Creating a Project from a Final Draft Script

T-SBADV-001-001

Storyboarding and script writing go hand-in-hand. Storyboard Pro allows you to use your Final Draft script to create a new Storyboard Pro project. You can use the structure of your script to automatically generate all the scenes, panels and transitions in your project, and insert all the scene headings, characters, dialogues and actions into the appropriate caption fields for each generated panel.

The following steps provide detailed instructions on how to import a typical Final Draft script and automatically break it down into scenes and panels. Since scripts are never really written on a "per-panel" basis, and every script is paced and structured differently, you may have to try different settings to get optimal results, and you may have to combine or split some of the automatically generated panels manually to best fit the pace of your story.

NOTES

  • Storyboard Pro has a preference to use Live Action terminology instead of Animation terminology, available in the General tab of the preferences dialog. With this preference, the following terminology is replaced in the Storyboard Pro user interface:

    • The term Scene becomes Shot.
    • The term Sequence becomes Scene.

    The steps below will specify the term for both terminology preferences where applicable.

  • If you are using Final Draft 7 or earlier, you must export your script in .xml format using Tagger, as the native file format of Final Draft 7 and earlier (.fdr) is not supported by Storyboard Pro.

  1. From the top menu, select File > New From Final Draft Script.

    2. The Import from Final Draft dialog opens.

  1. Click on the Browse button.
  1. In the file browser, locate and select your Final Draft script, then click on Open.

    2. Once your script is loaded, the types of tags contained in your script will appear in the list to the left. You will have to indicate to Storyboard Pro what to do with each of these tags when generating your project.

  1. If your script is structured with scene headings, but not shots, do the following:
    1. In the list to the left, select Scene Heading.
    2. In the Action drop-down, select New Scene (animation terminology) or New Shot (live action terminology).
    3. In the Destination caption field drop-down, select Notes.
    4. If your Scene Heading elements are numbered in your script and you want to include their number in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available option.

    Your storyboard will have one scene (or shot) for every scene heading in your script, and the scene's description will be added to the Notes caption of every first panel of every scene.

    If your script is structured with both scene headings and shots, do the following:

    1. In the list to the left, select Scene Heading.
    2. In the Action drop-down, select New Sequence (animation terminology) or New Scene (live action terminology).
    3. In the Destination caption field drop-down, select Notes.
    4. If your Scene Heading elements are numbered and you want to include their number in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available option.
    5. In the list to the left, select Shot.
    6. In the Action drop-down, select New Scene (animation terminology) or New Shot (live action terminology).
    7. In the Destination caption field drop-down, select Notes.
    8. If your Shot elements are numbered in your script and you want to include their number in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available option.

    Your storyboard will have one sequence (or scene) for every scene heading in your script, and one scene (or shot) for every shot in your script. Their description will be added to the Notes caption of every first panel of their corresponding scene or sequence.

  1. In the list to the left, select the Action tag, then:
    1. If you want one panel to be created for each action, select New Panel in the Action drop-down.
    2. If you want consecutive actions to be combined in the same panel, check the Combine successive elements option.
    3. In the Destination caption field drop-down, select Action Notes. This will store the content of the action tag into the Action Notes caption of each panel.
    4. If your Action elements are numbered in your script and you want to include their number in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available option.

  2. In the list to the left, select the Character tag, if any, then:
    1. If you want one panel to be created for each dialogue, select New Panel in the Action drop-down.
    2. In the Destination caption field drop-down, select Dialogue.
    3. If your Character elements are numbered in your script and you want to include their number in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available option.
  3. In the list to the left, select the Parenthetical tag, if any and:
    1. In the Destination caption field drop-down, select Dialogue.
    2. If your Parenthetical elements are numbered in your script and you want to include their number in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available option.
  4. In the list to the left, select the Dialogue tag, if any:
    1. In the Destination caption field drop-down, select Dialogue.
    2. If your Dialogue elements are numbered in your script and you want to include their number in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available option.
  5. In the list to the left, select the Transition tag, if any:

    1. In the action drop-down, select New Transition.

    Overall, if your script is structured with scene headings, but not shots, the following settings are suggested:

     Action (Animation Terminology)Action (Live Action Terminology)Destination caption field
    ActionNew PanelNew PanelAction Notes
    CharacterNew PanelNew PanelDialogue
    DialogueNoneNoneDialogue
    ParentheticalNoneNoneDialogue
    Scene Heading

    New Scene

    New Shot

    		Notes
    TransitionNew TransitionNew TransitionNone

    And if your script is structured with scene headings and shots, the following settings are suggested:

     Action (Animation Terminology)Action (Live Action Terminology)Destination Caption Field
    ActionNew PanelNew PanelAction Notes
    CharacterNew PanelNew PanelDialogue
    DialogueNoneNoneDialogue
    ParentheticalNoneNoneDialogue
    Scene Heading

    New Sequence

    New Scene

    		Notes
    Shot

    New Scene

    New Shot

    		Notes
    TransitionNew TransitionNew TransitionNone
    NOTE Depending on the way your script is structured and on how much the action or dialogue drive the pace, you might have to try creating a project with your script using different options to get the best storyboard structure for your needs. In the end, it is likely that you will have to split or combine some of the automatically generated panels.
  6. If you want to make the currently selected parameters default, check the Save as default rules checkbox.

  1. Click Import.

    The New Project dialog appears.

  1. In the New Project dialog, enter the name, location, title and resolution for your project.
    2. NOTE For more information on creating a new Storyboard Pro project, see Creating Projects.
  2. If the currently opened project was not saved, confirm whether you want to save it.

    3. Your new project is created, with scenes and panels automatically created and their captions filled with excerpts from your script, based on the settings you selected.