Movie Outline Screenwriting Blog

December 15, 2021 (London, UK) – UK technology company Nuvotech has lanuched its inaugural Script Studio^® 2022 Feature Screenwriting Contest in the hope of discovering new international screenwriting talent.

In partnership with Nuvotech’s online creative writing services portal “Hollywood Script Express” and experienced industry professionals, the screenplay contest intends to offer emerging screenwriters with unique voices and original ideas an opportunity to get their script in front of agents, managers, producers and development execs.

This year’s total prize fund of $10,000 in cash and prizes will be distributed among the top 5 scripts in 7 genres, with genre category winners receiving $500 cash and the Grand Prize Winner walking away with $2,500 cash in total. A “Guaranteed Option” prize will also be offered to one or more scripts.

“We’ve been planning this venture for some time”, said Ben Gardner, Contest Coordinator“… and are all thrilled to be launching a brand new screenwriting competition. Our annual feature contest aims to highlight the best international writing talent, circulate and promote the winning scripts to our industry partners and raise the profile of their writers. We have lined up some fantastic judges with years of industry experience and will be expanding our jury as the competition progresses.”

7 Genre Categories:

• Action/Adventure
• Comedy
• Drama
• Sci-Fi/Fantasy
• Thriller/Horror
• Animation/Family
• Historical/Biopic

The Early Deadline is January 15, 2022.

To learn more or enter click here

About Nuvotech

Nuvotech is a software and web services company based in London, England founded in 1999 by produced screenwriter Dan Bronzite to offer innovative software and services for the creative writing industry. Its most recognized brands are Script Studio, a cross-platform creative writing application, and Hollywood Script Express a script coverage, editing, copying & delivery service in Los Angeles.

May 1, 2019 (London, UK) – UK technology company Nuvotech is awarded the 2019 Xojo Design Award of “Best Vertical Market App” for its popular creative writing software Script Studio^® – an innovative Mac & Windows desktop application for screenwriters, playwrights and novelists.

The annual Xojo Design Awards foster creativity and encourage independent development by rewarding developers that produce quality products. The criteria on which the software is judged includes creativity, ease of use and design.

“The awards honor excellence in software design, and with so many entries this year, judging was not easy on us”, said Geoff Perlman, founder and CEO of Xojo, Inc, when he announced the winners during his Keynote in Miami, Florida at the Xojo Developer Conference.

“We are delighted to receive this award and grateful to have our hard work recognized”, said Dan Bronzite, produced screenwriter, CEO and head developer at Nuvotech, “Since Script Studio’s release in 2017 we have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback and enthusiastic support from the growing screenwriting and novel writing community choosing our app for their creative writing endeavors, and being acknowledged by our peers is the icing on the cake.”

Script Studio — Key Features

• Professional Industry Standard Screenplay Formatting & Pagination
• Sequence Outlining & Story Organization
• Character Development Tools
• Dedicated Novel Mode & Chapter Headings
• Right-to-Left & Diacritics Support For International Users
• Night Mode
• Audience Engagement & Analysis Charting
• Visual Drag ‘n’ Drop Index Cards
• Color-Coded Structuring & Customizable Templates
• Character Dialogue Focus
• Global Scratch Pad
• Story Tasks “To Do” List
• Screenwriting Glossary
• Dictation Assistant
• Table Read “Text-To-Speech”
• Powerful Print, Import & Export Options
• 12 Scene by Scene Hollywood Movie Breakdowns & Analyses
• 100% Cross-Platform File Exchange & Matching Modern UI

Download a Free Trial or Buy Now from the Script Studio Store or Mac App Store.

Educational Solutions

Script Studio is ideal for students learning screenwriting because of its intuitive and structured approach to story development which allows you to build your script or novel step by step and chapter by chapter and can easily be tailored into modules for teaching. The software is already adopted by schools and universities across North America and Europe and Nuvotech strongly supports this through affordable academic pricing for individual licenses and multiple seats for screenwriting labs.

Pricing and Availability

Script Studio is available as a download from the Script Studio website for Mac 10.7 and Windows 7 or higher operating systems. The suggested retail price is $199.95 but competitive upgrades from Final Draft and academic pricing is available if you contact Nuvotech directly.

