Tim Sheehan from Sheehan Software is the creator of what I believe to be one of the finest software programs on the market for screenwriters, Sophocles. If you'd like to download a demo of Sophocles, you may do so at the Sophocles web site.
As of this writing (6-9-2008) Sophocles seems to be missing in action. The web site is closed down, Tim Sheehan can't be contacted, and Sophocles can no longer be downloaded.
Carl Hose: Tim, thanks for agreeing to talk with me. I appreciate it. I want to get right to the heart of the matter, which is your screenwriting software Sophocles. I saw a review of the first version of Sophocles floating around on the net. It was a good review, but the reviewer warned that Sophocles was new and there was no guarantee it would be around long. That obviously hasn't turned out to be the case. How long has Sophocles been on the market?
Tim Sheehan: I guess it's coming up on four years now. I've got such low overhead, it doesn't take much to keep it alive. And the word-of-mouth has been very good.
Carl: Are you a screenwriter yourself, or just a software developer interested in movies? I'm curious about the inspiration behind Sophocles. Can you give us a general overview of how Sophocles was created from concept to finished product?
Tim: I've written a few screenplays. The first was in the late eighties, using just a junky old text editor. I was manually inserting the line-breaks. Everytime I changed a sentence around I had to redo the line-breaks! Then I got the idea to write a screenplay editor, just for my own personal use. Computer programming was my other interest, so I thought I could use that skill to get a tactical advantage in the screenplay market -- like the program would be my secret weapon! I wrote it as a DOS program, and it worked very well. Later I started a new program from scratch for Windows 95, using pretty much the same design philosophy, and that's what turned into Sophocles.
Carl: It's obvious you're in tune with what writers need. Did you sit down with a strict vision of what Sophocles would be, or did you spend time studying other programs for writers and combine the best elements of those into Sophocles?
Tim: At the time I was only dimly aware that other screenplay programs even existed. I just wrote the program that I myself wanted to use. The first core idea I started with was this: I needed to find a way to counteract the "tunnel vision" effect you get from looking at just a small portion of your script at a time. This is especially damaging when you're writing screenplays because they're so dependent on continuity, and they have so many interconnections. The primary way the program overcomes this is with the Explorer View, of course, but there are a lot of other subtle things, mostly involving the way the edit window works.
The other Big Idea behind the program has been a bit controversial. I felt from the beginning that the edit window shouldn't be WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get). If you want to see what you're going to get on paper, that's what print-preview is for. So in the edit window, where you type, there are no page numbers or page breaks, no (MORE)'s or (CONTINUED)'s. You just start typing your dialogue and action, and all that other stuff appears when you activate print-preview. Some people perceive this as a missing feature -- it's not WYSIWYG! -- but my feeling is that formatting should be a job for the computer, especially when you're talking about screenplays, where the format is standardized enough that you can count on the computer to do the job exactly right.
Carl: One of my favorite features in Sophocles is the tight integration of the synopses and the notes with the outline. No other program makes it so easy to follow the progress of a script. By the time I finish a script, I've got a highly detailed outline at my disposal. That's just one of the features unique to Sophocles. Can you give any hints about what future versions might have in store?
Tim: That notes view sort of connects to the tunnel-vision idea. When you're looking at a particular scene, you've also got the notes in view to help you keep the broader context in your head. The upcoming version (Sophocles 2004) has greatly expanded notes functionality. Now there are act notes, sequence notes, character notes, and location notes. And now the notes appear below the edit window, which gives them a bit more room.
Carl: Obviously a product like Final Draft is hard to compete with, not because it's better than Sophocles, but because so many people use it. Given the opportunity to win a few Final Draft users over, what would you tell them the best part of Sophocles is?
Tim: I would tell Final Draft users to just try it out. The Explorer View is the obvious thing that jumps out at you, but the program is full of little touches that really add up. After you've used Sophocles for a while, the other programs start to feel awkward and clumsy.
Carl: I wouldn't be myself if I didn't take this opportunity to request an addition to a future version of Sophocles. I'd like to see an option for editing in page layout view. I realize the key concept of Sophocles is to take the emphasis off layout and put it on the writing process, which I fully agree with. I don't want the way the program is set up now to change. I'd just like to see the page layout view added as an option. Any chance of that?
Tim: Well, what I have been considering is adding functionality to allow editing inside the print-preview window. Still no final decision on that.
Carl: What's in store for us in the future from Sheehan Software? When can we expect a new version of Sophocles? Are you considering any other software for writers?
Tim: Sophocles 2004 is on the way -- hopefully it won't turn into Sophocles 2005, but that's a possibility. I think we'll be putting it on a CD in a box with a manual. (It'll be a free upgrade, but existing users will have to download it and make do with a PDF manual.) If that goes well, then I'm very interested in the idea of animated 3D storyboards. I'm thinking of a tool that would allow you to work out all the camera setups -- even the lighting. The output would be not just the storyboards, but also a set of diagrams for the grips, another set for the gaffer, etc, and of course a 3D movie. The input would would be a script file, plus CAD files from the set builders, plus location photos, etc. For now, though, the focus is on Sophocles.
Carl: Of all the programs I've tried, including Final Draft, Scriptware, and Movie Magic Screenwriter, Sophocles is the only software to fulfill all my screenwriting needs. I want to thank you again for talking to me and for bringing us Sophocles.
