I have Final Draft 12, and I’m thinking about upgrading to 13. I want the latest version, but I also want to use emojis in my scripts for text messages and character reactions in action lines. Has anyone used emojis in Final Draft 13? What did you use them for?
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Maurice Vaughan Funny (both 'odd' and 'Ha Ha') you should raise this topic. I just upgraded to FD13. One of the enhancements highlighted was the ability to place emojis (the developers I worked with called them emoticons). I have been conscious of not using cell phones as a plot driver since it has been so overused. I think texts and the 'buzzing' of the vibration setting are the equivalent of when Tony Soprano called out Pauly for using 'Remember when' to drive conversation at a dinner, "The lowest form of conversation." Sample tropes: The cell rings with the child calling mommy in the middle of a gunfight; the ring betrays the hiding place; the cell is tracking the victim in real time; the secret texts reveal the motivation of the antagonist; the sexting reveals the affair; the phone is just out of reach, and so on, and so on.
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Thanks for commenting, Robert Franklin Godwin III. I'm interested in using emojis for emails, smartwatches, ads on the sides of buses, etc. as well.
"I have been conscious of not using cell phones as a plot driver since it has been so overused." I do the same thing sometimes. I try to find creative ways to get rid of phones, smartwatches, tablets, etc. in scripts so characters can't call for help, look up things online, and so on.
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Hi Maurice Vaughan - just be aware that emojis chew up a lot of bytes. I used a single musical note in a script a couple months ago and it made the FDX --> PDF file too large to submit. Went back and edited out the emoji and no more file size issues ;-)
Ok, thanks for the heads-up, Matthew Kelcourse.
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Probably won't update to 13. Even for $70, why?
In FD 12, a scene where a couple revisited their names tagged on a rock during high school: A (Infinity Symbol) B. Writing 'Infinity Symbol' obviously doesn't work nearly as well as inserting the icon.
I recently saw a fantasy script with a reference to an arcane symbol that was inserted. Same thing. It would never had the same impact as plain text.
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I've had FD 13 crash a few times, but it seems to be working well now.
12 crashes too though rarely. The Auto-Save is set for every five minutes with No Notification.
Glad it's working well now, Eric Sollars. I heard people say they had issues with FD 13, but I haven't heard anyone say it lately. I guess they were having issues because FD 13 was brand new.
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E Langley FD12 was a bit wonky. I had issues with the tool ribbon and with the template changing of its own accord. FD13 has not exhibited these traits...yet. The entire Final Draft program feels like something out of the first decade of this century. Old coding, I suspect. With Microsoft and Apple deploying major upgrades to their respective operating systems over the last 20 years, old code creaks and moans like a staircase in an old house leading to the dark and damp cellar...danger lurks.
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There's always a yellow pad and pen or typewriter, Robert Franklin Godwin III.
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E Langley Funny you should mention the yellow pad. Here is a spec poster/book cover I did for one of my screenplays.
Creative spec poster/book cover, Robert Franklin Godwin III!