Last Updated on July 31, 2023 by Emmanuel
The Final Draft screenwriting software review examines a platform with features and tools to streamline over ninety percent of entertainment industry production.
After thoroughly examining the Final Draft tools and their functionality for your work, we will discuss their cost. You will then decide if this platform suits your needs.
Table of Contents
What Is The Final Draft Screenwriting Software?
Ben Cahan and Marc Madnick founded the Final Draft software in 1990 to help film and television producers in their different work.
The idea came after the two partners found a lack in the Hollywood US film industry that could automatically format scripts according to the industry’s stringent standards.
This software is now among the leaders in the industry; over ninety percent of television and film producers use it.
You can also use this platform if you are a newbie or seasoned screenwriter, director, or industry executive.
Ben Cahan and Marc Madnick also update this platform regularly to meet the new demands of the market. They are currently at version number twelve.
Besides, the two partners have made this software an utterly online platform providing free and exclusive educational resources to screenwriters.
If you are in this category, it will help you in every step of your screenwriting journey until you reach your goals.
You can, for example, learn how to pass interviews with professional screenwriters, make podcasts, how-to articles, and many other tech tips in the industry.
Besides that, the owners hold regular events where screenwriters meet to share their experiences and updates about the latest industry trends.
The Final Draft Features.
Story Planning and Telling.
This feature’s poweful tools enable you to plan and tell your stories like a film and television professional; our recipients will undoubtedly appreciate them.
You will be able to create stories that captivate your audiences’ attention and are amazed by how they will listen to them repeatedly, untired and unbored.
Brainstorm, outiline, report, visualize, tag, and customize your creations effortlessly. These tools also enable you to collaborate with others to ease your work.
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Enhanced Beat Board.
The Beat Board has unlimited space to organize and customize your ideas. You can plan set pieces and store character research.
You will also access the tools to stylize your text and images, send beats directly to your script, and do more.
The enhanced beat board is users friendly; the feature doesn’t require you to have technical skills to get the most out of it.
Define the number of beats suitable for your story and leverage the Beat Board like a fluid scrapbook for your ideas.
As your creative ideas develop, you will drag and drop more elements, such as chunks of text, sketches, photos, or anything else.
The story map color-codes your beats after creating them, insert icons of the same color, etc.
Outline Elements and Editor.
The outline elements and editor include the tools to transfer your beat board to the outline editor and make compelling outlining as a true professional.
The other essential tools are the “outline elements,” which automatically send your outline to the script.
Depending on the goals you want to achieve, you can also use multiple lanes to organize your screenplay’s structure.
Use the outline editor to adjust the size of beats and make your scripts of bird’s eye view.
ScripNotes.
This platform also integrates “the Scripnotes” to add comments to your script as more ideas come.
According to other users’ testimonies, adding script notes and making them appear as flags on the pages you like allow easy reference.
The process to use this feature is straightforward; you will only need to click on the flag and open it.
Once done, you will find a pop-over to edit notes and new flags showing the number of messages you can add per paragraph.
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Writing and Editing Tools.
Editing tools and templates help you to write and format your stories and characters how you like.
We can name among these tools the “title page templates” you can easily modify and customize in one click.
Other essential tools are the Tab and Enter Keys to write your script quickly and the reformat tool to speed your reformatting process.
Besides, the automatic file backups protect your work against unforeseen events.
Agile Production.
The agile production tools review your scripts and help to make changes before production.
This tool revises colors, locks pages, and edits or removes some scenes in your scripts.
Now let’s examine the Final Draft 12 software’s pros and cons in the following section.
The Final Draft 12 Pros and Cons.
Pros:
- This screenwriting software has led the industry since 1990; over 95% of entertainment enthusiasts use it.
- You get access to suitable features and tools for all your screenwriting work.
- The software automatically paginates your script to the entertainment industry format requirements.
- You can customize over three hundred templates for your screenplays, comics, graphic novels, and teleplays.
- This software can be used on Windows or Mac or the Final Draft Mobile app for iPad and iPhone.
- The pricing plans are affordable, and the Final Draft has many users’ positive testimonies.
Cons:
We don’t have much to say about this software’s cons except that some users say it is somehow expensive.
However, you also get access to high-end features that streamline your work for increased profitability making the cost worth it.
Those who want can pick cheap options likely to make them look amateur or unprofessional without proper knowledge of the industry’s stringent standards.
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How Much Cost the Final Drafrt Software?
This software is free to download on your devices and use for thirty days to see its functioning.
You can upgrade to one of the following paid plans at the end of this period or abandon using it.
- The Final Draft 12 full license: $199.99.
- The N° 12 version costs $79.99.
- The teacher or student option costs $99.99.
Note: All purchases are final; they don’t charge recurring payments.
Final Thoughts.
Let us end the Final Draft screenwriting software review here; I hope this information will help you significantly.
As we have seen, this software offers too many benefits; download it on your device and start its use.
Ninety percent of individuals and businesses in the entertainment industry use the platform; they can’t all be wrong.
I was looking for screenwriting software and stumbled upon this review of the final draft software. However, this software seems too complex, but I would assume the owners provide their clients with some tutorials on how it works
I find it compelling that the Final Draft software is well established, meaning the people behind it know exactly what they are doing.
Thanks for your comment but I don’t think they provide tutorials on how to use this software. They assume that you are already a professional who knows what to do.