sophocles

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Sophocles is a screenwriting program that currently comes in two “flavors”: The “original” , known as “ Sophocles 2003 “, and the “Beta” , now called “ Sophocles 2007 “.

The original was in its own right a fantastic screenwriting program, with all the bells-and-whistle one needed not only to write one’s screenplay, but also to handle revisions and breakdowns. It was, and still is, extremely reasonable in terms of price, only $120, with 50% discounts for academic users. It would still be a deal at twice the price.

Highly intuitive, Sophocles allows one to easily work, and write, in terms of Acts, Sequences, and Scenes.

Unlike bloated versions of other screenwriting programs, this program is lean and mean in terms of file size, but full-featured in every way. One has to really try it to fully appreciate it. With the downloadable Sophocles 2003 demo (which one can get here: http://www.sophocles.net/download.asp ) one really can “try before one buys”, without those “30-day” or “15-page” limits other screenwriting program “trial versions” have. With Sophocles the “trial” is the full-blown program, and one could actually write an entire screenplay, with the only limitation being that printout output displaying a watermark, if I remember correctly.

Online Registration is a breeze, and one can actually have THREE concurrent instances of Sophocles installed at the same time on THREE different computers, WITHOUT having to have a installation CD, or some other onerous software protection scheme to deal with. That ends the problem of having 1) a work computer, 2) a home computer, and 3) a laptop, and wanting to work on a script using Sophocles.

Should you either “crash” your computer, or get a new one, reinstalling the software, or installing it again, is a breeze, as is adding on those computers. All it takes is typing two or three bits of information on an online validation tool, and and email arrives with the unlock codes!

I’ve actually got THREE instances of the Sophocles 2003 and THREE instances of Sophocles 2007 Beta running on my various computers, and have easily added on new computers as I got new ones and got rid of old ones.

The “Beta” version , which one gets for free right now when one buys the “Original” version, adds all the bells-and-whistles of a full-blown Production Manager Program for budgeting, scheduling, and breakdowns, that one would normally otherwise have to purchase separately, at the cost of several thousands of dollars !

While other Screenwriting programs, such as Movie Magic Screenwriter export such data to Movie Magic Budgeting and Movie Magic Scheduling (both programs now sold to Entertainment Partners, or EP, which has re-branded these two industry standards under their own banner), Sophocles 2007 Beta does it all from within the same program, and all without any additional cost to purchase those kind of programs! It’s “built-into” Sophocles 2007 PM Beta, and not an “add-on” or external program that needs to be exported to.

A smart person would buy Sophocles 2003 now for $120 just to get the free Sophocles 2007 Beta (and subsequent upgrades) for free while they still can, since one is literally saving thousands of dollars on the software.

My guess is that after the “Beta” period ends, the “full-blown” Production Management Version of Sophocles 2007 will cost in the $1,000 range (SEE below for more info on the different “versions” it will have.) Buy the Sophocles 2003 version NOW so you get the full upgrade to Sophocles 2007 PM for FREE while it is still in Beta. Once Sophocles 2007 goes out of Beta, all the “free upgrade” deals are off. Only a fool would not take advantage of this unbelievable offer!

So why should a Screenwriter care about Production Features? Right off the bat, it encourages leaner, tighter, and more logical screenwriting since one can easily see errors in slug lines, character names and character aliases, and just how many locations one’s script is really using. One can even estimate how long a shooting schedule one’s script could take, and how much it could cost to produce.

The more a Screenwriter knows what happens to his or her script in terms of Production, the better, since they will become much more aware of factors that Producers look at when considering a script for Production.

Unfortunately, for you Mac users, there is no Mac Version, but with the new Mac upcoming operating system and computers that will run Windows programs, that should no longer be a limiting factor.

I have tried ALL of the “major”, and most of the “minor” Screenwriting Programs out there, and would have to say that in terms of features and value vs. price NOTHING beats Sophocles, not even the so-called “free programs” like Celtx!

You really have to download the demo, and check out some of the features of BOTH the original AND the Beta version to really appreciate Sophocles for the fantastic program that it really is!

And no, I don’t have anything to do with the company at all... It’s just THAT good a program!

If I had had this program in Film School when I was getting my MFA in the USC Stark Producing Program, things would have been a heck of a lot easier! Even a fellow Starkie like John August might have switched from his Mac to a PC back then just to have been able to use Sophocles 2007 and its features!

Review by: ~Starkie~

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Here’s what some others have to say about Sophocles 2003:

“A revelation. The first program I’ve found that’s actually designed for writing – not just typing.” -Michael Goldenberg (Contact, Peter Pan)

“Highly recommended. This is now the screenwriting program I use regularly.” -Charles Deemer, Screenwriters & Playwrights Home Page

“...anyone who writes a script using Sophocles may not want to go back...” -Peter Bohush, WriterDirector.com

“I’ve been using [a very popular scriptwriting software program] for years now and Sophocles just blows it clean out of the water.” -A User

“Wonderful and affordable! It is great!” -Eric Colley, The IndieClub

“Sophocles will be my program of choice from now on... If only you’d devised it sooner!” -Chris Harvey, UK Screenwriter

“Sophocles has the best combination of story development tools, scriptwriting features, and production features of any other scriptwriting software on the market.” -Carl Hose, Writer’s Inkwell

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Here’s the blurb from the Sophocles Website on the “ Original ” flavor, “Sophocles 2003” , which can be found at http://www.sophocles.net/ :

A New Kind of Screenwriting Software

Sophocles is a new screenplay software program that emphasizes the writing process. While other script writing software puts the focus on margins and page breaks, Sophocles was conceptualized from the start as a story creation tool for screenwriters. By allowing you to easily navigate and manipulate your story elements, Sophocles helps you craft a tighter, smoother flowing screenplay.

