Tech Arsenal 1/Tech Arsenal (Arsenal Computer).ISO/tek-13/vde16ysp.zip/VDE16YSP.DOC

Text File | 1991-05-05 | 28KB | 608 lines

===============
V D E 1 6 y S P
===============




Screenplay Macros for Eric Meyer's
Video Display Editor, Version 1.6x



                                                         NOTES TO VERSION 1.6y

These screenplay macros have been completely revised to take advantage of new
features in version 1.60 of VDE, mainly auto-format. Though the use of the
program is largely unchanged, the way the macros actually work is quite
different. In earlier versions the script file was written and saved as a
single long file of null page length. Version 1.6y requires a default page
length to be set with VINST. The advantages are that you are able to keep an
approximate running page count while writing, you can use auto-format and
word-insert modes, and the macros themselves are smaller and faster. This
version of these macros has been named with the v1.6y serial number in the
hope that they will remain valid through future versions of v1.6.

Version v1.6y corrects an error in the ESC-5 macro, a stray ^B which prevented
correct operation. The version is otherwise identical to v1.6x.


                                                                  INTRODUCTION

VDE-SP is a set of macro and function key definitions that makes Eric Meyer's
Video Display Editor into a screenplay processor which writes, formats, pages,
and prints out screenplays in standard industry format.

VDE allows you to define ten macros you invoke by typing the ESCAPE key and
any one of the ten numeral keys from 1 through 0. VDE-SP uses all ten of them.
Only the five macros ESC 1, 2, 3, 9, and 10 are used for writing the
screenplay. ESC 4 through ESC 8 are used afterward, for paging. In addition
eleven of the 40 function keys have been programmed to be helpful, though they
aren't strictly necessary.

The files produced by VDE-SP are simple ASCII files, nearly WISYWIG (What You
See Is What You Get), and with no embedded control codes other than occasional
^S underline codes. They are compatible with Scriptor (c) and can be imported
into other MS/DOS (c) word processors such as WordStar (c), Microsoft Word
(c), or WordPerfect (c).


                                                          LIMITATION OF VDE-SP

VDE-SP does not number shots. If you find that necessary - it usually isn't
for reading scripts - you either have to do it by hand or run your finished
VDE-SP files through Scriptor (c).


                                                    WRITING AND EDITING MACROS

Here's what the five writing and editing macros do:

ESC 1 sets wide margins for scene description and action at columns 1 and 60
and reforms the paragraph under the cursor to conform to the new margins.

ESC 2 sets narrow margins for dialogue at columns 11 and 44 and reforms the
text under the cursor.

ESC 3 inserts a parenthetical, or "wryly." Type the text you want inside the
parentheses, delete the space before the close parenthesis, and exit with ^X.
If there is dialogue text beyond the parenthesis, it will be reformed to the
dialogue margins.

You continue in dialogue with no further command. Pay no attention to the fact
that the cursor is column 1 - the margins are still set for dialogue.

VDE-SP doesn't set special margins for parentheticals. They are positioned at
the first tabstop, within normal dialogue margins. If your parenthetical is so
long you have to wrap it with a carriage return to a second line, you can do
that, but you should consider going back to description margins and writing it
out as a sentence.

ESC 9 spaces down two lines and types CUT TO in the correct position for a
transition, at the third tabstop. CUT TO is the only transition I ever use -
to suggest a radical change in time or place. You can use DISSOLVE TO or FADE
OUT by typing F7 (function key 7) or F8 respectively. These work the same was
as ESC 0.

If you really want to get wild and use something like CHINESE DOLLY TO, do it
by hand. Just type two carriage returns, three tabs, and type whatever
transition phrase you like.

ESC 0 sets dialogue margins and positions the cursor to the point where you
type the character's name. As with ESC 9, you may do ESC 0 at the end of a
block of description or a block of dialogue, the result is the same.


                                                                 FUNCTION KEYS

Eleven function keys have been programmed.

