To select a different element – for example, a description of action, you can select it from the drop-down.īut as you can see bottom-left in the screengrab above, the software prompts you to use an easier method: tab between elements and hit Enter to select one. You can see the element the app is expecting you to write from the drop-down menu at the bottom. But because it knows how the screenplay should open for your target production, it will effectively tell you which element to write first.įor example, if you choose a BBC one-hour drama, it will pre-select the Scene Heading element for you, as that’s the very first thing that you should write.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll get a blank document waiting for you to begin writing, as you’d expect.

This will ensure that the software uses the right formatting for your target audience. The first thing you need to do is choose your template. As the company’s slogan says, Just Add Words. And even if you know exactly what you’re doing, getting the formatting right can be a distraction from simply writing the story.įinal Draft aims to almost completely automate the formatting of a screenplay. You focus on the words, and let the software take care of the rest. If you don’t know the drill, it’s very easy to produce a script that can be instantly dismissed as the work of a know-nothing amateur. To make matters worse, different production companies have their own variations on the theme, and even within one organization – like the BBC, for example – the format used for 30-minute sitcoms is totally different to the one used for one-hour dramas.

Some things must be in caps, others in mixed case. Some things must be centered, other things must not. So what does it do to earn such praise and justify the cost … ?įinal Draft was created by an aspiring screenwriter who found it both challenging and time-consuming to format his scripts such that they would meet the exacting standards of Hollywood studios.Ī Hollywood studio has an established format for every aspect of a script, from the typeface and font size used through the precise (and differing) indents for dialog and action – all the way down to the colon that appears at the end of camera transitions. Ben Stiller said that ‘Final Draft is the only screenwriting software I have ever used, and it is the only one I ever will use.’īut priced at a hefty $250 for the Mac app and another $20 for the iPad companion app, it’s not a trivial investment for most of us. But when I accidentally found myself working on a screenplay for a comedy series, I thought I’d try the industry-standard software for the job: Final Draft.įinal Draft comes highly recommended, used by all the top studios and praised by such screenwriting talents as Aaron Sorkin, James Cameron, JJ Abrams, Sofia Coppola and more. Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of Scrivener, having used the app to write three novels, two novellas and a travel guide.

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