Sophocles (software)
Encyclopedia
Sophocles was a Windows
-based screenwriting software
application used for writing feature film
and television screenplays
. The program first became available on the Internet in 1999. Its distinguishing features included a two window screen setup, showing the script and screenplay outline simultaneously.
Sophocles supported industry-standard screenplay formats including scene numbers, A/B revision pages, revision marks, MOREs and CONT'Ds, and so on. All formats were applied automatically, with no intervention required on the part of the user.
After the buyout of the company in Spring 2008, first party technical support disappeared, creating concern among its users.
in conjunction with the screenplay. Steps – the fundamental events of a plot – can be assigned to color-coded story threads, and scripts can contain multiple threads.
Steps are maintained in two distinct orderings: presentation order and chronological order. Presentation order (or script order) is the order in which the steps will unfold on-screen; chronological order is the order in which the steps take place in the world of the story (the two would differ in the case of a flashback
, for example).
Steps can be flagged as implemented after they’ve been written into the script, or off-screen to indicate they won’t be implemented at all.
The program generates read-only story visualization and analysis diagrams
, including a variety of histograms
and a social graph
. Descriptive information can be provided for individual acts, sequences, characters, and so forth.
used by the motion picture industry. Production strip
s display summary information for every scene; a schedule is prepared by dragging
the strips into shooting order and inserting dividers to mark the ends of days. Multiple alternative schedules can be stored for later recall. Multiple production units are supported, with a separate schedule for each unit.
Other schedule-related features include:
Sophocles 2007 includes a full-featured budgeting
module integrated with the word-processing and scheduling modules. Custom designed budget tables or entire charts of accounts
can be saved, along with default cost entries, to template files
for use across multiple projects. Preparation of individual tables can be delegated to department heads or other experts.
Each production unit has its own budget which can be viewed and printed independently or as a component of the overall budget. Budgets can be exported to PDF
or to Microsoft Excel
format (XLS). Exporting to Excel preserves all user defined fringes, formulas, and references in the resulting spreadsheet
.
Other budgeting features include:
Sophocles generates a variety of production related reports and forms, including call sheets
, actor's sides, day out of days
, and so on. Call sheets are populated automatically by referring to the schedule for a list of resources scheduled on a given day. Sides are generated in a similar way, by printing all the script pages scheduled to be shot on a given day for a given part.
Other reports include:
, budgeting
and reporting components, and extend the program’s existing story-planning capabilities. The components were to be fully integrated, remaining synchronized as edits are made. For example, when the schedule was modified, the budget simultaneously displayed new values to reflect the change.
The final release of Sophocles 2007 was to be made available in three editions:
Related
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
-based screenwriting software
Screenwriting software
Screenwriting software are word processors specialized to the task of writing screenplays. The need for such programs arises from the presence of certain peculiarities in standard screenplay format which are not handled well by generic word processors. A good example would be the formatting and...
application used for writing feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
and television screenplays
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
. The program first became available on the Internet in 1999. Its distinguishing features included a two window screen setup, showing the script and screenplay outline simultaneously.
Sophocles supported industry-standard screenplay formats including scene numbers, A/B revision pages, revision marks, MOREs and CONT'Ds, and so on. All formats were applied automatically, with no intervention required on the part of the user.
After the buyout of the company in Spring 2008, first party technical support disappeared, creating concern among its users.
Story Creation
The Sophocles 2007 beta provides an interface for developing and maintaining a step outlineStep outline
A step outline is a detailed telling of a story with the intention of turning the story into a screenplay for a motion picture....
in conjunction with the screenplay. Steps – the fundamental events of a plot – can be assigned to color-coded story threads, and scripts can contain multiple threads.
Steps are maintained in two distinct orderings: presentation order and chronological order. Presentation order (or script order) is the order in which the steps will unfold on-screen; chronological order is the order in which the steps take place in the world of the story (the two would differ in the case of a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
, for example).
Steps can be flagged as implemented after they’ve been written into the script, or off-screen to indicate they won’t be implemented at all.
The program generates read-only story visualization and analysis diagrams
Diagram
A diagram is a two-dimensional geometric symbolic representation of information according to some visualization technique. Sometimes, the technique uses a three-dimensional visualization which is then projected onto the two-dimensional surface...
, including a variety of histograms
Histogram
In statistics, a histogram is a graphical representation showing a visual impression of the distribution of data. It is an estimate of the probability distribution of a continuous variable and was first introduced by Karl Pearson...
and a social graph
Graph (mathematics)
In mathematics, a graph is an abstract representation of a set of objects where some pairs of the objects are connected by links. The interconnected objects are represented by mathematical abstractions called vertices, and the links that connect some pairs of vertices are called edges...
. Descriptive information can be provided for individual acts, sequences, characters, and so forth.
Scheduling
Sophocles' scheduling interface mimics the standard production boardProduction board
A traditional production board or production strip board is a filmmaking term for a cardboard or wooden chart holding colour-coded strips of paper, each containing information about a scene in the script...
used by the motion picture industry. Production strip
Production strip
A traditional production board is a cardboard or wooden chart holding colour-coded strips of paper, each containing information about a scene in the script. A modern version will probably be printed using computer software....
s display summary information for every scene; a schedule is prepared by dragging
Drag-and-drop
In computer graphical user interfaces, drag-and-drop is the action of selecting a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object...
the strips into shooting order and inserting dividers to mark the ends of days. Multiple alternative schedules can be stored for later recall. Multiple production units are supported, with a separate schedule for each unit.
