The Celtx Blog

Coordinadora Mercantil commercials win the Celtx POW

Roberto Ospina and his crew at Cosmovision (Commercial Productions) are this week's Celtx POW winner for their Spanish production of a series of advertisements for COORDINADORA MERCANTIL, a South American courier company based in Colombia.

Anxious to use an AV template that isn't implemented yet, Roberto's team made modifications to the Celtx screenplay formatting so that it better suited their AV needs.

Included as well is effective use of the location and production forms, and if you head to the storyboard you'll enjoy a series of some fun animations depicting emergency client-courier scenarios that ultimately see Coordinadora effectively saving the day with professionalism and speed!!

Kudos to you and your team, Roberto!... We're impressed with your innovative techniques, and promise things will be made even easier next time with the new Celtx dual column AV feature due for release in a few weeks!!! :)

Cheers!
Sheila and the C-Team

Expo 6 Screenplay Competition

Attention all Writers!

This week we're promoting Creative Screenwriting's Screenplay Competition as part of their upcoming Expo 6. There are a whack of different categories in which you can participate and a whack of opportunities and money to be won.
Here's the scoop...

*You can enter as many scripts as you like but please make note that entry fees and submission deadlines vary (see below).

*ALL SCREENPLAYS WILL BE ENTERED INTO ALL ELIGIBLE CATEGORIES:
- $20,000 Grand Prize
- Two $8,500 Writers Boot Camp Professional Membership, beginning with Think Tank, a 22-month career development program
- Graphic novel production deal with Dabel Brothers Pro
- Four $2,500 genre prizes
- Trips to Expo 6 in LA plus $1,000 in semifinalist prizes
- $1,000 top prize in shorts category and a spot in the Duke City Shootout
- $1000 for best hour-long and best half-hour television scripts
- Kersey Management Spec Prize
- plus much more.
- All top 20 feature writers will receive John Truby’s Blockbuster Software, notes from the TheScriptWhisperer.com and free admittance to Expo 6, and access to more than 350 production companies, agents and managers.

*You can Apply Online or download this PDF Application and submit via snail or email.

*For FAQs go here, and for Contest Rules go here.

*For any other questions you may have, contact the CS organizers directly.

So remember now... Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
And may the best Celtx-ers win, Win, WIN!!!

Good Luck!
Sheila

FRAMED Summer Film Camp 2007

The 2007 FRAMED summer camp has officially begun!

Sponsored by Celtx and NIFCO, FRAMED is a free hands-on training initiative that provides students from the St. John's area with a greater understanding of scriptwriting and filmmaking.

Last week students were mentored by: Michelle Jackson of Celtx & filmmaker Lisa Porter (“Above and Beyond”) in scriptwriting and pitching. They then "pitched" their projects to filmmaker Rosemary House (“Ahead of the Curve”), filmmaker Mary Lewis (“The Sparky Book”); and film critic and professor Noreen Golfman.

This week, mentors Jordan Canning and Roger Maunder will work with the eight students to produce Stephen Dunn's script "Retained", a story about Theodore, a dorky teenage boy whose retainer is stolen by a vicious blue bird.

Good luck on your production! We look forward to seeing it at the St. John's International Women's Film Festival in October!

B-Independent Features Celtx as the best FOSS application of its kind

Hey Hey,
This morning we received the following good news from Allen Richards of
B-independent.com.... Pats on the back for Everybody! :)
(btw, for those who may be wondering, FOSS = Free and Open-Source Software) - S

Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is Allen Richards with film and videomaking website B-Independent.com/. I'm writing to inform you that your software CELTX is featured in a recent series of spotlight articles that explore the world of FOSS applications and their relationship to filmmaking.

http://www.b-independent.com/production/foss1.htm
http://www.b-independent.com/production/foss2.htm

To be mentioned, software had to meet two criteria; it had to be multi-platform and it had to be the best FOSS application of its kind. We would like to thank you for helping in the democratization of cinema with your work which brings an otherwise expensive art-form to the masses.

Since 2000, B-Independent.com has been one of the leading sources of news and information for the world of microcinema moviemaking and currently averages 400,000 unique visitors per month.

Sincerest regards,

Allen Richards
B-Independent.com

Bart Deruyter's Dutch / English animation movie project, 'Het Vuur van Mondul ' - Celtx Project of the Week #28

Applause please for this week's POW winner, Bart Deruyter of Belgium, for his Dutch / English animation movie project, 'Het Vuur van Mondul ' (The Fire of Mondul). Bart has been working solo on this fantasy creation for some time now and hopes that with some help, he will eventually turn it into a 3D animated full length trilogy using only free software.
When contacted, Bart elaborated on his creation and why he sees Celtx as 'the perfect tool'.....

"The project 'Het Vuur van Mondul' is really big. It is actually three movies. Because I do it on my own it grows very slowly, but steadily. I know it is strange to see a Dutch title, and an English script. I write it in English to make it possible for people that want to help in making the movie, to understand what the story is about. The language for the characters, the dialogues will be in Dutch, because I don't think i'll find actors here in Belgium that speak English fluently enough to make it sound real English.....

....In my opinion everybody has the right
to have the means to express their creativity. It should not be
limited to those that can afford the tools. Therefore Celtx was for me
the perfect tool to bundle the practical information, such as the
script, the character descriptions, the scene details and the
storyboard.

At the same time, the project is one big learning process. It is
learning how to write a script, to make the 3D scenes, how to animate,
how to make the right music etc. There are so many aspects involved,
that I would really appreciate all help that I can get. Everybody
interested is welcome to contact me."

