Intro to the Toolkit

FADE IN

Start on the next line which is the first Slug line.

INT – Bill Williams Studio – Day

Bill Williams’ studio is a typical computer programmer’s office. Shelves cover all the walls and are laden with books about computer languages and algorithms. A significant portion of shelving is filled with books about script-writing, such as “Writing Scripts Hollywood will Love” and “The Television PA’s Handbook”. A large battered oak desk carries two computers with a large computer screen and a keyboard and mouse. A large professional laser printer stands on a side table.

Bill is working at the keyboard. The doorbell rings. Bill gets up to answer the door.

BILL

Come in, Come in I’m so glad you called.

NEW WRITER

Hi, I’m a new writer and I just found out about your Toolkit on the Internet.

BILL

Good, I think you will find that it makes your writing much easier and will really help you get your script out of your head and down on paper.

NEW WRITER

So what is this Scriptwriter’s Toolkit then?

BILL

It is an add-on to MS Word (Microsoft’s Office Word-Processor software). It performs all the layout and formatting for you to type scripts in the right format. The toolkit is in the form of a “template” which is a sort of loose add-on, that is, it does not hinder Word when Word is being used for other writing actions. They work with all versions of Word from Word 2000 to Word 2010.

NEW WRITER

Oh, but I have heard that there are many different formats for scripts.

BILL

Yes, that’s right, but this toolkit handles the 14 most significant ones, including Film format for Hollywood and for TV drama and Sitcom or Studio format for the programs recorded with an audience. Then there are three different formats for doing Stage plays for amateur or professional productions.

NEW WRITER

I heard that they don’t work with the most recent versions of Word

BILL

That did seem to be the case, but it turns out they work fine with all versions of Word (on Windows) from Word 2000 to Word 2010,

NEW WRITER

What about Word on an Apple Mac.

BILL

Alas, they do not work on an Apple Mac.

CHARLADY

Would you like a cup of tea, I’ve just brewed a fresh pot.

BILL and NEW WRITER

Yes, Please!

NEW WRITER

Is it free?

BILL

The tea is free yes, but there is a small admin fee for using the toolkit.  It’s not a lot, just about the price of four or five beers, a small round of drinks for your writing colleagues or friends.

NEW WRITER

But other scriptwriting templates are free!

BILL

You and worth every penny of free too, I expect. Look; when you write your scripts in future do you expect that you will give them away free?

NEW WRITER

(ruefully)

Ah, no not really.

BILL

Well you see I am not a writer; I am an independent computer programmer and creating good software is my mission, so naturally I do expect to gain some income from my work, just like you will.

NEW WRITER

But I heard your kit was free!

BILL

Well the earlier version was free, but that was when I was working extensively for several of the independent TV production companies so I didn’t need the small income from the toolkit. But later after many of those companies were swallowed by bigger companies, there was no work for small independent support staff like me and I lost that means of subsidising the toolkit.

NEW WRITER

So it’s not free anymore?

BILL

Like I said there is a small admin fee now. There is a free sample though and I encourage you to try that out first so that you can see what the toolkit does.

NEW WRITER

Ooh, is the free one the Hollywood film format?

BILL

Huh, now just how many people would I persuade to pay their fees if I made the most popular format the free one?

NEW WRITER

(shamefaced)

Ah… I see your point.

BILL

I used the ‘nicest’ of the stageplay formats as the free sample. This is deliberate so that it can freely be used in schools for in-school dramatics. But I guess not a lot of people have realised that.

BILL (continued)

Well if you have learned enough, you can click this link http://www.datahighways.net/dhl/toolkit.htm and go off to the toolkit site get the free sample or to OBTAIN your serial key by paying a small sum in pounds or dollars via PayPal.  You can pay by credit card using PayPal without needing to create a PayPal account. Or otherwise you can stick around here and ask more questions. You then get instructions on how to download the toolkit.  The Installation instructions are in the form of videos on Youtube. The links to reach them are on that opening page that you reach from that link above.

NEW WRITER

So if you are a programmer not a writer or producer, how come you think you are the bees’ knees in respect of providing script formatting templates?

BILL

Oooh, how rude! The fact is that the freebie templates that you see around, such as the ScriptSmart from the BBC site, were produced by amateur programmers whose day job was working in TV, so they know the easy part, i.e. what the script formats should look like, and they have learned how to define paragraph styles, but they don’t know how to do good computer programming so their templates contain no assisting automation and their keystroke choices are confusing.

NEW WRITER

What do you mean: confusing?

BILL

Well in ScriptSmart for instance all the formats are rolled into one big template, with the result that which keystroke you use for beginning a person’s dialogue depends on which script format you are trying to create, so it becomes difficult to go with the flow and you will be frequently looking up the crib sheet to see which key combinations to press.

NEW WRITER

Sooo? How is your toolkit better?

BILL

Well for a start I assume before you start that you know what kind of entertainment you are typing the script for, so right at the beginning you choose which of the 14 formats you are going to produce and load that specific template. This means that the keystrokes for a given function can as far as possible be identical across all the formats. So once you have learned to use one format you have also trained yourself to use the other formats.

NEW WRITER

So that means…

BILL

Yes, exactly.. if you try out the free sample you are also training yourself to use the other formats!

NEW WRITER

And ?

BILL

In the toolkit, irrespective of which format you are producing, the combination keystrokes CTRL+1, or CTRL+2 etc start a new dialogue for a given character; the script advances to the new paragraph, types in the name of the character and advances to the next line ready to type his/her words.

 

So after a few pages of writing those keystrokes become associated in your mind directly with the character, instead of “punching keys” you are selecting the character and you are then into his mind and the dialogue flows from your fingers.

NEW WRITER

OK clever clogs, so what else is better than other templates?

BILL

Well, during your writing phase the items appear on screen in different colours, so that your mind more easily ‘knows’ what is character identification, dialogue scene headings or stage directions.

 Some people even like to print them out like that for amateur productions, but for a professional submission there is a built in menu option, which will ‘by magic’ save your final editable version, then will produce a second submission version in which the colour is changed to black on white, and all the fancy toolkit features are removed leaving a submission script which uses just the best built-in features of MS Word. This version then appears to have been produced by a really expert MS Word user.

NEW WRITER

Anything else?

BILL

Oh, yes the toolkit system encourages new writers to make essential backup copies at key points in writing your film or sitcom or play. It doesn’t remove any MS word facilities, so if you need to deviate from the normal formats, you have all the power of MS Word also at your fingertips.

NEW WRITER

Enough, enough… what was that link again?

BILL

Well you can click this link http://www.datahighways.net/dhl/toolkit.htm and go off to the toolkit site get the free sample or to OBTAIN your serial key by paying a small sum in pounds or dollars via PayPal.  You can pay by credit card using PayPal without needing to create a PayPal account. Or otherwise you can stick around here and ask more questions. You then get instructions on how to download the toolkit.  The Installation instructions are in the form of videos on Youtube. The links to reach them are on that opening page that you reach from that link above.

NEW WRITER

Well thanks for explaining, bye for now.

BILL

Bye for now, if you encounter any difficulties you can check my support forum and if the answer is not there you can email me with any questions.

 

 

FADE OUT