Script Smart

kitt

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Does anyone use Script Smart? It's a script template made to use in microsoft word. I printed my script that I wrote in movie magic demo and am now undertaking the task of retyping it in script smart. The problem is the margins in script smart are making my script much longer then movie magic did and I don't know how to go back and change them all. Can anyone help me out?
 

alleycat

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I use the Script Smart template for stage plays (and Movie Magic for screenplays). I've never use SS for a screenplay.

Are you referring to your page margins, or something else?

And you're retyping it? You can't just cut-and-paste and then modify as needed?
 

dpaterso

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alleycat, alas the Movie Magic demo has copy/paste switched off as a security measure, you can't export anything out of it.

kitt, it's geek hour, prepare to be bored! :eek:

In MS Word you can easily change the indent settings for each style. For example, select Format / select Style / select any element e.g. ACTION / select Modify button / select Format button / select Paragraph. You'll see Left and Right indentations -- these numbers can be adjusted to whatever you want, widening or narrowing the action paragraphs.

I checked an old MS Word script from a couple of years ago, both my left and right ACTION indentations are set to 0.75" (but ya gotta add 1.0" onto these numbers -- MS Word's 1.0" paper margin settings) so really they're 1.75" and 1.75" from the actual edge of the page (you following this?). By comparison, left and right margins for Action elements in Movie Magic are set to 1.5" and 1.0" (select Format / Edit Script Formats / Action button). Which is pretty close actually, I can't see the discrepency making that much of a difference...

Just as another example, for element type CHARACTER NAME the left and right indentations are 3.75" and 2.75" respectively (when I adjust for the extra 1" paper margin), while in Movie Magic they're 3.7" and 1.0" (select Format / Edit Script Formats / Character Name button). Which again is pretty close.

You can repeat this for all the elements in your script just to check them. But I'm surprised the Scriptsmart template doesn't have these set up correctly. That's the entire point of a template, after all. I suspect the differences between the template and Movie Magic's default settings can't be all that great but can you check a couple as described above and post the results?

If none of that makes sense, say so and I'll hang my head and walk the geek walk of shame.

-Derek
 

alleycat

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dpaterso said:
alleycat, alas the Movie Magic demo has copy/paste switched off as a security measure, you can't export anything out of it.
I knew there was something about not being able to print on the demo (although I've never used the demo); it didn't dawn on me about cut-and-paste. There are ways around that, but it's probably not worth it. Typing it back in would give someone a chance to do an edit as they went.
 

kitt

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Yea, that's the only silver lining around having to retype the whole thing again, getting to edit which I needed more then I thought, how would I go about getting around that anyway.

Thanks Derek, I will attempt to fix it. I'm not even exactly sure what's off, I just know the more I retype the longer my page count gets. Hopefully I wasn't writing it with the wrong margins in movie magic all along. I'll try your suggestions and see what happens.
 

kitt

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ok, I got it, thanks so much Derek, don't know what I'd do with you. It dropped the 22 page script to 19, big diff. Now I guess I'll get back to retyping...ugg