Celtx screenwriting application shows promise
[Steve](<a href=”http://johnaugust.com/archives/2004/new-css-template-for-screenplay-formatting#comments”>http://johnaugust.com/archives/2004/new-css-template-for-screenplay-formatting#comments</a>) 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.
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February 22nd, 2005 at 1:30 pm
Hi John,
Thanks for the great review.
I would like to point out that all your projects files are saved locally, meaning on your computer. Projects are only saved to the celtx server if you choose to publish them.
Cheers,
Steve Pick celtx.com
February 22nd, 2005 at 3:18 pm
I gotta tell you, I switched to Firefox after reading your post and I’ve never been happier with a decision. But, I tried to give Final Draft a try and I just can’t get used to it. I don’t know why. I don’t like it. And I’ve tried it before and seem to remember that I didn’t like it then either. However, it may just be that I’ve gotten so used to using something else now and that’s biasing my opinion. I’m a fan of Movie Magic. That’s what I’ve been using for quite some time. Any thoughts on why Final Draft kicks the pants off Movie Magic cause I just don’t see it.
On a more related note, the Celtx software certainly sounds promising. Thanks for the tip.
Chris
February 22nd, 2005 at 6:24 pm
Chris,
I’ve had experiences with both and I find Final Draft to be much better for me. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Final Draft is far more Mac-centric, and that means a lot to me. This probably has something to do with the fact that Final Draft was originally a Mac-only product, back in the day. I’ve always found Movie Magic to feel very Windows-ish, and it could simply be an interface thing, but I could never warm up to it.
Those of you who are Windows users may have a different feeling for the exact opposite reason. But, that’s my love for Final Draft. It looks and, generally, acts like a Mac program. I’ve never had any problems with it outside of the occassional bug when a new release first comes out.
February 23rd, 2005 at 11:19 am
I’m also a Movie Magic user, and love it. I just have printing problems once in a while, but I can get around that. Downloaded Celtx – it seems to have some bugs still, but the program has a nice feel to it. I also like the fact that it’s open source. I’m also a recent convert to Firefox. Man, I wish I’d done it sooner!
February 23rd, 2005 at 5:45 pm
As far as I can see, the page layout is a more serious psychological hurdle than the saving process. I agree that you shouldn’t be constantly worrying about breaks and mores and cont’ds, but I like to know what page I’m on and get some sense of how long something takes to play out. One minute per page seems to lose relevance with this program, and I can see myself getting a bit lost with it.
Perhaps this suits a specific part of the process more than another- brainstorming first drafts as opposed to line by line rewrites, maybe- but right now there are just too many features (smartype, etc.) that I’ve grown accustomed to in commercial programs.
February 23rd, 2005 at 11:58 pm
I’m with Jason. I love SmartType, and I also like to know how many pages I have. I don’t even need to see the page breaks. A running total at the bottom of the window would be fine.
A page total for each scene, placed at the top of each scene, next to the paperclip, would be cool too, but now I’m just dreaming of features. :)
February 24th, 2005 at 5:34 am
Many thx for the tip!
February 24th, 2005 at 5:35 am
Many thx for the tip!
March 8th, 2005 at 7:05 am
This looks a lot like Sophocles software program. I am using that right now and there are similarities
April 21st, 2005 at 3:47 am
Hi John and all,
Just wanted to drop a note to let you know that we have just released a new Celtx (version 0.8.8).
Eightyeight includes good stuff like pagination, spellchecking, find & replace, hotkeys, and a host of new print options.
Check it out!
Steve Pick celtx.com
April 26th, 2005 at 11:17 pm
To all the people confessing their love for commercial sofwtare over Celtx – I don’t think you get the point. Celtx is Open Source and as such they are listening to the community so this is your chance to have a real say with the direction of a project you use for a living. Secondly, it’s at the beta stage. Core functionality is a little buggy at times, and there are a lot of wishlist features which haven’t appeared yet, but I’m sure will when the core stuff is locked down. So download it, try it out, jump on the forums and let them know of any bugs are suggestions. It’s not supposed to compete head-to-head yet, but with constructive criticism, hefty license fees for software to write your movie, when the budget itself isn’t going to be that big, will become a thing of the past.
April 27th, 2005 at 10:40 pm
Right on, Damo! I can’t wait to see how celtx develops. This should be a boon to all the D.I.Y crowd as an alternative to blowing the budget on software, or alternatively, downloading some hacked and illegal warez from god knows where. An open source project will never just go away, and can’t be bought and then phased out by evil corporate consolidation droids. Actually, I still prefer using the screenplay template in lyx, but I look forward to being able to collaborate with celtx over the web with anyone, regardless of operating system.
