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Ideate

Catch every idea. Decide what it is later.

The Idea Vault holds everything about the film before it has a shape: notes, images, links, files, voice notes and video. Nothing needs a title, a folder or a category.

Windows screen: Grid all types
Idea Vault
Mac screen: Idea Vault: Card
Idea Vault

Throw it in first. Sort it out later.

Add a note, a quote, a picture, a link, any file or a voice note you record in the app. Every item opens in a side drawer where you can read it, tag it or flag it as research.

  • Grid, card, list and folder views of the same items
  • Collections, tags and pins when you want them, never required
  • Quick Capture saves a thought in a few keystrokes
Windows screen: Drawer voice
Idea Vault: Throw it in first. Sort it out later.
Mac screen: Inspector with a research flag and a tag
Idea Vault: Throw it in first. Sort it out later.

Send an idea to the story

When an idea is ready, send it to the Beat Board as a scene card, a beat or a character. The original stays in the Vault.

  • Choose the act and sequence it lands in
  • Search reads note text, captions, file names and tags
Windows screen: Send to beat board dialog
Idea Vault: Send an idea to the story
Mac screen: Send to Beat Board
Idea Vault: Send an idea to the story

One vault for every project

The Global Idea Vault on the home screen keeps ideas that do not belong to a film yet. Copy any of them into a project when the time comes.

  • Copies, never moves, so the global idea stays where it was
Windows screen: Global vault
Idea Vault: One vault for every project
Mac screen: Global Idea Vault with a copied idea
Idea Vault: One vault for every project
Complete list

Everything in Idea Vault.

Each one with what it does, what it is for, and where it is available.

Notes

Type a thought and move on.

What it does
A note opens in a side drawer with an optional title and a body. It saves as you type, so there is no Save button.
What it is for
To get an idea out of your head before it is gone, without deciding where it belongs.
WindowsMac

Images

Add pictures from your computer.

What it does
Add an image from a file and give it a title and a caption. Images are copied into the project folder so they stay with the film.
What it is for
To collect visual references next to the notes that explain them.
WindowsMac

Files, PDFs and video

Keep any file with the idea it belongs to.

What it does
Add PDFs, documents, video and other files. Each opens in its own drawer, and files that cannot be previewed are still kept and open in their usual program.
What it is for
To keep research material, permits and clips in one place instead of scattered across folders.
WindowsMac
Windows screen: Drawer pdf
Files, PDFs and video

Shown in a screen above: Idea Vault: vault-add menu

Voice notes and audio

Record a note or add an audio file.

What it does
Record a voice note inside the app with a Stop and Save button, or add an audio file you already have. Both appear as items you can play back.
What it is for
To capture an idea out loud when typing would break your flow.
WindowsMac

Sketches

Draw a quick idea with the built-in pen.

What it does
A small drawing window offers ink colours, three pen sizes, an eraser and a clear button. The sketch is saved as an item.
What it is for
To get a picture of a frame or a layout down without opening another app.
WindowsMac

Quick Capture

Save an idea in a few keystrokes.

What it does
Quick Capture opens a small box from anywhere in the app. Type the idea, press Enter, and it is saved to the Idea Vault with an Undo offered.
What it is for
To catch a thought in the middle of other work without losing your place.
WindowsMac

Grid, card, list and folder views

See the same ideas four ways.

What it does
Switch between a grid of tiles, larger cards, a plain list and a folder view. The items do not change, only how they are laid out.
What it is for
To scan quickly when you have many items and read closely when you have few.
WindowsMac
Windows screen: View card
Grid, card, list and folder views
Mac screen: Idea Vault: List
Grid, card, list and folder views

Collections

Group ideas for a purpose.

What it does
Create a named collection, add items to it, and open it to see only those items. An item can sit in more than one collection.
What it is for
To gather ideas for one scene, one character or one look without moving them out of the vault.
WindowsMac

Folders

Sort ideas into folders when you want to.

What it does
Make folders, move items into them and browse them in folder view. You can rename or delete a folder from its menu.
What it is for
To bring order to a large vault, only when it helps.
WindowsMac

Tags

Label ideas with your own words.

What it does
Add one or more tags to an item, or to several items at once, and click a tag to see everything that carries it.
What it is for
To find ideas by theme, such as rain or night, across all kinds of items.
WindowsMac

Research flags

Mark what has been checked.

