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diff --git a/README.markdown b/README.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..18f09f6 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,99 @@ +About Screenplain +----------------- + +You're a hacker. The command line is your home. You know tools like grep, sed +and Git inside out. You have formed a symbiotic relationship with your text +editor. Those tools are powerful in the right hands. But you're also a +screenwriter. Screenwriting is much like programming. It's about structure and +form, and -- obviously -- about reading, writing and modifying huge amounts of +text. You don't want to use software that lacks the power of your hacking +tools just because you're writing a screenplay instead of a shell script. + +Enter Screenplain. + +Screenplain allows you to write a screenplay as a plain text file. Text files +are simple and supported by all text manipulation software. It's not just for +hackers, too. The simplicity of plain text allows you to easily view and edit +them on devices such as tablets and phones. No need for specific screenwriting +software. + +The magic that Screenplain performs is to take your plain text file and +convert it to a good looking PDF in standard screenplay format. Send that file +off to your producer, agent, director or screenwriting competition. + +Thanks for the inspiration goes to: + + * [Stu Maschwitz](http://prolost.com) for the [Screenplay Markdown](http://prolost.com/spmd) + post that got me around to actually publish this work when far from finished. Screenplain + does not use Markdown that his post is about, but the idea is similar. + + * [John August](http://johnaugust.com/) for the [Scrippets](http://scrippets.org/) project. + The idea for that is similar, as it converts plain text to a formatted output. The focus of + Scrippets is on presenting snippets of screenplays online, specificially in blog posts and + comments. Screenplain's format is very similar to Scrippets. + +Input format +------------ + +The format of the text input is very much like how you would write a +screenplay on and old typewriter, only that you don't have to worry about tab +stops and line breaks. + +Here's an example: + + EXT. CASTLE WALLS - DAY + + Mist. Several seconds of it swirling about. + Silence possibly, atmospheric music. SUPERIMPOSE "England AD 787". + After a few more seconds we hear hoofbeats in + the distance. + They come slowly closer. Then out of the mist comes KING ARTHUR + followed by a SERVANT who is banging two half coconuts + together. ARTHUR raises his hand. + + ARTHUR + Whoa there! + + SERVANT makes noises of horses halting, with a flourish. ARTHUR + peers through the mist. CUT TO shot from over his shoulder: + castle (e.g. Bodium) rising out of the mist. On the castle + battlements a SOLDIER is dimly seen. He peers down. + + SOLDIER + Halt! Who goes there? + + ARTHUR + It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, + from the castle + of Camelot. + King of all Britons, defeator of the Saxons, + sovereign of all England! + +Note the free (that is, pretty ugly) format of this input. +After Screenplain has digested it, it will appear correctly formatted like this: + + EXT. CASTLE WALLS - DAY + + Mist. Several seconds of it swirling about. Silence possibly, + atmospheric music. SUPERIMPOSE "England AD 787". After a few more + seconds we hear hoofbeats in the distance. They come slowly closer. + Then out of the mist comes KING ARTHUR followed by a SERVANT who is + banging two half coconuts together. ARTHUR raises his hand. + + ARTHUR + Whoa there! + + SERVANT makes noises of horses halting, with a flourish. ARTHUR + peers through the mist. CUT TO shot from over his shoulder: castle + (e.g. Bodium) rising out of the mist. On the castle battlements a + SOLDIER is dimly seen. He peers down. + + SOLDIER + Halt! Who goes there? + + ARTHUR + It is I, Arthur, son of Uther + Pendragon, from the castle of + Camelot. King of all Britons, + defeator of the Saxons, sovereign + of all England! |