Script Studio

This app is simply tremendous. It's made the process of outlining and writing a screenplay or novel not just straightforward, but fun! It's intuitiveness allows you to focus on the toughest part - crafting the best possible story and getting it on to the page. Highly recommended to anyone who's serious about a career in writing.

I just updated to 1.0.3 and it works fine for me so I have no idea why the other reviewer is having so many problems. I will comment on his review separately. For me the in-update install was very smooth and prefer that kind of update rather than the ones were you have to go to the website for a full download etc. I'm now giving it five stars because I have finished my spec and found the whole experience to be very positive. I ended up working in Night Mode most of the time (even during the day) because it helped me focus without screen glare. I think the Scratch Pad was extremely helpful, especially to store different versions of scenes and dialogue. Storing them there when I was being indecisive stopped me from procrastinating which is something I tend to do. I am now getting some friends to read the script but expect to do a rewrite soon and it will be interesting to see how that process works in comparison to working on your first draft.

Well it's at 1.0.3 and I keep getting crash after crash and it throws post-crash Exception notices. It is just not a reliable writing app yet. Still blanks out when going from Story Arc to Character Spotlight. So much promise and so little delivery. I live in hope. Just not useable yet.

I purchased Script Studio a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd give my two cents. This is my first time using screenwriting software but I did try a few demos of other apps incuding Final Draft, Fade In and Scrivener. $200 bucks is a hefty price tag so I wanted to be sure the program was right for me before buying it and I'm pleased to say that so far it has met my expectations and more.

Let me start by explaining that what works for one writer does not necessarily work for another and that this is just my personal opinion. The features I like might be the features another writer doesn't so please do what I did and try various apps and also with a working project. That's the key because just trying a demo without a focus doesn't really give you a true insight into its pros and cons. I was working on a new feature spec and used this to trial Script Studio.

Aside from all the superficial stuff (like the design and icons etc) what was important to me was the story planning and the formatting. Don't get me wrong, it's actually very pleasing on the eye, especially the Night Mode option but that kind of thing doesn't concern me.

So I managed to create a beat by beat outline of my story very quickly using Script Studio's outlining feature which basically lets you create each story beat chronologically and then gives you the ability to move them around as needed either by drag and drop in the outline list or in the index card feature the software calls "Step Cards".

This for me was the primary differential between Script Studio and those other apps I mentioned, especially Final Draft which was slightly more expensive than Script Studio. They only let you outline by "scenes" and planning a story outline before writing the script is almost possible but not really. At least, not the way I like to do it.

I will say that Scrivener is probably the better of the other apps I tried in terms of features for writers and having the ability to collate notes, ideas and research but it's a little all over the place for me and certainly not as focused for screenwriters as Script Studio.

After writing my outline (well, the first ten beats of it because that's all the demo allows) I moved over to the script section and started on the screenplay. The automatic formatting worked like a charm and I found the process very fluid. I had a few ideas for character arcs along the way but decided to note them down in the Scratch Pad instead of using Script Studio's Character Spotlight and Story Arc feature because I don't really do that stuff until rewriting and even then not so much.

On the whole I think it's an excellent and intuitive app with huge potential, only perhaps let down by the price tag but then again, I guess you get what you pay for. It has many features I found extremely useful like the Scratch Pad and PowerView act structuring, and some like FeelFactor (story engagement graphs) which seems cool but again probably not necessary until a rewrite or if you stumble upon a pacing problem.

I'm still in the middle of writing my spec and enjoying the process but if I run into anything else worth mentioning I'll tag on some comments at a later date but so far so good!

Terrible. Was so excited to see that the original piece of software that I used all the time was getting a reboot. While it added a few features that looked promising, it is filled with glitches and crashes about every 20 to 30 minutes. Tech support is non existent. The absolutely most horrendous flaw is in the scratch pad section. After creating a folder and writing out a treatment, I clicked outside the field and everything was deleted. Don't believe me? Just try a random sentence, click on the pane to the right and watch your work disappear. For a writing program, this is unforgivable. And did I mention tech support is non existent? I wish I could give negative stars. If you have Movie Outline, stay with it. You'll regret paying for something that was poorly executed.

Ive been reading the opinions of "Writerstar & Lord Lightning" and for what its worth I must agree that although Script Studio appears to have a lot going for it there is hardly anything that is not covered by less expensive apps that have been around for a few years. It is also a large lump of cash to pay for a neatly packaged collection of old methodology. With Scrivener launching version 3 shortly I think this would be a far better option for the "heavy writing" and using the likes of "Story Planner" for note taking / roughing out ideas. Story planner even exports to Scrivener effortlessly! This gets my vote for the "Sweet Set up". Even Final draft has attempted to come into this century with version 10 ( also cheaper) , although again they have only updated to where the likes of Scrivener have been for years. I dont normally get involved in online reviews but having been suckered into buying crap in the past, namely other writing software, I thought I would add my voice. If you want something that is good then go for the best rated and most popular and not the cutest design as seems to be the modern trend.

All I can say is wow! This is technically an upgrade to Movie Outline 3 (which I purchased a few years ago) but I understand why they felt the need to rename and rebrand it. Apart from the new modern look, it has a ton of new features and improvements (the list on their website is extensive) and it is now so much more than an outliner...which I think was probably confusing writers and potential customers. The new night theme interface option is cool, as is novel mode and their character development tools but for me it's the new global notes "scratch pad" and dual dialogue that made it worth the upgrade cost. It looks beautiful on my new retina iMac and I can't wait for the iPad version. Please please please bring it soon!