About Nuvotech

Nuvotech is a software and web services company based in London, England founded in 1999 by produced screenwriter Dan Bronzite to offer innovative software and services for the creative writing industry. Its most recognized brands are Script Studio, a cross-platform creative writing application, and Hollywood Script Express a script copying and delivery service in Los Angeles.

4 December, 2012 (London, UK) — UK technology company Nuvotech today launched six new movie Reference Plugins for its popular screenwriting software Movie Outline 3.

New Plugins

• Iron Man (2008) Fantasy Action-Thriller
• The Sixth Sense (1999) Supernatural Thriller
• Ocean’s Eleven (2001) Crime Thriller
• The Fugitive (1993) Action-Thriller
• Wall Street (1987) Crime Drama
• The Incredibles (2004) Animated Adventure

“The unique selling point of Movie Outline and its appeal to writers from novice to pro is that it was created and continues to be developed from a writer’s perspective” explains Dan Bronzite — produced screenwriter, director and Nuvotech CEO. “The software allows you to build your story and script beat by beat, and this ability to compare your own narrative with scene-by-scene outlines & analyses of box office hits is a key feature of its innovative design.”

Reference Plugins included for free in Movie Outline 3

About Reference Plugins

Different movie genres require different amounts of steps. Dramas are typically around 35-40 steps because they usually have longer scenes than Thrillers, Comedies and Action and Adventure movies which are normally around 45 steps with more action and less dialogue. To help plan your project, Movie Outline allows you to simultaneously refer to produced feature film outlines and gauge the progress of your own story in contrast to the most successful Hollywood movies. By comparing your own character arcs, escalating conflicts, plot points and three act structure with the pros, you’ll be able to amend mistakes in your own pacing and successfully produce a well-structured screen story!

*Please Note: Plugins are scene-by-scene outlines & analyses of movies but do not contain the original screenplays.

Price & Availability

New plugins can only be purchased via Movie Outline 3’s integrated purchase wizard which allows you to buy securely from within the application and then have your plugins automatically downloaded and installed into your Reference Library.

To buy select “Buy Reference Plugins” from the Movie Outline 3 Help Menu.

Price Per Plugin: $9.95

Click here to buy Movie Outline 3 from our secure online store.

About Movie Outline

Movie Outline is innovative script formatting and screenplay development software for both the novice and professional screenwriter which uses the simple technique of step-outlining to build your story, characters and screenplay scene by scene, allowing you to focus on each key event of your script without losing sight of the bigger picture.

About Nuvotech

Nuvotech is a software and Web 2.0 services company based in London, England. It was founded in 1999 by produced screenwriter and director Dan Bronzite to publish innovative software and services for the creative industry. Its most recognized brands are Movie Outline a cross-platform screenplay development application and Hollywood Script Express a script copying and delivery service in Los Angeles.

Yep, they can make it – and they can break it!  In one fell swoop you have to tie-up any loose ends and satisfy an audience’s expectation.  Not an easy task, right?  Absolutely not.  In fact, as a working screenwriter I have found writing a satisfying ending to be one of the hardest parts of the creative writing process.

Don’t get me wrong, I can write endings.  I can write all types of endings.  Endings with a final climactic showdown between the hero and villain.  Endings with a witty line that leaves the audience with a smile.  Endings with a sad yet uplifting tone.  I can write endings in my sleep.. but that doesn’t mean they are always going to be the best ending for the story.  Perfection is hard to attain.  We all try to create the perfect scene, the perfect witty banter, the perfect character arc and the perfect ending, but linking all of this together is complicated.  We have to fulfill expectations on so many levels and at the same time make it original and entertaining.

And things get even more difficult when you’re trying to please a producer, director and development executive because everybody has their own ideas of what needs to transpire in the closing moments of your movie.. which by that point is technically “their” movie or optimistically “our” movie.  The best advice is to keep it real and inevitable.  Don’t just tag on a twist you haven’t set up.  An ending needs to evolve naturally.  To be organic.

