Hi, I was considering buying Final Draft and wondered if anyone had any thoughts, recommendations or comments about it? I downloaded ScriptSmart from the BBC site a while back and didn't really get on with it. Is Final Draft any more user-friendly?
Final Draft
Everything I write is in ScriptSmart. It can be buggy but it's free and that's worth the minor hassles.
I tried a demo of final draft but found it more complex than SS. Have you downloaded a demo?
I agree with SlagA. I use SS and find that it is widely accepted when submitting stuff.
I tried the demo of Final Draft and didn't like it much (found it tricky to use) and the price even less!
As pointed out SS is free
I dont actually use any script template program, I just space it all out myself, which I suppose must be more time consuming, but its what Im used to.
Hmm, I didn't download the FD demo, I'll do that now. The functions I've read about like index cards and script notes sound quite appealing, but I think they may be more unnecessary bells & whistles than anything genuinely worthwhile.
Having downloaded the demo I found it quite good to be honest, and less fiddly than I remember SS being (it was a while back). I may well download the full version in Jan/Feb so I'll let you all know how I get on with it then.
About 8 or 9 years ago I started using ScriptThing, which I found to be very good but not widely used. In any case, I had to get a new pc and ScriptThing had merged with something else so about 3 or 4 years ago I got Final Draft, much to the joy of the producer I was working with at the time.
I write everything in Final Draft now as I find it helps to just write, rather than worry about the formatting issues.
To a certain extent, I think it depends upon what you're writing. I started off with movies and with a word processor, having to write 'more' and 'cont'd' whenever a piece of dialogue was split by a page, and then having to edit these all again when the body of the script changed was just a nightmare. I spent more time on the presentation than on the actual writing.
I've never managed to get Script Smart to work but am a clutz when it comes to software.
why buy fd when u could just download it, im gonna get it soon i reckon just to see what its like
I'm studying Film and Television and I was told that Final Draft is industry standard.
I've never used SS, so I can't comment on if it's any better.
(Only thing about downloading the demo of Final Draft is, you get "DEMO" across the whole thing when you print it out... Not exactly the best thing to hand to potential producers!)
I love FD - knocked out a script in little over a day the first time I used it. I like to use montage (on the mac) to plot out stories etc, but if I'm just typing up scripts etc then FD is the way to go.
Quote: Jessie @ January 4, 2007, 7:25 PM(Only thing about downloading the demo of Final Draft is, you get "DEMO" across the whole thing when you print it out... Not exactly the best thing to hand to potential producers!)
then why dont you just download the proper one
Quote: dyingtolive @ January 4, 2007, 8:36 PMthen why dont you just download the proper one
I know, I have done.
I was just warning people, because I know peole who had that problem.
Im wondering whether to buy Final Draft. My friend has a copy of it on his computer which he is trying to burn for me but his computer appears to have packed up.
Now I know I could have had it for free, im reluctant to pay several hundred pounds for it.
Well, I'm not going to suggest where you could get it from for free.
But I'm sure a *cough* torrent *cough* of people might be willing to?
Good. Because that would be illegal. And God forbid the Internet starts getting used for anything dodgy!