A New Kind of Screenwriting Software
Sophocles is a new screenplay software program that emphasizes the writing process. While other script writing software puts the focus on margins and page breaks, Sophocles was conceptualized from the start as a story creation tool for screenwriters. By allowing you to easily navigate and manipulate your story elements, Sophocles helps you craft a tighter, smoother flowing screenplay.
Professional Screenwriting Format
Default format settings derived from a sample of 25 modern Hollywood screenplays. (Click here to view the default format.)
Story Centered Design
An interface that directs your attention away from mundane formatting issues while directing it towards the actual creative screenwriting process.
Get the Big Picture
Tools to help you stay oriented within your story-space, and to easily navigate related scenes and plot points.
Easy to Use
A clean, uncluttered interface, and an extremely shallow learning curve. If you have prior word processor experience, you can get up to speed in minutes.
Sophocles Features
Scene List
The scene list displays all the scene headers in your script along with a variety of statistical values for each scene. You can sort the list according to any of these values by clicking on the buttons at the tops of the columns. Double clicking on an entry jumps you immediately to that scene.
The first paragraph of the selected scene appears at the bottom of the list, along with scene notes and a synopsis. As with the other lists, the scene list can be exported to a spreadsheet or database application by clicking on the save button.
Dyad List
A "dyad" is a pair of related characters. The dyad list displays all the dyads in your script, along with an indication of the relative strength of the relationship between the two characters (a measure of how frequently they speak to each other). The strength values are scaled such that the strongest dyad scores one hundred.
The tool's bookmark button allows you to mark all locations where the members of the selected dyad speak to each other.
Title Page Editor
The title page editor provides a quick and easy way to generate an industry-standard title page for your screenplay. Also, when production mode is active and you're generating revision sheets, the title page editor allows you to specify the placement of revision slugs.
Sample Stats:
Annie Hall Brazil Casablanca Goodwill Hunting LA Confidential Predator Titanic
Statistical Analysis
How many scenes are in the typical screenplay? How many characters? What proportion of a typical script is dialogue? How long is the typical scene? The answers vary greatly from one writer to the next, of course, and from one genre to another, but if you're too far off the mark your screenplay won't seem professional.
Sophocles' statistical analysis feature helps get you on the mark. When used in conjunction with the import tool, you can download screenplays from the Web and compare your own stats to those of your favorite writers'. (You can do this using the free trial version of the program. Look in the links section for places to download screenplays.)
Outline Report
This tool allows you to view your scene headers, synopses and notes in an outline format, and it provides a great way to brainstorm structural aspects of your story: print it out, sit down and start scribbling.
True Thesaurus
Sophocles provides a true thesaurus -- not just a synonym dictionary. By allowing you to explore clusters of word meanings and to follow paths of word associations, Sophocles' thesaurus helps you brainstorm ways of reworking your sentences, and it also serves as an effective "metaphor finder".
Character List
The character list displays all the speaking roles in your script, along with a variety of statistical values for each. The report can be sorted by any of these values, or exported to a spreadsheet or database application.
The Dialogue button lets you view and edit all the dialogue for the selected character. This is a great way to work on the distinctiveness and consistency of your characters' speech patterns.
Bookmark Tool
This tool allows you to save and load up to sixteen "bookmark collections."
General Formats Tab
Here you specify font and page number information and how to split dialogue across pages. Functionality includes the ability to include act and scene information as a part of the page number (as required by television and stageplay formats), and the ability to adjust line-per-inch and letter-per-inch values for fine tuning your page count.
Margins Tab
Defines margin settings for each of the ten paragraph types and for dual column dialogue.
Paragraphs Tab
Determines special formatting characteristics and line-spacing values for each paragraph type.
Page Breaks Tab
Determines the rules used for breaking each of the paragraph types across pages.
Production Formats Tab
Contains formatting options that apply when production mode is active.
Fully automated revision handling and scene numbering.
* A scene notes / synopses tool that remains visible as you write.
* Drag-and-drop scenes from one location to another.
* 7 different reports and lists, the contents of which can be exported to most spreadsheet and database applications.
* 11 predefined formatting setups.
* Import your existing scripts into Sophocles.
* Export your scripts to rtf, txt, html, and pdf file formats (not available in the trial version).
* Dual column dialogue.
* View and edit all the dialogue for a particular character at once.
* Intelligent cut-and-paste allows you to specify paragraph types when pasting from another application.
* Unique timing feature tells you at a glance when a scene is running long.
* Spell-checker allows unusual spellings in dialogue (umm, shhhh, t-t-thanks).
* Split-view for transplanting a plot point from one scene to another, or for writing a scene that's critically dependent on some other scene.
* The easiest to use auto-type functionality you'll find.
* Bookmark tool allows you to store and load up to 16 bookmark collections.
* Customizable color-coding of paragraph types.
* Compressed view for small screens.
* Free minor version upgrades (1.1 to 1.2, for instance).
* Undo/Redo to a depth of 128 actions.
* Forward and back buttons (like on your web browser).
* E-mail functionality.
* Auto-save.
* Adjustable line and letter spacing for fine tuning your page count.
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