If you can create an a) original ending that b) entertains but more crucially c) resolves the central character’s journey, d) hints at the theme and e) either makes you laugh, cry or leaves you wanting more then you are onto a winner.  The feeling an audience needs to walk out of the movie theater with is one of “satisfaction”.  Sure, they may argue about who killed who, what that blue ornament on the mantelpiece represented, and why the director filmed it in Seattle rather than London, but ultimately they need to feel intellectually content with the resolution that was presented to them.

I hate movies that either give us a predictable ending (lazy screenwriting and filmmaking) or shove a truck load of exposition down our throats just to explain the plot.  If it’s that complicated then the writer has made some poor decisions somewhere down the line.  If you need to telegraph to the audience that the hero or heroine has changed, through dialogue or a clunky visual device, then that’s equally as irritating.

The best endings just “feel right” when you write them and watch them.  They may sometimes surprise you, not necessarily out of an intentional creative choice by the writer, but by the script itself which by the end of the story should have a life of its own.  Like putting that final piece of the puzzle into place and then stepping back to take it all in for the first time, an effective ending completes the picture.  And endings, like that final piece, should never need to be forced into position.. they should just slip into place as if they were always destined to be there.

When you first get the idea for a story it will probably focus around an interesting character, event, act three plot twist, high concept or thrilling action sequence, but one thing we do not normally consider at the start of the creative writing process is the time frame of the piece. Is your story set in a single day?  During the course of a week?  A month? Or even over several years?  The time frame you choose will have a significant impact on how you tell your story and the pacing of the narrative.

Clarifying the timeline of your story right from the start will save you a great deal of time and effort in rewrites further down the road when you ultimately discover that you have either tried to squeeze too much information into your script or conversely need more scenes to pad it out.  But even if we put the technicalities of the time frame aside, choosing a time frame to suit the genre or story can actually enhance the drama.

Think of a film like John Badham’s Nick of Time in which Johnny Depp has only ninety minutes to save his six-year-old daughter.  And then there’s the excellent TV series 24 which not only uses the time frame of a single day to heighten the tension and suspense but also as a stylistic device by presenting multiple events that are happening in various locations simultaneously through split-screen.

When you plan your script, consider what will be the best time frame for your story.  There’s nothing wrong with having a drama take place over many years.  This will of course slow the overall pacing of the piece but that may be appropriate to your story choice and help an audience identify with your characters as they develop.  However, would the same time frame work for an action movie?  It may, so long as you have given it some thought at the start, understand the possible obstacles your chosen time frame may introduce and create some innovative solutions to these hurdles.

Remember, there are no hard and fast rules and every story is different, principally because every screenwriter has their own voice.  This is what makes screenwriting so interesting.  Just be aware of how important time frame is to storytelling and how the wrong choice at the start could create a mountain of problems either for you as a writer or for an audience trying to engage with your tale.

Whether it’s a daily routine of meals, a weekly routine of phone calls, or going to your typical vacation destination, we are all creatures of habit, some more than others.  We create comfort zones in our everyday lives, sometimes for fear of change and other times simply because we no what we like and we want an easy life.

This is also true for screenwriting.  We may start out not knowing what kind of writers we are and what stories we want to tell and then discover our own voice, style and preferences along the way.  Or we may know right from the get-go that we love thrillers and only want to right for this genre.  Whichever camp you fall into habit can prove to be a good thing and a bad thing.  Just because you like one kind of genre, doesn’t mean you won’t be good at writing another.  Similarly, just because you THINK you’re good at writing one type of story, doesn’t mean you won’t be better at writing a different kind.

Script writing should be viewed as another form of exercise – so long as we overlook the fact that we’re normally slouched in a chair in front of the computer during most of the process. Sometimes it’s good to stretch your creative muscles, try new things and experiment.  But stay off the drugs!  Seriously though, writers become lazy, writing what they know and not pushing themselves to be innovative except within the constraints of their chosen genre.  Instead, you should constantly challenge yourself and throw yourself in at the deep end once in a while.

