The Celtx Blog

Celtx Users Against Malaria

Did you know ...

... that up to 3 million people die each year from Malaria?

... that 70% are children under 5?

... and that the single most effective means of prevention is a $5 mosquito bednet?

Well unfortunately it's all very true and the Celtx Development Team felt compelled to help do something about it. So,... we teamed up with the fine crowd who operate Against Malaria, a UK relief agency that was started by one man and his friends in 2004. Through word-of mouth and little publicity this initiative has since grown to become the world’s largest malaria advocacy group whose current goal is to empower 3 million people to take responsibility for eradicating malaria.

We'd like to show the world that the Celtx Community's creativity is matched only by its generosity and are therefore challenging Celtx users across the planet to get involved in the fight against malaria by creating media that will inspire others to donate, and by making a small but meaningful $5 personal donation to buy a malaria bednet.

And, to give you some more incentive, the creator of one selected project will be able to determine, liaising with Against Malaria, the country of distribution of 5,000 malaria bed nets, plus a $1000.(CDN) honorarium for project production from Celtx..

To get things started, each member of the Celtx Development Team has already made a personal $5 donation. So, come on Gang! We know you have it in you so please, check out the details and FAQs below, then jump in,... create,... and donate!! If you have any questions just email us at partners@celtx.com.

TO MAKE YOUR DONATION TODAY, PLEASE GO HERE.

CELTX USERS AGAINST MALARIA - How Does It Work?

• We want people to create media that will bring attention to malaria bednets and inspire others to visit againstmalaria.com to make a donation.
• Starting 05 August through to 30 September, 2008 use Celtx to write any type of media that you think will make a difference.  It can be an idea for a short video, an ad, a comic book, a stageplay, a podcast, a feature film, a video game, a music video, machinima - anything that you think will draw attention to malaria bednets.
• You can submit as many projects as you like, and there are no restrictions on length or size.
• Projects may be submitted in any language Celtx supports, with the provision that you must include an English summary that explains your concept. Summaries can be created in the Text Editor.
• Once you're ready, tag your project as 'againstmalaria' and publish your pre-production files and any produced materials (as a work in process or completed project) to the dedicated Against Malaria page on Celtx Project Central for all the world to see.
• On 01 October, Against Malaria will select 1 project and it's creator to receive the honor of determining the country of distribution of 5,000 malaria bed nets and a $1,000.(CDN) honorarium from Celtx for project production.
• 10 projects will also be selected at random for a Celtx swag pack (Jacket & 1GB USB).
• Plus, one or more of the projects posted on the Against Malaria page may be linked to and promoted on the Against Malaria site.

MAKING A DONATION:

We're asking as many Celtx users as we can to buy 1 bednet each - a small $5 contribution to help save a life.  We've set up a dedicated Celtx donations page on Against Malaria in hope that thousands of Celtx users will get involved and do us all proud.  And remember, for each $100 raised, 20 nets will end up over heads and beds and save 1 child's life. 

To contribute visit: www.againstmalaria/CeltxNets

GENERAL FAQs

1. What Are We Doing?
We're calling on Celtx Media Creators around the world to get involved in the fight against malaria.

2. Why?
Because between 1 and 3 million people die each year from Malaria.  Because 70% of those who will die are children under 5.  And because the single most effective means of prevention is a mosquito bednet.

3. What Do We Want You To Do?
a) Create media that will bring attention to malaria bednets and promote others to visit againstmalaria.com to make a contribution.
b) Make a personal $5 donation to Against Malaria to buy a malaria bednet, and help save a life.

4. What's Your Incentive?
Feeling good for doing good, knowing that your actions will help save another's life.

5. What Type Of Media Do We Want You To Create?
Any type imaginable - videos, short movies, feature films, comic books, machinima, stageplays, music videos, podcasts - whatever you think will bring attention to malaria bednets and inspire others to make a donation.  It can be of any length and you can create it in any language that you choose.

6. Submission Requirements
You can submit as many projects as you like, any length, and in any language that Celtx supports with the provision that you must include an English summary that explains your concept. Summaries can be created in the Text Editor.

7. What Happens To Your Media?
We're asking you to post it to the Celtx Project Central website for others to see.  We hope some of you will be able to produce your ideas and seed them on the web or wherever is appropriate.  One project creator will be selected to receive special recognition and a $1,000.(CDN) production honorarium.  And some media may end up on the Against Malaria site to assist in the promotion of malaria bednets.

