Contour is a piece of software purporting to be nothing less that “story development system that streamlines the process of turning your movie ideas from first glimmer to full outline“. What? Well, as far as I can see it asks you to provide the answer to a bunch of questions that fit in with Jeffrey Alan Schechter’s movie structure theories. A fill in the blanks exercise. No ground broken either in terms of story structure or software development here – unless I’m missing something.
And I probably am, but there you go.
Oh, and it “seamlessly integrates” with Montage, Mariner’s screenwriting program. Only on the Mac, though. Windows users don’t have that luxury, although what “seamlessly integrates” translates to in the Real World one can only guess. It could mean everything or nothing.
I have nothing against screenwriting ’systems’. They are none of them perfect: if you chuck a non-writer in a room with a bunch of screenwriting books and shake ‘em like a cocktail, you won’t get a Harvey Wallbanger. But I think it’s sometimes useful to be able to pick bits and pieces out of these systems to pervert to your own ends.
Uh, what am I on about here? Two questions:
1. Anyone here use something like Contour?
2. If so, are there any alternatives?