ArticlesSince i am kind of a structure-freak i always struggled with the right choice of software for screenwriting. Over the time i really tried a lot, from word-plugins to industry standard software, but for some reason i haven´t really been satisfied with any software i tried, till now.
Until i found the right thing for me i really tried almost any alternative, but none could compete with my latest choice, Movie Magic Screenwriter. But why? There are couple of solutions out there, but none of them fits the needs as MMS does.
As i evaluated the different options for me it was really hard to find useful statements or comparisons, so i thought it could be helpful for others who want to find the software that meets their expectations.
It is important to state that some applications i didn´t like so much could be the perfect choice for someone else, so at first i want to make clear what i expect from a screenwriting application and what i don´t need that much.
My requirements
Solid Outlining
This is in my opinion the most important feature, almost every screenwriting software offers good text editing, but when it comes to outlining it really narrowed my choices.
With a solid outline solution i don´t get lost in my screenplay and story development is made a lot easier.
Overall look-and-feel
It may sound a little kinky, but since you spend hours and hours with that software the overall usability and the look-and-feel should be really good. And since i´m used to Mac usability this is another obstacle in the choice of the proper software.
Small nifty features
There are plenty of small features that make the life of a screenwriter a lot easier, for example how to put notes in the script, how to keep an overview of the plot, etc.
These little features are another important factor for my choice.
What i don´t need
Production Tools
Since i´m not a professionall writer that makes a living out of writing screenplays i don´t really need production features for revisions that much right now.
Another thing is that the market in Austria is not that bitchy about such features or the overall format at all. Some of the great Austrian movies are written in Word, so i don´t have to think about that a lot.
Of course it is a nice-to-have for me, but not an important factor for my choice.
Export to scheduling software
Another nice-to-have feature, but not that important for me…
The industry standard
What i gathered during my evaluation is that every screenwriting software fits the requirements of the industry standard for screenplays, so that wouldn´t be an important factor in my choice neither.
So far my requirements, here the result of my evaluation, from place 6 to the winner.
The evaluation
During my evaluation i tried all different kinds of software, from Scrivener to Scripped or Zhura, but in my evaluation i will just address the applications that could be of use for me.
Not that Scripped or Zhura are bad, but for me online screenwriting services would not be sufficient, i want an application that also works offline and stores my files on my computer.
Scrivener is a really well designed piece of software, but it just offers screenwriting capability and is not really designed for screenwriting, so sooner or later i will get frustrated.
So i evaluated six different applications that could be my next screenwriting software, and here they are:
6. SuperNotecard for Screenwriting
Website
Price: $34
System: Mac, Win
Pros:
+ The price
+ The idea of working with index cards
Cons:
- It lacks of solid text-editing in terms of screenwriting, you just work with index cards
- It doesn´t offer that much screenwriting features, meaning it´s a good software for outlining or structuring your plot, but it´s not really a screenwriting software
Overall impression
This is a good software for structuring your plot, but it lacks of screenwriting features if you want to actually write your script with it.
5. Final Draft
Website
Price: $179,95 (here)
System: Mac, Win
Pros:
+ Industry standard for many years
+ All kind of features a screenwriter needs
Cons:
- Really weak performance on my MacBook
- No real useful outline feature
- The overall look-and-feel didn´t convince me
Overall impression
Final Draft is industry standard for a lot of reasons (together with Movie Magic Screenwriter), but for me it just is not the right software. I didn´t really like the overall look-and-feel and the demo crashed a lot on my computer.
Perhaps i didn´t give it enough time to show its strengths, but MMS convinced me from the first use.
4. Movie Outline
Website
Price: $199,95
System: Mac, Win
Pros:
+ Great for outlining
+ Very solid character development features
Cons:
- In my opinion it somehow lacks of script-editing, it focuses on outlining
- The look-and-feel is neat for outlining, but a little bit disturbing for writing a script
- You can´t have a look at the whole script, just scene for scene
Overall impression
Despite it´s great for structuring and outlining, i´d rather buy a software that focuses on screenwriting and i´ll do the character development by myself. Probably it needs a new version to focus on screenwriting more (like the jump from version 2.0 to 3.0), but for me it´t not ready yet.
3. Celtx
Website
Price: For free
System: Mac, Win, Linux
Pros:
+ Obviously the price
+ The strong community and developers work hard on it, and every new release offers new great functionality
+ Whole-in-one package (not just scriptwriting, also scheduling, etc.)
Cons:
- Whole-in-one package. That may sound strange, but if i want to schedule my movie production i get a scheduling software. I want to focus on the script, but that is just my opinion, you might give it a try and like it
- For me the outlining feature is not useful at all
Overall impression
Overall it is a good piece of software, but for me it was not the right choice. In my opinion it offers too much, it should focus on screenwriting and all kinds of features around that task. It might be really useful for small indie-productions, you´ll have to give it a try, it´s for free anyway.
2. Montage
Website
Price: $139,95
System: Mac
Pros:
+ Very nice look-and-feel
+ Focuses straight on screnwriting
+ Full screen editing
Cons:
- The outlining feature is not so well designed
- The scene-view is not really useful
Overall impression
This is the software i like best after MMS, it has a very clean and easy-to-use interface, it´s nice to work with and could be the next big thing. But i think it should improve the outlining features, that´s the one thing that i am missing most.
1. Movie Magic Screenwriter
Website
Price: $159,95 (here)
System: Mac, Win
Pros:
+ Industry standard (together with Final Draft)
+ Great outlining features
+ The NaviDoc is extremely well designed
+ Dozens of little useful features that make your life easier
+ Great look-and-feel and very nice workflow for writing
+ Nice production services (even if i don´t need them right now)
Cons:
- It´s not really cheap, but since you´ll use the software a lot it´s worth it (and besides the Euro is that strong right at the moment, so Europeans should go for it…)
Overall impression
I was pretty amazed when i first tried MMS, it´s got a very clean structure and the usability is very good. With the NaviDoc you´ll always have an overview of your story. It offers dozens of nifty little features, the outlining is really really great and the overall impression was the best of all evaluated applications.
Conclusion
For me Movie Magic Screenwriter is the right choice, but that doesn´t necessarily mean that it is for you too. I think the best way to choose the right software is to download a demo of each and try them out for some days. It takes time, but in the end it´s worth it.
I´m not a big pro in business, but i did my best to find the right solution for me. Probably this evaluation is useful for some aspiring screenwriters after all.
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