The Celtx Blog

TMUnderground 2nd Annual Ollie Awards - Call for Nominations

Attention Lovers,… of Machinima & Animated Movies!  :D

Our friends at TMUnderground are gearing up for The Second Annual Ollie Awards and are asking you to vote now for your favourite animated movies and machinima created within the last 12 months. The Ollies are an opportunity to honor fellow TMUnderground community members, with numerous categories ranging from Best Picture and Best Screenwriter to Best Soundtrack and Best Actor. And,... Award winners will receive cool prizes sponsored by Celtx, Moviestorm, Reallusion and TMUnderground!!

From TMUnderground...

"...the process is simple; we are looking for everyone (for indeed YOU, as the viewing public, will be the "members of the Academy" in these awards) to place their votes for the award categories below; everyone gets a vote and the winners will be chosen based on the total number of votes tallied for each category. This way, the community speaks, and the winners will be those voted for BY the community as a whole.

You can Nominate those films, series, actors, modders, directors, writers, musicians, etc, that qualify in the Nomination Phase. This phase will give us our shortlist of candidates for the Voting Phase which will determine the final winners of the coveted 2010 Ollies!"

Please note that to nominate a movie you MUST be a registered TMU member to have your nominations and votes count towards this year’s awards, and you have until 12:00 midnight GMT on 21 August 2010 to get the first round nominations in.

For more details on the Nomination Procedure head to the TMU Forums , or link directly to the 2010 Ollie Awards Nomination Form.

Now Available - Celtx Script for iPhone/iPad!

 

Just released from Celtx HQ ...  Celtx Script for iPhone/iPad!!

- The only mobile screenwriting app that syncs directly with your Celtx desktop software.
- Write from any place at any time.
- Preserve script markup during syncs.
- Smooth and rapid scrolling through scripts.
- Quick jump to scene number for script editing.

Get Celtx Script now at the App Store.  Just $9.99 to install on both your iPhone & iPad.

THANKS for continuing to make Celtx the #1 choice for media pre-production.

The Celtx Development Team
Sheila, Steve, Laurie, Tony, Lez, Greg, Chad & Mark

Kiwi Space Patrol and 'The Super Awesome Mega Battle Tank'

If you're a fan of science fiction, slapstick comedy, fantasy, geekery, and general bafoonery, then have we got a web ep series for you!...

Bill O'Byrne and his crazy, nitwit crew of the Kiwi Space Patrol have just released the 5th of 13 zany episodes of the 'The Super Awesome Mega Battle Tank'. Bill says lots happens in Ep.5 - 'Spear a Thought'...

"There's slapstick, flashbacks, plot exposition, fun with mashed potatoes, even an incoming photonic artillery attack. It is also when we bid farewell to Uber Commander Shane Wilson who has acted the rest of us off the screen one too many times."

"Three men, two battle tanks, one mission - zero talent..."

As their byline suggests, these guys aren't taking themselves too seriously, and in a way that's what makes it so much fun to watch. Nice too, that Celtx gets a plug to boot. Bill explains,

"For those wondering where we got the snappy animation credits at the end, that's for the very wonderful, and amazingly free, Celtx pre production and scripting software. All the way from Newfoundland. Yep, just like the big doggies. Great for theatre, comics, movies, and whatever the hell this stuff is."

So tune in, if you dare! Episode 6 is due for release on May 6/10.

Warning: These videos contain 'occasional use of the ' f ' word, bad acting and general puerility' ;) Viewer discretion is advised.

Super Awesome Mega Battle Tank
Episode 5: Spear a Thought

Raindance New York - Film Courses Apr.19 - 25th /10

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Due due travel complications arising from the Iceland volcano, the tutors who were scheduled to teach these Raindance courses are unable to fly from London to NYC.

Therefore, all of the events for this week, with the exception of Wednesday's 'LiveAmmunition!', are being postponed until June (Date TBD).

If you are already a confirmed winner of a free ticket, you will receive:
 1 x free pass to Wednesday's Live!Ammunition! event ... PLUS, a place on the revised dates early June.

For further details please contact sheila at celtx dot com.
____________________________________________________________________________

Hey Gang, Excellent News!

Our friends at Raindance have recently opened up shop in New York City and are offering some great instructional courses for independent filmmakers from April 19th - 25th/10, ... Along with a 15% discount on registration fees for members of the Celtx community!!

AND... We're giving away 2 free tickets for each course to the first people to email us at partners@celtx.com!!

Courses being offered include:

99 Minute Film School - Monday, April 19th -  6:30 to 8:30pm

Live!Ammunition! - Wednesday, April 21st - 6:30 to 9:00pm

Creating a Business Plan - Thursday, April 22nd - 6:30 to 9:00 pm

Lo to No Budget Filmmaking - Sat. & Sun, April 24th /25th - 9:30am to 6:00pm

So if you're in the NY neighborhood and are keen to receive the same professional training as Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes), Christopher Nolan (Batman: The Dark Night), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) and Charles Steele (The Last King of Scotland), HURRY and head over to Raindance NY. Classes are filling up and time is running out!

Discount code for Celtx users is: CELTX     Enter it here when you register.

