John August

Apps

Highland sings

Apps, Fountain, Highland

Highland 1.0.2 is [now available](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/highland/id499329572?mt=12) the Mac App Store. This release is mostly just the standard bug fixes and performance enhancements. Nothing wrong with that.

Nima added one sly trick you’re likely to love: shift-return makes the line uppercase. Boom. Try it! Your caps lock key will feel lonely.

We’ve also added support for the Lyric element. It’s not part of the official Fountain spec yet — the syntax might change — but I needed it so here it is. Lyrics work like dialogue, except each line is preceded by a tilde (~), and you can have multiple stacked lines of lyrics — even blank lines if you need them.

Here’s an example. This…

MARIONETTES
~Willy Wonka! Willy Wonka! The amazing chocolatier!
~Willy Wonka! Willy Wonka! Everybody give a cheer!
~He's modest, clever and so smart
~He barely can restrain it...

…comes out as this…

wonka lyrics

In screenplay format, Lyrics show up in italics. In stage musical format, well…maybe that’s something for a later release.

One last thing: your terrific feedback and five-star ratings mean a lot. Thanks for being awesome and supportive.

Highland is $20 in the Mac App Store. [Get it now](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/highland/id499329572?mt=12), or check out the [demo version](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland/).

Taking notes

Episode - 86

Go to Archive

Apps, Film Industry, Formatting, QandA, Screenwriting Software, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Treatments

Craig leads the discussion on how to survive a notes meeting. As screenwriters, our instinct is to defend, deny and debate — but these are almost always the wrong choice. By reframing the discussion about the movie rather than the script, you can often end up at a better place.

From there, John opens the listener mailbag so we can answer questions about cheating scene description and romantic obsession. Plus we talk about Slugline, Highland, Final Draft and the plethora of screenwriting apps available to screenwriters today.

LINKS:

* [Slugline](http://slugline.co/)
* [Highland](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland/)
* [Fade In](http://www.fadeinpro.com/)
* [Final Draft](http://www.finaldraft.com/)
* Screenwriting.io on [page numbering and other basic formatting](http://screenwriting.io/what-is-standard-screenplay-format/)
* Tweet your clams to [@johnaugust](https://twitter.com/johnaugust) and [@clmazin](https://twitter.com/clmazin) with #CutItOut
* [Scriptnotes, episode 52](http://johnaugust.com/2012/grammar-guns-butter) featuring Go Into The Story’s list of dialogue clams
* [Rentrack](http://www.rentrak.com/) and [BroadwayWorld](http://broadwayworld.com/)
* [The Boys in the Band](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CQONPE/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) on Amazon
* [Internet K-Hole](http://internetkhole.blogspot.com/2013/01/dead.html?zx=87aad0c98be70c6c) (Warning: NSFW!)
* [Sleep No More](http://sleepnomorenyc.com/) NYC
* [Slacker Radio](http://www.slacker.com/)
* How to [submit your question](http://johnaugust.com/ask-a-question)
* OUTRO: [Obsession](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4wM9w79_YI) cover by TERMINATRYX

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_86.m4a).

**UPDATE** 4-28-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-86-taking-notes-transcript).

Highland 1.01 in Mac App Store

Apps, Fountain, Highland

highland iconWe’ve had a great response to [Highland][2], our plain-text screenwriting app, with lots of five star ratings that make us blush. We’re working on new features, but first we’re squashing some bugs.

Here’s what’s [new in 1.01][3]:

– When you save (or autosave), Highland remembers where your cursor was. Because that’s How It Should Be.
– Highland retains newlines upon Save. So if you like to use a lot of blank lines for some reason, go right ahead. It’s your script.
– Drag-and-dropping text within the editing window is so much better now. Try it!
– When you import a PDF or FDX file, we treat it like a new Fountain file — which it basically is. The first time you save it, you’ll give it a name.
– Fixed a bug that caused an occasional crash during Save.
– Fixed Export menu command.
– Updated welcome screen text.
– There was some stray Fountain markup (====) in FDX export. Whoops. Fixed.
– In Dark Mode, we’ve made the scroll bar easier to spot. ((Did you know you can change the colors in Dark Mode in the Preferences panel? Nima was like, “But what if someone picks terrible colors, like pink-on-red?” And I said, “What are you, the Color Police?” Then he showed me his badge.))

If you haven’t tried out Highland, there’s a [demo available][2]. (Mac App Store rules won’t let us mention it in the product description.)

Keep sending your report cards and comments. That’s how Highland improves. And I’ll admit it: stars are nice, so if you’re enjoying Highland and feel like telling folks, leave us a review.

[1]: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/highland/id499329572?mt=12
[2]: http://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland “Highland”
[3]: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/highland/id499329572?mt=12 “highand mac app store”

[1]: http://johnaugust.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/highland-icon-200×200.png

Veronica Mars Attacks

Film Industry, Follow Up, Highland, News, Scriptnotes, Story and Plot, Transcribed

Craig and John discuss the big Veronica Mars/Kickstarter news in one of the more contentious podcasts to date. If you like umbrage, this is the show for you.

Next up, Highland has finally shipped. The plaintext screenplay editor (and PDF melter) raises questions about the assumption of security-through-laboriousness and the monoculture around Final Draft.

Finally, we discuss three of the points in Emma Coats’s Pixar Story Rules that are easy to forget but too important to ignore.

LINKS:

* [Untitled Screenplays](http://untitledscreenplays.tumblr.com/) and [Unfinished Scripts](https://twitter.com/UnfinishedS) are similar but different
* Use the code “SCRIPT” to unlock [discounted seats](http://johnaugust.com/2013/big-fish-previews-and-special-unlock-code) for the first four Big Fish performances, and [let us know you’re coming](mailto:ask@johnaugust.com)!
* One of John’s many doppelgängers [as Hebrew National’s Uncle Sam](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf2j-YzZRAA)
* [The Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/03/when-america-was-female/273672/) on Uncle Sam’s “older, classier sister” Columbia
* [The Veronica Mars Movie Project](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project) on Kickstarter
* James Poneywisic of Time [on Veronica Mars](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/03/13/why-the-world-needs-a-kickstarter-veronica-mars-movie/)
* [The Hollywood Reporter](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/has-veronica-mars-kickstarter-campaign-428903)’s coverage, including a quote from writer/producer John Rogers
* Luke Pebler’s [guest post on Suzanne Scott’s blog](http://www.suzanne-scott.com/2013/03/15/guest-post-my-gigantic-issue-with-the-veronica-mars-kickstarter/)
* [Highland](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland/), the plaintext screenplay editor for Mac, half-off through March 31st at the [Mac App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/highland/id499329572?ls=1&mt=12)
* [Emma Coats’s](https://twitter.com/lawnrocket) 22 story rules on [The Pixar Touch](http://www.pixartouchbook.com/blog/2011/5/15/pixar-story-rules-one-version.html)
* [StageWrite for iPad](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stagewrite-for-ipad/id504168392?mt=8) at the Mac App Store
* Give a loan and change a life with [Kiva](http://www.kiva.org/start)
* Direct your umbrage [here](mailto:ask@johnaugust.com) instead of Twitter
* OUTRO: [Kickstart My Heart](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd4h-BqwlXI) acoustic cover by whipsy

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_81.m4a).

**UPDATE** 3-24-13: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-ep-81-veronica-mars-attacks-transcript).