If you're interested in collaborating with Bart on this project (with things like i.e translating, work on the dialogues, modeling objects, UV-unwrapping), head to his site and contact him directly. I think he'll be glad to hear from you.

Congratulations Bart, on a great idea and all your hard work. We look forward to watching this project evolve.
Cheers from The C-Team
- Sheila

PS - Please Note: +18

Music video production of 'Não Vou Mais' - Celtx Project of the Week #27

This week's POW goes to Daniel Ozzkeith Grizza of QFilmes for their music video production of 'Não Vou Mais' by the RockBrothers band.

Daniels's Celtx project includes the video, script, and extensive breakdown with media files. It gives you a sense of just 'some' of the detailed work and organization required to successfully produce the finished piece.

Based in Curitiba/PR, Brasil, QFilmes is comprised of qualified pros who work with the latest in audio-visual technologies in all of their video, cinema, television and web-based productions.

Rock n' Roll, Guys!... and Congratulations from the C-Team!
- S

Fantastic Fest - Austin TX - September 20-27, 2007

Ok so, when was the last time you went to a film fest, (or any film for that matter) and had your food and drink actually served to your seat so you could enjoy the entire movie experience without interruption? Well if you're like me, that would be NEVER, ... and if you're like me... want to experience that experience?

Then head to the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (named 'best cinema in America' by Entertainment Weekly) in the capital city of The Lone Star State from Sept. 20-27 and take in Fantastic Fest 2007.

In it's 3rd year this fun and party-spackled, week-long fest showcases over 60 premiere genre features and 30 shorts including the best in new sci-fi, fantasy, horror, animation, crime, Asian and all kinds of 'bad-ass' cinema. Go here to check out the this year's confirmed list of shorts and features, and if you're still yearn'n for more details, visit the FantasticFest web site.

Sounds like a big Texan blast if you ask me :) - S

Howard & Jason Wen's "Cherie" - Celtx Project of the Week

This week our Team is really excited to bestow the Celtx POW upon the very accomplished and creative team of brothers, Howard and Jason Wen. Together they created the award-winning, "Cherie", a short film about "...a struggling painter who's life takes an unusual turn when she accepts 'Oliver', a talking frog, as her muse."

Clearly the writer in the family, Howard works as a technology reporter for high profile publications by day, like Wired, salon.com, Make and O'Reilly, and on the side, cleverly adapts his skills to the screen, as he did with Cherie's feature film screenplay version of the film short, which was directed by Jason.

Apart from directing, Jason Wen is also a pro computer animator with an impressive list of credits to his name including, lead visual effects animator on "Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit", effects animator on "Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban" and the upcoming "Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix."

In a recent email Howard Wen graciously took the time to provide us with some random and insighful facts about "Cherie" (both the screenplay and film short upon which it is based), which I share with you below.

And as for winning the Celtx POW, Howard says,

"... This is very much an honor, for me especially since Celtx is the only screenwriting app I use and have ever liked."

Well now!.. how do ya like that? On behalf of the Celtx Team, I'd like to say it's exciting to have pros like the Wen Bros on board.

Cheers to Howard and Jason, and congratulations on getting POW'd! - Sheila

Howard Wen's Random Facts About "Cherie":
* -- It was written with the intent for Jason to direct (possibly), and thus reflects/implies his visual style as seen throughout his independent film short work and professional film work.

* -- Despite the screenplay having placed as a finalist/semifinalist in three competitions in Los Angeles, it's been tough going in pitching the feature film to production companies. One bluntly said it was "too weird." :-)

* -- To that end, it seems people either really like the screenplay -- or absolutely despise it. There has been no middle ground. (The same tends to be true for the film short.)

* -- We've described to production companies that the audience for Cherie would probably be those who enjoyed Donnie Darko, Pan's Labyrinth, Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, or The Fountain. Consequently, these kinds of movies are hard sells, not mainstream blockbusters, so that turns off most production companies and studios. :-)

* -- Besides the above films, the inspiration for Cherie is varied: Alice in Wonderland, Polyanna, Amelie, Anne of Green Gables, various Japanese animation (anime) shows and movies, the works of Philip K. Dick and HP Lovecraft, and "red carpet" movie productions like Moulin Rouge.

* -- Cherie (the screenplay) was originally written with OpenOffice (as "raw text" that was not formatted in screenplay format) and then formatted on Celtx. All following drafts and revisions have been done on Celtx.

* -- People can download for free the entire film short from CherieMovie.com (or in various formats from Celtx Project Central.)

4th Annual Screenwriter's Challenge - Presented by nycmidnight.com

Hey People... Listen up!

If you just finished Script Frenzy and are screaming for more, Charlie and the gang over at nycmidnight.com are inviting you to participate in their 4th Annual Screenwriter's Challenge.

Open to anyone, anywhere.... Writers from around the world compete to see who can produce the best short screenplay (15 pages max.) on an assigned genre and subject in one week. Winners are chosen from this First Round to advance to the Second Round and compete for over $13,000 in cash and prizes by writing a short script in just 24 hours.

Entry Fee is $45 (US) and the Final Entry Deadline is July 11, 2007.

That means ONLY 7 DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER!!!! Space is limited too, so hurry, hurry.
And... There's a *SPECIAL DISCOUNT for CELTX USERS TOO!!

To Register and find out MORE on how it all works, please go here .

Thanks Charlie!! - S

Mark Your Calendar!
Final Entry Deadline
July 11, 2007

1st Round (1 Week)
July 13 - 21, 2007

2nd Round (24 Hours)
September 22, 2007

Overall Winners Announced
October 3, 2007

*Special Discount for celtx users – Use discount code CHALLENGE4 for $5 off the entry fee.