Finally a Scriptwriting Software for Dual-Column Audio/Video Scripts by.

Paulo de Andrade - Film and Video Magazine - April 2001.

If you write dual-column scripts for television or video, you know very well how painful the whole process can be. I'm not talking about the creative part of writing but the boring, time consuming formatting tasks. That's because up until now there have been no dedicated programs designed for this type of work for either Windows or Mac. Fortunately Final Draft Inc., makers of the most popular film screenwriting software of the same name, recently released Final Draft AV, a dedicated dual-column screenwriting program that is just what professional writers for television and video have been waiting for all these years.

I have always been a big fan of Final Draft. Having written a good number of screenplays I really appreciate how well designed the program is and all the timesaving features that it offers. This company really knows what we want (and need) and they truly help us to keep our creative juices flowing by taking care of the formatting tasks for us. So, when I heard that they were releasing Final Draft AV, I almost jumped up in joy.

Up until now, whenever we had to write a dual-column script, we have been forced to utilize the less-than-ideal tables function in regular word processors. Those of us who do this on a regular basis know how frustrating this process can be. Not only do we have to do all the formatting by hand, but also if we don't split the tables carefully we may end up with blank printed pages or huge gaps between segments. Worst of all, whenever we have to make modifications to the script, the whole formatting usually gets messed up and we must spend a considerable amount of time fixing things. On top of that, there really isn't any real relationship between the audio and the video columns, which constantly forces us to align them manually.

Final Draft AV is a real godsend because it solves all the problems above and does a lot more. It is a standalone specialized word processor, not just a set of macros for Word. This is very important and, if you have ever compared the film version of Final Draft to other macro-based products, you know what I mean. A dedicated program is much more efficient, leaner, more stable and a lot easier to use. Final Draft AV is considerably smaller than your typical word processor, yet it is fully featured for the task. It comes with a complete 120,000 word spell checker as well as a thesaurus and the streamlined, dedicated interface makes for a much more comfortable work environment.

Final Draft AV lets you concentrate on the writing and takes care of everything else for you. It puts things in the proper places and takes care of using the right capitalization. And even though, at first glance, the program seems to offer a very limited toolset, in reality it offers virtually all you need to get the job done.

It starts with the choice of headers. You can have a detailed one with all the available production information or a simple one with just the bare minimum. Next you get to the dual-column format. The Video and Audio columns come pre-arranged for you but you still have a few choices on how to use them. You may use a wide or narrow video column, choose all caps or mixed case, show boxes around scenes to ease a script breakdown, show or hide the separation bar between the columns, show or hide the column titles and insert a 3-hole punch offset on the pages. You can also select whether you want the character to be above or in line with the dialog, choose between single and double spaced lines, or switch between AV and Radio formats.

A very nice touch is that you never lose information when you switch back and forth between modes. For instance, when you switch to Radio mode your Video column disappears because the audio now occupies the whole page. But the video information is not lost and, as soon as you switch back to AV mode, it shows up again. I love the fact that you can change the formatting on the fly. It makes it very easy to turn a regular script into radio format and export it to be used on teleprompters, for example. By the way, Final Draft AV lets you import and export your work in Rich Text Format (rtf) for full compatibility with normal word processors, enabling you to work in conjunction with other authors or clients.

The workflow within the program is very intuitive. Whenever you enter text in a column an equivalent space is automatically generated in the other and the resulting sequence is linked. This makes it very easy to alter or even delete a complete sequence without disturbing the others.

When you start typing a new paragraph in the Audio column the program automatically enters into character mode, letting you enter the name of the desired character in the proper format. When you hit Enter, it takes you into dialog mode. But if you wish to go into parenting mode, all you have to do is hit Enter twice and the parentheses are automatically created for you. To move between the columns, all you have to do is hit the Tab key.

Final Draft AV also makes sure that the page breaks are clean, not breaking the dialogue down into separate pages, therefore making the narrator's life easier. The software is compatible with both Mac and Windows and scripts are fully interchangeable between the platforms. Those who use Word will appreciate the familiar keyboard shortcuts.

I believe that Final Draft AV will become a big hit with anyone who needs to write dual-column scripts, from small production facilities to television networks. The first version of the program already does what you need as a professional writer but the company already has plans to add many features to the following ones. Expect editing related features, text to speech translation, graphics, increased customization and more. Judging from the frequency of updates that have been available since the initial release of the film version of Final Draft, you can expect this program to evolve at a very good pace. Best of all, the company really listens to users and most of the implemented features come from them.

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