Software for Mind Maps, Mood Boards and Scripts

Mind maps, mood boards and scripts can each be made with more than one type of software, depending on whether the document is mostly text, drawing or images.

Mind maps

A mind map can be hand drawn with pens, pencils and paper, which is quick and needs no equipment. Or it can be made digitally using mind mapping software, presentation software or desktop publishing software. Mind mapping software is built for the job: you add a branch and it moves the rest to fit, which paper cannot do automatically. Presentation software works because a slide can hold branches built from shapes, text boxes and connector lines.

For example, planning a school talent show: a central idea with branches for acts, stage times and ticket sales is easy to sketch on paper, but on screen you can drag branches around and insert photographs of the venue straight in.

Mood boards

A physical mood board uses real materials on a surface, such as printed photographs, magazine cuttings and coloured paper shapes glued onto a large sheet of card, so you can compare how the printed colours look together. A digital mood board on a computer or tablet can be made with image editing software, presentation software, desktop publishing software or specialised mood board software, which can arrange images in a grid and let a team comment on a shared board.

Scripts

A script is nearly all text, so it is made with a word processor or a dedicated script editor. A word processor is often used because it lets you easily go back and edit text: you can cut, paste, comment and check spelling as the story changes. A dedicated script editor adds advanced features such as layout tools that set out scene headings and dialogue in the correct format, and character identification, which recognises names in the dialogue and keeps them consistent. That makes it faster for a long script, though a word processor is enough for a short one.