Zhura
Encyclopedia
Scripped
Scripped is an online screenplay services company offering three services: script writing, script registration, and script coverage. Scripped currently does not facilitate collaboration among screenwriters. It combined with Zhura in 2010...
as of March 28, 2010, is a free web-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 for writing and formatting screenplay
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...
s to the film industry
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
standard, as well as other formats. Zhura allows users to collaborate on scripts in public or in private groups and used Creative Commons Licensing
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
for all work in the public workspace.
On March 29, 2010, Zhura announced that it merged with Scripped
Scripped
Scripped is an online screenplay services company offering three services: script writing, script registration, and script coverage. Scripped currently does not facilitate collaboration among screenwriters. It combined with Zhura in 2010...
. Scripped
Scripped
Scripped is an online screenplay services company offering three services: script writing, script registration, and script coverage. Scripped currently does not facilitate collaboration among screenwriters. It combined with Zhura in 2010...
's CEO, Sunil Rajaraman, remains the merged company's Chief Executive Officer. The Zhura CEO was Eric MacDonald, a former Cascade Communications
Cascade Communications
Cascade Communications was a Westford, Massachusetts based manufacturer of communications equipment.-Product:Cascade made a compact Frame Relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode communication switches that were sold to telecommunication service providers worldwide...
engineer.
Script editor
Screenplay Template – The script editor provides a built-in screenplay template which formats the document to a standard for scripts as recommended by the AMPAS. The screenplay document is composed of seven elements: scene, action, character, dialogue, parenthetical, transition and shot (see image). Each element has a specific style to which the script editor conforms as you type.Script Formats - Other major script formats for stage play, sitcom, audio drama and comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
are also supported as well as the ability to switch between them.
Auto-Complete – Characters, scene headings and custom transitions are “remembered” as they are written and “recalled” with tab-completion when a writer starts a new character, scene heading or transition, respectively.
Multiple Editors – With a collaborative editing
Collaborative editing
Collaborative editing is the practice of groups producing works together through individual contributions. Effective choices in group awareness, participation, and coordination are critical to successful collaborative writing outcomes. Most usually it is applied to textual documents or...
model comparable to Google docs, two or more users can edit the same script simultaneously, regardless of having a different operating system or web browser.
Import/Export – A screenplay written in another program can be imported into the script editor and automatically conformed to the screenplay template. The closer the original script has adhered to the standard format, the better it will appear when imported. Supported import/export formats include Text (.txt) Word (.doc) Rich Text (.rtf) and OpenDocument (.odt). Scripts can also be exported as a PDF file with additional options.
Tracking Changes – Similar to the “tracking” feature in Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
, a user can review all changes made to a script in the revision history as well as highlight the contributions of each writer.
Offline Mode - The Google Gears-based offline functionality is in the process of being updated and is not available for new subscribers, according to the company founders.
Community
Scripped supports typical social networking features such as discussion boards, comments, user profiles, public and private writing groups, internal webmail and instant messaging within the script editor. There is also the option to share scripts with others outside of Scripped by making scripts externally viewable. Scripped is made up entirely of user-generatedUser-generated content
User generated content covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies. It entered mainstream usage during 2005 having arisen in web publishing and new media content production circles...
scripts that other users can share, critique and edit, offering creative support to a community of writers.
Licensing Of User-created Work
There are three types of workspaces on Scripped (personal, group and public) with unique copyrightCopyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
and licensing management for the work created in each area. Any work a user originates may be moved from the personal area to a public or group area at any time. Once another user edits a script, however, it cannot be moved into the originator’s personal area.
Personal Workspace – Any script created or video uploaded in the user’s personal workspace remains copyrighted to that user. Until the user moves that script or video from their personal area into a group or public area, no other user shares a copyright or license to that work.
Private Group Workspace – The copyright to any script created or video uploaded in a private group workspace is allocated by the individual members of the group, however they see fit.
Public Workspace – Any script created or video uploaded in the public workspace is assigned a Creative Commons license by the originator of that work. The originator of a script may select one of four Creative Commons licenses before introducing that script to the public. The selection of the license is determined by what the author wants to allow others to do with the work. Below is a list of Creative Commons licenses
Creative Commons licenses
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
available for all scripts and videos in the public workspace.
- This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. This license is often compared to open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
software licenses. All new works based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use.
- This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.
- This license is the most restrictive of the four licenses, allowing redistribution. This license is often called the "free advertising" license because it allows others to download your works and share them with others as long as they mention you and link back to you, but they can't change them in any way or use them commercially.
- This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. Others can download and redistribute your work just like the BY-NC-ND license, but they can also translate, make remixes, and produce new stories based on your work. All new work based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also be non-commercial in nature.
Events
In April 2008, Zhura partnered with Improv AsylumImprov Asylum
Improv Asylum is an improvisational comedy theater in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1998 by Paul D'Amato, Norm Laviolette, and Chet Harding. The theater produces multiple shows per week including its critically acclaimed mainstage show...
, a comedy troupe in Boston, Massachusetts to produce a live sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
show called "You Wrote It, Live" entirely written by the public on Zhura. Another show was produced in June.
See also
- Web 2.0Web 2.0The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
- 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....
- Creative CommonsCreative CommonsCreative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
- List of screenwriting software