F1 puts the line ahead of the cursor into upper case. This allows you to type
the character's name or a shot line in lower - or in upper and lower - case,
then upcase it all retrospectively, so to speak, with a single keystroke. It
makes no difference whether you do this before or after typing the carriage
return after the character's name or the two carriage returns after the shot
line.

SHIFT F1 reverses the action of F1 in case you made a mistake. It puts the
entire line into lower case though, so, if you had any capital letters in the
original line, you will have to go back and replace them by hand.

F3 types out INT. and leaves the cursor in position to type the description of
the location. F4 types out EXT.

F5 types - DAY, including the space in front of the dash. F6 types - NIGHT.
Both of these keys will also capitalize any description you have typed in
lower case between INT. or EXT. and - DAY or - NIGHT.

As described above, F7 inserts DISSOLVE TO and F8 inserts FADE OUT in the
appropriate place.

Function keys 2, 9, and 10 are used only during paging.


                                                                 PAGING MACROS

VDE-SP no longer produces one long file with no page breaks. This new version
requires a default page length set with VINST, but, before printing it out,
you have to page it by hand with the help of the ESC 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 macros.

There are four kinds of page breaks in screenplays, each corresponding to one
of the ESCAPE sequences 4 through 7.

The simplest is a break between scenes, which inserts nothing but a header
line and page number at the top of the trailing page (ESC 4).

The most frequently used is a break within a scene, which requires the
addition of a CONTINUED string at the bottom right of the leading page and
another at the top left of the trailing page two lines below the header and
page number line (ESC 5).

Most of your page breaks will be one of these two, but occasionally the
natural place to break the page falls in the middle of a block of description
or dialogue which is so long that pushing all of it over to the trailing page
would leave far too much white space at the bottom of the leading page. VDE-SP
has macros for these cases, one for dividing a long block of description (ESC
7), two more for dividing a long speech (ESC 7 and 8).

Whether to divide is your decision, but the general rule is to divide if not
doing so would leave more than five lines of white space in addition to the
normal minimum bottom margin of two lines.

ESC 4 starts a new page between scenes, by embedding a ^L formfeed, and adds a
header line and page number symbol # at the top of the new page.

ESC 5 starts a new page in the middle of a scene by putting in a CONTINUED
string, embedding a ^L formfeed, reading in your header line, and adding
another CONTINUED string at the top of the new page.

ESC 6 divides a long paragraph of description between sentences, adds
CONTINUED strings, formfeed, and header, and reforms the text pushed over to
the new page to the description margins.

ESC 7 divides a long speech between sentences, adds CONTINUED strings and
header, then stops to allow you to type the character's name at the top of the
trailing part of the speech - in upper or lower case. You must then type ESC 8
to reposition and reform the trailing part of the speech.


                                                              RULES FOR PAGING

You need only decide which of the four kinds of page break is appropriate and
type the corresponding ESCAPE sequence. VDE-SP will find the correct place to
insert the page break and advance the cursor to the next page end. To make
your decision you need to keep a few simple rules in mind.

The macros which make the page breaks automatically advance you to line 1 of
the next page. In all other circumstances function key 10 advances to line 1
of the next page, and function key 9 backs up to line 1 of the preceding page.
Use F10 to find the first page break starting paging at the top of a file.

Since all the paging commands automatically advance you to the last line of
the next page, you will normally need to measure off a page this way only when
you start a new file. Since the cursor always falls on line 1 of the next
page, the actual page break will always be made one or more lines above.

To find the actual page break, examine the text above the cursor line - line 1
- to find either one or two blank lines. VDE recognizes a single blank line as
an appropriate place to insert a page break in a scene, and two blank lines as
an appropriate place to insert one between scenes.