Script Studio at v1.0.1 costs a shirt-load of dollars for what is simply an update to version 4 of Movie Outliine 3. However, it has two brilliant functions that compel a novelist, short story writer, playwrite or Screenwriter to try it out. Firstly the beautiful Courier Nuvo font is so much better than Courier or Courier Prime and secondly because of its core outlining function based on Alexander (Sandy) McKendrick's work at Cal Tech called Step Outlines.

http://www.thestickingplace.com/projects/projects/mackendrick/stepoutlines/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=509&v=d94gXrlDcNY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CwDeqPPjOs

What is a Step Outline
“Steps” are “events” in a timeline of your characters’ histories in your story. Which means that each step in a step outline can consist of more than one scene in your eventual screenplay. So a Step Outline is a writer's sketch (an illustrator would use simple pencil sketches ).

Benefits of Step Outlining
By creating a step outline, you will create a much stronger story structure than you would have by simply sitting down to write a 90-page script and seeing where it takes you. And most importantly, you will save a whole lot of time in the rewriting stage of your project.

Why Step Outline
There are a few different writing software options that accommodate Step Outlines so adroitly - Script Studio is among the best because it folds in so many other writing functions - such as character development and so on. But at the end of the day you can use any word processing or screenwriting software to make a step outline. Scrivener and Fade In are among the best.

What Does a step Outline Look Like?
It looks like a series of paragraphs, each separated by a single white space. But little tricks in Step Outlines, such as writing a scene header at the top of each paragraph to help you to organise your thoughts and remember what has happened earlier in the story. This process is actually formatted in Script Studio - it is meant to work that way and has a core function to set it out perfectly.

Synopses of Action
What you write into those step outline paragraphs is important. Think of them as synopses of the action which occurs in a larger scene, or in several smaller, connected scenes. You don't include dialogue. Script Studio helps you to be economical in your writing, and try to get the general idea down as quickly as possible and move on. It stops you wasting time nitpicking every little detail.

For the first pass, just get the ideas down.

How to use your Step Outline
Count your pages. Assuming you have set your document format with 1-inch margins all around, and you are using a 12-point type (preferably Courier Nuvo), and you have numbered your pages, then you are doing it right. So, count your pages. If your total is somewhere between 12 and 15 pages, then you have a step outline which will most closely translate into a 90-page script.

Once you are thinking in terms of story steps you are truly thinking in terms of plot and plot points. And that is where I take my Script Studio work back to Scrivener (for novels) or FadeIn (for screenplays).

At the moment is about the buggiest software I have ever put on my computer and the company are still a bit defensive about their new baby. That said, I think I'll persist with it to help me with character development and step outlines but do my actual writing in Scrivener or FadeIn.

Just be aware that it is not fully WSYWIG. Using Courier as the font of choice you will get a print out that does not match the on-screen view. Pages are critical to timing so the app (that is so full of potential) is not usable in practice. The outline stuff is good. The character stuff is a little peculiar. The formatting stuff is OK - technically correct. The Dialogue Spotlight is potentially the best feature but in spite of the claims its current implementation does not help you to create unique characters by analyzing dialogue and voice-over throughout your script as it should. It is not editable so it does not help you 'create' dialogue. It allows you to isolate a specific character's dialogue only and look at it. You then have to go back into the script to make any changes. If only! The feel factor thingy is something I doubt any writer would bother with. All in all this is a screenwriting app full of potential but lacking in development. I shared my concerns with the developers over a year ago... not a peep. Nothing. So don't expect responsive version updates. There are very much better applications now on the market. If it is out on a massive discount it might be worth lining up all the apps that do this one pony trick and seeing where it comes in an honest comparison. It is lying cold and dead on my computer after it messed up a script deadline for me. I just can't trust it enough to rely on it when other apps can be relied on.

I stumbled upon this software a while ago and thank god I did because it has really paid for itself. I have used all the script writing softare available and can tell you that hands down, this is the best by a long shot. For a start, outlining is key and anyone who doesn't do it is bound to waste many hours, days, weeks and possibly months stuck in rewrites because you MUST PLAN your story before you start writing. Sure, you can write a scene here or there if you have some strong ideas but writing an entire script without working out the structure first is insane. IMO. :) The annoying thing is that I wasted so much money on just "script formatters".. I wish I would have discovered this little gem sooner because it also formats your script which is crucial but not the only tool a writer needs. I strongly recommend anyone interested in writing movie scripts to try the demo of this program first. It is very felxible and has many features, including character development tools which I personally don't use until my second draft but that's the beauty of this app, it can fit into your own working style, not the other way round. Five stars all the way!

LOL at "...otherwise known in the biz as 'step-outlining.'" Fourteen years in "the biz" and I've never heard that term uttered until now. BULLSHIT ALERT: BUYER BEWARE.

Well, Movie Outline's price is more or less in the same range as other screen writing apps....which is to say (unjustifiably?)expensive. For a screen writer who's already sold scripts, the cost is no more than a few lines of nose candy, which is to say mere pocket change to them. For the rest of us, who constitute most of the market for these apps, snorting them up is not necessarily so easy a financial decision. Celtx http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19246/celtx is not only OUTSTANDING, but FREE as well. I seriously suggest giving Celtx a try and then decide if spending big bucks on Movie Outline or any of the others makes any real sense.

This is a really well designed, nifty tool for script writing, quite innovative and intelligently put together. I could really get into using it, but $200?! Jesus! It's just too out of reach for my wallet and, I'll wager, for many other folks who would otherwise go for it were it at a sane, realistic price. Even if it were offered as a MacUpdate Promo, I can't imagine it going for less than 50% off, which is still quite expensive. Well, maybe Movie Outline's price point was, in fact, intentionally set to keep out the riffraff such as myself, and attract only the Porsche driving, coke sniffing elite. $200! My God!