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Script Editing

ACT3 AI includes a full-featured script editor for writing, importing, and managing screenplays. It combines automatic formatting, AI-assisted writing, collaboration tools, and direct integration with the rest of the production workflow.

Writing a Script​

Open any project and select the Script Editor panel from the editor workspace. The editor formats your script automatically as you type:

  • Scene headings (INT./EXT. LOCATION — DAY/NIGHT) are detected and formatted
  • Character names are capitalized and formatted for dialogue
  • Action lines and parentheticals are styled correctly
  • Color coding distinguishes acts, scenes, and shots at a glance — see story structure to understand how these relate

You can switch between a standard script view and a beat-and-scene outline view depending on your preferred working style.

Structural Script Highlighting​

The script editor automatically color-codes the background of your script text:

  • Purple highlights mark scene boundaries — helps you see where each new scene begins without reading every scene heading
  • Yellow highlights mark shot boundaries — shows where camera setups change within a scene

This visual structure makes it easy to check pacing and scene length at a glance without counting lines manually.

Importing a Script​

If you already have a screenplay written elsewhere, import it directly:

  1. Go to File → Import → Script
  2. Choose your file type: Final Draft (FDX), plain text (TXT), or Markdown
  3. Select parsing options — map headings to beats, preserve original scene numbers
  4. Click Import to preview the parsed structure
  5. Confirm to create Acts, Scenes, and Shots and open in the script editor

For best import results:

  • Use proper scene headings (INT. LAB — NIGHT) so the parser segments reliably
  • Keep character names in ALL CAPS on their own lines for accurate dialogue mapping
  • Use # headings in Markdown/Fountain to seed story beats
  • Avoid embedded images in text imports — save reference art to the Asset Library separately (see Version Control for tracking script changes)

After import, run the AI Wizard to fill missing beats, loglines, or theme context.

AI Writing Tools​

AI Wizard​

The AI Wizard is the primary tool for generating story structure. Provide a concept, logline, or a few sentences about your project, and it generates:

  • Acts with narrative purpose and tone
  • Scenes with locations and character lists
  • Beats with emotional descriptions and actions
  • Optional first-pass shot prompts

Use the AI Wizard at the start of a project to create a working framework, then refine every element manually.

Beat Breakdown Tool​

After importing or writing your script, use the Beat Breakdown tool to structure your script into beats:

  1. Go to Tools → Beat Breakdown in the Script Editor
  2. ACT3 AI reads your scene text and proposes a beat list — one beat per dramatic shift
  3. Review the proposed beats, which appear as colored markers in the script
  4. Accept, edit, merge, or split beats until they reflect the emotional units you want to visualize
  5. Beats are ready to use for shot creation and AI generation

You can also mark beat boundaries manually by clicking in the margin of the script at any action or dialogue line.

AI Script Expansion​

Inside the script editor, select any beat or scene and ask the AI to expand it into full dialogue and action. This is useful for:

  • Developing rough outlines into complete script pages
  • Generating alternate versions of dialogue for comparison
  • Writing placeholder dialogue quickly before doing a full creative pass

AI Rewrite and Suggestions​

Highlight any section of your script and use the AI suggestions panel to:

  • Rewrite dialogue for a different tone (snappier, more dramatic, more naturalistic)
  • Suggest alternate action lines
  • Adjust pacing by expanding or condensing sections

Suggestions appear in a side panel. Accept them, reject them, or modify them manually.

Script Versioning​

Every change in the script editor is tracked. Key versioning features:

  • Automatic snapshots — saved at regular intervals and on every significant edit
  • Manual checkpoints — create named versions before major rewrites (e.g., "Draft v2 — Client Review")
  • Side-by-side comparison — view differences between any two versions
  • Rollback — restore any previous version without losing the history

Collaboration​

Multiple team members can co-edit scripts in real time. The collaboration system provides:

  • Presence indicators showing who is active in each section
  • Inline comments tied to specific lines or dialogue blocks
  • Locking for approved sections to prevent overwriting
  • Full change attribution — every edit is logged with the contributor's name

Exporting Scripts​

Export your script at any point from File → Export → Script:

  • Final Draft (FDX) — for professional writing workflows
  • Fountain / Markdown — for version control and sharing
  • PDF — for client reviews and distribution
  • Plain Text (TXT) — for simple sharing

Export is free and does not consume credits.

Integration with Production​

Scripts connect to every other part of ACT3 AI:

  • Scene headings become scene cards in the Timeline
  • Character names are linked to digital actors in the Actor Library
  • Dialogue lines can be assigned to TTS or imported voice tracks
  • Beat markers feed directly into shot creation
  • The Script Editor appears side-by-side with the Timeline for simultaneous planning

Best Practices​

  • Use the AI Wizard to generate structure first, then write dialogue manually for creative control
  • Keep dialogue concise — shorter lines are easier for digital actors to perform
  • Lock finalized script sections to protect them during collaborative editing
  • Create a named version checkpoint before every major AI expansion or rewrite