Other schedule-related features include:
- Automatically generated Day Out of DaysDay Out of DaysThe Day Out of Days is a chart used by filmmakers to tally the number of paid days for each cast member. The chart must be prepared after the shooting schedule. Once it has been completed, work can begin on a budget....
with optimized drop/hold periods. - Automatically generated call sheetsDaily call sheetThe daily call sheet is a filmmaking term for a sheet of paper issued to the cast and crew of a film production, created by an assistant director, informing them where and when they should report for a particular day of shooting. Call sheets also include other useful information such as contact...
and sides. - The schedule can be printed in standard or one-line format, or on paper strips for use in an actual production board.
- An advanced auto-scheduler employs sophisticated AIArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
techniques to account for resourceResource (project management)In project management terminology, resources are required to carry out the project tasks. They can be people, equipment, facilities, funding, or anything else capable of definition required for the completion of a project activity. The lack of a resource will therefore be a constraint on the...
availability constraints, day versus night scenes, interiors versus exteriors, and so on. - Real-time synchronization with the word-processing and budgeting modules.
Budgeting
Film budgeting
Film budgeting refers to the process by which a line producer, unit production manager or filmmaker prepares a budget for a film production. This document, which could be over 150 pages long, is used to secure financing for the film and lead to pre-production and production of the film. Multiple...
module integrated with the word-processing and scheduling modules. Custom designed budget tables or entire charts of accounts
Chart of accounts
__FORCETOC__A chart of accounts is a created list of the accounts used by a business entity to define each class of items for which money or the equivalent is spent or received...
can be saved, along with default cost entries, to template files
Template (file format)
The term document template when used in the context of file format refers to a common feature of many software applications that define a unique non-executable file format intended specifically for that particular application....
for use across multiple projects. Preparation of individual tables can be delegated to department heads or other experts.
Each production unit has its own budget which can be viewed and printed independently or as a component of the overall budget. Budgets can be exported to PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
or to Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
format (XLS). Exporting to Excel preserves all user defined fringes, formulas, and references in the resulting spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
.
Other budgeting features include:
- Four levels of detail (top-sheet, table, account, and account detail).
- Automatic calculation of schedule-dependent resourceResource (project management)In project management terminology, resources are required to carry out the project tasks. They can be people, equipment, facilities, funding, or anything else capable of definition required for the completion of a project activity. The lack of a resource will therefore be a constraint on the...
costs. - Automatic generation of detail tables for each resource category (props, vehicles, cast members, etc).
- Segregation of locations by zone (studio, location, or remote location) and cast members by type (principal, supporting, or day).
- User defined currency symbolCurrency signA currency sign is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currency's name, especially in reference to amounts of money. They typically employ the first letter or character of the currency, sometimes with minor changes such as ligatures or overlaid vertical or horizontal bars...
and exchange rateExchange rateIn finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
multiplier.
Reporting
Daily call sheet
The daily call sheet is a filmmaking term for a sheet of paper issued to the cast and crew of a film production, created by an assistant director, informing them where and when they should report for a particular day of shooting. Call sheets also include other useful information such as contact...
, actor's sides, day out of days
Day Out of Days
The Day Out of Days is a chart used by filmmakers to tally the number of paid days for each cast member. The chart must be prepared after the shooting schedule. Once it has been completed, work can begin on a budget....
, and so on. Call sheets are populated automatically by referring to the schedule for a list of resources scheduled on a given day. Sides are generated in a similar way, by printing all the script pages scheduled to be shot on a given day for a given part.
Other reports include:
- Breakdown sheets
- Resource lists, breakdowns, and continuity reports
- Scene and sequence cards
- Story threads and steps
- Script notes
Editions
Beta testing for Sophocles 2007 hoped to incorporate schedulingProduction schedule
The production schedule is a project plan of how the production budget will be spent over a given timescale, for every phase of filmmaking.* CastActors* Special Effects* Wardrobe* Special Equipment* Stunts* Extras/Silent Bits* Props* Make-up/Hair...
, budgeting
Film budgeting
Film budgeting refers to the process by which a line producer, unit production manager or filmmaker prepares a budget for a film production. This document, which could be over 150 pages long, is used to secure financing for the film and lead to pre-production and production of the film. Multiple...
and reporting components, and extend the program’s existing story-planning capabilities. The components were to be fully integrated, remaining synchronized as edits are made. For example, when the schedule was modified, the budget simultaneously displayed new values to reflect the change.
The final release of Sophocles 2007 was to be made available in three editions:
- Sophocles Basic included the core word-processing and formatting engines.
- Sophocles Pro included the extended story-creation features.
- Sophocles PM included the budgeting, scheduling, and reporting modules.
Possible Company Buyout
There has been speculation that on March 21, 2008, Sophocles was purchased by a third party. By late April, 2008, its website was shut down and Tim Sheehan, the software's creator, could not be reached for comment.See also
GeneralRelated
- FilmmakingFilmmakingFilmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
- ScreenwritingScreenwritingScreenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is a freelance profession....
- Pre-productionPre-productionPre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...