If you enjoy writing horrors, why not have a stab (pardon the pun) at writing a comedy?  Who knows, it may produce a great script.  Or, you may find out that you do have a good sensibility for humorous scenes but not enough for creating a full script in the genre.  If that is the case, at least you know your boundaries and you may even be able to apply some of the lessons learned to your regular script and write a comedy horror.

Try to imagine your story as a visual landscape and keep it interesting.  If you’re always writing similar stories and characters, expand your palette.  Add more color.  Mix up your ingredients and make full use of your cinematic canvas.  The process will at the very least teach you things about your approach to screenwriting and the experience will always help you no matter what kind of story you tell.  Sometimes the lessons we learn through life are never immediately apparent but ultimately influence us in one way or another – screenwriting is no different.

Every screenwriter wants to create an original, entertaining and memorable movie but that goal is often hard to achieve.  There is no magic formula, no matter what anybody says.  Yes, there are structural paradigms, specific working practices, character development methods and even screenwriting software but a good screenplay normally hinges on one thing and one thing alone – the writer.

Only the writer with his or her unique voice and original ideas can turn a run-of-the-mill story into a roller-coaster read with the potential to become a Hollywood blockbuster.  As a screenwriter you need to fully invest yourself into your project heart and soul and push yourself at every plot and page turn.  If you simply want to make some money or “be famous” then forget it.  Don’t insult an audience with that kind of attitude, because if you don’t love what you’re writing, why should anybody else.

I’m not saying you can’t combine commerciality and a pay check with screenplay writing because you can, so long as you challenge yourself to remain as true as possible to your characters and theme along the way.  That means BE BOLD with your creative writing choices. Try to engage your reader from page one.  Throw them into the thick of your story as soon as possible and give them something compelling to chew over until the next big scene.  Always punctuate your story with unforgettable moments that keeps them wanting more.

If you need to write a talking heads scene in a diner, try to be innovative.  Hurl something at the audience they wouldn’t expect.  If it’s an action movie, make the audience think that this scene is going to be about plot exposition without action then surprise them with a set-piece from left-field.  If it’s a drama, create an out-of-the-blue confrontation between your Protagonist and an innocent bystander that shocks us and reveals an aspect of our hero or heroine we have not seen before.

You, as a screenwriter, are the God of your imaginary world. And as we all know “With great power comes great responsibility”.. so don’t waste it.  Ensure that your creative writing choices have integrity.  Keep your audience guessing.  Make every scene the best it can be and not just a page filler because you’ve run out of fresh ideas or are just getting lazy.  If you’ve received development notes from a friend, script consultant or development executive, don’t just write by numbers to please them.  Take all feedback on board as a challenge to you as a writer to become a better writer and write better scripts.  Be original.  Be passionate.  And most importantly, be bold.

UK technology company Nuvotech today announced the availability of their popular creative writing software Movie Outline 3 and Script It! to Canadian customers through Best Buy’s Canadian online store.

“We’re very pleased to offer Canadian writers the opportunity to order our software from within their own country with free shipping — and from one of the world’s most trusted brands.” comments Dan Bronzite, produced screenwriter and CEO of Nuvotech.

Visit BestBuy.ca to order Movie Outline 3 or Script It! today and write your own Hollywood Blockbuster!

Movie Outline 3 is also available from Amazon.ca, as is Script It!.

About Best Buy

Best Buy is Canada’s fastest-growing specialty retailer and e-tailer of consumer electronics, personal computers and entertainment software.  Best Buy offers consumers a unique shopping experience with the latest technology and entertainment products, at the right price, with a no-pressure (non-commissioned) sales environment.  The Company is committed to kids and communities, supporting non-profit organizations that help youth develop their skill set, discover their talents and sustain a lasting interest in education.

About Amazon

Amazon.com, Inc.is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States and is the world’s largest online retailer.

About Nuvotech

Nuvotech Limited is a software and Web 2.0 services company based in London, England. It was founded in 1999 by produced screenwriter and director Dan Bronzite to publish innovative software and services for the creative industry. Its most recognized brands are Movie Outline a cross-platform screenplay development application and Hollywood Script Express a script copying, copyright and delivery service in Los Angeles.

