Show HN: Arc Studio Pro – Collaborative Editing/Version Control for Screenplays (opens in new tab)

First off, amazing job - the UX design is outstanding. I've been wishing for something like this for music composition for the longest time, something that would combine the ease of use and live-collaboration aspects of Google Docs with custom workflows and object types as you have here. (Unfortunately, the presentation layer for the music domain requires implementing an entire DAW or notation interface on top, both of which are herculean efforts that I haven't tried to tackle yet!)

That said, I'll probably end up using this for lyrics! (When I used to write for musical theater in college, our writing workshop would basically use Google Docs, using screenplay formatting and typesetting in all caps for singing. This would have revolutionized the workflow there, even without music-specific features. Individual songs have "beats" and evolving themes just like anything else!)

On the tech side, did you use something like https://github.com/jahfer/othello for OT, or roll your own? And do you think in hindsight that CLJS was the right language/toolset for the job? I've always been interested in its ability to treat immutable data as a first-class citizen, but I haven't had a chance to do it yet.

Hi, Michi - congrats!

Not sure about your future plans, but there's a huge need for good collaborative writing/editing programs for traditional book publishing. Collaboration with developmental editors, copyeditors, agents, publishing staff, etc is both essential and extremely painful.

From the looks of it, the structure and output needs for book projects are less demanding than what you've already implemented, so it might be a worthwhile adjacency to explore.

Hope this helps.

OT = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_transformation, for those not in the know

Hi Michi, you say the app is written in Clojure(Script), does that mean the desktop Windows and Mac versions are in Electron, or are you using something else?

Not an Electron hater here, I use VS Code (along with Emacs).

Were there any surprising features/ux/workflow aha-moments you encountered in the screenwriting space?

I've often had the same experience, people's workflows are pretty ingrained (in general, not just screenwriters). But I've done some pitches where a writer had a lightbulb moment, and realized that collab and versioning really would make things easier.

I put great emphasis on the app behaving similar to current screenwriting tools, and the collaboration/versioning features just being there when they are needed, so the change in somebody's workflow can happen gradually.

I'm curious which approach you had considered. And would love to get feedback from writers/filmmakers of all backgrounds: m@arcstudiopro.com

It's true that the space is really crowded, but we also felt that all the other tools focused on formatting and not much else.

We wanted to consider the whole screenwriting process: collecting first ideas, outlining, distraction-free writing and formatting, collaborating, requesting and managing feedback, versioning...

Also, we want to take collaboration and versioning much much further than any existing tool and accommodate complex workflows, especially for larger writing teams. We're just getting started... :)

I think it's unfair that you're being downvoted for a very serious question related to the basic fundamentals of their business plan.

In a nutshell: how does Arc Studio plan on competing in this space, charging a relatively high monthly fee, when it offers fewer features than most of its competitors and when its primary feature is already offered by multiple competitors?

Or specifically: WriterDuet already does everything that Arc Studio Pro wants to do, but WD already has those features and charges roughly the same monthly price. WD has also been used to write several screenplays, including The Last Jedi. How does Arc Studio Pro plan to compete with WD?

Thanks for the kind words!

We do plan to offer backups to Google Drive and Dropbox, i.e. you can have your screenplays placed there automatically and periodically, to avoid data lock in.

Or are you thinking of a closer integration, e.g. being able to edit from Google Docs?

Arc Studio Pro and Highland are very different.

Highland is macOS only and more of a minimal editor built around the fountain format (think markdown for screenplays), and has a very unique formatting UI.

Arc Studio Pro wants to support the full process and offers collaborative editing, automatic versioning, feedback management, outlining and visualization tools, etc.

Both apps offer a free version, so give them both a try.

Yes, fountain can be both imported and exported.