Paper Edit
Write the documentary before you edit it. Pick lines from interview transcripts and arrange them with narration, titles, archive footage and music in the order of the film. The transcripts never change.
Product
First Read Studio
A new kind of studio for filmmakers, documentarians and creators. Write, plan, rehearse, pitch and publish from one project that stays on your Mac.
$295one-time
$19.99per month
$149.99per yearSave 37%
Coming soon
Coming soon
One project, from the first page to the release
Filmmaking software has grown up in pieces. Screenwriting apps stop at the page. Production suites connect the script to a schedule, mostly in the cloud and mostly for scripted work. Documentary teams track releases in form builders and check facts by hand, and channels get planned in spreadsheets.
First Read Studio puts that work in one project on your Mac: 129 tools across nine areas, including tools for the jobs those products leave out. It’s built for filmmakers, documentarians and creators, and it’s coming to the Mac App Store this October for Macs running macOS 15 or later.
For documentarians: write the film, then hand it to your editor
Transcription tools let editors cut video from text. Writing the film itself, and tracking who agreed to what and which claims hold up, has stayed on paper and in spreadsheets.
In First String, you write the documentary before you edit it. Pick lines from interview transcripts, arrange them with narration, titles, archive footage and music, then press play and hear it as a rough film. Consent, the Claim Ledger and First Question keep the people and the facts in view. When the paper edit is ready, your editor gets a real timeline for Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Avid Media Composer, and every change they send back waits for your approval.
For creators: plan the channel, not just the video
Creator software is built around ideas, search and analytics. The channel itself, with its series, sponsor obligations and release checks, usually lives in a spreadsheet.
First Creator plans a channel like a production. Shows and episodes sit on one board, and each episode keeps one ID from the script to publishing. The Sponsor Portal holds every brand deal and its required disclosure, and Packaging Pre-Flight keeps Mark Published locked until the thumbnail, the disclosure and everyone’s releases are in place.
For filmmakers: the whole production, and then some
Production suites already connect the script to the schedule and call sheets. First Read Studio does that too, then goes further.
Every cast and crew member gets a Production Pass in Apple Wallet that updates with each call sheet. First Mark plans the shots on an overhead map of the set and writes the shot list for you. Script Link brings in revised pages without losing the breakdown, schedule or budget, and First Rights and First Check catch clearance and union pay problems before they cost you.
For writers: plan it, then check the draft against it
Screenwriting apps format the page. Planning the story and checking a draft against that plan still happen on index cards and in other people’s notes.
Plan the story on First Board, then let Story Tracker read the script against your plan and show which beats the draft doesn’t support yet. First Coverage writes a reader’s report scored 1 to 10, with every quote checked against your pages, and First Proof checks formatting and craft without an internet connection. You accept, correct or reject every suggestion.
For actors and directors: rehearse inside the script
Actors usually run lines in separate apps, record self-tapes on their phones and keep character work in notebooks, while table reads run off whichever draft people printed.
First Arc turns the script into an actor’s preparation notes. Rehearse runs a table read with everyone on the same locked draft. Voice Studio builds a full read of the script from takes each actor records on their own, and Self-Tape records an audition and exports one video ready to send.
For pitching: sell it from the project
Pitch decks usually get built in general-purpose slide software, with comparable titles pasted in by hand and recoupment modeled in a separate spreadsheet.
The Room prepares a pitch for the person in front of you, whether that’s an investor, a streamer, an agent or an actor, and shares only the material you choose. First Pitch pulls comparable titles from the TMDB film database, the Waterfall shows who gets paid back and in what order, and First Deck and First Look build slides and a lookbook from the project’s own text and images.
Private by design, with AI you choose
Core project work stays on your Mac, and the app can reach only the files you open, a limit macOS enforces. People you invite see only the tools you give them, and nothing is sent or published without you.
AI is optional. When you use it, you choose the engine: Apple Intelligence on your Mac or through Private Cloud Compute, or cloud models including ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Before any AI feature runs, you see its engine, its purpose and the data it will use, and a log records every machine action. VoiceOver, Full Keyboard Access, Voice Control, Switch Control, reduced motion and increased contrast work throughout the app.
Beyond the Mac
Connect an iPad with Sidecar to draw storyboards with Apple Pencil or to present a pitch from two screens. Companion apps for iPad, iPhone and Apple Vision Pro are in development and will be included for every First Read Studio user at no additional charge.
On the web, Creator Casting takes auditions directly from applicants, with the first 50 included. The Production Portal lets a production bring in cast and crew who don’t use First Read Studio for $14.99 per seat, and anyone who already has the app joins at no charge.
Why I built this
Every project I have made has been assembled twice: once in the field and in the edit, and once inside a pile of software that was never built for what I was doing.
Documentary makers write the film before they cut it. Creators run their channels like productions. Actors rehearse off drafts nobody agrees on. I couldn’t find software for any of that, so we built it.
