Le 2010-11-13 21:17, Alan C. Baird a écrit :
Proposal for significantly enlarging LibreOffice's user base with
Screenwright(R)
13 November 2010 by Alan C. Baird, prizewinning writer and creator of the
Screenwright(R) screenplay formatter [winner of the Sun/OOo CIP award]
http://w.9TimeZones.com/avails.htm
http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/project/scr2
http://development.openoffice.org/awardees-2008.html
Executive Summary: enable screenplay formatting in LibreOffice to distinguish
it from OpenOffice.
Pitch: Every aspiring screenwriter has a movie in his/her head that needs to
get down on paper. However, some film production companies won't accept a
script submission if the formatting is even ONE POSITION off! So ensuring that
screenplays are formatted correctly is an obsession of screenwriters
everywhere. But formatting a script can be an expensive proposition; 78
commercial formatters are listed at The Writers Store. A screenwriter could
easily spend $200 or more on software, just to get a screenplay into acceptable
shape.
UNLESS s/he uses LibreOffice in conjunction with the Screenwright(R) screenplay
formatting template.
We all want our scripts to be eligible for the next multimillion-dollar spec auction, so some of us even
carry our latest screenplays in our glove compartments, on the off-chance that we might meet someone who can
help. In the movie "Monster In A Box," Spalding Gray talks about one of his trips to Los Angeles:
«I had no idea how difficult it would be to find people not involved in the film industry until I got out
there and saw a special on television - in which they were interviewing people in the parking lot of a Shop
Rite supermarket. As people came out with their groceries, the interviewer would go up to them and say,
"Hi there, good morning! Tell us, how's your film script going?" And everyone said, "What?!
How did you know?" Right up to the cashier.»
If the Screenwright(R) screenplay formatting template can be included as an
integral part of the upcoming LibreOffice release, it will send a clear
signal--to filmmakers in particular and to the Entertainment sector in
general--that LibreOffice is ready to address the industry's unique
text-processing and -formatting needs. News travels fast among members of the
Entertainment industry, and they tend to be the gatekeepers and style leaders
for the culture at large.
Historical context: OOo Writer is the first (and for now, the only)
full-featured word processor that will easily format a screenplay at no cost
whatsoever. But it requires a template download. If LibreOffice wants to
capitalize on this unique opportunity, the template could be integrated in the
upcoming LibreOffice release.
Alan C. Baird
Mesa, Arizona USA
[email protected]
Extra: using your iPod to write screenplays.
[You can also use your iPhone, thumb/flash drive, mp3 player, or favorite USB
storage device.] It's a snap:
A) At the bottom of your iPod's "Summary" tab in iTunes, check the "Enable disk use" box,
and click the "Apply" button.
B) Download and install the latest free OpenOffice.org (LibreOffice?) Portable
suite on your iPod.
http://portableapps.com/apps/office/openoffice_portable
C) Download and install this free scr2.ott template on your iPod.
When we stay in Tucson with my wife's friend--who has a Windows computer, but
no Internet connection--I keep myself entertained by working on my latest
screenplay or just kicking back and listening to some music (perhaps Mark
Knopfler's Screenplaying). I can also use the iPod to revise my script on the
public computers in: (1) my local library, (2) London's Heathrow airport, (3)
Beijing's cyber-cafés, etc.
PS: My iPod is one of the smallest models, an old 2GB Nano. I had already
loaded nearly 18 hours of music (201 songs) and 33 photos onto it. Now that it
contains the OpenOffice.org (LibreOffice?) Portable software and my screenplay,
it still shows over 606MB (33%) of free space.
Neat! This is a really extraordinary template! Great work Alan! I am
very interested in expanding our templates repository and this is
exactly the kind of template offering that I was advocating in another
one of our threads on creating "Template Teams". It has been quite a hot
topic and I am quite encouraged by the feedback and suggestions. You may
be interested in reading the thread here:
http://www.libreoffice.org/lists/marketing/msg00745.html
We should maybe first discuss the merits of having default extensions
installed on the LibO distro. We have spoken about LibO bloat on one of
our discussions, but it was mostly about extensions. However, we should
also include templates into the debate. Of concern is many of our
members have dial-up / cellphone connections. All of the added bells and
whistles add up to quite a large download. We really do have to keep an
eye on this.
I, for one, am an advocate of "the user should always be in charge" of
his LibO distro. I think in this case I would still vote to have the
template stored in the LibO repository and interested users would then
be able to download the template from the LibO Template Repository (yes,
there will be such a beast). IMO, most users downloading a specific
template would normally cruise the rest of the repository and take note
of the different templates available to the distro and hopefully
recommend the distro + OtherInterstingTemplate to someone else. Thus
creating some self-marketing. A form of self-advertising.
The Screenwright template fits well with my suggestion of creating
"Template Teams". Template teams would be comprised of specialists (such
as yourself) who would create specialized templates for the LibO distro.
The team would also be a sub-group of the marketing arm of LibO and LibO
marketers would then carry through with strategic marketing of these
templates. For example, a marketing campaign would market your extension
to screenwriters. I believe this tactic would most likely create a
larger buzz that just loading the extension with LibO by default.
A couple of comments about your template. Have you installed the
template on the latest LibO version? You should test it on LibO and on
each released version. Note that we are about to release the next beta
version (if I am correct). On the Screenwright template site, some users
were asking for a short primer on how to use the template. Is there one
available? I also notice your facebook site
(http://www.facebook.com/screenw) has an "Instructions for dummies?" but
there is really no instructions there. I really would encourage a primer
for beginners, just to set them on to the right path. Thereafter,
reading up on screenwriter books, would be the obvious next step. I
don't think users are really expecting/looking for much in a primer.
Also, could you test the upload of your template into our Drupal
repository? We have a test site and the templates section has been
completed and ready for tweaking. We would really be interested in your
impression both from a template developer point of view as well as a
"user downloader" point of view. You can reach the test site here:
http://www.libreofficeaustralia.org
Create an account and you will then be mailed a password.
Thanks for the amazing contribution.
Marc
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