection, versioning or data input until the writer sets down to pen the script. With Montage, the entire process of collecting, sorting, prioritizing and enabling ideas is included into the writing process. While still outputting scripts that make the grade, the writer has so much more control and choice.

Among the best features:

Full screen editing with customizable viewing options

A wide variety of document input and viewing options; Script,Scene,Outline,Characters,Locations,Research,Tasks,Contacts,Queries,Synopsis,Title Page

Tab-access to all script elements

Several screenplay, teleplay and stage play template options for compatibility (Final Draft native and 17 other choices - even for the BBC!)

Export to 8 file formats

Import to all 18 templates

Complete element configuration

Scene navigation, keywording, annotations, A & B scripts, script lockoffs - scene numbering during production, Smart Views

Does not run on Windows!

One more thing...

The people at Mariner Software are exceeding helpful, kind and knowledgeable. You will not find that level of service from Final Draft in any way. In fact, try going through the activation process for Final Draft... not a fun experience.  
(Version 1.5.1)

DASEIN888  Sorry, forgot to rate...  
(Version 1.5.1)

DASEIN888  I have to agree with Trenino. I work as both a published novelist and produced screenwriter, and I've long looked for an alternative to Final Draft. I've tried both StoryMill and Montage, and constantly I am wishing features of StoryMill were integrated with Montage--and that they were a combined product.

StoryMill, of course, is an acquisition once called Avenir and so its development has a different legacy and comes from outside of Mariner's mindset.

The overall problem with both is that they constrain a very creative process and don't let a writer wiggle around within the software to find the 'sweet' spot. If StoryMill and Montage were combined, and if Montage were production-grade (as is Final Draft), then it would be a brilliant product. Nearly any writer would feel comfortable working within the product and not feel boxed in by predefined process.  
(Version 1.5.1)

POWERMACDADDY  Trenino: Not sure why, if Montage is so bad, you keep using it. And why you're comparing a screenwriting program with a novel-writing program puzzles me. Two different audiences.

Personally, I haven't had the issues you're describing, and think the 2-star rating you gave it is totally unfair.

I took a 1.2 document and went to 1.5.... no problems. Oh, and after I upgraded to 1.5 it opened a "Tutorial Monkey" tutorial file automatically. Have you even used 1.5?

Some other things that makes me wonder if you've even used Montage for longer than 5 minutes:

1) Annotations: apple-shift-A allows you to make a new annotation. no need for a button, no need to go to the menu. Nice for keeping your hands on the keyboard and writing rather than reaching for the mouse.

2) Keyword/tagging: Works well for me... apple-shift-T makes a new keyword/tag and it's displayed in the left-hand column. Again, it allows me to keep my hands on the keyboard and keep typing. I can sit back and enter 10 keywords rapid-fire as fast as I can type.

3) You claim that "Exporting is so unintuitive in Montage." Montage exports 1 thing and 1 thing only: THE SCRIPT. What's to check? What's unintuitive about that? You select Export, pick your file format and destination, and you're done. Oh, and it can read and write Final Draft format, which is a HUGE plus.

It seems to me that you are missing the fact that StoryMill is written for the workflow of a novelist, where Montage is written for the workflow of a screenwriter. Screenplays are typically much more rigid in their outline/structure than novels/stories tend to be. (Which is why most movie adaptations of books wind up changing parts of the book to make the movie version "screenplay friendly.") It seems to me that most of your gripes revolve around the fact that you think like a novelist, not a screenwriter, which is why StoryMill appeals to you more than Montage. Don't give a good product with a bright future a bad review because your workflow/method of thinking is different. Comparing Montage with StoryMill is like comparing TextEdit with TextWrangler... while both are full-featured, they each have a different target audience: one is a word processor, the other a text editor. Why don't you compare Montage with Final Draft?

Does Montage need some interface tweaks? Certainly. All programs do. But needing mere "tweaks" makes it worthy of 4 stars, not 2.  
(Version 1.5)

TRENINO  Indeed at this price one can only be harsh version 1.5 has not given any essential changes.

ONE VERY IMPORTANT THING FOR USERS:

Regardless of the various bugs and glitches of Montage(all versions), 1.5 brings with it a serious one:

Be sure to back up everything in an external word processor until this product becomes stable.

The file I was working on under version 1.4 when imported to 1.5 could not be opened. In fact it would open and the titles of things would be in place but ALL THE CONTENT WAS MISSING.

I was glad that I had not thrown away version 1.4. I had to open it in 1.4 and MANUALLY copy everything to a new project in 1.5.

---In a few words backwards compatibility has SERIOUS ISSUES.---

Do not get me wrong, I am spending my time here because I believe that Montage can become a great tool. In the level of the current development though it is a shame for Mariner to ask for money. This should be named public beta and be available free...

Still the same problems: Fullscreen not everywhere, windows do not open separately, glitchy etc.

In outline mode one can move things around but unknown why you can not move anything around in synopses, task, research location...