— James Kicklighter
First String
Documentary
Write the film before you cut it, keep consent and claims in view, then hand it to your editor.
Watch & Listen
Press play on the paper edit and hear it as a rough film: real interview audio where you have it, a stand-in voice where you don't, with transcript and picture in sync.
Consent
What each person you film agreed to, including when they limit or withdraw permission. Footage they no longer allow stays out of the cut automatically.
Subject Record
One record per person you film: contact history, scheduled interviews, transcripts, consent and releases, questions, travel and payments. Edit it once and every documentary tool reads it.
Release Generator
Produces the standard permission forms for appearing on camera, filming at a location, using materials and filming minors or crowds, then tracks who has signed.
Claim Ledger
Every factual statement the film makes, next to the evidence behind it, weakest first. It shows how well each claim is sourced; it doesn't decide whether a claim is true.
First Question
Questions for the next interview, written from what the person actually said. Each links to the exact transcript line, and the list goes out as a PDF or email with the scheduled interview.
First Impact
Plan the film's impact campaign, from community screenings to partner organizations and outreach, alongside the film and separate from its records.
Archival Clearance
For every clip of archive footage: who owns it, what it costs and what license this cut needs, settled before export.
Funder Delivery
What each grant or funder requires, checked against what has actually been delivered and when.
Captions and delivery files
Subtitles, caption files, a script of what's seen and heard, excerpt lists and archive reports, all made from one record so they always match.
Editor handoff and round trip
Timelines for Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Avid Media Composer, with markers, notes, a reference video and only the media the cut uses. Returned cuts are compared change by change, and nothing updates until you approve it.
Creator Link
Open a linked channel project for behind-the-scenes and release promotion. Each person's promotion rights travel with the material, and missing or withdrawn rights stop a post from going out.
First Creator
Creators
Plan a channel like a production, from the first idea to the published episode.
The channel slate
A channel's shows and episodes on one board. Each episode gets an ID, like US-002, that follows it from the script to publishing.
First Blueprint
A shared board for rough ideas, notes, reference images and research. An approved idea becomes an episode and keeps a record of where it started.
Sponsor Portal
Every brand deal in one place: what was promised, the required ad disclosure, payments and invoices. It confirms the disclosure is in place, and nothing is emailed without you.
Packaging Pre-Flight
Thumbnail chosen, sponsor disclosure in place, releases from everyone on camera, and no hold from a linked film. Mark Published unlocks only when all four pass.
Thumbnail Designer
Design a thumbnail once and see it as it will appear everywhere, from the YouTube watch page to the small Up next tile and a Shorts crop. Each size is labeled by how reliable its source is.
Video ROI and Creator Intelligence
Shows whether an episode paid off, using real measured numbers. A missing number shows as a dash, never a guess.
Creator Link
When a film or documentary brings you on for behind-the-scenes or promotion, its approved context arrives in your channel project, and each post waits until the release date.
Creator Casting
Guests and on-camera talent apply through a web page. The first 50 auditions are included, with paid tiers for more.
Shop workspace
Link the exact item for sale to the moment it appears in the script, and follow results without claiming a video caused a purchase.
Campaign workspace
Candidate and ballot-issue briefs with reviewed evidence and source-cited questions. Claim sources, disclosures and human sign-offs stay in view, and it never predicts persuasion or election results.
Platform connections
YouTube, Shopify, Google Merchant Center, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitch, with each result labeled with where it came from.
First Unit
Production
The script, schedule and call sheets in one place, plus the tools production suites leave out.
Production Pass
One Apple Wallet pass per person for the whole production. It updates with each new call sheet, shows on the lock screen the morning of a call, and scans in at base camp to start that person's timecard. The code changes daily, so yesterday's screenshot can't check anyone in.
First Mark
Plan the shots on an overhead map of the set. Select a line in the script, then place the camera and actors.
A shot list that writes itself
The shot list builds from where you place the cameras on the plan, with the lens and camera sensor for every shot.
True field of view
Pick a lens and camera sensor and see exactly how much of the scene that lens will see.
The 180-degree line
A warning appears when a camera would flip the actors' screen direction.
Script Link
A locked script the team can prove is unchanged. Revisions show exactly which scenes changed and come in without losing the breakdown, schedule or budget.
First Rights
Flags what in the script may need legal permission, such as a brand, a song lyric, a real place or the title itself. It tracks each clearance and produces the reports lawyers and the art department ask for.
First Check
Checks cast and crew pay against the union agreements you cite, such as SAG-AFTRA and IATSE, flags rest-period and overtime problems, and sends the confirmed cost to the budget.
First Path
Compares filming tax incentives by state or country, each with its source and date.
First Move
Daylight hours at each location, drive times between them, and when a shooting day runs out of light.