8. Why 'Against Malaria'?
Because 100% of the money raised goes to buy insecticidal mosquito nets.  Every penny you donate goes to relief.

9. Where Can You Go To Learn More About Bednets?
- www.againstmalaria.com

10. Where Do You Go To Donate Your $5?
- http://www.againstmalaria.com/CeltxNets

POSTING A PROJECT ON PROJECT CENTRAL

To get a project posted to the dedicated Against Malaria page on Project Central requires 5 minutes and a few simple steps:



1.  Use Celtx to write your Against Malaria project.


2.  Click the 'Web Services' button in the top toolbar.

3.  Click 'Upload Project' button to upload your project to the Celtx server.

4.  Click 'Publish-->Configure Publishing'


5.  Select 'Public-everyone can view the project' and tag your project 'againstmalaria'.

6.  Click 'Update'.

Voila!  Your project is published to the dedicated 'Against Malaria' page on Project Central.  Now you can go and explore everything else Celtx and Project Central have to offer!

Celtx Motion Sketches - Episode 6 - The Art of the Producer (more than finding the money)

BadDads, Mike Jones and Greg Dolgopolov have rolled out another stellar episode for the Celtx Motion Sketches online video series. As with each episode, The Art of the Producer is sure to entertain and inform as you enjoy featured interviews with experts in the field, Susan MacKinnon, Executive Producer: '4'. Global Haywire, Eternity and with Film, Tv and   Documentary Producer, Kingston Anderson.

Motion Sketches Episode 6
The Art of the Producer (more than finding the money)

What exactly does a Producer do? Are they just a means to finding the money? Or is the art of the producer something much more intrinsic to the creative development of a cinematic project? This episode of Motion Sketches explores the role of the producer in both creative and practical terms and delves into the nuts and bolts of production in the quickly evolving landscape of digital cinema.

ABOUT MOTION SKETCHES

Built around Celtx media pre-production software, Motion Sketches is an online video series that explores contemporary approaches to media production development. From the big screen to the mobile screen, from live-action to the virtual camera - Motion Sketches presents a range of highly practical perspectives on developing a media project from concept to production - screenplay, design, story, development and delivery.

Previous episodes include:

Episode 1 - So This is Cinema?
Episode 2 - There's No Such Thing as Good Writing
Episode 3 - Writing for Sound
Episode 4 - Writing for Actors - Part I
Episode 5 - Writing for Actors - Part II

Go here to view all.

Or go here to view Motion Sketches on your iPhone!!!

Enjoy!

Sheila

Endas International Screenwriter Expo 2008 - Genoa, Italy

For those of you who have been looking for an excuse to get to Italy, here you go...

Announcing the 2008 Endas International Screenwriter Expo, produced by ENDAS, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering European sports and culture. Highlights of this Expo include:

1. ENDAS International Screenplay Competition

Entries will be accepted from February 1, 2008 through July 31, 2008.
Winners will be announced on the Endas website on Oct.15, followed by an Awards ceremony in Genoa (Italy) on November 9, 2008.
For prize and other details please go here.

2. Five-day Syd Field Writers Workshop - November 10-15, 2008 (English)

Internationally acclaimed Syd Field will be leading a five-day tour of screenwriting techniques, updating conventional storytelling conventions with a focus on new contemporary tools of the craft. This course will help writers create, prepare, write, rewrite and approach their screenplay with more control and creativity.

To see workshop schedule details, please go here.
To register go here.

3. Endas Italian Screenwriting Workshops
Fiction TV - June 14-15, 2008
How to write a good character - June 21-22, 2008

For more information on any of these events please contact:
ENDAS Direzione Regionale Liguria
Via Ricci, 3/6
16122 - Genova
Tel. 010-5958576
info@endasexpo.org

Jordan Faris's 'The Haarken Elect' wins the Celtx POW!

Banished from Their World. Exiled to Earth. Reborn As Champions.

EXT.: NIGHT ON A DISTANT WORLD---MOONLESS, COLD. VAST RANGES OF SLOPING DUNES, DIMLY LIT BY CRISS-CROSSING STREAMS OF LIGHT FROM LOW-FLYING PATROL VESSELS.

THIS IS HAARKEN.

Beautifully written and illustrated by Jordan Faris, this week's POW 'The Haarken Elect' was originally prepared in screenplay format and currently serves as "a working schematic for a comic book, graphic novel or young adult science fantasy screenplay."