What it does
Flag an item as Unchecked, Checked or Needs Expert Check, or clear the flag. The flag is set from the item drawer or its right-click menu.
What it is for
To keep track of which facts and references still need verifying.
WindowsMac

Pinned and recent items

Keep the important ones on top.

What it does
Pin an item to keep it at the top, and use the Recently added and Recently modified views to find what you touched last.
What it is for
To get back to the ideas you are working with right now.
WindowsMac
Windows screen: View pinned
Pinned and recent items
Mac screen: Pinned items
Pinned and recent items

Work on several items at once

Select a group and act on all of them.

What it does
Select several items and move them to a folder, add them to a collection, tag them, pin them, copy them to the Global Idea Vault or delete them together.
What it is for
To tidy a batch of ideas in one step.
WindowsMac
Windows screen: Multiselect bar
Work on several items at once
Mac screen: Idea Vault, one item selected
Work on several items at once

Global Idea Vault

One vault for ideas that belong to no film yet.

What it does
The Global Idea Vault sits on the home screen and holds ideas across all your projects. It has the same views, tags, pins and search as a project vault.
What it is for
To keep ideas for future films in a place that is not tied to any one project.
WindowsMac

Copy between vaults

Share an idea between a project and the Global vault.

What it does
Copy an idea from the Global Idea Vault into a project, or from a project into the Global vault. It is always a copy, so the original stays where it was.
What it is for
To reuse an old idea in a new film without losing it from the shelf.
WindowsMac

Recently Deleted in the vault

Deleted ideas wait before they go for good.

What it does
Deleting an item moves it to Recently Deleted for 30 days with an Undo offered, and deleting for good asks a second time.
What it is for
To make sure one wrong click never loses an idea.
WindowsMac
Windows screen: Recently deleted
Recently Deleted in the vault
Mac screen: Recently Deleted with an item
Recently Deleted in the vault

Good to know

  • Deleted items wait in Recently Deleted for 30 days.
  • Links open in your default browser. Everything else stays on your computer.
  • Files that cannot be previewed are still kept and open in their usual program.

Windows and Mac

  • On the Mac, the scope picker, Record Note and Quick Capture sit in an overflow menu.
  • Quick Capture is Ctrl+Shift+N on Windows and Cmd+Shift+N on the Mac.

Ideas collected here feed the Beat Board and moodboards. The Vault is never synced with the screenplay, so nothing appears anywhere else unless you send it.

Explore it

Step-by-step tutorials.

Written guides on the real screens of your platform.

Find your way around the Idea Vault

Know what each part of the Idea Vault page does and switch between the project vault and the Global vault.

Catch an idea fast with Quick Capture

Save a thought as a note in a few seconds without leaving the page you are on.

Add a note or a quote

Create a written item with a title and text, or a quote with its source.

Save a web link

Keep a link and a note about why it matters.

Add pictures, audio, video and other files

Put reference images, audio, video and documents in the vault.

Reconnect a file OpenFrame cannot find

Point an item at its file again after the file was moved or the drive was unplugged.

Record a voice note

Record yourself and keep the recording exactly as you spoke it.

Draw a sketch

Draw a rough picture and keep it as an image item.

Open an item and edit its details

Rename an item, change its text, add tags and a research flag, and pin it.

Open the Idea Vault and find your way around

Know what every control on an empty vault does before you add anything.

Capture an idea fast with Quick Capture

Save a line of text as a note in one step, without opening the full note editor.

Add a note and write in the inspector

Create a note with an optional title and as much text as you like.

Save a web link with a note

Keep a link to a page, with your own words about why it matters.

Save a quote with its source

Keep a line you want to remember, with where it came from.

Add an image, a file, an audio file or a video

Put a picture, a document, a sound or a clip from your Mac into the vault.

Record a voice note

Speak an idea and keep the recording exactly as you made it.

Look at your ideas as a grid, cards, a list or folders

Change how the vault shows the same items.

Pin an idea to keep it at the top

Put the ideas you come back to most in their own group above the rest.

Keep going

Story and Beat Board

Acts, sequences, beats and scene cards you can drag.

Moodboards

Visual references that live with the film.

Projects, Backups and Recovery

Autosave, undo, Recently Deleted and backups.

Ready when you are

Try it free for 7 days. Pay once if you keep it.

One app for the whole film, on your own computer. One payment, no subscription.

Read the tutorials