John August

Apps

Bronson Watermarker gets a minor update

Apps, Bronson, Highland, Weekend Read

[Bronson Watermarker](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/bronson/), our app for quickly personalizing PDFs, has an update in the Mac App Store. Version 2.0.4 fixes a drawing bug.
screenshot
I don’t mention the app as much as [Highland](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland-2/) or [Weekend Read](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/weekendread/), but Bronson has become the go-to app for a lot of productions in Hollywood. If you’ve received a watermarked script in the past few years, there’s a very good chance it was created with Bronson.

Bronson is available in the [Mac App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bronson-watermarker-pdf/id881629098?mt=12).

Weekend Read can read scripts aloud

Apps, Fountain, Weekend Read

[Weekend Read](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weekend-read/id502725173?mt=8), our app for reading screenplays on the iPhone and iPad, can also read them aloud. Here’s how to do it.

Ask Siri to “speak screen.” If you don’t already have Speech turned on, Siri will offer a link to the proper settings page:

siri setting

Tap Open Settings, then switch on Speak Screen.

speech settings

While you’re here, you can also choose a speaking voice in the Voices menu.

Then go back to Weekend Read and open a script.

To have it start reading aloud, swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers, or just ask Siri to “speak screen.”

A set of controls appears, allowing you jump forward and back paragraphs, and adjust the reading speed.

speech HUD

Once you start it speaking, you can even change apps and it will keep going.

How did we do it? Honestly, we didn’t have to do a lot.

Almost all of this is built-in functionality provided by Apple’s Accessibility features. Behind the scenes, Weekend Read converts everything to Fountain, a plain-text format that feeds right into the system. By keeping it simple (and not cheating with view controllers) it just works.

For an upcoming version of Weekend Read, we’re working on small improvements such as “Mary says” and automatic expansion of abbreviations like “INT” and “V.O.”

You can find Weekend Read in the [App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weekend-read/id502725173?mt=8).

My writing setup, 2016

Apps, Highland, Software, Tools, Workspace

In 2011, I wrote a post detailing my [writing setup](http://johnaugust.com/2011/my-daily-writing-routine). Over the past five years several things have changed, so I thought I’d give it an update.

Where applicable, I’ll include links. (Amazon links include my referral code, so you’ll help keep me stocked with pens.)

I work in an office built over my garage. My assistant Stuart works downstairs. Twice a week the rest of my staff (Nima and Dustin) comes in to work on app stuff and other projects. This year, we finally added a giant whiteboard. It’s been a godsend for planning and visual thinking.

I’m “in the office” from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., but I wander in and out of the house pretty freely.

I do a fair amount of my morning work — emails, listening to cuts of Scriptnotes — while walking on the treadmill. I MacGyvered an old film festival lanyard to hold my iPad, and use an Apple bluetooth keyboard. I find I can think coherently up to about 3.2 miles per hour. (Beyond that speed, it’s genuine cardio and I can only listen to podcasts and such.)

When I’m really writing — that is, buckling down on a specific draft of a specific movie — I do a lot of writing sprints. It’s one hour of focused writing with no distractions. If I do three of these a day, that’s a lot of pages written.

## Getting away

When I start a new screenplay, I generally go away for a few days. I find that barricading myself in a new hotel in a new city helps me break the back of a story. I hand-write pages, trying to plow through as much as possible; my record is 21 pages in a day. Writing by hand keeps me from editing and second-guessing. At the start, it’s crucial to generate a critical mass of pages.

Every morning, I send what I’ve written to my assistant to type up. The [Scannable](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/evernote-scannable/id883338188?mt=8) app is great for this.

I find I can generally get 40 decent pages out of a good barricading session. I won’t paste the scenes together until I’m more than halfway through a script.

## Hardware

When writing by hand, I like a white, lined, letter-sized writing pad with a very stiff back. It should barely bend. I’ve been using some generic Staples brand.

