Congrats to our development partner extraordinaire, Bob McFarlane, on yesterday’s release of the Save the Cat!® iPhone/iPod Touch app.
Now you can carry your screenplay ideas with you wherever you go — and be ready whenever inspiration strikes. Plus you can upload/download with your desktop version of our story structure software.
Learn more about our awesome app on the iPhone App Store.
View a video demo of how Save the Cat! can work on your iPhone
And if you have questions, please contact [email protected].
And more congrats are due… to the winners of this year’s Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, one of the industry’s most worthwhile contests, announced yesterday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Success is sweet. Keep up the good work, screenwriters!
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Will we be able to upload/download our work WITHOUT a desktop version of the story structure software?
Bo, thanks for your comment!
The app’s been designed primarily to take your beats and scene cards on the road — without your computer — so you can work whenever inspiration strikes, and even use your phone in meetings and pitches. It’s really all about mobility. You don’t have the ability to print out any of the beats or scene cards from the app alone. The app also gives you an inexpensive way to begin learning about structure via the Save the Cat! principles before acquiring the desktop version and taking your work to the next level. In fact, the little cat icons throughout the app process give you lots of tips, tactics, and advice about the Cat! method.
btw, if you don’t have our software yet, make sure you’re on our mailing list (see the “newsletter module” on the right); we’re going to be running a holiday special soon!
If the iPhone app is designed to work in tandem with the desktop app, you should really rephrase your description on the app store, as it makes it appear that the desktop app isn’t required for working with your story: “Use the iPhone/iPod Touch app exclusively or transfer to/from the desktop version of Save the Cat…” – yes, it says you use the desktop software to do the transfer, but it should be more explicit in saying that transfers aren’t supported when using the iPhone app exclusively. I came close to purchasing the app but decided against it – I don’t feel like spending $90 on top of the $20 I’d pay for the app – a price that I think is pretty high for something that exists in support of a desktop product. Most other developers who have an iPhone app that really is there as an adjunct to a desktop app charge little or nothing – because, after all, aren’t you trying to drive traffic to the desktop app in the first place? Charging $20 isn’t the way to do it – at least not for me.
I purchased the app the other day and it works fine with desktop version. I have uploaded some of my current projects but also have started a couple using the app by itself on the iPhone. Great job, guys! Art
Awesome, awesome app. Make sure you have the latest STC software update to be able to sync with your iPhone (thanks, Bob!) and you’ll be building boards on the run in no time!
Thanks, Cats!
JJ, thanks for your comment. We think you’re right about our app store description and are editing it accordingly. Thanks, again.
what is the privacy policy for scripts/beats uploaded to our phones. i assume the data goes from our computer to your servers and then to the iphone…but what happens to the data on your servers?
I have to say that I’m disappointed with the app. I paid $20 for it when I expected to use the app as a replacement for the book and now I find that basically the app is useless without the desktop software and on top of that does NOT have the basic information that the book has – which I can buy for less than $20 dollars. Essentially I have paid $20 and received nothing, or very, very little.
Please update the app with the full information from the book.
Hi Vik, I’m really sorry, but I have to disagree with you. We have sold thousands and thousands of software units and NEVER have promised they included all 195 pages of information of a book published by Michael Wiese Productions. That just isn’t the case — we don’t even have the legal right to do so, and it is not a realistic expectation. The software provides a beat sheet template, a Board with moveable cards, a tutorial based on the book — but hardly 195 pages, and lots of tips and tactics. It allows you to do what we do in our Beat Sheet Workshops and Master Board Classes. That is what it’s supposed to do — and the iPhone app now allows you to do much of the same when you’re “on the road.” In the rare occasion customers are unsatisfied with the software, we always refund their money in full and will continue to do so; unfortunately, with the App Store, I’m not sure how to accomplish this. We believe in having satisfied customers, whether their expectations are realistic or not. I encourage you to ask for a refund from the App Store. I will certainly do what I can from this end to help you get your money back.
This comment is in response to Jeff’s (#7 above): Jeff, thanks for asking about privacy and our servers. Please note that our servers are protected, and that client information is completely confidential and not available to open access with the exception of the end user. In addition, files are only on the server from the time a customer uploads them and then downloads them. In the desktop version, after downloading, the customer is asked if he or she wants to delete the files from the server. When the customer downloads to the iPhone, the files are deleted from the server automatically. We don’t keep copies of the files.
20$ for this?! Bwahahahahahahahaha!
Thanks for the response Blake – I do appreciate it. My issue is that the way the app is marketed on the iTunes store, it suggests more than the app actually delivers. For example, the description reads: “This app will help you: Develop a powerful logline and title – Choose one of 10 genres with recognizable traits” etc…
Actually none of that can happen unless you own the software and the description in the app store should explicitly tell a buyer that the software must be purchased first for the app to be useful. Conversely, buying the app buy itself is useless and for $20, a typical buyer will expect to have a standalone application when most apps in the App store go for a couple bucks, even very good ones don’t go over $5 or $10. The description in the store doesn’t warn off someone to not buy the app unless they have the software.
Vik, First of all, please don’t call me Blake, since he’s dead — and I’m not. Secondly, if you read Comment #6, we rewrote the app description after this point was first made by JJ in comment #3, less than 48 hours after the app went on sale. Among other revisions, the store description no longer says “if you don’t own the desktop version” and also now includes: “Please note: you do need the desktop version to transfer your work on the app.” Third, you are wrong in your comment about not being able to develop a logline and choose a genre unless you have the software; the app has the EXACT same descriptions and examples of every genre and every beat, along with dozens of other tips that are in the desktop version. Fourth, our pricing model for this niche market makes sense, whether you think it does or not. We know the size of the market and the manhours that have gone into developing the app. No one has to buy it if they don’t want to. But… enough of this pissing contest. Continue to make your points, if you must. I’m done.
BJ, for what it’s worth … I think you all have done a remarkable job keeping everything together and moving forward! None of this is easy, and your hard work is much appreciated.
Hi BJ, thanks for answering everyone’s questions! Your responses made it so much easier for me to decide on this. I’ve now just purchased the app and can’t wait to start using it.
Where do I sign up for the newsletter? I can’t seem to find the link.
Oh, nevermind, I see the link now. When I wrote the first comment I was on the specific blog post page and the little form isn’t on that page. When I got back to the homepage I saw it and signed up.
Cheers,
Steven
Hi BJ (and everyone else), I know this is the modern age, but I have to say I’m appalled by the negative comments. I don’t have an IPhone (I hope to someday) and plan to get the app when I have it… but I just want to say even though I don’t have the IPhone, I knew long ago, by simply reading Blake’s description of what was coming down the pike, that a person would need the software… it’s simply understood. Everyone knows the software builds on the book and that the app builds on the software.
I think you guys have done a marvelous job and I know Blake would be so happy and proud that you’ve kept his dream alive.
God Bless you guys.
Claudia