Mariner software on sale
Posted on | December 30, 2008 |
Mariner, which publishes writers’ software for both Windows and OS X, has its software on sale for previous customers tomorrow in a 40% off one day only blowout. It’s as good an opportunity as any to give Contour, its screenplay development tool, a whirl.
The company launched Contour 1.0 this month. Unlike many of the writing assistants that I’ve run across, this is purely a structural tool. If you want screenplay word processing and formatting software, best look elsewhere (Mariner’s Montage targets that market, and Contour is designed to integrate with it).
Developed in conjunction with screenwriter and writing coach Jeff Schechter, Contour is designed to let screenwriters structure their screenplay by following a series of steps, organising them around a set of archetypal character types (the orphan, the wanderer, the warrior, etc). It mandates 44 plot points, structured into three acts (with act II split into two sub-parts).
Writers have to describe the various stages of the main character’s journey throughout the three acts, which the software then plugs into a template. It provides pre-entered versions of several well-known films as examples of how it works. As you fill out information about the story’s broad character arc and its specific events, you paint a detailed picture of the screenplay and where it’s going. It reminds me a little of the literary semiotics class I did once. You’re almost structuring a script by numbers.
The first information you’ll enter is who the main character is, what they’re trying to do, who (or what) is trying to stop them doing it, and what happens if they fail. You then describe the main character’s arc as they progress from the orphan archetype, through to wanderer, warrior, and martyr.
All of these steps, character types and plot points are explained in depth, in a detailed user guide which is essentially a screenwriting seminar in PDF form. However, the advice in the user guide is mirrored in the software, which throws up information to guide you as you go along.
The thing that I like about Contour is also the thing that worries me about it. The value of the product lies at least as much in the process as in the software. The process is extremely prescriptive, to the point of describing in detail the function of each particular plot point. For writers like me that have difficulties planning their work, this is a godsend. By the time you’ve entered all of your information, you’ve half-written your script. Instead of agonising over character development while staring at a blank page, you effectively get an automated writing coach that guides you through every nuance of the planning process, making structural decisions for you along the way.
This is reassuring for those of us not confident in our structure, and will doubtless increase new writers’ productivity and quality. But what happens when you get good enough to start colouring outside the lines? The program’s rigour doesn’t seem to allow you to deviate from the standard structural framework, and to start judiciously breaking rules (as good, experienced writers are apt to do). Would Charlie Kaufman’s self-referential Adaptation work so precisely in this format? Or Babette’s Feast, or My Dinner with Andre? It’s an open question. Perhaps everything can be made to fit in here, but I would have liked to have seen some built-in ability to flex the framework a little.
As the structural template is so tightly defined, I would also have welcomed some sort of modular system where you could purchase and plug in other structural templates for half-hour radio play development, say, or short story or novel development. That would change the nature of the product and make it more than simply a screenplay story development package. It would probably have required the participation of other experts along with Schechter.
My worry for Mariner is that because the user guide is so detailed, a lot of poor, struggling writers won’t actually use the software. The PDF (available as a free, unprotected download as part of the product trial) and a pre-installed copy of Word would be enough for the cash constrained. Having said that, $45 is the price of about 5,000 sheets of A4. How many sheets do you crumple up in anger because you haven’t nailed down the structure of your script? And did we mention that if you have the promo code, the software’s 40% off tomorrow?
The strictness of the product as it codifies Schechter’s process is also the product’s strength. Kaufman and Coppola might not need to use it - might even find it restrictive - but for those of us struggling to come to terms with classic screenplay structure, it’ll be a useful tool in the writer’s arsenal. Even if you don’t have a promo code, you can download the free trial for yourself and give it a whirl.
Comments
3 Responses to “Mariner software on sale”
Leave a Reply
About
Word Herder is a site for writers and readers of both fiction and non-fiction. Surf here to read more about useful tools to help you organise your writing and optimise your research. I'm Danny Bradbury and I'm a freelance technology writer writing for the Guardian , the Financial Times, the National Post, Backbone magazine, MSN Canada, and the trade press. Here's a feed showing some of my work.
Contact me
Tel: +1 415 692 5451
Email (1-1 communications)
Email (press releases)
PR companies: Please use email rather than phoning.
March 25th, 2009 @ 5:18 pm
Being an original writer (at least it seems so to some folks), I like the review you gave. It helps me understand the dynamics of this tool, and there’s nothing wrong with having a rigid structure that isn’t flexible - after you do figure out your structure, you can easily go outside the lines in your scriptwriting and let your mind wander off, knowing you can always come back to that solid structure that you have created.
Thanks for the review!
June 13th, 2009 @ 1:34 pm
Hi Dave. You’re very welcome - glad it was useful for you.
September 13th, 2009 @ 6:36 pm
good stuff, following with interest, helping me firm up my travel plans.