---In a few words... what is said in my previous review is still accurate---

I really do not know much from programming but it seems that if they start from scratch and put the screenplay+formatting algorithms to the Storymill user interface they might come up with something better.  
(Version 1.5)

LORD LIGHTNING  Perhaps comparisons of Montage should be made against the FREE celtx - which is still not at version 1.0 - rather than with FD (v7) or Screenwriter Pro (v6) - which are both very mature products.

http://pc.celtx.com/

What is pleasing about Montage is that its development trajectory points to some real value for money enhancements around version 2.  
(Version 1.5)

LEV  What a helpful comment.  
(Version 1.5)

TRENINO  Montage - A review and comparison to Storymill

I have been using the demo of Storymill for about a week writing my new project. Because it is a script I am working on there are things I am missing in it, although there are many nice features. I also downloaded the last version of Montage (1.4) to see if any developments have been made to it, since the last version I used, I did not like.

Although Storymill is for novels and Montage for scripts, they both target creative writers. As one of them I am making this comparison.

Surprisingly although Montage has been longer in the line-up of Mariner Software it is much less refined than Storymill. Here is a comparison:

1) The Progress meter feature lacks from Montage. Screenwriters need to keep track of their productivity as well.

2)User interface under Montage: The content in Research window and Task window cannot be moved around. It is automatically sorted. Besides that, when sorting by name, a very annoying thing happens. number 10 does not follow number 9, in order, but goes after number 1... Storymill on the other hand lets you move things around.

3)The double-clicking of content in Storymill makes it pop up on a separate window. It would really be useful for Montage too, which does not have that feature either.

4) Smart view is a great feature in both programs.

5)This is personal, but aesthetically the icons in Montage are not so nice as the ones in Storymill. Actually they look like OS9 icons..

6)Timeline which is only in Storymill, would be tremendously helpful for screenwriter using Montage as well.

7) Tagging in Storymill is like the “Add keyword” option in Montage, only in storymill it works better.

8) The beginners’ Tutorial in Storymill is a very nice extra that comes with the program. Again Montage lacks is it.

9) Full screen only works on script and scenes mode in Montage. Not in synopsis mode or any other. In storymill all windows can be viewed in full screen. And it is really nice to work on synopses or character profiles in full screen. This is a real shame.

10) Button for making annotations in storymill. In montage you have to go through the menu each time you want to make a note.

11)No option for deselecting the auto Backup. If you deselect it you cannot save your work at all.

12) Annotations can ONLY be made in script mode, not in synopsis, character, scene or other mode in Montage. Again in Storymill things are much better. ANnotations can be made on every mode.

The list goes on...

13) Exporting is so unintuitive in Montage. In Storymill you have a preview of exactly what is going to be exported and you can change it accordingly. In Montage you export first and then you check if you exported the right thing.

I am still finding more handicaps in montage the more I use it. It is really sad as it could have been developed to a very nice application.

As I said earlier Storymill is definitely much more refined than Montage. If you are a novelist you are lucky and good to go with Storymill. If on the other hand you are a script writer like me, then you you have to look elsewhere and definitely not spend the money for purchasing this version.

I would purchase anytime Storymill if it only had standard script formating and outline. On the other hand Montage compared to the Storymill features are very thin.

For the moment and my current project (which is a Feature Film) I will be using Storymill for Synopses, Characters, Research, Scene Ideas, and ONLY then I will go to Montage to write the script, but I might still prefer Final Draft until a better version of either Storymill or Montage comes out or even better if they would merge it in one application as it seems that Storymill and Montage are in fact one application cut in half and therefore crippled. You can download the Demos and see for yourselves.   
(Version 1.5b3)

SHADOW RAY  I was fed up with outdated FD 7 and disappointed that Screenwriter 6 was written in Realbasic so I decided to try this.

At first glance it looks great, however, this is basically useless for industry professionals in a production setting.

As per macworld's review, here's a list of what this can't do --track changes and drafts, lock pages and create production scripts-- all of which are a deal breaker for any script in production. And the final draft import function is extremely limited right now too, it can't even import scene #s.

You might be able to write a spec script here, and for that there are some innovations, but pros will still have to buy FD or Screenwriter to handle script revisions, both of which are only $30 more at Amazon. According to Mariner's forums some of these features will be added to version 2, but that will surely be a pricey paid upgrade. Buyer beware.  
(Version 1.4)

$IR M.  Fixed my own bug, only a few minutes later: if the "title page" length exceeds one page (as mine accidentally did -- I'm testing and pasted in some text), when you print, the app hangs before the print dialog box can appear, and you must force-quit.

I couldn't tell that there was more text that had scrolled off the bottom, since there's no way (?) to show invisibles!  
(Version 1.2.2)

$IR M.  I've checked various builds of Montage from time to time, and while overall it looks like a worthy endeavor which has improved steadily, it's not rock-solid just yet:

-- I can make it hang every time, by trying to print a *script* with "Include title page when printing" checked. (Note that printing the title page by itself works fine.)

-- its typography-intolerant RTF export eats smart quotes, em-dashes, ellipsises, and other common characters. (If you export as DOC, then open in TexEdit, save as RTF and re-import, the characters are preserved, so the problem isn't RTF itself.)

