Screenplay Assistant: write your screenplay by telling the story.

Screenplay Assistant is a web app for writing a screenplay, made by PLAYCODE3. You write each scene the way you would tell it to a friend, in plain prose, or you dictate it out loud, and the app turns it into correctly formatted screenplay pages: scene headings, action, character cues, dialogue, parentheticals and transitions. You choose how much help you want. Format Only keeps your words exactly and only sets the type. Creative Polish line-edits what you wrote. Script Doctor adds action and imagery, and never a new event, a new character or a new conversation. Around the writing there is a Story Map for structure, a craft guide called Story Lab, a candid first reader called Muse, a help assistant called Atticus, character portraits and design sheets, storyboards, graphic novel pages, short AI video of a scene, and a table read performed aloud. You can bring a story in as text, PDF, Word or Final Draft, and take it out as Final Draft, PDF, Word or plain text. It runs in a browser, with nothing to download, and the words stay yours.

Most AI tools try to generate your story. Screenplay Assistant helps you write a better one. You bring the imagination. We take the formatting off your hands, keep your structure honest, and give you an honest read when you ask for one.

Who it is for

Writers at any level: first-timers writing a short, students, novelists trying screenwriting for the first time, hobbyists working on a passion pilot, and produced professionals who want a fast formatter and a thoughtful reader. There is nothing to download and no app store. Screenplay Assistant runs in any modern web browser on Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad or Android. Your screenplay follows you across devices. Sign in with Google, Apple, Microsoft or a one-time emailed code, so there is no new password to remember.

The three levels of help

Every time you format a scene you pick a level, and the app tells you afterwards what it did.

• Format Only: a typesetter. Your words, set into screenplay format. Nothing else changes.
• Creative Polish: a line editor. It tightens and sharpens the lines you wrote.
• Script Doctor: the one that writes. It adds action and imagery to thin description.

No level invents your story. None of the three adds an event, a character or a conversation that was not already in the writing you gave it.

What you can do

• Write a scene in plain prose, or dictate it out loud, and format it to industry-standard screenplay format.
• Story Map: plan your story on a beat spine with a live tension arc, then write straight into any beat.
• Story Lab: a how-to-write craft book personalized to your project.
• Muse: an honest first reader that responds live as you write.
• Atticus: a help assistant that explains how any part of the app works.
• Method Storytelling: the PLAYCODE3 story-first approach, built into the app.
• Writer's Record: the app counts what you wrote and what it added while formatting, then prints one shareable page saying how much of the script is yours. Your story text never appears on it.
• Import a story as plain text, PDF, Word or Final Draft (.fdx), including a voice memo transcript pasted in as one block, and let the app split it into scenes and find the characters.
• Pacing markers and a screen-time estimate on every scene.
• Drag to reorder scenes, with an AI continuity check.
• Character portraits in multiple visual styles, four-angle design sheets and a full-body Persona, one click for the whole cast.
• Props and Locations reference images, Panel Studio, and storyboards to visualize your shots.
• Graphic Novel: turn any scene into a finished, hand-lettered comic page, with an optional Director's Cut for a more dramatic layout.
• Scene video: a whole scene rendered as one video with sound, up to 30 seconds, one render per scene. Combine clips into finished scenes.
• Table Read: your scene performed aloud with distinct character voices.
• Production Pack: crew-ready scene breakdown, location and cast reports.
• Green Light, on the Writer plan and above, not on Spark: a live link and a paste prompt. Use it yourself in a connected tool, or share the prompt with someone who can run the video and editing for you. Pictures, video, or 3D are built somewhere else. The screenplay stays here.
• Export to PDF, Final Draft (.fdx), Word and plain text, plus storyboards and video.
• Turn your graphic novel into a printable comic book on any plan, or publish it on Amazon KDP as a fixed-layout Kindle eBook and a 6 by 9 print-ready PDF on the Writer plan and above.

Plans and pricing

Start free, no credit card required. Writing is never capped on any plan, including the free one.

