This MacNews Category Review looks at theater/stage software for the Mac. Products covered include Dramatica Pro, Final Draft, LightWright, Montage, Movie Magic Screenwriter, PhotoCAD, Qlab, SAMSC, TH-S X and Ticketeer.
Dramatica Pro
Dramatica Pro is software to help you write stories, screenplays and novels. It includes analyzed story examples and a range of movies. There's a "lite" version for beginning writers and a pro version, aimed at the professional writer, with more analysis, reports and interactions.
Final Draft
Final Draft is a word processor for writing screenplays, sitcoms, stage plays or any format for movies, television or theater.
Lightwright
Lightwright is a specialized database for managing all aspects of professional theatrical lighting paperwork, including data worksheet, focus charts, work notes, moving light attribute lists, weights, color and equipment counts, error checking, data sharing, and more. It supports up to 32,000 entries in up to 62 DMX universes.
Montage
Montage is screenwriting software specifically designed for Mac OS X. It lets you create, edit, and manage screenplays on your Mac. From the ability to import Final Draft documents, to using custom, pre-formatted templates for film, TV, and theater, to the time-saving Smart Views, Montage is designed for both the first time screenwriter or the seasoned veteran, from start to finish. Once your screenplay is complete, the software allows you to submit, track, and send your query, synopsis, and scripts to industry contacts through Montage's integration with Apple's Address Book.
Movie Magic Screenwriter
Movie Magic Screenwriter is an all-in-one program for script typing and formatting. It contains templates for features, television, stage and multimedia and a unique script card system. Movie Magic Screenwriter imports from Dramatica and exports to Movie Magic Scheduling.
PhotoCAD
PhotoCAD is a professional solution for the creation of panoramic images that you can use "as is," integrate with your architectural projects or into your 3D scenes. Resulting panoramas can be printed at high resolution or shared across the Internet.
Qlab
Qlab is software that makes it simple to create rich multimedia designs for live performances and installations. Many theaters have implemented QLab, and have purchased Macs specifically for this purpose. The basic version of QLab is free and provides a powerful audio playback environment. For advanced users, licenses are available to enhance the audio features, as well as to add video and MIDI functionality.
SAMSC
SAMSC is an audio-visual control program that supports QuickTime. It can read GPS time from a GPS satellite receiver and has inbuilt Ethernet serial routing.
TH-S X
TH-S X replaces six conventional stereo-, 2 8-track- and one 16-track playback machine by using a single Digidesign or ASIO compatible audio system. TH-S features a show-based cuelist and snapshot automation with MIDI PGM CHG, MMC, Loop, AutoCue and Master Volume functions. It's plug-In compatible with ProTools HD systems.
Ticketeer
Ticketeer is a theatre management database geared toward small and mid-sized performance theatres (1,000 seats or less). It keeps track of patrons and shows/events. Ticketeer can also be adapted to other ticketing applications such as bus tours, boat cruises and sporting events.
