A freeware scriptwriting program - Celtx

[Sylph]

Since there are many writers or wanna-be writers on this board and some might need a scriptwriting software (no need to spend $200+ for Movie Magic or Final Draft, although I have both), I wanted to point you towards Celtx. You can also write theatre plays, AV scripts and so on with this one, and it's completely free. Use the suggestion and feedback box to tell the authors what you would like to see! Who knows, maybe many have already heard about it. Here's John August's review (for an earlier version):

Steve wrote in to point out a new-ish screenwriting application under development called Celtx, which seems to incorporate a lot of features I’ve been clamoring for in terms of leveraging new technology. It’s certainly not a Final Draft killer yet, but it’s worthy of a look.

In many ways, this seems to be the screenwriting program I yearned to write. It’s open source, standards-based and well thought out. If I’d known I could get what I want by sitting on my ass and doing nothing, I would have not-done it sooner.

Celtx uses the Mozilla Application Framework, the same underlying technology as Firefox. That goes a long way towards making it platform independent, since Mozilla can run under Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. It’s a two-edged sword, naturally: for sake of compatibility, it can’t use some only-on-Mac features and eye-candy.

Unlike Final Draft, which strives to keep the screen matching up exactly to the printed output, Celtx takes a more relaxed approach. All the standard formatting blocks are there (Scene Header, Action, Character, Dialogue, Transition), but there are no rulers or page breaks. That’s a reasonable choice; you shouldn’t worry about every (more) and (cont’d) as you write. The program generates .pdfs, rather than trying to print directly — again, a smart call. However, I suspect many writers will find they need more control when it comes time to print.

One of the biggest psychological hurdles with Celtx is how it handles screenplay files. Currently, they seem to reside on Celtx’s server, rather than staying local on a writer’s individual computer. (I say “seem” because each project shows a URL, and you’re not prompted where you’d like to save your file.) This client/server model makes a lot of sense for collaboration, but would make a lot of writers nervous, both in terms of access and security.

Update: The developer wrote in to say that files are indeed kept locally on your computer, unless published to the server. A “Save As…” feature is in progress, according to the support forum.

You can import an existing script from Final Draft or other screenwriting applications, but only by saving it first as a formatted text file. (Final Draft uses a proprietary file format; if any reader out there has figured out how to decode it, please write in.) My import test was a mixed bag. Most of the formatting came through intact, but it lost all of the character names at the head of dialogue blocks. I suspect that’s an easily-addressable problem, however.

More impressive than its importing function is Celtx’s ability to export. It generates .pdfs and HTML, which, if you look through the source code, is actually properly formatted with CSS, as opposed to Final Draft’s ridiculous wrapped text file.

I haven’t fully examined Celtx’s outline and resource capabilities, but you can flag elements such as characters and props, which can be useful for generating reports. (Not that I ever use this feature in Final Draft.)

Celtx is currently in beta. Right now, it doesn’t offer enough to get me to switch from Final Draft. But I’m certainly fascinated by it, and would encourage any interested reader to give it a try.

Now start writing!

http://www.celtx.com/

[Shawn]

Thanks Sylph! I'm going to check this out when I get home from work laterz.

[bellcurve]

This will be hella easier than doing everything(character's names centered, etc) through Microsoft Word, which takes a half hour in and of itself to do.

[Sylph]

Of course it will! I can't believe you actually did that!!

Although, I've heard of templates for MS Word and I think there's some sort of modified Word for scriptwriting on BBC's site.

[Sylph]

The nex version that fixed some bugs is out.

[Sylph]

Version 1.0 is out! You can download here.

[Ben]

I have Final Draft 6, and I'm considering updating to Version 7; but it's a little expensive. Which would you say is better, MM or FD? Oh, and why do you have both? Like, don't they basically do the same thing?

[Ryan]

I'm definitely gonna check this out when I get home. I've been looking into getting Movie Magic or Final Draft.

Can this program import what's already been written in Microsoft Office? Or will I have to start over?

[Sylph]

Use Movie Magic, the newest version. It is definitely the best and not as frustrating as Final Draft.

They do the same thing — I got both as birthday presents: and both the same year!

[Sylph]

I haven't tried... It can import .txt files, but if you import from Word, all formatting can be lost. The program has a useful support message board so can try asking there.

[Ryan]

Thank you Sylph

[Ben]

Thanks Sylph. I'll definitely check out Movie Magic. I had Final Draft on my old computer, then I got given a laptop at Xmas, and FD no longer works properly - it has, like, a selection of 5 fonts, and I get double the number of pages. It's such a chore having to memory stick it, and upload it to the old computer, just so I can get the correct number of pages! Kinda defeats the purpose of the laptop.

[Sylph]

Oh, my first smiley from Ryan! I can't believe it!

Well, you just confirmed to me that FD needs some serious improvements. A lot of people in the industry hate it, but somehow got used to all of its craziness and just keep using it.

MMS isn't perfect, but it is better than FD.

[Ben]

I only bought it because the industry were using it. Then, like life only can be, after I'd installed it, MM was suddenly all the rage.

Can MM import FD documents?

[Sylph]

Screenwriter 6.0 cannot import from or export to Final Draft format, but - importing from Rich Text Format (RTF) is easy and requires little cleanup. It also exports to RTF, PDF, and the Screenplay Exchange (.sex) scheduling formats.