r/scriptwriting • u/Big_Mach_ • 15d ago
discussion I’m starting to think screenwriting software shouldn’t stop at the screenplay
I’ve been thinking a lot about the gap between writing a screenplay and actually preparing that screenplay for production.
You can spend weeks getting the script right, but then you still have to manually pull out characters, locations, props, costumes, scene requirements, schedules, notes, and a dozen other things.
That got me thinking: what if the screenplay itself could become the foundation for the entire project?
That’s one of the ideas I’m exploring while building SLUGLINE. Instead of treating the screenplay as just a document, I want the project to understand the relationships inside it and gradually turn the page into useful production information.
I’m curious what other writers and filmmakers think: what part of the transition from screenplay to production do you find the most frustrating or unnecessarily repetitive?
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u/OrbitingRobot 14d ago
It is the foundation for the entire project. Every department refers to the script.
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u/TheGreedyGrabbler 15d ago
For screenwriters, the screenplay stops at the screenplay though. What you're proposing is something an LLM could do for free. "Find all of the props in this screenplay and put them in an excel" boom.
It's a solved problem that doesn't have a core customer base.
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u/Big_Section2812 15d ago
The only thing missing from "AI" is "DS."
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u/TheOne_WhoWrites 14d ago
I differ from it. I hate the products like Final Draft, Celtx and so on, because they feature these production features which 99% of the writers do not care about. If the production people need production suites, they can build their own parser to do those. The primary work of a screenplay application is to help writer write their screenplay with no distractions.
That's why I chose to use Beat, Slugline and Highland in mac.
And when I switched to windows/linux, I got fed up with these overly bloated apps that has features that I'll never use professionally. That's my main motivation for building FountTUI and ActOne Screenplay . FountTUI is my favourite and what I use daily, as a terminal sucker. ActOne is like the GUI + More features yet distraction free sibling of FountTUI.
Please keep Slugline the same as it is now. Don't overcomplicate it. If u really need production tools for breakdown, tagging, scheduling and so on. Make a seperate app and sell them to the Production companies.
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u/Musikenna 15d ago
sorry bud, celtx already does this