My preferred pen is the [black Pilot G2](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GAOTSW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001GAOTSW&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkId=E3J46BX6H7ZXIPHR) (0.7mm size). It’s cheap; it writes consistently; I never worry about losing one. For proofreading, a colored felt-tip pen is key. I like the [Papermate Flairs](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BMBU4W/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BMBU4W&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkId=6BJZQUXW7IRJTBKC). Again, cheap and losable.

I alternate between index cards and whiteboards for mapping out stories. If you’re going to be working in television, get comfortable with the whiteboard, because you’re going to be spending a lot of time staring at one.

My main computer is a 27-inch iMac. I love it.

Overall, I print very little these days. Almost everything is PDFs. But last year we replaced our decade-old laser printer with the [Brother HL5470DW](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081TYO72/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0081TYO72&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkId=YBPKB6L6HVOWUBX5). It’s crazy how cheap and fast it is, and it uses a lot less power.

Stuart uses the [DYMO LabelWriter 4XL thermal label printer](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M1LGJ4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002M1LGJ4&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkId=RFIH3OEBW6LM4BO7) for packages. It ends up being faster, better and cheaper than using laser printer labels.

Years ago, I had horrible carpal-tunnel problems, so I changed my setup significantly. I use the SafeType keyboard and an [Evoluent vertical mouse](http://www.evoluent.com/). The keyboard is great, but command-key combos are a bear with it, so I’ve mapped a [Logitech G13 gamepad](http://gaming.logitech.com/en-us/product/g13-advanced-gameboard) to handle most of them. My desk raises so I can use it standing up. I try to be on my feet at least half the day.

For travel and kitchen duty, I have a 13-inch Macbook Pro. It’s good, but the screen is always getting overwhelmed with windows.

I used to talk on the phone a lot more, and found the [Plantronics S12 headset](http://www.plantronics.com/us/product/s12) essential. I still use it, but phone conversations are not nearly as important as they were just a few years ago.

We generally record Scriptnotes over Skype. I’m using the [Shure SM7B microphone](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002E4Z8M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0002E4Z8M&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkId=XIZGNF2ZHO3F6XXJ) and [Sony MDR-7506 headphones](http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-MDR7506/). This combo has worked well enough for me, but everyone has different opinions and preferences.

For recording in the field, I use the [Zoom H5 four-track recorder](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KCXMBES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00KCXMBES&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkId=MJYTCILEP242UXXB). I love it.

When recording in the office with multiple guests, I use the [Mackie 802VLZ4 8-channel mixer](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EDHWLFI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00EDHWLFI&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkId=FSELAXNN4EMUR3KG) with a bunch of XLR mics and send the output directly into my MacBook with [this cable](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B6WZGHS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B6WZGHS&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkId=UJPYTSNUAT6BPKS7).

After years of not using Time Machine, I just set up a one terabyte [Samsung T1 Portable SSD](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RWXVRW8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00RWXVRW8&linkCode=as2&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkId=5V55JTFPXFEMNZCT) to use as a backup drive. (If you get it, follow the advice in the “Most Helpful” Amazon review to remove the extraneous software Samsung installs.)

## Software

I do all of my writing in the [Highland beta](https://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland-2-beta/). Highland was originally just for screenwriting, but version 2 adds robust Markdown support, so now it’s the only app I need for writing anything — including this blog post.

[Slack](http://slack.com) is absolutely transformative. Our team doesn’t use email anymore. Everything is in Slack, sorted in channels.

[Dropbox](http://dropbox.com) still seems like magic. In addition to storing my active projects, I keep a folder named Pending in the Dropbox with an alias on the desktop. Anything that would normally clutter up the desktop, I throw in Pending.

I still use [Evernote](http://evernote.com), but mostly for household things like the grocery list. Random links go to [Pinboard](http://pinboard.in) instead. (On iOS, I use the [Pinner](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pinner-for-pinboard/id591613202?mt=8) app.)

I’ve used a lot of GTD productivity apps over the years, including [OmniFocus](http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnifocus/) and [Things](http://culturedcode.com/things/). For the past few months, I’ve been using [2Do](http://www.2doapp.com), which works very well on both Mac and iOS.

For outlining and show notes, I love [WorkFlowy](https://workflowy.com). Because it’s web-based, we can all edit the same document.

