John August

News

Introducing Weekend Read

Apps, FDX Reader, Fountain, Highland, News, Weekend Read

[product photo](http://highland.quoteunquoteapps.com/wr-blog)We have a new app. It’s called [Weekend Read](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/weekendread). It’s for reading scripts on your iPhone.

It’s [free in the App Store](http://highland.quoteunquoteapps.com/wr-blog).

Up until now, reading screenplays on an iPhone has been *terrible.* It’s all squinting and pinching.

Weekend Read takes screenplay PDFs, Final Draft and Fountain files and reformats them to look terrific on your iPhone.

Weekend Read is only for the iPhone.

Why only the iPhone, and not the iPad? Numbers.

chart

Our sophisticated market analysis revealed that there were zero good apps in this category.

###New yet familiar

If you’re acquainted with our other apps, you may be saying, “Well, it sounds like they took the ‘reader’ part of [FDX Reader](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fdx-reader/id437362569?mt=8) and the PDF-melting parts of Highland and put them together in one app.”

You’re right. That’s exactly what we did.

But we didn’t stop there. We built in search, new fonts, Dark Mode, a new page jumper, character highlighting and full-screen mode.

We added Fountain and Markdown, including images.

And because a reader needs something to read, we beefed up Dropbox support and gave users a hand-curated (and continually-updated) list of For Your Consideration scripts and Project Gutenberg titles.

The Weekend Read library holds four scripts at a time. If you choose, you can unlock the app to store hundreds. It’s a single in-app purchase.

###The present and the future

**(updated 2/12/2014)** We launched yesterday afternoon. The response has been terrific. We shipped more copies of Weekend Read in twelve hours than we did of FDX Reader in its whole life.

We didn’t nudge people to leave reviews on the App Store, but a lot of users chose to. Thank you.

A couple of common questions on Twitter:

**”Why hasn’t someone done this before?”**

We actually tried to. The hardware just wasn’t fast enough. ((The iPhone 4 is still debatably not fast enough. One advantage to making the app free is that users can decide for themselves whether the lag is acceptable.)) So we owe a huge debt to Apple and all the clever silicon engineers who make it possible to build apps like ours.

**”Can you make an Android or Kindle version of Weekend Read?”**

Unfortunately, no. Weekend Read relies on a lot of special iOS 7 stuff, and shares quite a bit of code base with Highland for Mac. We’d have to start from zero to make an Android version, and that would pull us away from all our current products.

**”Could you add notes?”**

We could. At a certain point, we had to decide where to stop for version 1.0.

Every feature you add has the potential to increase complexity in a way that compromises the purpose of the app. So I want to make sure that if we add notes, they feel just right.

**”Will this free-then-upgrade business model work?”**

We’ll see. For me, it was important that users have the chance to try Weekend Read with their own scripts. Happy users are likely to keep using Weekend Read, and many will eventually decide it’s worth it to pay for the bigger library.

But if they don’t — if they keep deleting files to stay under the limit — that’s okay too. My goal with Weekend Read was to make the experience of reading scripts on the iPhone better. Emotional profits are worth something, too.

###Speak up

We already have David Wain, Rawson Thurber and Dan Etheridge singing Weekend Read’s praises, but I’m actively seeking one more blurb.

So if you like the app, tweet a blurb with the hashtag [#WeekendRead](http://twitter.com/home?status=%23WeekendRead). Over the next few days, I’ll be picking out my favorites to add to the official [App Store description](http://highland.quoteunquoteapps.com/wr-blog).

To celebrate Weekend Read’s launch, we’re also offering [Highland at 50% off through Friday](http://highland.quoteunquoteapps.com/highland-fifty-percent). Now that you have an app for reading Fountain files, it’s time to start writing them.

Women and Pilots

Episode - 127

Go to Archive

Directors, News, Scriptnotes, Television, Transcribed

Carolyn Strauss, executive producer of Game of Thrones, joins John and Craig to discuss female directors and the death of pilot season. In one short hour, they solve all the intractable problems facing the film and television industry. (Not true. Not even remotely.)

Craig and John also recount the previous Sunday’s inaugural all-screenwriter dungeon crawl. It was Craig’s first D&D ever, and John’s first time DM’ing in 20 years.

Links:

* [Dungeon World](http://www.dungeon-world.com/)
* Carolyn Strauss on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Strauss) and [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1865467/)
* Lexi Alexander’s [blog post on the underrepresentation of women in Hollywood](http://www.lexi-alexander.com/blog/2014/1/13/this-is-me-getting-real)
* [AV Club](http://www.avclub.com/article/fox-at-the-tca-press-tour-kevin-reilly-kills-pilot-106902) on Fox’s announcing they are moving away from pilot season
* [Shakespeare](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shakespeare/id285035416?mt=8) for iPhone and iPad
* Organize your brain with [WorkFlowy](https://workflowy.com/)
* [The Orphan Master’s Son](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0812982622/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Adam Johnson
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Matthew Chilelli

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_127.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_127.mp3).

**UPDATE** 1-24-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-127-women-and-pilots-transcript).

Egoless Screenwriting

Film Industry, News, Psych 101, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA

It’s a week of big egos as Craig and John take a look at when (or whether) filmmakers will be able to pull a Beyoncé and surprise-release a feature film, and what Mrs. Carter’s tussle with Amazon and Target means for the future of retail DVD.

Then we dust off an old blog post on “egoless programming” and find it has a lot to recommend for screenwriters. Finally, we look at the lawsuit over The Expendables because it’s crazy town.