June 9th, 2005 at 2:45 am
At first gander, Celtx looked like it might be a real hit for me. But having tried it out I found that it lacked some of the formatting capabilities that Sophocles nails so well. The new Sophocles version (in beta) looks even more promising! For ease of use and to really just get into writing ‘fluidly’ – without the clutter, nothing beats Sophocles (and I’ve used them all!).
Kudos to Celtx for a good start though – the direction looks promising (and very Sophocles like).
June 9th, 2005 at 11:58 am
I was playing around with the Mac version 8.9 and I’m running OSX 10.3.5. The Mac version isn’t mature yet. I tried to import a script in both txt and rtf format and it wouldn’t work.
Also, the editing is unforgiving. It’s hard to explain but for you to generate reports, you have to define your characters and if you make a mistake in your definitions, you can’t edit them or delete them.
If you’re Apple based, I’d pass on it for now.
June 16th, 2005 at 2:04 pm
I am currently beta-testing a fantastic new screenwriting program called Sophocles (note, the current version available on their website is two years old, while the new version is being developed). I very highly recommend to readers to keep your eye on this company. Their package is one of the most inventive and eloquent script composition tools I’ve ever seen. It does everything you describe above with Celtx, and a heck of a lot more. It puts Final Draft to shame (this, coming from a faithful Final Draft user). You can read another review of this software at blogger/writer David Anaxagoras’s website.
The particularly cool thing about Sophocles is that you can develop your story outline within the program itself, before ever writing a word. I don’t mean it has a cheesy story design toolset like other so-called story design programs, which never made sense to me. I mean that in an uncheesy way you can process your thoughts on characters, actions, overall plot and subplot design in a useful fashion that can later be integrated directly into your script when you actually begin writing. Since I usually outline on paper and pencil, I can now do it just as freely in Sophocles.
Not too mention the phenomenal script reporting features it offers. It will draw a screen full of character relationships for every speaking part in the film, allowing a visual reference to the key players. Also offers incredible statistics on individual characters, # scenes, speaking lines, your average paragraph length, timing, location reporting, and gobs of other information viewable in an intuitive interface.
And much much more.. Budgeting, auto-script breakdown… the list goes on and on…
Final Draft offers some of these features, but doesn’t do them all that well.
June 25th, 2005 at 1:29 am
oh lets face it. there is no mac screenwriting software that is up to par. there are promising projects on the horizon, but nothing gound-breaking. I do believe however, that final draft is on it’s way out. I’m a beta-tester and I can tell you… nothing new.
August 13th, 2005 at 12:26 am
Ok, I like celtx, so far!
because even though I’m a noob, I downloaded it to a Fedoracore3 pc, saved a copy of the instructions, hunted through files to find firefox path (it was /usr/bin/firefox), created the launcher by pasting that path on that line given in the instructions, replacing it’s generic path, pasted all of it in the laucher window, and then didn’t know exactly where the icon would be hanging out at, but I just happened to have a cool looking clapboard.jpg in home… and it worked, starts right up and seems easy to use.
Now if we could get them to make it just like moviemagic, I could erase windows completely my old laptop, and would be a very happy man.
I haven’t written with celtx yet, but will try it within a few days. I will save a MM script as an rtf and import it into celtx, and if it makes it in without losing any of the formating, I’ll do some editing and report how it went.
Thx!
October 12th, 2005 at 8:37 am
There should be some sort of diagnostic tool for determining which application might suit you. Something real scientific, like one of those tests that tells you which Backstreet Boy you are.
If you…
,,,have always done your writing on a legal pad and/or believe that computers ruin the organic flow of the writing process, then:
You are a Final Draft Person. You are all about the words on the page, no fuss, no muss. Ignore those crazy features like index cards and embrace the blank page.
…can’t brush your teeth without your iPod and/or take your digital camera to the laundromat just in case, then:
You are a Celtx User. Drop an mp3 and a few .jpg files into that scene you’re working on for inspiration.
…alphabetize your grocery list and/or arrange it according to the store’s layout, then:
Sophocles is probably your best bet. As you write, keep track of exactly where you are in your outline. Switch to a handy chart that tells you how your huge cast of characters connects to each other.
…haven’t seen anything that applies to you so far, then:
Try Movie Magic Screenwriter. As a great man once said, it’s “boxy but good.”
August 21st, 2006 at 11:00 am
Well, I’m a Sophocles user and the beta 2006 is wonderful. I just finished my script for a fan film I’m going to direct later this year. I’m going to try Celtx, just in case I ever want to have one of my PCs with linux. It may be a good alternative.
November 9th, 2006 at 8:19 pm
Looks good so far. Imported 8 pages from the Final Draft demo file and it came through perfectly. Everything seems straight forward. I’m going to use it and see what happens. I turned on pagination and it formatted itself with numbers. Works for me.