 Screenplay, teleplay and stageplay formatter. | |
| Developer(s) | Final Draft, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 7.1.3
/ November 2006 |
| Operating system | Windows; Mac OS X |
| Type | Screenwriting software |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | http://www.finaldraft.com/ |
Final Draft is a screenwriting software program designed for writing screenplays, teleplays and stageplays. It supports both Mac OS X and Windows, and is considered one of Hollywood's preferred software tools for writing television and film. Final Draft has templates for standard film and television script formats and provides shortcuts for writing slug lines, transitions, dialogue, and action, among other formatting types.
Final Draft AV
edit Final Draft AV is a separate program, designed to write and format two-column scripts, which are used for television commercials, live broadcast, and corporate work. This format uses one column on the left for video cues and one on the right for audio cues.
Features
editFinal Draft has many features such as:
Cross Platform compatibility Scripts written in Final Draft on Windows and Mac OS X platforms are interchangeable.
Import/Export Files from a word processor can be imported with relative ease and can be exported in a variety of formats including PDF.
Format Assistant Checks your script for common formatting errors, such as missing dialogue, extra spaces, carriage returns and blank elements.
Tagger Exports parts of a script to be used with industry-standard scheduling tools like Movie Magic Scheduling.
Index Card/Outline/Navigator Panels Besides editing the script in the standard page view, you can display the script as index cards or in outline mode for easy navigation.
Avid XML Export Script files can be exported to Avid editing tools for use with script-based editing and subtitling.
CollaboWriter Allows user to write, edit and discuss a script with other Final Draft users in real time, over the Internet.
Voices Final Draft can read back a script using electronic text-to-speech voicing.
Production Features Once the script goes into production, it can be locked and will automatically create A pages to track changes as script content is added or removed.
History
editThe company was founded in 1991. Final Draft's goal was to develop a scriptwriting program that allowed writers to concentrate on writing rather than formatting. Their introduction of Tab and Enter as keys to assist with formatting was unique.
In 2006, Final Draft acquired Script magazine and their other offerings, which included Scriptwriters Showcase, a screenwriting conference; Take A Meeting, an opportunity for would-be writers to have 15-minute meetings with industry professionals; and ScriptXpert, a script coverage and notes service. Final Draft sponsors a number of screenwriting competitions including Big Break.
Reviews / usage
editA few of the major feature films and television series written using Final Draft include:
- The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Feature film) (2001, 2002, 2003)
- Lost in Translation (Feature film) (2003)
- The first four Harry Potter films (2001,2002,2004,2005)
- Cars (Feature film) (2006)
- Walk the Line (Feature film) (2005)
- Cold Mountain (Feature Film) (2003)
- Lost (TV series) (2004–)
- Desperate Housewives (TV series) (2004–)
- The Sopranos (TV series) (1999–2007)
- Entourage (TV series) (2004–)