Links:

* [BEYONCÉ by Beyoncé](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/beyonce/id780330041) on iTunes
* [The Ten Commandments of Egoless Programming](http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2006/05/the-ten-commandments-of-egoless-programming.html)
* The Hollywood Reporter on [The Expendables lawsuit](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/expendables-writers-guild-tribunal-evolves-667599)
* Lego [Mindstorms](http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/?domainredir=mindstorms.lego.com) and [Crazy Action Contraptions](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1591747694/?tag=johnaugustcom-20)
* [European green](http://carsihaveseen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_0175.jpg)
* [her](http://www.herthemovie.com/#/home) is in theaters now
* A bad her review in [The Village Voice](http://www.villagevoice.com/2013-12-18/film/her-movie-review/) and the [very few other bad reviews](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/her/reviews/?sort=rotten) on Rotten Tomatoes
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Matthew Chilelli

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_125.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_125.mp3).

**UPDATE** 1-10-14: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-125-egoless-screenwriting-transcript).

The Scriptnotes App

Apps, News

scriptnotes app iconScriptnotes now has an app for [iOS](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scriptnotes/id739117984?ls=1&mt=8) and [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.johnaugust.android.scriptnotes). It’s free for both platforms.

You don’t need to use the app. In fact, most listeners will probably be better off sticking with their current setup if it meets their needs. We’re [still on iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/scriptnotes-podcast/id462495496?mt=2), just like we’ve always been.

Or if you’re not happy with your current podcast app, keep looking, because there are many good choices out there. (Personally, I’m a fan of [Instacast](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instacast-4-podcast-client/id577056377?mt=8) for the iPhone.) As a podcast app, Scriptnotes only does one thing, and it only does it acceptably well.

So if I’m not recommending the Scriptnotes app, why does it exist?

For the back catalog.

There are now 121 episodes of Scriptnotes, and listeners often want to go back and hear those old episodes. We sell a [USB drive](http://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/scriptnotes-100-episode-usb-flash-drive) of the first 100, and offer a [subscription-based archive](http://scriptnotes.net) of all the episodes, but neither of those solutions is helpful when you just want to hear a given episode on your phone.

The Scriptnotes app hooks into the full archive, so if you’re a subscriber, you can listen to any episode whenever or wherever you want.

Since launch, we’ve actually gotten very few questions about the app, but here are some answers to theoretical questions someone might ask.

**What’s the deal with subscriptions?**

Scriptnotes has always been free and always will be. We make the most recent 20 episodes available through iTunes. Older episodes are available in the archives, either through the new app or at [Scriptnotes.net](http://scriptnotes.net) as part of a monthly subscription ($1.99/month).

Think of it as the Netflix pricing model. For that $1.99/month, you can download as many episodes as you want.

**Are you making money off this?**

As Craig loves to point out, Scriptnotes is a money-losing venture. Between editing, transcripts and hosting costs, there are more expenses than t-shirts and monthly subscriptions could cover.

But that’s okay. We’ve turned down advertising and other opportunities because neither of us want Scriptnotes to be a business. Craig and I do the show because we like it.

**Could someone subscribe, download all the episodes, then cancel?**

Absolutely. To me, the handy thing about the monthly subscription is being able to listen to any episode at any time, but it’s totally up to you.

**How do I cancel a subscription?**

In the [Libsyn account page](https://my.libsyn.com/manage), click “Change Subscription.” On the next page, you’ll see a button to cancel.

**What’s the deal with bonus material?**

To me, Scriptnotes is me and Craig together, talking about screenwriting stuff. Sometimes we have special guests, but it’s always the two of us.

Occasionally we have audio that is in the same vein as Scriptnotes but not really an episode. A good example is a [recent conversation](http://scriptnotes.net/bonus-big-fish-from-book-to-screen-to-musical) Daniel Wallace and I recorded at the Austin Film Festival. We put that up as bonus content for subscribers because while it’s interesting and on-topic, it’s not really a Scriptnotes episode.

Basically:

Me and Craig = Scriptnotes episode
Me or Craig = possible bonus content

Will there be a lot of bonus material? I doubt it. I wouldn’t subscribe just for the bonus material. But if you have ideas for something you think would be great for a bonus thing, certainly tell us.

**The app feels really iOS 6.**

scriptnotes app screenshot

That’s not a question, but yeah.

We’re releasing the Scriptnotes app under our Quote-Unquote Apps banner, ((We put the app out under our label so we could track download numbers. As of yesterday, we had 359 downloads for iOS.)) but it’s actually our host Libsyn’s app. They did all the coding — Ryan just sent our background artwork.

You may notice it looks almost exactly like Marc Maron’s [WTF app](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wtf-with-marc-maron/id382646636?mt=8) or Jay Mohr’s [Mohr Stories](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mohr-stories-fakemustache.com/id393529844?mt=8) app. That’s because it’s exactly the same app, just with different background images.

It’s not just dated — some of the functionality is also a bit hidden. For example, you can download episodes for offline listening by tapping the star next to the title. If you’re getting ready for a plane trip, this is a handy way to bank a few episodes for listening.

I suspect the app will eventually get updated with new graphics and such, but I don’t know a timetable.

**How do I report a problem with the app?**

On the main screen, tap Contact, then Troubleshooting. From there, you can Send a Diagnostic Report that generates an email to the Libsyn team. You can also just email consumer@libsynsupport.com.