Making Indie Films

This weekend I was looking for some kind of pre-production software that was inexpensive and I came across CELTX - not to be confused with CELTIC the soccer team. Okay, so the picture above has nothing really to do with soccer or Celtic. Anyway, back to Celtx…

Celtx offers a feature rich application that is heralded on the company website as “the first, cross-platform media application that provides support for the entire pre-production process.” I wasn’t sure that I totally bought that - so I gave the application a whirl.

On the front end, the Celtx ‘development tool’ is quite interesting for mapping out a storyline and adding pictures and audio clips - a feature that I liked very much. The ’screenwriting tool’ works adequately - but obviously doesn’t quite compare to FinalDraft - which as I’m sure you all know is actually pretty hard to beat. The ‘breakdown tool’ seems like a good idea - but when was the last time a ‘props list’ was that important to you?

Okay. All the previously mentioned stuff isn’t that great. But the ’storyboard tool’ in Celtx is absolutely outstanding and almost inspired. You can drag and drop images into this function, group them, annotate them, but best of all play them back as a ’slideshow’ loop. Loved that part. Absolutely loved it. The same is true of the ’scheduler tool.’ It is functional and intuitive. You are able to drag and drop ’scenes’ onto a calendar - effectively integrating your shoot days and shooting script. Also you can allocate resources and talent to actual times and dates. I’m not sure about the on-line ‘collaboration’ functions. Never quite got that far. Still, for a working schedule and storyboard ap - Celtx is worth downloading. Will it replace Movie Magic? Probably not. But if you’re planning a short or a micro-budget feature, this might be just the ticket. And Celtx is absolutely FREE. That’s right. Nada. Nothing. Freeware.

DOWNLOAD CELTX HERE!

Today’s literary selection is:
Location Scouting and Management Handbook which I recommend that you get from your local library, as I think that it’s out of print.