Professional Screenwriting Format Default format settings derived from a sample of 50 recent Hollywood screenplays.

Fully Compatible Export to and import from all major screenwriting programs and generic word processors.

Story Centered Design An interface that directs your attention away from mundane formatting issues while directing it towards the actual creative screenwriting process.

Get the Big Picture Tools to help you stay oriented within your story-space, and to easily navigate related scenes and plot points.

Easy to Use A clean, uncluttered interface, and an extremely shallow learning curve. If you have prior word processor experience, you can get up to speed in minutes.

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Sophocles Features

Scene List The scene list displays all the scene headers in your script along with a variety of statistical values for each scene. You can sort the list according to any of these values by clicking on the buttons at the tops of the columns. Double clicking on an entry jumps you immediately to that scene.

The first paragraph of the selected scene appears at the bottom of the list, along with scene notes and a synopsis. As with the other lists, the scene list can be exported to a spreadsheet or database application by clicking on the save button.

Dyad List A “dyad” is a pair of related characters. The dyad list displays all the dyads in your script, along with an indication of the relative strength of the relationship between the two characters (a measure of how frequently they speak to each other). The strength values are scaled such that the strongest dyad scores one hundred.

The tool’s bookmark button allows you to mark all locations where the members of the selected dyad speak to each other.

Title Page Editor The title page editor provides a quick and easy way to generate an industry-standard title page for your screenplay. Also, when production mode is active and you’re generating revision sheets, the title page editor allows you to specify the placement of revision slugs.

Statistical Analysis How many scenes are in the typical screenplay? How many characters? What proportion of a typical script is dialogue? How long is the typical scene? The answers vary greatly from one writer to the next, of course, and from one genre to another, but if you’re too far off the mark your screenplay won’t seem professional.

Sophocles’ statistical analysis feature helps get you on the mark. When used in conjunction with the import tool, you can download screenplays from the Web and compare your own stats to those of your favorite writers’.

Outline Report This tool allows you to view your scene headers, synopses and notes in an outline format.

True Thesaurus Sophocles provides a true thesaurus – not just a synonym dictionary. By allowing you to explore clusters of word meanings and to follow paths of word associations, Sophocles’ thesaurus helps you brainstorm ways of reworking your sentences, and it also serves as an effective “metaphor finder”.

Character List The character list displays all the speaking roles in your script, along with a variety of statistical values for each. The report can be sorted by any of these values, or exported to a spreadsheet or database application.

The Dialogue button lets you view and edit all the dialogue for the selected character. This is a great way to work on the distinctiveness and consistency of your characters’ speech patterns.

Bookmark Tool This tool allows you to save and load up to sixteen “bookmark collections.”

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Sophocles gives you industry standard format by default, but if you have special formatting needs you can go “under the hood” and change the settings described below. Each of the screenshots on this page corresponds to a “tab” on the print format tool, which can be accessed by activating the print-preview window and clicking the Edit Format button.

General Formats Tab Here you specify font and page number information and how to split dialogue across pages. Functionality includes the ability to include act and scene information as a part of the page number (as required by television and stageplay formats), and the ability to adjust line-per-inch and letter-per-inch values for fine tuning your page count.

Margins Tab Defines margin settings for each of the ten paragraph types and for dual column dialogue.

Paragraphs Tab Determines special formatting characteristics and line-spacing values for each paragraph type.

Page Breaks Tab Determines the rules used for breaking each of the paragraph types across pages.

Production Formats Tab Contains formatting options that apply when production mode is active.

Feature List

1. Fully automated revision handling and scene numbering.
2. A scene notes / synopses tool that remains visible as you write.
3. Drag-and-drop scenes from one location to another.
4. 7 different reports and lists, the contents of which can be exported to most spreadsheet and database applications.
5. 11 predefined formatting setups.
6. Import your existing scripts into Sophocles.
7. Export your scripts to rtf, txt, html, and pdf file formats (not available in the trial version).
8. Dual column dialogue.
9. View and edit all the dialogue for a particular character at once.
10. Intelligent cut-and-paste allows you to specify paragraph types when pasting from another application.
11. Unique timing feature tells you at a glance when a scene is running long.
12. Spell-checker allows unusual spellings in dialogue (umm, shhhh, t-t-thanks).
13. Split-view for transplanting a plot point from one scene to another, or for writing a scene that’s critically dependent on some other scene.
14. The easiest to use auto-type functionality you’ll find.
15. Bookmark tool allows you to store and load up to 16 bookmark collections.
16. Customizable color-coding of paragraph types.
17. Compressed view for small screens.
18. Undo/Redo to a depth of 128 actions.
19. Forward and back buttons (like on your web browser).
20. E-mail functionality.
21. Auto-save.
22. Adjustable line and letter spacing for fine tuning your page count.

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Feature s of the “Sophocles 2007 Beta” version, which one gets for free for now while still in Beta when one purchases “Sophocles 2003”, including all future updates to Sophocles 2007 once it goes out of Beta, include:

Beta testing is now underway for the next version of Sophocles. The final commercial release of the program will be split into three editions:

Sophocles Basic will include the core word-processing and script-formatting functionality.

Sophocles Pro will introduce a variety of story planning, outlining, and visualization tools.

Sophocles PM will introduce breakdown, budgeting, scheduling, and reporting capabilities. Sophocles PM is the edition being tested now (the entire program, in other words). Sophocles PM will be a free upgrade for registered users of Sophocles 2003 .

Documentation as to all the features of Sophocles 2007 Beta can be found here: http://www.sophocles.net/beta/webhelp/sophocles.htm

READ IT! It really explains Sophocles 2007 in much more detail. Once you try it, you will never want to use anything else!

Source: http://johnaugust.com/jawiki/sopho cles