The whole studio.
One chair.
DirectorsChair carries a film from screenplay to story design, shot lists, schedule, budget, on-set capture and AI-generated frames — one free Mac app. And since v3.7 an assistant that has actually read your production sits inside it: press Shift twice, ask anything, approve what it proposes.
The page comes first.
A Bubble view that plays the scene back as a conversation you can see — and a screenplay editor that treats the script as sacred ground, the one cream-lit page in a near-black app.
Bubble view: read the room.
The scene as a conversation — every character a color, every line a bubble, the beats between them as typed cards. Rhythm problems become visible before the table read.
- Chat-style scene flow — your lead speaks from the left, everyone else answers from the right.
- Typed cards between lines — action, narration, notes and sound cues, each in its own color.
- Shot coverage on every line — a chip shows which shots cover it, or that none do yet.
- Filter the noise — toggle dialogue, actions, narration, notes and sound independently.
Write it properly.
Industry-standard formatting with none of the industry's price tag — the page renders exactly as it prints.
- Element-aware editing — scene heading, action, character, parenthetical, dialogue, transition.
- Real Courier on true US-Letter geometry — correct indents, page breaks, margin scene numbers.
- Writes beyond Latin — Malayalam and other Indic scripts with a transliteration toggle right in the toolbar.
- Export to FDX, Fountain and PDF — leave whenever you like, take everything with you.
One timeline under everything.
Script, dialogue, shots and sound share a single dialogue-synced timeline that rides under the whole app — scrub it from the editor, the schedule or the cut, and every view follows.
Design the character,
not just the part.
Every character gets a design studio: a consistent face from every angle, and a dossier seven tabs deep — physique, wardrobe, traits, biography, relationships, voice.
Know your people before you cast them.
Story Design is the character bible, art department and casting binder in one place — and the assistant reads all of it. The angles grid keeps one face consistent across every frame the app generates.
- Six-angle character sheets — front, three-quarters, profiles, back; generate the missing ones or upload your own.
- Seven tabs per character — physical, wardrobe, traits, biography, relationships, voice, scenes.
- Locations with variations — every alternative look side by side.
- One-click "Auto-Generate All" — the whole dossier drafted, yours to correct.
See it before you shoot it.
Every scene breaks into shots with type, lens and movement — flip to Storyboard mode and the list becomes frames. Any image you're missing, the app can generate, priced before a single pixel renders.
The storyboard that stays in sync.
Shots live inside their scenes, carry their own metadata, and show up as markers on the timeline — change the script and the board knows.
- Four ways to look at coverage — shot list, storyboard grid, overhead, and camera settings.
- Six working statuses — planning, ready, shooting, review, approved, not good.
- Look frames & shot video — generate the frame you described, or previz motion with audio.
- Your boards are first-class — upload photos, storyboards or concept art anywhere AI generates.
Schedule days it already sanity-checked.
Scheduling with conflict checks, Gantt for the long arc, cast & crew, accounting with receipt scanning, and the equipment list — the production office, minus the office.
The 1st AD's brain, on your Mac.
Five desks in one workspace — and every figure in it is readable by the assistant, so "can we afford a second night on the rooftop?" gets a real answer.
- Calendar-first scheduling — day cells carry their scenes; conflicts are flagged before they cost you.
- Six working statuses — planned, scheduled, in progress, complete, postponed, cancelled.
- Accounting with receipt scanning — photograph it, it's logged and categorized.
- Cast & crew, equipment — roles from principal to stunt double, gear as a checklist.
Every take knows where it belongs.
On shoot days the Takes panel follows the script with you — record against the plan, circle the keepers, and they're mapped back to their shots before you're out of the parking lot.
From slate to assembly, one thread.
The capture toolkit keeps the set organized while you shoot, then Curation and Playback turn the pile of takes into an assembly you can screen.
- Script-following capture — takes record against the scene and shot you're on.
- Remote-control recording — arm a key, roll from across the room; sync tones detected automatically.
- Circle takes as you go — rated, noted, and mapped to the planned shots.
- Playback — screen the assembly against the plan, inside the same app.
— tools. Numbered.
The highlights above are the short version. This is the whole box — indexed like a collection, nothing hidden behind a demo call, counted live from this table so the number can't lie.