If two blank lines - a break between scenes - are first above the cursor line,
type ESC 4. Otherwise type ESC 5. In the first instance VDE-SP will make the
page break at the shot line, which it identifies by the fact that it is
preceded by two blank lines. In the second case, VDE-SP will make the break at
the beginning of the description or the dialogue, depending on which is
closest above the cursor line. It identifies the correct location by the
single blank line above blocks of description or dialogue.

In a small number of cases there will be no blank lines in the first five or
six lines above the cursor, in which case you may want to divide on the text,
whether it be description or dialogue. As a rule such breaks are permitted
only between sentences, and VDE-SP will make them only there.

In the case of description there must be a break between sentences at least
three lines above the cursor line before you can use ESC 6. If there isn't,
use ESC 4 or 5 and accept a lot of white space at the bottom of the preceding
page. With dialogue there must be a break between sentences at least four
lines above the cursor line before you can use ESC 7 and 8. If there isn't,
use ESC 5.

To identify a break between sentences VDE-SP looks for a space preceded by a
period, question mark, or exclamation point. Anything else - semicolons,
quotation marks, dashes, commas - won't work.

The three and four-line limits are required by the extra (more) and CONTINUED
strings inserted when you divide long description or dialogue.


                                                          PAGING FUNCTION KEYS

Several function keys have been programmed to assist with paging. If you fear
you made a mistake, or just want to see what the last page break looks like,
F9 will return you to it. F10 will then position the cursor to the top of the
next page. A simple way to check the paging script is to start at the top and
type F10 repeatedly to step through the script page by page.


                                                   MAKING A PAGE BREAK BY HAND

From time to time there are cases so atypical - a song text, for example -
that you will have to make the page break by hand. Just move all left over
text down below line 1 of the next page. Move the cursor to line 1 of the
next page with F10, then ^KR (to read in a file), then, at the "filename"
prompt, HEADER, and carriage return. Dress up the damage and type F10 to get
to the bottom line of the next page.


                                                               THE HEADER FILE

At every page break VDE-SP searches for and reads in a file called HEADER
which must be available in the directory in which you are working. You make up
this file yourself before you start paging. If you wish to use VDE's automatic
header, the HEADER file should be zero-length, but it must be there. To create
a zero-length file, open a file called Header, type something and save it,
then delete everything and save it again.)

If you prefer to use custom headers, HEADER should be a simple text file which
looks like this:

Your Title Here - rev. 4.8                             #<
<
<
<-- return cursor to this point before saving file

If you want to use VDE automatic numbering feature, the # symbol should be
embedded in the file with a CTRL-P rather than simply typed.

I've put in the left angle brackets to indicate where you would see Hard
Carriage Returns if you toggled them on with ^OB. So HEADER consists of the
header line with a number symbol in column 56 (at the fourth and last
tabstop), plus two blank lines below it.

The standard screenplay format used by SCRIPTOR uses a top margin above the
header of just two lines, and a two-line margin at the bottom of the page.
Ideally the header line should print on line 3 of your page. My Hewlett-
Packard LaserJet IIp printer, and, I suppose, other page printers will not
allow anything to be printed until line 4, and I just have to live with that.
If your printer allows printing in line 1 you must set VDE's top margin
default with VINST (VDE Install) to 2.

Note that the page number symbol should be embedded - type CTRL-P, then the
number symbol. This facilitates automatic page numbering with the ^K# command.

If this file isn't present in the default directory with your screenplay
files, VDE-SP will report an I/O (input/output) error at every attempt to make
a page break. It tries to read the file in, but can't find it. Incidentally,
you can always make up a HEADER file on the fly - just go to the bottom of
your file, type out an appropriate header, mark it as a block, and write it to
the disk as HEADER with the ^KW command, then delete the block.

If you need a two-line header VDE-SP will automatically compensate for the
extra line - or lines.

