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Writing in Scripto
Writing in the Studio format
Writing in the Studio format
Alice DuBois avatar
Written by Alice DuBois
Updated over a week ago

Introduction

Scripto combines the collaborative powers of Google Docs with the script-writing power of Final Draft. The program allows you to create scripts that can be written in real-time with any number of collaborators.

Scripto has a script format that is specifically geared towards the unique needs of studio-based TV productions. Here's how to get the most out of this format.


Studio Block Types

Every chunk of text in a script is called a "bock." Each block has a type. Based on the block type, Scripto knows how to format each block of text, automatically applying the correct alignment, margins, casing, and text formatting.

These are the block types that exist in the studio format:

Slug is for the name of an item in your script. Eg. Monologue
Bracket is for produced multimedia elements. Eg. Graphics, SOT, OTS, FF
Character is for speaker names.
Parenthetical is for stage directions or cues for talent that should appear in the prompter. Eg. camera turn, opens envelope
Dialogue is for the words that need to be said.
New Act is for marking the beginning of an act.
End of Act is for marking the end of an act.
General is for text that doesn't fit into any other block type.

Here's a Studio script with the most common block types labeled.

When your cursor is in a text block, you can determine its block type by looking at the gray icon displayed in the left margin.


How to change block types

You want to write easily without breaking your flow to think about formatting. Scripto predicts which block type you need based on context, and will automatically adjust the type based on what you write. For instance, if the first thing you type in an empty line is ( the type will immediately be switched to parenthetical. If the first thing you type is [ the type will immediately be switched to bracket.

If the default block type is incorrect makes, there are a few ways to change it.

1️⃣ TAB key – Press the TAB key repeatedly to cycle through the likely block types.

2️⃣ Keyboard shortcuts – Each block type has a keyboard shortcut. (⌘1 for Scene Heading. ⌘2 for Action. And so on)

3️⃣ Block type menu – You can open the block type menu by clicking on the icon in the margin (or pressing ⌘K). Then select the block type that you want.

Note: Shows on our paid plans can customize the default formatting for each block type.


Bold, Italics, and other text formatting

You can manually apply bold, italics, underlines, strikethroughs or all caps formatting to any text in the script.

Scripto supports the standard keyboard shortcuts (⌘b to bold text, ⌘i will italicize text, ⌘u will underline text). There is also a text formatting menu.

Highlight the words you want to format. The formatting menu will appear.

Click the text style that you want. The text will change to reflect what you've chosen.

Click out of the word to make the emphasis menu disappear.

To force text into ALL CAPS, click the up arrow. (There is no button to force the text back into mixed case.)


Inserting Links

Hyperlinked text is a great way to link to other sites without having to paste a huge long URL into your script. For example, you might want to link to the original source video so your media team can edit the clip you need for the show.

Use the Insert Link button in the toolbar to hyperlink text in the script. Select the text you want to link, click the Insert Link button, paste the URL into the form that opens and hit Apply.


Page Breaks

If you want to start an Act or Slug on a new page, you can manually insert a page break either from the block type menu or with the keyboard shortcut Command + Enter.

If you prefer to write in a continuous view without seeing the page breaks, you can switch between a view that shows page breaks and a view that hides them.

- When you have a document open, click the ... menu on the right side of the editor toolbar.
- Click the toggle button next to page breaks (at the very bottom) to turn it off or on.

The script view will not show page break and other pagination-related decorations like page numbers.

IMPORTANT

- Showing or hiding page breaks is a personal view preference that only applies to the person who sets it. It will not apply to the document globally.
- The preference will persist across any document that you open – until you switch it again.


Script Timer

Studio-based TV productions often contain multimedia elements (eg. video or audio clips) that affect the timing of the show. The Studio script format has a special timing feature that helps you write to time. Learn more about the script timer

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