Writers get ideas for movies in various ways.  Sometimes it’s overhearing a conversation on the bus, other times it may be a dream that inspires you to write a great opening scene.  Wherever the inspiration comes from, it’s always a good idea to follow it through, even if you don’t end up visualizing the exact idea you originally conceived.  But the problem is, sometimes we are so focused on the creative writing process that we forget to double-check we are making the best creative choices.

This can frequently occur when we are inspired by particular movies and want to write our own script in our favorite genre.  An example would be that you just saw a great heist movie and embark on the first draft of your screenplay.  During the course of writing it, you see a teen comedy and without realizing it that film influences the writing of your heist movie.  Now, it could turn out to be a really entertaining original screenplay, but it may also lose focus due to the fact that you are trying to follow two sets of rules: the first set of rules that apply to heist movies and their structure and the second set that apply to teen comedies.

You then finally reach the end of your first draft, read it through and think, damn.. it’s not working.  But why?  You developed all of the character arcs, ensured that the scene to scene plot progression, revelation and twists makes sense and ensured that the event to event causality also strengthens your story.  You clarified the theme in your head and made sure that it was expressed cleverly through dialogue, subtext and visuals but still, something isn’t right.

If this sounds familiar then take a step back and look at the genre you are writing.  Have you made a mistake by trying to inadvertently mix two into one?  Chances are that if you have to describe the script you’re writing in more than one genre then you may need to go back to the drawing board because a story that includes too many genres sets up conflicting expectations in an audience and will work against you.

There are no hard and fast rules, and as such, there are always exceptions but if you pitch your movie as When Harry Met Sally meets Jaws then trying to satisfy an audience on both the romantic comedy level of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins back girl and at the same time on the horror thriller level of boy and girl trying to save the community of a small town holiday resort from a great white shark, well, you can see how the water muddies.

What do you want your audience to be feeling, romance or fear? The highs and lows of a complicated relationship or the shock of a blood-thirsty predator ripping a human being in two?  Who are we meant to be identifying with?  The boy?  The girl?  The tourists or the shark?  What about the climax?  Is it when the boy and girl finally get together or when they finally kill the shark?  Maybe you tried to combine the two into an amazing romantic scene where they pull the trigger together and then kiss as the shark explodes!  Okay, so I’m being facetious but you get the point!

Sometimes we, as people and writers, get lazy.  It’s only natural.  Life can be tough.  Writing scripts can be hard.  Please.. my heart bleeds.  It’s time to take responsibility for your creative choices or lack thereof.  This laziness normally comes hand in hand with familiarity.  As soon as we become comfortable with the creative writing process, our screenwriter’s voice and all of the tricks, devices and structural paradigms that are involved, we tend to stick to what we know and settle for the easy option.

The good thing about being an experienced writer is that you can normally write your scripts a lot faster than when you first started but both novice writers and pros still make the same mistake, for different reasons, by making obvious choices in their dialogue, characterization and plot construction.  And writing scripts quickly isn’t necessarily a positive thing. Sometimes it’s good to chew over your narrative and really think about what you’ve written.

So with that in mind, from now on, I want to make sure you force yourself to be innovative. Okay, so apparently every story has already been told but don’t let that stop you from trying to add something new to the mix.  When you reach the next major plot twist or turn take a moment to brainstorm as many alternatives as possible, however crazy they may sound.  Don’t settle for clichés or tried-and-tested solutions.  Turn your original idea for the beginning or ending of a scene 180 degrees just to see where it takes you.  It may lead you nowhere or it may give you a great idea for another scene.  The point is that you won’t know without trying.

And the same goes for character development, talking heads and choice of locations. Always go that extra mile by building unique characters that sparkle, situations and dialogue that engage us and worlds we would love to escape to.  Don’t always settle for choosing an obvious character flaw for your protagonist, dig deeper.  Don’t always settle for the first witty retort that pops into your head because there may be a better one.

I’m not saying analyze every single creative choice you make as you write because that would naturally stunt your creative flow but in the moments following your stream of consciousness onto the page or even the next day, re-read the previous day’s work and make sure you have pushed yourself as a writer. You won’t regret it.