| No. | Tool | Department | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screenplay editorReal Courier, true US-Letter geometry, page breaks, scene numbers | Script | Script view | |
| Element-aware editingScene heading · action · character · parenthetical · dialogue · transition | Script | Script view | |
| Indic transliterationMalayalam and other Indic scripts inside the editor | Script | Script view | |
| Editor font choiceCourier Prime default · Courier · Courier New · Menlo | Script | Settings ⌘9 | |
| Fountain export | Script | Export | |
| Final Draft (FDX) export | Script | Export | |
| PDF exportCourier title page and formatted script | Script | Export | |
| Dialogue bubblesChat-style scene flow, every character its own color | Bubble | ⌘2 | |
| Action cards | Bubble | ⌘2 | |
| Narration cards | Bubble | ⌘2 | |
| Note & sound-cue cards | Bubble | ⌘2 | |
| Shot-coverage chipsEvery line shows which shots cover it | Bubble | ⌘2 | |
| Character color palette15 rotating colors, yours to reassign | Bubble | ⌘2 | |
| Scenes & sequencesScene cards with descriptions and look frames | Scenes | ⌘3 | |
| Scene connection graphDialogue, action and narration flows between scenes | Scenes | ⌘3 | |
| Shot editorType, framing and full metadata per shot | Shot List | ⌘6 | |
| Storyboard modeThe shot list as a grid of frames with statuses | Shot List | ⌘6 | |
| Shot-type color codingWide to extreme close-up, each size its own color | Shot List | ⌘6 | |
| Per-shot video generation | Shot List | ⌘6 | |
| Character dossiersPhysical · wardrobe · traits · biography · relationships · voice · scenes | Story Design | ⌘8 | |
| Six-angle character sheetsFront to back, one consistent face | Story Design | ⌘8 | |
| Relationship mapping | Story Design | ⌘8 | |
| Costume departmentLooks per character, scene by scene | Story Design | ⌘8 | |
| Location profilesVariations and alternative looks side by side | Story Design | ⌘8 | |
| Lighting & SFX cuesLight, support and effects cue lists per scene | Story Design | ⌘8 | |
| Voice profilesPer-character voice for dialogue audio | Story Design | ⌘8 | |
| Vision boardsMood boards with featured cards | Vision Board | ⌘5 | |
| Asset libraryProps and imagery, findable | Assets | ⌘4 | |
| Custom image uploadsYour photos, boards or concept art anywhere AI generates | Assets | Everywhere | |
| Production calendarMonth, week and day views; scenes live on their days | Production | ⌘7 | |
| Conflict detectionDouble-booked cast and crew flagged | Production | ⌘7 | |
| Six schedule statusesPlanned · scheduled · in progress · complete · postponed · cancelled | Production | ⌘7 | |
| Schedule optimizerOne click to untangle the week | Production | ⌘7 | |
| GanttPrep-to-post timeline with owned tasks | Production | ⌘7 | |
| Cast & crewRoles from principal to stunt double, crew by department | Production | ⌘7 | |
| AccountingBudget categories, expenses, top-sheet totals | Production | ⌘7 | |
| Receipt scanningPhotograph a receipt; it's logged | Production | ⌘7 | |
| Equipment list | Production | ⌘7 | |
| Script-following captureTakes record against the scene and shot you're on | Capture | On set | |
| Remote-control recording | Capture | On set | |
| Take notes & circled takes | Capture | On set | |
| Sync-tone detection | Capture | On set | |
| Take curationCircled takes mapped back to planned shots | Curation | Curation view | |
| PlaybackScreen the assembly against the plan | Playback | Playback view | |
| Character image generationMulti-angle, consistent sheets | AI Studio | In place | |
| Location image generationVariations per location | AI Studio | In place | |
| Scene look framesOne per scene, or a missing-images sweep | AI Studio | In place | |
| Shot video generation | AI Studio | In place | |
| Dialogue audio generation | AI Studio | In place | |
| Poster & project summary generation | AI Studio | Overview ⌘1 | |
| Live AI usage meterSpend visible in the toolbar | AI Studio | Toolbar | |
| Double-Shift summonOpens over any view, plus a ✦ toolbar button | Assistant | ⇧⇧ | |
| 48 project actionsRead, draft, schedule, budget, generate — the full tool belt | Assistant | ⇧⇧ | |
| Context awarenessKnows the character, scene or shot you have selected | Assistant | ⇧⇧ | |
| Proposal cardsOld → new diffs, item by item, before anything changes | Assistant | ⇧⇧ | |
| Cost estimates & $5 batch flag | Assistant | ⇧⇧ | |
| Whole-turn undoOne click restores the project as it stood | Assistant | ⇧⇧ | |
| Voice inputTap ⌘ to speak; typed text is preserved | Assistant | ⌘ | |
| Chat historyConversations grouped by day, per project | Assistant | ⇧⇧ | |
| Project overviewPoster, logline, summary, metadata | Workspace | ⌘1 | |
| Timeline dockShots, soundtrack and dialogue lanes under every view | Workspace | ⌘⌥2 | |
| CommentsFeedback pinned across the project | Workspace | Panel | |
| Navigator & panelsSidebar, right panel, comments — all toggleable | Workspace | ⌘⌥1–4 | |
| Projects homeEvery film in one place, 8 genre presets | Workspace | Projects | |
| Web portal sign-inYour account, on the web | Workspace | /app/ |
Counted from the app as shipped in v3.7.1. If it's not in the app, it's not in this table.
It knows the whole production.
Forty-eight project tools behind one input field. It reads the live project — not a summary of it — and answers in your production's terms.
⇧⇧ opens it anywhere · ⌘ tap to speak
- Schedule & conflicts — who's double-booked before you are
- Budget summaries — categories, expenses, where it's going
- Scenes & script — down to individual dialogue lines
- Cast, crew & equipment — the whole call sheet's worth
- Scenes, dialogue, narration — in place, in format
- Characters, locations, props — with bios and relationships
- Shoot days — scheduled around existing conflicts
- Expenses & budget lines — logged as you say them
- Character & location imagery — angles and variations
- Scene look frames — one scene or the missing ones
- Shot video & dialogue audio — previz you can screen
- Priced up front — the estimate rides on the proposal card
Proposals, not surprises
Reading is instant. Anything that changes or spends becomes a card you check first — old and new shown line by line.
Prices before pixels
Every generation carries its estimate, like ≈ $0.12. Batches above the $5 guideline get flagged before you apply.
Undo the whole turn
One click restores the project exactly as it stood before the assistant's turn. Final cut stays where it belongs — with you.
The last setup of the day.
On set, the martini is the final shot before wrap. This one's yours — one download, the whole production office.
Download for macOS — FreeIndependent, unsigned build — on first launch, right-click the app and choose Open. Checksums for every release are published on the releases page.