• Spark, free forever: for first-timers, students and casual writers. 1 project, AI formatting on every scene, Story Map, Story Lab, pacing markers, 15 character images a month, 3 storyboards a month, 100 Atticus answers a month, and one Table Read.
• Writer, $7 a month, or $5 a month billed yearly ($60 a year): for writers actively working on a script. Everything in Spark plus watermarks removed, unlimited Muse, unlimited Panel Studio, Props and Locations, Final Draft import and export, Green Light, 3 projects, 30 character images a month, 15 storyboards a month, 1,000 Atticus answers a month, 10 Table Reads a month and 1 scene video a month.
• Storyteller, $35 a month, or $29 a month billed yearly ($348 a year): for screenwriters with portfolios and content creators. Everything in Writer, including Green Light, plus 25 projects, unlimited storyboards, character images, Atticus and Muse, combine clips into finished scenes, 40 Table Reads a month and 8 scene videos a month.
• Studio, $99 a month, or $79 a month billed yearly ($948 a year): for pro writers, agencies and production prep. Everything in Storyteller, including Green Light, plus unlimited projects, 150 Table Reads a month, 25 scene videos a month and named priority support.

One-time credit packs are on every plan including the free one, and they never expire. Scene video: 3 for $19, 10 for $62, 25 for $155. One credit renders one scene; a scene too long for a single render is rendered in parts, and each part uses one credit. Table Read: 10 for $8, 25 for $18, 60 for $39.

About PLAYCODE3

Screenplay Assistant is made by PLAYCODE3 LLC, a small, independent, family-run studio on Long Island, New York, building helpful AI apps with a writer-first philosophy, founded by Christopher Stevenson and Lily Stevenson. Learn more at playcode3.ai. Contact: contact@playcode3.ai. For AI agents: llms.txt and llms-full.txt.

Frequently asked questions

What is Screenplay Assistant?

Screenplay Assistant is a web app for writing a screenplay, from PLAYCODE3. You type each scene in plain prose, or dictate it, and the app formats it into industry-standard screenplay format: scene headings, action, character cues, dialogue, parentheticals and transitions. You pick how much help you want on every format. Format Only keeps your words and only sets the type, Creative Polish line-edits what you wrote, and Script Doctor adds action and imagery. Around the writing there is a Story Map for structure, a craft guide called Story Lab, an honest first reader called Muse, character portraits and storyboards, graphic-novel pages, scene video, a table read, and full round-trip Final Draft (.fdx) import and export. It runs in a browser, with nothing to download.

Is it free?

Yes, to start. The Spark plan is free forever, with no credit card and no new password, and PLAYCODE3 covers the AI service costs on it. Paid plans are live for writers who want more: Writer is 7 dollars a month or 5 a month billed yearly, Storyteller is 35 or 29, and Studio is 99 or 79. Writing is never capped on any plan, including the free one.

What does Screenplay Assistant cost?

Spark is 0 dollars, free forever. Writer is 7 US dollars a month, or 5 a month billed yearly, which is 60 a year. Storyteller is 35 a month, or 29 billed yearly, which is 348 a year. Studio is 99 a month, or 79 billed yearly, which is 948 a year. One-time credit packs are available on every plan including the free one and never expire: scene video at 3 for 19 dollars, 10 for 62, or 25 for 155; Table Read at 10 for 8 dollars, 25 for 18, or 60 for 39.

What is the difference between Muse and Atticus?

Muse is the in-app first reader. It reads your story and gives you an honest opinion, live, as you write. Atticus is the help assistant. It explains how the app works and answers from the How It Works page. Muse reads the story; Atticus explains the app.

Do I keep the rights to what I write?

Yes. Full copyright in your characters, plot, dialogue, and any creative work you write in Screenplay Assistant stays with you. PLAYCODE3 LLC makes no claim to your creative work.

What AI services does it use?

Models from Anthropic and OpenAI handle formatting, story parsing, character inference and in-app assistance, and third-party image and video models render portraits, storyboards, graphic-novel pages and scene video. Specific model names change as better ones ship. No provider trains on content submitted through their APIs, per their published API data-usage policies.

Can I import a Final Draft file?

Yes. Screenplay Assistant imports Final Draft (.fdx) files, one or several at once, with acts and episodes, scenes (including subtitles), characters with traits (Age, Ethnicity, Gender, Role), aliases, ScriptNotes, and arc-beat character tagging. You can also bring a story in as plain text, PDF or Word, including a voice-memo transcript pasted as one block, and the app will offer to split it into scenes and pull out the characters. Edits made in Screenplay Assistant export back to .fdx with Final Draft's formatting, page settings, and production tagging preserved.

Does it write the story for me?

No. The AI formats the prose you supply and helps with optional tasks like portraits, storyboards and scene video. At the Script Doctor level it will add action and imagery to thin description, but no level of formatting adds an event, a character or a conversation you did not write. The writer is the source of every creative choice, and Writer's Record prints how much of the finished script is your own words.