Scrippets for Blogger
The Scrippets plug-in for WordPress seems to be working well for self-hosted blogs, but it’s no use to folks who use services like Blogger, Tumblr and the like. For people on these on these platforms, the cost of simplicity is customization — they’re easy to use and hard to modify.
But in an effort to share the scrippets love, Nima and I have hacked together a solution to let users on these platforms copy-and-paste scrippets. It’s not as elegant as a plug-in, but it works.
It’s a two-part process.
First, you need to install the scrippets CSS. In the forums, I wrote up instructions on how to do it for Blogger, but the same basic theory should hold for any other blogging or forum system that lets you modify the CSS.
Second, write your scrippet. We have a new Scrippets Maker that will automatically generate the code to copy-and-paste into your post.
So if you’re feeling brave — or if you want to duplicate your entry in the Scene Challenge on your own blog — give it a shot. You can even add Scrippets Maker to your bookmarks bar. Just drag the following up to your bookmarks:
Do you have a better solution?
Currently, Scrippet Maker is a page, but it would make a lot of sense as a bookmarklet. That’s in the works, but if you want to roll your own, by all means do it.
Coders out there might have a slicker overall solution for non-Wordpress users, and I’d love to hear it. Many systems (including Blogger) allow outside JavaScripts, so it may be possible to do text filtering much like the WP plug-in. The core scrippetize function is already available in JavaScript.
Meanwhile, there is the bigger issue of how to handle systems that don’t allow CSS modification at all — and forums that don’t want to deal with it. I’d love to find a way to let users link to a graphic version of a scrippet. (Essentially, click a button and the server converts the div into a jpg or png, and provides a link.)
As always, your brainstorms are welcome. And proof-of-concept links will be most graciously received.
Articles
September 16th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Funny enough if people have Final Draft, you can actually save it as HTML. Anyone who’s trying to be a screenwriter should have a professional program.
September 16th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
@Christian:
You’re new around here, so you’ll probably want to look and see what scrippets are used for and why it’s not a matter of Final Draft or HTML.
September 16th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Some people have all the smarts… :)
I’m already trying to think of ways I can use this on Blogger. Unfortunately, I failed as a Computer Science Major, cause I really sucked at it, so I have no suggestions here.
All I can say is thanks.
September 16th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Funny enough, there are people every time who really think Final Draft is better than Celtx, couse its a “professional” program. Celtx can give you a whole Website for your Project, including your Screenplay.
Which doesn’t fit here at all, because Scrippets are not for whole Screenplays, but Excerpts from it.
Regarding the Problem up there. One Idea would be to do an iframe which gets the Screenplay from another Site. This way you wouldn’t have to deal with changing css and could embed the Scrippets like youtube videos. Just copy a Code (for the iframe, including the Link to your scrippet) and past it. As the CSS is taken from the side the Scrippet is hosted there would be no problem at all. No matter if it’s a Forum, a Blog or a … whatever is cool right now :-)
george
September 17th, 2008 at 12:14 am
OK, I’ve got a javascript worked up for Blogger et al. that will automatically convert any scrippet blocks on the page into properly formatted Scrippets. You can see it in action at http://nyousefi.blogspot.com/. On my computer there’s a lag in converting, but that might just be a browser thing.
Note: The text MUST be inputted in HTML mode, otherwise Blogger destroys the input, making it impossible to convert (by any method).
If anyone would like to test this out on their Blogger page or another hosted blog service, let me know and I’ll pass the code over with some instructions.
September 17th, 2008 at 7:23 am
John, It’s just a new name. I’ve been around since the Nines footage was released I didn’t mean to sound rude and I understand why you want to have the functionality in your site. I had just remembered that Final Draft will save as HTML.
I was in a slightly bad mood yesterday so I didn’t edit my thoughts.
What I meant to say was that people who have Final Draft can write it there and save it as HTML to paste. And to the CeltX user, it seems pretty professional from what I’ve seen.
September 17th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
the Scrippets maker is ok for now. I am using it for Blogger. Then I’ll try to figure out how to add Scrippet to Blogger.
Thanks :)
September 17th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
INT. GARAGE – NIGHT
MAX, 32, looks at his destroyed MOTORCYCLE, a mean pitbull. He observes a MECHANIC practically halfway inside the bike, hands all over it. Max coughs, loud.
Mechanic puts a wrench down. Steps out. It’s a GIRL. A beautiful one, MO, 25.
MO
Looking at me ain’t going to get new forks for your bike.
MAX
I was just thinking...
MAX(VO)(CONT’D)
...just thinking about the fact you got your hands all over my bike. Don’t seem right.
MAX(CONT’D)
...where the forks are?
MO
Right next to spoons and knives, baby.
She smiles and winks, goes back to working on the bike.
EXT. JUNKYARD – NIGHT
Max is surrounded by mountains of spare parts, used junk, and formerly living cars.
MAX(VO)
You don’t crash your bike and find a beautiful girl in the middle of the desert willing to fix your bike for free. Not in America, not in the land of the free. This thing stinks.
Max kicks a twisted scrap metal in the middle of the path.
MAX(VO)(CONT’D)
I hate art.
Dog barks echo through the place. Max freezes.
MAX(VO)(CONT’D)
And I really hate dogs.
Sees something amongst the junk a few feet ahead. Max moves quickly.
Passes an WHITE warehouse, stands out. A CAMERA on the roof, SPIES on Max, follows him, whirs as lenses focuses.
MAX
Jackpot.
INT. SECURITY ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Smokey, UNKNOWN MAN leans close to a monitor. Multiple monitors. One has a blown up still image of Max. Man ashes his cigarette, picks up a phone.
EXT. JUNKYARD – CONTINUOUS
Max struggles to pull a FORK out of the junk. GRUNTS and rips out. The forks hits the ground.
A GROWL. A few feet from him he sees three Dobermans straight from hell looking at their next meal.
MAX
Dogs.
Max shakes his head.
Idk if this will be allowed, just saw that the comments posting for the challenge was down…
September 18th, 2008 at 7:45 am
i wanna give you a head up… I added the Scrippet CSS to blogger and it definitely works. no problems so far. THANKS AGAIN!
September 23rd, 2008 at 3:56 pm
It works for me. I just tried a quick test to see how it works.
Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard on scrippets and making them work in other systems like blogger.