Final Draft Blog
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The Vampire Factor: The character archetype that just won’t die
One thing is certain in the world of cinema: Vampires will never go out of style. From F.W. Murnau’s 1922 black and white silver screen creature of the night Nosferatu through to the sexy, stylized variations that grace our modern small screens, vamp...
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Take 5: A hero must rise in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
In the latest Marvel Studios film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the citizens of Wakanda are mourning the loss of their king while facing the powerful forces of a new enemy from below the sea and the world powers interested in the Vibranium found w...
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How To Create an Emotional Through Line in Your Screenplay
Many aspiring screenwriters might not be aware of the term “through line” and how it’s frequently used in the development process. When I first broke into the film industry I wasn’t aware of the term myself, and I definitely wasn’t thinking of themat...
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5 Tips to Writing a Great Opening
In my article 5 Clichés to Avoid in the Opening of Your Script, I stressed the importance of grabbing industry professionals in the first couple pages of your spec script. Whether it’s a feature screenplay or a television pilot, most managers, agents...
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Right Story, Right Character
In my article about National Lampoon's Vacation, I wrote that one of the reasons for the film’s success was it paired the right character with the right story. Sometimes there is a tendency for screenwriters to focus more on plot and less on the prot...
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Five steps to writing your own superhero
Conventional wisdom might discourage a writer to pen a spec script about an original superhero. It’s all about established IPs and superheroes that audiences have a history with, right? But a spec script is about more than just selling a script; it’s...
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Dialogue Choices and Dual Dialogue
In real life, people don’t speak in perfectly rendered and well-orchestrated dialogue. Not in most cases, anyway. The way we converse with others can vary depending on whom we’re speaking with: If we speak to an employer or authority figure, we’ll be...
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It Builds Character Part III: Character choices and going beyond top level actions
Writing teacher William Zinsser describes creativity as having levels, or orders. The first idea you get is referred to as first order, the second is referred to as second order, and so on. Zinsser encourages his students to think beyond first order ...
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All The Write Moves: 'Veronica Mars'
By this point, it’s not bold to describe Veronica Mars as one of Hollywood’s most indestructible franchises. After debuting as a regular series on UPN, where it ran from 2004 to 2005, the show transitioned to the CW for the 2006-2007 season, then ret...
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What’s new in Final Draft 13?
WRITING GOALS &
PRODUCTIVITY STATS
Set goals and get valuable insights to take your work to the next level
TYPEWRITER
A new typewriter-like view option improves your focus
EMOJI
Craft more realistic onscreen text exchanges and make your notes more emotive
And so much more, thoughtfully designed to help unleash your creativity.
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