Overall, though, Montage looks great and I look forward to having more time to test it ...  
(Version 1.2.2)

MARINERMTG  This Full Screen mode issue has been fixed in 1.2.1. Give it a try.  
(Version 1.2.1)

JAIZON  I have to agree with Stevehops. Seems to work fine then just freezes for no reason. Can't do anyting with it when that happens. Won't even work on a restart. Have to dump it then start again. Too bad, looks nice but I'll wait as well. FD for me for now.

Anomy  
(Version 1.2)

STEVEHOPS  Not ready to be sold. I want to use this instead of Final Draft, but Montage crashes all the time on my Intel MacBook.

It also crashes when I go from full screen mode back to normal mode. In full screen mode, a very nice feature, you can't edit text (but you can add text at the end of the document).

Still in beta, so when they get the bugs out I'll buy it for sure. Lots of great features that should have been in Final Draft a long time ago.  
(Version 1.1.1b2)

UNEMPLOYEDWRITER@MAC.COM  I was loyal Final Draft user for approximately ten years and it took about five minutes with Montage to convert me.

The formatting is smart and easy. I use an industry standard "Cole and Haag" format for my writing. It was painstaking to set this up in Final Draft. In Montage... it's already there. The outling and character sections are essential to my writing process.

I used to make suggestions to the Final Draft staff to add organizational tools such as tasks/contact database/locations database and other features that would not only help to write my projects, but also help to track and market them.

Montage does all of this, effectively, intuitively and it's a pleasure to use.  
(Version 1.1b2)

RADDLE  Got to love anything that has the potential to free us from the hell that is Final Draft. Montage needs a lot of work still, but let's hope it gets it. In its current state - and to stand any chance of making inroads on FD's market lock - it maybe should be priced more at the fifty bucks level...  
(Version 1.0.1r2)

CRYPT  *sigh* this look amazingly better than Final Draft, UI and feature wise. Unfortunately it's way too pricey for a student, WriteRoom it is.  
(Version 1.0.1)

MAXRUEHL  It's nice to see someone trying to compete with FInal Draft, but this program appears to have a ways to go. I tried importing from FD and Montage screwed up the pagination. Even if it weren't required that it maintain the exact page count (which ideally it would), I can't imagine any instance in which it would be acceptable for a page break to occur between a character's name and his dialogue.

Also, why, in the auto-completion of scene headings, when I want to use "NIGHT" and type "N" does the box come up hilighting "DAY"? If I continue typing "NIGHT" it auto-completes as "DAYI", selecting DAY and adding the "I" from "NIGHT" on the end. Screwy behavior.

Keep working on it guys--looks like you might have something here. Good luck.  
(Version 1.0.1)

SANJINKO  Before spending money on this software, try also this free alternative:

Celtx 0.9.72

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19246  
(Version 1.0.1b3)

THEALLSEER  The program has a lot of potential and I'm very excited to see two programs really giving a go at this market that has been under the thumb of Final Draft for so many bug-filled, not-working-properly years.

The problem with Montage though, is that it's closest competition (which this program bears a striking resemblance to) is Celtx. Which happens to be free and does nearly everything Montage currently does, even a few extra things that it doesnt. The subtle differences between the two doesnt warrant the $139 price tag in my eyes. So I'm happy to say that I'm sticking with Celtx until Montage has some feature I just have to use.

Keep up the good work though. Competition is a great thing.  
(Version 1.0)

HIGHINDUSTRIAL  Autocompletion of scene headings is still buggy -- sometimes leading to typos like "EX.T" -- among other issues.  
(Version 1.0b10)

WZRDJR  Impressive first start. Could be a serious contender for taking the crown away from Final Draft, at least for Mac users. However, in order to do that, it needs to import AND EXPORT final draft files seamlessly. That's the current industry standard and you gotta place nice with the other kids in the sandbox. At least right now.  
(Version 1.0b7)

MARSVIOLET  Most impressive. Quick and fully featured, and does things Final Draft still can't do after 10+ years. And cocoa no less! Très cool.  
(Version 1.0b7)

HIGHINDUSTRIAL  It has the potential to be the long sought-after "Final Draft-killer" but it needs to be a lot tighter in its formatting capabilities. Its autotext abilities are buggy at the moment, and the disparity between what's shown onscreen and what's printed out needs to be resolved. A Cocoa app that renders scripts impeccably is sorely needed in general. I hope Montage becomes precisely that. If the developers want to entice FD users, the transition ought to be as seamless as possible, rather than idiosyncratic. (I don't really care for Movie Magic Screenwriter either, but its formatting is also top-shelf for the most part.)  
(Version 1.0b7)

GREG RAVEN  I haven't given this a complete work-out, but I tried importing a screenplay from MS Word in RTF format. It lost all the formating, which isn't too surprising, but it really, really resists holding even its own format. I can see how it might be useful if it worked as advertised, but for $99, I'll continue to use Word to get almost the same results with about the same level of effort.  
(Version 1.0b7)