
Emacs Tools for Screenplays (2014) - brudgers
https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs?action=browse;oldid=ScreenPlay;id=Screenplay
======
ajarmst
People who find this interesting will likely find the work of Mikey Peterson
([https://www.masteringemacs.org/article/how-to-write-a-
book-i...](https://www.masteringemacs.org/article/how-to-write-a-book-in-
emacs)) and that of Frank Jonen ([https://github.com/frankjonen/emacs-for-
writers](https://github.com/frankjonen/emacs-for-writers)) valuable.

I continue to resist the assumption that writers of screenplays need radically
different tools than writers of other forms. The main issue is disconnecting
the task of _writing_ from the task of _layout design_ which we foolishly used
WYSIWYG tools to conflate decades ago. In general, a tool that allows good
research tracking and cross-reference (research for non-fiction, character
arcs/plotlines for fiction, blocking and scenes for scriptwriting) with
something that lets the writer write without getting in the way is a much
better fit, and emacs excels at this. With the bonus of I can make it do what
I want it to do, at any scale of complexity. Output formatting is a job for
computers, not writers.

~~~
WorldMaker
A reason writers of screenplays feel a need for radically different tools is
that layout is functional rather than merely aesthetic for most screenplay
formats. Most screenwriting tools are like programmer's tools: syntax-
highlighters, linters, autocompleters.

The screenplay syntax is effectively the world's weirdest Python-like
whitespace oriented language form. There is so much required whitespace for
very functional reasons going back more than a century in some places, and
people get really upset if the margins are wrong (the screenwriting equivalent
of PEP-8 isn't followed), because it breaks all sorts of conventions such as
the infamous "a page of screenplay should be about a minute of screen time".

~~~
smogcutter
Yeah there are all sorts of things people may not consider. Like I doubt the
emacs plugin can lock pages, which totally rules it out for production.

Once you’re in production you need to freeze page numbers, or you’d wind up
with chaos. If the DP, producer and AD are talking about page 32, they need to
know they’re talking about the same thing. Subsequent revisions just slot new
pages into the script. If you add text to page 32, it doesn’t spill over to
page 33 and change the numbering of the whole script. Instead you add page
32a, and every page that isn’t edited stays the same. An editor that can’t do
that might be fine for personal work or first drafts, but it would never be
adopted professionally.

~~~
pwrplus1
Page locking is important, but it only happens at the very very end of the
screenwriting process. I've proposed a slight addition to the Fountain syntax
to allow forced page numbers on inserted page breaks, which would effectively
allow page locking. Use this in conjunction with version control and you'd
have everything you need for production.

------
pwrplus1
I'm the author of Fountain Mode[1]. I bumped it to the top of the list because
it's the probably what the majority of the Emacs screenwriters out there are
using, maybe even all five of them.

[1]: [https://github.com/rnkn/fountain-mode](https://github.com/rnkn/fountain-
mode)

~~~
bananamerica
Fountain Mode is awesome. I use it for all my screenplays. Thanks!

One suggestion: I have use Org Mode to store all my brainstorming, outline and
other relevant information. I think it would be wonderful if I integrated it
with the script somehow.

~~~
pwrplus1
Thanks :) You can do

    
    
      #+BEGIN_EXAMPLE fountain
      BOB
      Hello world!
      
      ALICE
      Yeah hi Bob.
      #+END_EXAMPLE
    

and you’ll get fountain aligning/highlighting. I’m not a big org user, so I’d
need suggestions on how else people want to integrate. HMU in the Github
issues.

------
mrjaeger
Just wanted to shout out the Fountain plugin for VS Code:
[https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=piersdes...](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=piersdeseilligny.betterfountain).
Nice syntax highlighting and generates a live preview as you type which you
can then export as a PDF. After trying to format things vaguely correctly in
Google Docs for a while it felt like I could finally focus on just writing the
dang screenplay!

~~~
pwrplus1
Very nice work. I'm interested in how you implemented the page-count/timing of
a Fountain script; could you give a high-level overview?

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bananamerica
I'm a film major and screenwriter. I store all my brainstorming, outline, and
other relevant information in an Org file. I write the actual screenplay using
Fountain Mode.

Fountain syntax is sensible and intuitive. This is, by far, the best
screenwriting experience I have ever had. Other programs have a bunch of
"story-management" features that I find bloated and useless. Fountain Mode
allows me to use easily create sections that I can cycle just like in Org
Mode. These "headings" organize act structure, plot points, and scenes.

The only downside is that I need to use an external tool to create PDF.

One way to make this setup even more awesome would be to integrate the
screenplay with Org.

------
cairo_x
I would be able to get around to writing that screenplay I've been thinking
about--if only I could find the right editor /s

------
nemoniac
Last edited 2014-05-22

~~~
dang
It says 2020 now, but
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140910223112/https://www.emacs...](https://web.archive.org/web/20140910223112/https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs?action=browse;oldid=ScreenPlay;id=Screenplay)
looks substantially the same, so we'll put 2014 above. Thanks!