If you need only a single-line header and do not have to deal with A and B
pages for inserts, you may prefer to use VDE's automatic header feature. If
so, set your page length to three lines less than normal and make up a zero-
length HEADER file. Preceding the header text with < will set the text flush
left:

  "<Survive the Savage Sea v3.0" ns

Be sure to set the wide, scene description margins before paging, because the
page number will not appear in column 56 when dialogue margins are set.


                                                           NUMBERING THE PAGES

If you use VDE'S automatic header and page numbering, you can ignore this
section.

Otherwise, when you have finished paging every page will still have a # symbol
embedded (probably highlighted) where the page number should be. Make sure
that margins are set wide by typing ESC1, mark the entire file (or that part
to be printed) as a block, then type the command ^K#. You will be prompted for
a starting number, 2 if you're still in the first file, since page 1 does not
carry a header or page number.

In the event you want to number the pages manually, return to the top of the
file with ^OR, turn INSERT mode off with ^V (the INS flag will disappear from
the status line), and set NUM LOCK on so you can use the keypad to type
numbers.

Type F2 to take you to the first #, which should be on the second page, since
there is neither header nor page number on page 1. Type 2, then F2 again, type
3, F2, 4, F2, 5, and so on.

This is slightly cumbersome, but once you get the hang of it you should be
able to number forty pages in as many seconds, and you retain full control -
if you have to preserve the numbering of an earlier draft, it's easy to number
A and B pages where you need them.


                                                          FINISHING OFF A FILE

When you come to the end of any file but the last one you will probably end
with a page that is less than full length. Cut this last, partial page off and
paste it into the top of the following file before you page it. This permits
you to print each file out separately, without having to chain them.

Note that a complete screenplay is too long to fit into a single VDE file,
which will run to about 80K, but should be kept shorter to allow plenty of
room for cutting and pasting whole scenes and pages. You should break your
screenplay into three or more files, all of which can be loaded into VDE-SP at
once, permitting easy cutting and pasting among them. A search or search and
replace started in one file can be carried on in the following files by the ^L
(continue search) command.

To load your entire screenplay as three separate files, use this command at
the DOS prompt:

   VDE-SP SCRIPTa.SCR,SCRIPTb.SCR,SCRIPTc.SCR;SCRIPT.VDK

The three files A, B, and C will be loaded as a ring - use ^N to move to the
Next file in the ring, ^B to move Back to the preceding file. See the VDE16x
documentation for windowing, cutting and pasting, and other features.

The ;SCRIPT.VDK part of the command loads a set of VDE-SP macro keys
specifically for the project if you choose to install characters' names on the
alphabetical macro keys.


                                                KEEPING TRACK OF WHERE YOU ARE

VDE's running page count will give you an approximate figure. It cannot be
exact because the actual paging changes the line count. The ^KI (information)
command will show you the length of the file in K, the number of words in it,
the number of bytes used, and the number remaining to be used.


                                                SETTING PAGE LENGTH WITH VINST

The page length should be set with VINST (in the printer driver section) to
the highest number your printer can print on the page up to 64. If your
printer is capable of printing on line 1 of the paper, you set VDE's top
margin to 2 with VINST. Most page printers do not allow printing on lines 1,
2, and 3 of the paper, forcing a 'top margin' of three lines, so you do not
want to set any additional top margin in your printer driver. Since a sheet of
paper measures 66 lines, and my LaserJet does not allow printing in the top or
bottom three, my maximum usual page length is 60 lines, and that's the number
I set in the printer driver in VDE.


                                                                  PRINTING OUT

To print out, type ^KP and, at the "options" prompt, a carriage return. The
correct margins and placement on the page will have been installed in the
printer driver by VINST.

I always rename my master files with the ^KN (name) command before paging and
printing out, from, say, SCRIPTa.SCR to SCRIPTa.PRN, leaving my master files
unpaged. This makes it considerably easier to rewrite, restructure, and
repage.