I use both Mail and [Airmail](http://airmailapp.com), with some addresses going to Sparrow instead. ((Google discontinued Sparrow, but the Mac app still works for now.)) I use Google Calendar with [Fantastical 2](https://flexibits.com/fantastical).

I do all my RSS-reading on the iPad, using [Reeder](http://reederapp.com/ipad/).

## What I’d change

I’m pretty happy with my setup, but there’s definitely room for improvement.

My mail setup is a mess. The right combination of rules would probably allow me to sort out the wheat from the chaff, but I haven’t invested the energy. Plus, getting it to work properly in iOS would be a big challenge. Increasingly, the iPhone is where I’m doing email triage.

I’d like to push more of my email over to Slack, where it would be a better fit. An example is my D&D group. It’s six writers, so anytime there’s a conversation, it’s a chain of 20 emails, and you can never tell who is responding to what. In Slack, that thread would make a lot more sense.

Overall, the best thing that could happen to email would be to get rid of it.

Formatting a montage in Highland using Forced Action

Apps, Formatting, Fountain, Highland, Screenwriting Software

A friend was writing a montage today and couldn’t figure out how to get quite the formatting he wanted in Highland:

> If I’m moving quickly in a sequence I’ll frequently write IN THE GARAGE or BACK OUTSIDE or instead of a whole slug line. I want action to go on the next line, with no blank line in between.

> The problem is, it’s interpreting this as a character name, and formats it as such, and the action beneath it as dialogue.

He wrote something like this:
forced action screenshot
In Fountain syntax, that looks like three blocks of dialogue, so Highland was giving him this:

IN THE GARAGE

B.A. works on the van.

OUT BACK

Hannibal and Murdock rig the gatling gun.

IN THE BATHROOM

Face works on his old man makeup.

Fortunately, Fountain has ways to override defaults. In this case, the easiest way to get his desired format would be to force those intermediary sluglines (“IN THE GARAGE,” “OUT BACK,” etc.) to be treated as action.

To do that, start each of them with an exclamation point.
forced action screenshot 2
That keeps Highland from interpreting the uppercase lines as character names, leaving the lines neatly stacked up, just like my friend wanted.

In most cases, you’ll never need to do this, because you’ll generally want the blank line after the “IN THE GARAGE” or “OUT BACK.” Leaving a little more white space on the page helps the reader understand that you’re moving between multiple locations.

Here’s an example from Ted Griffin’s Ocean 11 screenplay:

And during the above rant by Benedict, we view...

MIRADOR SUITE

now empty, Livingston’s monitors still displaying the masked men in the vault.

WHITE VAN

navigating the streets of Las Vegas.

FIVE SEDANS

tailing the van, security goons piled into each, and maybe we NOTICE (or maybe not) the Rolls-Royce tailing them.

TESS

pacing in Benedict’s suite, biting her nails, debating whether to blow the whistle on Danny. ON TV: a newscast of the contentious aftermath of the prize fight.

UZI GUARDS,

bound and unarmed, unconscious to the activity within the vault.

RUSTY’S CELL PHONE

opened and unmanned.

BENEDICT

listens -- the line has gone dead. He hangs up.

The forced action trick can be useful in other cases where you want to override default behavior.

Perhaps you have a time bomb, and you’re using ellipses to indicate the countdown. You write:

screenshot

Highland reads that third tick as a forced scene header, because it starts with a single period. But you can force it back to action with an exclamation point:

illustration-

Both Highland and Fountain are sophisticated enough to catch most edge cases, but we’re always finding new situations in which writers are trying to do something that doesn’t quite match expected behavior. And that’s okay! The screenplay format is a set of shared assumptions, not a straightjacket. If you really need to include something unusual, do it. ((Both Fountain and Highland support extended character sets, including emoji. Final Draft doesn’t.))

You can find all of the possible forced elements in the [Syntax section](http://fountain.io/syntax) of Fountain.io, most of which are supported by the popular apps. (Forced Action wasn’t part of the original spec, so some early apps haven’t included it yet.)

As always, you can find Highland on the [Mac App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/highland/id499329572?mt=12).