Final Draft 8 Preview

[George_Washington]

A few sneak previews of Final Draft 8 were scheduled for the Screenwriting Expo 2007. Unfortunately, there was no way for me to attend the seminars, but I am very interested in learning about the new features in the upcoming version of the software, particularly with regard to Movie Magic's recent release. How is Final Draft 8 going to compare with MM Screenwriter 6? Can anyone report about the software demonstration at the Expo?

Many thanks for your time.

 

[Joe Calabrese]

As a beta tester for it I must say that ease of use is the number one improvement. Also they separated things into separate windows/workspaces that makes note taking and labeling and organizing your script much better.

A lot of tweaks and I am bound by agreement to not divulge secrets, but I can say that it is a better FD all around.

 

[MitchJ]

Have they announced a release date yet?

 

[George_Washington]

Many thanks, Joe Calabrese.

As far as the release date goes: FD8 is scheduled to come out in the beginning of the 4th quarter, 2008.

Nevertheless. Did someone attend Final Draft's sneak preview at the Expo? Can someone elaborate on that?

Thanks in advance.

 

[MitchJ]

Wow. That's a long way off. I guess they're not even in Alpha testing yet.

 

[kthayer]

Final Draft version 8 Release Date

I couldn't help but respond to the post by 'George Washington' as I found it rather amusing that these rumors are already flying around.

I'm the Product Manager for Final Draft and personally responsible for the release date. I can tell you that we haven't even decided on a year at this point let alone a Quarter - Joe Calabrese can attest to that. We'll release when we feel we've created a version that is worth your while...

However, we do promise to keep folks posted on our progress so I highly recommend you read/subscribe to my quarterly 'Software Newsletter', not to be confused with our company's normal monthly newsletter. We have archives of my last two issues posted as well as a link for you to sign up to get upcoming details... Here's the link: http://finaldraft.com/company/newsletter-archive/

If you have any questions, you can email me at pmATfinaldraft.com and I'll be happy to respond as best I can...

Kind regards,

Kirsten Thayer
Product Manager, Final Draft

 

[MitchJ]

Awesome! Thanks for the update, Kirsten.

 

[NikeeGoddess]

hey KT - where's the link to SUGGESTIONS on improving the software from we every day users?

p.s. - i find it funny that your first and only post on this board is about the software. did someone direct you to GW's question or are you GW or know GW trying to get a buzz going? lol!

 

[kthayer]

How I work...

I have a Google alert that lets me know when certain keywords are posted on blogs, etc. It's my way of trying to respond to the many requests or comments not submitted directly to Final Draft. You're right, I don't typically post here but if I attempted to post on every website and blog I wouldn't get my day job done so I try to limit my input to just responses.

As for your question about suggestions, there are two things you should be aware of. One is that about three months ago, Final Draft provided an online survey to every customer we have email for that has allowed us to send them solicitations and thousands of you responded so we have a very good sample size of suggestions and ideas.

The second is that we always take suggestions which get submitted directly to me. You can submit them via our website at the following location:

http://finaldraft.com/company/feedback-form.php

And, as mentioned in my original post, if you have any other questions or wish to contact me directly, I can be reached at: pmATfinaldraft.com (obviously replace the AT with @)

Happy New Year....


Kirsten Thayer
Product Manager, Final Draft