Cheers!

Sheila

The Hunt For Gollum - Created with Celtx

The other day, from out-of-the-blue, we received a very nice email from Chris Bouchard - Director/Producer at Independent Online Cinema.  Chris wanted to let us know they used Celtx on their independent movie The Hunt For Gollum, an unofficial 40 minute prequel to The Lord of the Rings. 

In Chris' words "Celtx really enabled this community driven film to get made and complimented our open film-making process perfectly! We're using it now on our next feature film."

The Hunt For Gollum was released to millions of views on the net last May and is already the second most watched feature on YouTube Movies.  It's an impressive piece of work by any measure - and especially so since Chris and his team made the movie on a scant £3000 budget (roughly $5,000 US).  Obviously it was a real community effort and an act of passion by all the players involved.

If you're not among the more than 5,000,000 who have already watched this movie, then you might want to get yourself over to the official website, where the movie is streamed free of charge.

Congratulations to Chris and the Independent Online Cinema team for a job well done!

Laurie & the Celtx team

New Celtx Add-Ons & Special Offers!

Just released from Celtx HQ ...

Customize your writing setup and get insights into how your stories take shape with 3 new writing add-ons for your Celtx software. 

There's a tool for writing in full screen mode and customizing text and background colours.  Another tool lays out index cards by timeline and plot, using an attractive paper card and corkboard theme.  And a third tool tells you your writing progress, gives you insights into your writing habits, and even lets you tweet your script progress.

 

Also just released are 5 new set design Art Packs - Kitchen, Bedroom & Bathroom, Living Room, Office, and Exterior. There's a total of 154 new custom-designed images you can add to your Sketch tool for setups and storyboards.

Check out all the new Celtx add-ons - and save 20% to 36% on bundles - on our Special Offers page

Aspiring Filmmakers Bootcamp: NYC March 19-21

Do you have a great idea for a screenplay, but no idea how to go about executing it? Are you interested in learning how to make a movie, from initial concept to final cut? Or do you just want to learn how to break into the industry?

Then you might want to check out the Nehst Aspiring Filmmakers Bootcamp - coming to NYC March 19-21.

Academy Award winner Larry Meistrich, CEO Nehst Studios is joined by guest instructors:

Dee Snider - of Twisted Sister - screenwriter, star of the cult classic Strangeland.  Dee will discuss the current Nehst production of his long-awaited sequel Strangeland: Disciple.

Paula Brancato - film finance expert, formerly of Morgan Stanley, McKinsey, and Deloitte & Touche.  Paula will expose the inner workings of getting films funded and help navigate the sometimes arcane world of money.

Jeff Silverstein - Head of Development of Nehst Studios and screenwriter.  Jeff will work with participants on how to select compelling projects, what producers look for, and tips on writing careers.

Celtx users get $95 off the workshop price when you punch in in promo code FILM. And student discounts are also available by contacting Heather Lombardo at hlombardo@nehst.com.

Celtx Studios - New Upgrade Feature!

Attention Celtx Studio Admins!

Now you can upgrade the number of seats in your Studio from within your Admin -> Accounts folder. A simple and convenient way to add more users to your Studio :)

Cheers!

The C-Team

Celtx v.2.7 eeePC build (English) available for free Download

Hey Gang!

For those who are interested, a shiny new Celtx v.2.7 eeePC build (English) is now available from our Download page.

Enjoy!

The C -Team

100 Pages. 30 Days. Script Frenzy. Are You In?

Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants take on the challenge of writing 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April. As part of a donation-funded nonprofit, Script Frenzy charges no fee to participate; there are also no valuable prizes awarded or "best" scripts singled out. Every writer who completes the goal of 100 pages is victorious and awe-inspiring and will receive a handsome Script Frenzy Winner's Certificate and web icon proclaiming this fact. 

Even those who fall short of the word goal will be applauded for making a heroic attempt. Really, you have nothing to lose—except that nagging feeling that there's a script inside you that may never get out. 

Who: You and everyone you know. No experience required.

What: 100 pages of original scripted material in 30 days. (Screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels are all welcome.)

When: April 1 - 30. Every year. Mark your calendars.

Where: Online and in person (if you want!). Hang out in the forums, join your fellow participants at write-ins, and make friends by adding writing buddies online.

Why: Because you have a story to tell. Because you want a creative challenge. Because you’ll be disappointed if you missed out on the adventure. Because you need to make time for you.

How: Sign up. Tell everyone that you are in the Frenzy. Clear your calendar. (Get your taxes done now!) Start some wrist exercises. Have fun!

The 5 Basic Rules of Script Frenzy

1) To be crowned an official Script Frenzy winner, you must write a script (or multiple scripts) of at least 100 total pages and verify this tally on ScriptFrenzy.org.

2) You may write individually or with a partner. Writing teams will have a 100-page total goal for their co-written script or scripts.

3) Script writing may begin no earlier than 12:00:01 AM on April 1 and must cease no later than 11:59:59 PM on April 30, local time.

4) You may write screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, comic book and graphic novel scripts, adaptations of novels, or any other type of script your heart desires.

5) You must, at some point, have ridiculous amounts of fun.