This is also the best way to print out the day's work - just mark the new work
as a block and write it out to a temporary file, then page and print that out
instead of your whole master file. If you just want a quick and dirty printout
of a couple of pages and don't care whether they're page or not, mark them as
a block and type B (for block) at the options prompt. You can also invoke the
VDE automatic header with "" or "<text>" to give yourself a top margin and
page numbers. If you include ^T, ^D, or ^F inside the quotes the time, date,
or filename will be printed in the header.


                                                             INSTALLING VDE-SP

To install VDE-SP make a copy of your installed VDE with the DOS COPY
command:

  COPY VDE.COM VDE-SP.COM

Then type

  VINST VDE-SP

At this point you must whether you wish to work principally in INSERT, WORD
INSERT, or STRIKEOVER mode. VDE16xSP contains three different VDK overlays for
the macro keys and three different VDF overlays for the function
keys. They are called INSERT.VD?, WRDINST.VD? and STRIKOVR.VD?.

Select M for Macro Key installation, then R to read in one of the three VDK
overlays. Exit, select F for Function Key installation, and read in the
equivalent VDF overlay.

Exit and select O from the menu for Options, and set

  Default insert on: Y
  Left margin column: 1
  Right margin column: 60
  Align new page with screen: N
  Variable tab columns: 16 : 21 : 41: 56 ... and all the rest 0

A new option in VDE v1.61 allows you to determine whether the ^QI, ^QN, and
^QL commands, which take you to the top of a new page, also place that first
line of the new page at the top of the screen. Do not select this option for
VDE-SP, since, when you are paging, you will want to see a number of lines
above the new page to decide which kind of page break is required. Therefore,
'Align new page with screen' must be set to 'N.'

Select P from the menu for Printer and set

  Page length: actual printer page length <= 64
  Top margin: 0 or 2, depending on type of printer
  Reserve space for header: N
  Left margin, columns: 18

If your printer cannot be adjusted to print at the left edge of the paper -
many dot matrix and page printers can't - adjust the left margin figure to
whatever will start printing 1.8 inches from the left edge of the paper. This
will seem very far over to the right until you bind the script and lose half
that white space on the left.

A very simple printer driver suffices, since the only printer control codes
used in a screenplay are those to turn underlining on and off. In some cases
you may want to install different printer initialization strings in both of
VDE's printer drivers, one to print in fast draft mode, the other to print in
your highest quality mode for finished copy.


                                                                      TABSTOPS

Four tabstops are set, for the parentheticals position (column 16), the
character's name (21), transitions (41), and for the page number column (56).
When you are editing, rather than writing, it's usually easier to get where
you want to go with tabs than trying to adjust your position for VDE-SP's more
automated functions.


                                                         CHARACTER NAME MACROS

Many writers like to put the names of their major characters on key macros.
You can do this by programming the alphabetical keys in VDE itself. If you
want to follow the pattern I used to program the ESC 0 key, it is:

    ^[*I^M^M^Ol11^M^Or44^M^N^I^I^[*W<character's name here>

There are several ways to program a key or keys. At the beginning of a
project, if you know what many of the most used names will be, it's probably
most efficient to use the macro key installation feature of VINST. When you
have some names entered, use the (W)rite VDK file command to write
SCRNPLAY.VDK out to a file in the subdirectory where you will create the
other SCRNPLAY files. It can then be loaded into VDE-SP - ideally from a
batch file - whenever you want to work on that project.

You can also program an additional character's name on the fly by using VDE's
ordinary ESC-[ and ESC-] commands, or you can 'record' the macro with ESC-".
Macros programmed in this way will be lost when you exit VDE unless you
remember to save them to SCRNPLAY.VDK with the ALT-U command. It's probably
good practice to use the ALT-U command immediately after creating the macro.
It only takes a second and avoids the risk of a failure of power or your
memory before you get a chance to save all the new macros entered in a given
session with VDE-SP.


