(Note: the mac developer and Scrivener designer responded. You can read his comment and my response in the comment section below)
After playing with scrivener for a few days, I have to say I like my screenwriting program better. I use Movie Magic screenwriter and have since it started as script thing run by two guys in their mother’s garage @1993. Or at least it felt that way whenever I called for tech support. I wish I still had my script thing t-shirt. I still have the program discs, as you can see in the photo.
Disclaimer : I played with Scrivener for about 3 days, so this is by no means a comprehensive review. Also, I never looked at the users manual. I like to be able to jump into a program without having to earn a degree first. (Yep, I don’t read instructions either which makes putting together furniture a bitch)
Things I like about Scrivener :
- it’s cheap. Just $40 bucks. The program I use, Movie Magic Screenwriter, sells for $249.
- there’s a cool cork board background in the index card mode.
And that’s about all I liked.
Things I didn’t like :
- having to click the add function everytime I wanted to add a new index card to my outline. In Movie Magic, I only need to scroll to get to more cards.
- not being able to just hit tab to move around in my screenplay. I kept getting a list asking me if I wanted to write an action paragraph, dialog, etc…I only want to hit tab and write.
After ten annoying minutes in the screenwriters mode, I decided I’d had enough and deleted the program.
As much as people keep talking about this scrivener, I wonder if I’m doing something wrong. Doesn’t really matter though, I won’t be switching anytime soon.
If you can’t afford Movie Magic or Final Draft, I’d say, this would work just fine. If you can afford it, pay the bucks and skip Scrivener.
You can find Movie Magic here. And Scrivener here.
If you use Scrivener, and love it, leave me a note in the comments section below.
Write on,
Melissa
The last line of ADR, for my feature Finley Wade, was recorded at Waterworks Studio a couple of days ago. I wasn’t there. There was no need. I’m hearing impaired, so whenever sound is involved, I turn to my sound engineer, Jim Waters. I’m also a crappy photographer and a terrible graphic artist so, while I know exactly what the poster for my film will look like, I’m not making it myself. I’m turning to my experts. Accepting your own limitations is important is you want to create a really great product. 