Publisher: Adobe
Platforms: PC & Mac
Description: Online Screenwriting Program
MSRP: Free (with CS5.5 purchase through April 12, 2012)
Expected Release: Available Now
Official Website: story.adobe.com
Tutorials: Click Here
Critique Issue: Issue #74 (02/12)
Critiqued By: A.J. Wedding
Final Score: 9.8

Screenwriting programs haven’t changed all that much in the last ten years due to the simple, specific nature of the necessary formats for scripts. But just like the iPhone, you don’t know you need it until you play with it. Adobe has taken screenwriting to a whole new level with Adobe Story, offering easy to use tools, multiple formats, synergistic workflow, and the ability to collaborate with anyone anywhere in the world. Although there are new updates every 8 weeks, this latest CS5.5 upgrade has really solidified what worked well and added some new features based on customer feedback.

Ease of Use

If you’re used to most screenwriting programs, you will have little to learn with Adobe Story. All of the same basic formatting tools and smart character name recognitions allow you to start writing your masterpiece immediately. There is also an outline view for quick movement from scene to scene.

With CS5.5, writing with a partner is even easier than it was in CS5, and you can even set up permission levels to only allow them access to certain parameters, currently limited to reading or reviewing capabilities.. This is done very simply and becomes important when working with multiple partners or producers that you don’t want to directly edit your work. You can even access your scripts on your iPhone! (You can read them for changes and make comments, although, as of yet, you can’t actually change the script directly.)

You need not worry about limiting all of the exciting online features, because you can write offline very easily. (You will need to download a standalone AIR app first, but, after that, it’s simple!) You can write on a plane, in the woods, wherever your adventures take you. As soon as you are back online, Adobe Story will upload your changes. Simple.

Depth of Options

The options are where Adobe Story truly shines, and where the CS5.5 update has done the most work. Creating multi-column scripts is now available! Used mostly for commercials or storyboarding, this option allows you to import photos or drawings to coincide with each scene. This accelerates your production planning by taking advantage of the metadata capture that Story does automatically. If you are an Adobe OnLocation user, now you can import your scripts directly into OnLocation for automatic shot list generation and Premiere Pro CS 5.5 for synchronization of your script with the footage you shoot for a word-searchable video file!

Some of the great updates seem simple but have great potential. One of the most difficult things about co-writing a script is that you’re afraid of what the other person has worked on or you sit wondering if they have done any work at all. Adobe Story can send you email notifications if anyone you have authorized has made notes or changes. You can then decide to accept or reject each change line by line! Not sure which version is better? You can compare different versions of your script side by side. Here in Hollywood, once a script is printed and handed out to the cast, any changes that are made are on a different color paper to replace each edited page. Every time there is a revision, a new color is used. Now you can use this same process by marking your script versions by color, no matter what part of the production or scriptwriting process you are in.

The metadata tagging can be done automatically or manually for virtually every aspect of your production. This allows you to generate virtually any kind of necessary production report from props to costumes, sets and locations. Everything you need to efficiently plan your production from the beginning.

Though not a new feature to the program, it’s worth mentioning to those unfamiliar with the first version of Adobe Story that you can even import scripts you have written in multiple formats, including Final Draft. It will automatically format them for you to use within the Story system and access all of the amazing features. Additionally, it supports custom script templates, so you can format things exactly the way you need for your particular project!

Performance

Having been a beta tester for Adobe Story very early on, I can say that it has become rock solid in a few short years. Adobe has done a great job in truly listening to the people who work in this business and giving us a wish list of capabilities that many may have thought were just too ridiculous to ever come true. In my opinion, you simply will not find a screenwriting tool that has this many helpful and easy to use options.

Value vs. Costs

It’s free…for now. But given the high cost of Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter, I would say that it’s worth at least as much. (And they cannot compete with this many tools in one package for folks who purchase the full production package!)

Closing Comments

The future of production is in people that are in it from start to finish. Microfilmmakers have been doing this for at least a decade. For people like us, a swiss army knife like CS5.5 and Adobe Story that can be there for us from idea to finished film is priceless.