Mac Creative > All Reviews > Software > Creativity > Consumer creative software > Adobe Story review

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 Adobe Story review

A scriptwriting and collaboration tool that outputs metadata-laden shot lists

Michael Burns

Manufacturer: Adobe
Pros: Industry-compliant formatting; offline and online collaboration modes; automated tools; excellent import/export options; integrate with Production Premium CS5 and export scripts to OnLocation as shot lists
Cons: Pricing could be an issue when subscription model is activated; no storyboarding support
Price: Free
We rate this 5 out of 5.Star rating:

Still officially in beta, Story is part of the CS Live body of online utilities that Adobe will begin charging a subscription for in about a year’s time. You can start in Story by importing scripts from other formats such as text, PDF, Microsoft Word, Final Draft, and Movie Magic. If you choose to create a new document, types include film script, pitch, research, synopsis, AV script and character bio.

Story helps ensure that your script is compliant with industry standards. It can automatically number scenes in your script as you write, colour code characters according to frequency and, when Smart Type is enabled, display options for inserting text at relevant places. So, if you’re typing a scene heading that has the same location as an earlier scene, Story displays a list of locations from your script.

You can add shot elements, numbers, and duration to create a shooting script. A tagging panel lets you tag words and phrases associated with production items, such as cast, props and equipment, or you can let Story detect and tag elements automatically. This can form part of the metadata transferred into OnLocation, where it automatically creates placeholders in the Project panel shot list. You can also export your scripts in various formats, such as PDF, CSV, Final Draft and the XML-based native Story format (.astx).

Although browser-based, Story can also be run from the desktop as an Air app. This means that you and others can work offline on scripts, with colleagues given different permissions for reading, reviewing and modifying the script.

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