Final Draft Blog

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Music Cues In Your Screenplay?

February 17, 2016

Conventional wisdom says don’t. But this same wisdom also tells you never to direct in your script, nor telegraph what a character is feeling, etc. I respectfully disagree with this.

"National Lampoon": Five Lessons in Writing Comedy

January 12, 2016

The original Vacation (1983) was written by 80s cinema legend John Hughes. It was based on his National Lampoon piece “Vacation ’58”, and it was the script that catapulted him into the film business. After the Harold Ramis directed film became a box ...

Videomaker Reviews Final Draft 9

January 7, 2016

Screenplays and other scripts have strict formatting rules, and writers must stick to the industry standards if they don’t want their masterpiece to end up in the trash. Screenwriting programs make it easier for writers to put their ideas on the page...

Sleepy Hollow' Co-Creator Phillip Iscove on the Evolution of a Hit Show

December 30, 2015

Phillip Iscove, creator of hit TV series Sleepy Hollow, talks about his early days at film school in Toronto, working as an assistant at powerhouse agency UTA for eight years, and how Sleepy Hollow was not just his first sale: it also saved him from ...

Final Draft Insider View with Screenwriter Scott Neustadter

December 30, 2015

Scott Neustadter discusses how an internship was an incredibly valuable experience that helped to launch his career, and how his time working in development affected his screenwriting process. He also discusses his bi-coastal writing partnership with...