Story Plus CS6
Publisher: AdobePlatforms: PC, MAC
Description: Collaborative Screenwriting Software, Production Planning
MSRP: Free with Creative Cloud Service, Story Plus without Creative Cloud Membership is $25 per month or $180 per year
Expected Release: Available Now
Official Website: http://www.story.adobe.com
Demo: Story Free: Click Here
Review Issue: Issue #79 (11/12)
Review By: A.J. Wedding
Final Score: 8.5
Many of us have had the opportunity over the past year or two to beta test Adobe Story as a screenwriting program that allows you to collaborate online with other writers, producers and directors. Taking in much of the user feedback, Adobe has released Adobe Story PLUS with its latest creative suite.
Having written reviews on the previous available versions of Story, you may note that I have been a fan of the program. I always like tools that are available to us for free, especially when they have real uses in my production pipeline. Story Plus, however, is not free… Let’s see how it holds up to a fresh look.
Ease of Use
Though early versions of Story Plus were a little buggy, Adobe seems to have worked out the issues and streamlined the usage of the program. If you are used to other screenwriter programs you can jump right into writing with Story Plus, but it doesn’t end there. If all you want is a screenwriting program, you can use Adobe Story Free. Story Plus has many new features that help you to work with your producers on scheduling your production. The metadata collected from your script can easily be sorted into several useful production reports and schedules, which you can then adjust, add shooting information, dates, etc. This integration adds a level of ease to production planning that hasn’t existed before. Creating prop lists, actor schedules and continuity reports would take hours if not days without the appropriate metadata that is collected throughout your script by Story Plus.
Depth of Options
This is where Story Plus really excels. With programs such as Movie Magic or Final Draft, writers cannot collaborate unless they have the same program. There are ways around it by saving .rtf files, but usually something ends up out-of-place, needs adjustment, etc. Adobe Story Plus allows you to import scripts you have written in any other script format from the aforementioned programs toFinal Draft 8, even simple PDFs. This means that you don’t need to write in Story if you are happy with your current program. Adobe’s goal is not to pull you away from the tools that you like to use, but rather add more options to you regardless of what you like.
When it comes to scheduling it all comes down to metadata. A script can be mined for virtually any line item because of Adobe’s powerful tools. Currently there are several types of lists and schedules you can create from your script information and Adobe will only continue to add more.
Story Plus is part of Adobe’s new Creative Cloud service which allows you to access all the CS6 applications as well as several that are only accessible to Creative Cloud members by paying a low monthly subscription fee. This is a great option for people who cannot shell out the cost for the Creative Suite all at once. The reason I mention this in the options area is because aside from giving you a new payment option, this also gives Adobe the ability to add updates more frequently. Their current public structure doesn’t allow them to add updates to the Creative Suite every month or two like some other companies. But Creative Cloud members will be given regular updates which means new options that are added to Story Plus will become immediately available to cloud users.
Generate useful production reports with the push of a button.
Performance
There are a few things that are still strange. For instance, you have to be working in the ‘online’ mode in order to import PDF files. In speaking with Story’s developer, it became clear that this is because importing a PDF is a complex and difficult process which is different every time. Story needs to lean on Adobe’s database in order to determine what program originated the PDF file. The importing of a PDF does tend to get the formatting wrong from time to time, but the fact that it can import it into an editable document at all is pretty amazing.
There have been a few reports generated from Story Plus that were incorrect. In those cases Story Plus has misinterpreted the metadata, such as marking a prop as a character. It’s smart to check through the metadata before you start generating reports to make sure everything is set up correctly. It’s still a work in progress and while there are little issues from time to time, it’s still a lot less time than going through and making the lists yourself by eye.
As a collaborative screenwriting tool the performance is amazing. And being able to share scripts, notes, changes, and production reports online between producers is of great value to me. It saves time and money, and those are the most important resources to microfilmmakers.
Share with readers, producers or co-authors and limit their editing capabilities!
Value Vs. Cost
Adobe Story Free is gratis, and Story Plus is included in the cost of Creative Cloud membership. To access it without paying for Creative Cloud, it’s $25 per month. If you agree to an entire year, the price goes down to $15 per month which must be paid upfront for a total of $180 for the year (something I think Adobe’s website doesn’t describe well enough).
Ok, time for my rant about the cloud. I am happy that Adobe has come up with a cloud option for users because it gets rid of the huge one-time costs and is really helpful to companies who need to budget for specific film projects. What I don’t like is that there are several programs that Adobe is holding back from you unless you go the cloud route. Yes, I know that Story Free is, well, free…but I don’t like the idea that, if I do pay the full upfront cost of owning the creative suite, I don’t have access to all the programs that someone who’s a monthly user gets. Also, a big push toward the cloud is because they can offer updates more regularly that the suite owners will not get until they upgrade to the newest version every year or so. It feels like punishment for giving Adobe a lump some of money. I know that the cloud is the future, but I think companies who are pushing for the future need to get better at easing the transition for people. Take a look at the Final Cut X debacle for further evidence. Don’t follow the military model of “Ready and Forward” without turning around to make sure your troops are still behind you.
Overall, you can’t argue with free. And if you are using the tools involved with Story Plus, you are probably using the rest of the Creative Suite so the full Creative Cloud service is a good choice.
Final Comments
Ranting about clouds aside, I am still happy with the development of Story and Story Plus. It’s becoming a great tool that producers on all levels can use in their production pipeline.
|
Breakdown
|
|
|
Ease of Use
|
9.0 |
|
Depth of Options
|
10.0 |
|
Performance
|
7.0 |
|
Value vs. Cost
|
8.0 |
|
Overall Score |
8.5 |
AJ Wedding
A.J. Wedding is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has won festival awards for his first feature film, "Pop Fiction". As a writer/director, he has won several awards for his short films, and recently garnered worldwide distribution for a feature film titled “The Disappearance of Jenna Matheson” releasing this year. His hit web series, “Infamous” created an instant fanbase, and spawned interest from networks to create a tv series based on it. A.J. currently works with The Production Green, directing and editing commercials as well as developing his next feature film, "Junior Crew."