                                                                   BATCH FILES

Building VDE-SP into batch files can be particularly efficient. The following
batch file can be invoked anywhere in the system with a simple two-word
command to put you into your screenplay, and at the end of it too, where you
are most likely to be working:

rem FILM.BAT (MS/DOS COMMAND.COM)
rem loads all files of current project into
rem VDE-SP
rem
c:
cd \work\film\%1
if exist %1c.scr goto 3_files
if exist %1b.scr goto 2_files
if exist %1a.scr stackey 17 "c"
d:\vde-sp %1a.scr;%1.vdk
goto end
:2_files
stackey ^Q "c"
d:\vde-sp %1a.scr,%12b.scr;%1.vdk
goto end
:3_files
stackey ^Q "c"
d:\vde-sp %1a.scr,%1b.scr,%1c.scr;%1.vdk
:end

\WORK\FILM\ is the path in my system to the directory area where all my
screenplay projects are kept in separate subdirectories named with a
four-letter mnemonic which I use not only for the subdirectory but for the
individual files A, B, and C. The full pathname of a file might be

  c:\work\film\four\four3.scr

In this case, if I typed 'film four' at any DOS prompt, the batch file would
supply the filename 'four' to the batch file at every point where you see '%1'
in the commands. The next to last line would be expanded to:

  d:\vde-sp four.scr,fourb.scr,four3.scr;four.vdk

This would load all three files of the screenplay text and the key macro file
for the 'four' screenplay.

Stackey (c) is a shareware program available for downloading as SKEY22.ZIP. It
supplies keystrokes to the next program to be invoked, in this case VDE-SP,
and the two codes following the command mean ^Qc - VDE's command to go to the
end of the file - positioning you at the point where you are most likely to
want to start work, at the end of the last file, where you most probably left
off the last time you worked on the project.

You can use this batch file by marking it as a block and writing it out to
\BAT\FILM.BAT - or to any other directory which is on your path. If you don't
have a \BAT directory on your path, it might be a good idea to create one. If
you don't have Stackey, either delete those lines or comment them out by
typing the word 'rem' (remark) in front of them.


                                                       BATCH FILES FOR HACKERS

The same batch file of those using 4DOS as a replacement for MS/DOS
COMMAND.COM would be:

rem FILM.BAT (4DOS)
rem loads all files of current project into
rem VDE-SP
rem
pushd \work\film\%1
if exist %1c.scr goto 3_files
if exist %1b.scr goto 2_files
if exist %1a.scr keystack 17 "c"
d:\vde-sp %1a.scr;%1.vdk
goto end
:2_files
keystack 17 "c"
d:\vde-sp %1a.scr,%1b.scr;%1.vdk
goto end
:3_files
keystack 17 "c"
d:\vde-sp %1a.scr,%1b.scr,%1c.scr;%1.vdk
:end
popd

                                                        SCRIPTOR COMPATIBILITY

Some writers will also prefer to use Scriptor (c) for paging, scene numbering,
and printing. VDE's ASCII files are compatible with Scriptor (c).


                                                          MODIFYING THE MACROS

You may eventually want to modify these macros. Evan Slawson has graciously
permitted me to include his VDE Macro Compiler VMC v1.10 in this package. This
simple but powerful program allows you to compile macros written out as text
in an ordinary VDE nondocument file into working overlays which can be loaded
into VDE or VDE-SP with VINST. Please see Evan's excellent documentation,
which is also in VDE16SP.ZIP.


                                                                 LAST THOUGHTS

Neither VDE nor the VDE-SP macros nor Evan Slawson's VMC are shareware. All
have been made available to the community of personal computers users for all
reasonable purposes, but please do not abuse the privilege. Give credit where
credit is due, and don't distribute either program as part of a commercial
package or without its original documentation.

If you have problems, comments, or suggestions, contact me on the Writer's
Guild Bulletin Board (user 161) or on

FRED HAINES
Glendale Litera RCPM/QBBS
Sysop Abel Iwaz
CAGLE 818 956-6164