Few things make a screenwriter happier than to see a new version of a favorite piece of software. Well, most screenwriters, anyway. There are probably still some of us who remain loyal to the legal pad, but I digress.
Write Brothers Inc, creators of the highly-praised Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000, have come out with a new version which promises many more features for us writers to drool over. I'll admit to usually being a skeptic when new software comes out, but version 2000 was such a great product, I was intrigued to see what could be done to improve on it.
This software's setup is very different from its previous version.
Ease of Use
Movie Magic 6.0 has a very different format than its earlier incarnation, Movie Magic 2000. The typing area is squished into the right half of the application, and the left side uses the new "NaviDoc"--which has replaced earlier functions supplied by the index card and scene viewer functions. On the one hand, it's great to have everything right in front of you, and this scene viewer format is a lot easier to use than the previous one. However, for those who have smaller computer screens or are lacking in the vision department, a squished screen does require dropping the text size in order to fit it all in, which can make it hard to read. But the NaviDoc can be closed by clicking on the bar that separates it from the text box and dragging it to the left, and it can be re-opened by clicking on the far left edge of the application. Still the issues of squished text remains for those who want to have the NaviDoc handy while doing editing work.
Movie Magic Screanwriter 6 still has a lot of the same features, such as the screne heading drop-down menu.
The different format may take a while to get used to, but the operation is still very similar. The program still incorporates auto-fills and the right-side module with the option to start lines involving characters, dialogue, parentheticals, etc. Although if you do click on these buttons (labeled "C" "D" "P" etc.) it may at first appear that you can't click out of the drop-down menu if you've accidentally hit it. While you can get out by selecting a transition, action element, etc., you can also click the rather oddly labeled "Nevermind" link (or click "Esc", as I found out later) to close it without applying one of these elements.
This can be a bit irritating at times, especially when one is still trying to figure out the program. Many of the shortcuts are still the same - tab denotes a character about to speak, and typing the first letter of their name will bring up the character drop-down menu. Type "Int." or "Ext." and the program will automatically detect a scene heading - one doesn't have to click the "A" button. And, unlike its previous version, Ctrl+S will save the document.