Reference Data
Union rates, incentives, weather and travel figures, each dated so old numbers never pass as current.
Creator Link
Open a linked channel project for behind-the-scenes and release promotion, built from the shoot days, locations, references and release dates you choose to share. The production stays in control, and updates come back for review before they change anything.
The page
Writing and coverage
Write the script, plan the story, then check the draft against the plan.
Screenplay editor
Write in an editor that formats the page as you type. Start a new script or bring in a Final Draft (FDX), Fountain or Highland file.
First Board and Story Tracker
Plan the story as scene and beat cards on First Board, from a beat-sheet template if you like. Story Tracker reads the script against that plan, ties each story choice to its page, and shows which planned beats the draft doesn't support yet. You accept, correct or reject every suggestion.
First Coverage
An AI-written evaluation of your script, like a studio reader's report, scored 1 to 10. Every quoted line is checked against the script, and anything it can't find is thrown out. You can compare it with a human reader's report.
First Proof
Formatting, spelling, repeated-word and craft checks without an internet connection, showing every suggested change before it touches your script.
Reader Notes
Feedback from outside the app, from annotated PDFs, Final Draft ScriptNotes, Word or Google Docs comments and more, anchored to the line, page, scene or character it's about.
First Steps
A guided coach for your first draft that takes one part at a time, with optional lessons and a glossary you can search later.
Performance
Actors and directors
Rehearse inside the script, with every reader on the same draft.
First Arc
For each scene: what the character wants, what's in the way, the action to play and what's at stake, drawn from the script as a curve of the performance's intensity. It never changes the script.
Rehearse and table reads
Run a table read with actors wherever they are. Assign each part, invite readers by email, and everyone reads the same locked draft, following along line by line.
Voice Studio and Scratch Track
Each actor records their own lines on a Mac or phone. Takes stay private until submitted, then are cleaned, evened out in volume and placed in script order, so the whole read plays before everyone has finished.
Voice Analysis
Describe how each character should sound, then see how their dialogue measures up, with dialect notes that cite the page.
Self-Tape
Record an audition on your Mac, add a title card with your name and export one video ready to send. Every take is saved separately, so nothing is ever recorded over.
First Pitch
Pitching
Sell it from the project, to the person in front of you.
The Room
Prepare and deliver a pitch to a specific audience: an investor, producer, streamer or distributor, agent or manager, actor, funder or brand. It shows what that listener cares about, builds the pitch from only the material you choose to share and shows the budget as a range, never line items. Rehearse against the clock, then present with your notes on your screen and only the pitch on theirs.
First Pitch
The pitch document, with story, characters, comparable titles and the team attached, built from what's already in the project.
TMDB catalog, built in
Titles, comparable titles, posters, backdrops and TV stills for First Pitch, First Look, First Deck and First Blueprint. No personal API key is needed, and every TMDB image is labeled as a source reference, not rights clearance.
Waterfall
Who gets paid back first, second and third if the film makes money, calculated from the real budget and labeled as a projection, not a promise.
First Deck and First Look
Pitch slides and a lookbook of the film's visual style, made from the project's own text and images. Every image keeps a label saying where it came from, even in the exported PDF.
Second screen
iPad with Sidecar
Connect an iPad as a second screen for drawing, planning and presenting.
Storyboards on iPad
Draw storyboard panels with Apple Pencil, with guides, the frame's shape and a reference image to trace. Panels land in scene order and export as a PDF.
Touch Workspace
Move First Mark's floor plan to the iPad and place cameras and actors with a finger or Apple Pencil. Requires macOS 27 or later.
Present from two screens
In The Room, the audience sees only the pitch on one display while your notes, cues and controls stay on the other.
Companion apps and portals
Beyond the Mac
Bring in the people who aren't on your Mac.
Companion apps
iPad, iPhone and Apple Vision Pro apps are in development and will be included for every First Read Studio user at no additional charge.
Creator Casting
Applicants submit auditions on the web. The first 50 are included, with paid tiers for more.
Production Portal
Bring in cast and crew who don't use First Read Studio, for $14.99 per seat. Anyone who already has First Read Studio joins a production at no charge.
Your Mac, your call
Platform and trust
Core work stays on your Mac, and nothing is sent or published without you.
Local-first
Core project work stays on your Mac. The app reaches only the files you open, and macOS enforces that limit.
AI you choose and can see
Apple Intelligence on your Mac or through Private Cloud Compute, or cloud models including ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. You see each AI feature's engine, purpose and data boundary before it runs, every machine action is logged, and productions can limit AI tools or turn them off.
Access starts at nothing
People you invite see only the tools you give them, and you can preview exactly what they'll see.
Nothing sends itself
Documents open as pre-filled Mail drafts, and publishing waits for you.
Accessibility throughout
VoiceOver, Full Keyboard Access, Voice Control, Switch Control, reduced motion, reduced transparency and increased contrast.
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