I am considering buying Final Draft 11. Of special interest to me is that this version can handle 95 foreign languages, including Japanese. My question is, can FD11 handle foreign (read: non-Hollywood/non-American) screenplay formats, or just the languages? This is not a deal-breaker, it would be just one less piece of software I have to buy if it did.
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2Hi Garison, and welcome. "Foreign" is relative to what you happen to consider "native", and our audience is international in nature. (I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we have Japanese members, for whom your reference to Japanese as a "foreign language" makes little sense.) Can you Edit your question to specify which screenplay format you normally work with? That would help inform answerers, as it would give some reference for the "foreign" you mention.– userSep 21, 2018 at 5:34
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How would a different language change the format of a screenplay? (What do you mean by format?)– Jason BassfordSep 21, 2018 at 14:06
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2Michael: Sorry, I should have been more specific. I'm American, and, as everyone world-wide knows, America is the center of the universe. What I meant was, does Final Draft 11 support non-Hollywood formats? Specifically, does it support Japanese screenplay formats? Jason: A foreign language would necessarily change the screenplay format because many foreign (read: non-American) countries do not use the standard Hollywood script format. And format is the way the script is laid out: titles, headings, spacing, indents, and the like.– Garison PiattSep 21, 2018 at 18:16
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You are pretty free to change the format/styling in Final Draft. I don't know anything about Japanese screenplay formating in particular, but unless the styling is very significant, I think you'll be fine. Final Draft comes with a lot of pre-defined stylings you can choose between, but you can also modify these or make your own.
However, I think it's possible to download a free trial version, so why don't you do that, and try it out yourself?
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Mr. Eivind: I did not receive a notice that this question had been answered, or I would have responded to you a year ago. Japanese formatting is vertical, from the long side of the paper. There is a line abut two inches down. An inch below that, an imaginary line separates character names from dialogue, action, etc. A circle begins each scene header. I have not seen anything in Final Draft which might suggest it can do this. Aug 15, 2019 at 1:32