The first chapter,The Fate of the Excludants, is dynamic, exciting and a pleasure to read, as Faris's mastery of the English language combined with astute attention to detail engages the reader right away. As a 'Grafictioneer', Jordan's other artistic talents are apparent when viewing his illustrations and detailed descriptions of the story's characters as they immediately aid the viewer in establishing a distinct personality for each one. (I, myself am especially partial to Whither and Venable.)

Jordan says he plans to restructure the work in Celtx's new comic format soon, and will use that as a blueprint for comic book work that he hopes to show at the San Diego Comic Con this July.

To find out more about the talented Jordan Faris, and what inspires him and ideas like 'THe Haarken Elect', please read on....

"My background isn't rooted to one place: I was born in Manhattan, raised in Michigan, we moved to Mexico (Michoacán and Tijuana) then pulled a U-turn and ended up in Southern California.  My mom was an art teacher---there was always literature, art and music as a constant in our home. I am an illustrator and writer, a grafictioneer. I have served as playwright-in-residence for Mascara Magica, a groundbreaking multicultural theater project in Southern California.  My poetry has has been published in Slipstream, The Wormwood Review, Xib, Puck, The Quarterly and others. I am currently developing projects in the graphic fiction genres. In my wayward youth, I was singer/lyricist in four original music bands during the better part of a decade.
 
The Haarken Elect is my attempt to recreate the sense of involvement I felt when I was first discovering comics.  My main goal is to try to create a world that is engaging, yet not so convoluted or dark that it shuts out the younger audience demographic.  I'm trying to construct a universe where questions of moral relativism, ends justifying means and other conflicts of conscience can be addressed without the editorial politics of extremism.  Mostly, I want to create an adventure you can enjoy as just a good story, or as a parable of our time, take your pick. This first draft has been fun...now to put it down graphically on paper, or pixels...the next step is to commit to it visually, tighten up the action, streamline the dialogue.
 
Celtx, in many ways, prompted The Haarken Elect's current form. How?  Originally, I had a decent rough draft, some model sheets for the characters and a few stray background ideas. When I was looking at possible screenwriting software (Final Draft, of course, Movie Magic and Mindstar's Cinergy were tools I'd heard of), I googled the phrase open source scriptwriting software; Celtx was the first result that came back. After downloading (preparing to be disappointed, a veteran of open source alpha-stage burn) I was struck by the ease of navigation and its uniquely intuitive interface. It felt familiar yet new, like any habit-altering experience should.  I didn't think a whole lot about it...from the first time I saw the splash page with its Project of the Week, I was hooked.  I just started writing (Celtx guided me gently with its Tab: Parenthetical, Enter: Character prompts) and when I'd get stuck, I'd play with the format tools, and that simple exercise would make me see things in a new way and get back on track.  For those who argue that no scriptwriting program can impact your creative edge, I can only say: Download Celtx, settle in for the ride; then we'll talk."

You tell 'em, Jordan!
And All the Best at Comic Con.

Sheila and The C-Team

To enjoy more of Jordan's work, check out his web sites at VANDERWOLFF GRAFICTION and WANDERING WOLF.

Pixel Head Networks features Celtx v1.0 as Digital Media Quick Tip #43!

The wonderful Mr. Marcelo Lewin, Founder and CEO of Pixel Head Networks prepared this very thorough and easy to follow podcast / screencast of the new features in Celtx version 1.0. So click on over to DIGITAL MEDIA QUICK TIP #43, and stay tuned for more Celtx feature tips in future PHN episodes :)

Many Thanks, Marcelo!

Love,
The C-Team

About Pixel Heads Network
Pixel Heads Network is dedicated to providing the best shows for digital media creators to entertain you, inform you and teach you in the areas of web, video, digital photography, podcasting, blogging and eMarketing.

Introducing... Celtx version One Dot... Ooooh Yeah!!!

1 Million Downloads - 340 Thousand Messages - 250 Thousand Users - 50 Thousand Forum Posts - 2 Thousand Bugs Squashed - 18 Version Releases - 8 Team Celtx - 4 Years in the Making - 2 Babies Born - One Celtx 1.0

DEDICATION

The Celtx Team dedicates this 1.0 release to our late friend, colleague, and former Celtx Team Member, Michelle Jackson.

RESOURCES
Video Overview
Filmmaker, Professor and uber Celtx user, Mike Jones, has made a short, 6 minute video summarizing the new features in 1.0.

Screencasts
As always, we’ve added new screencasts for the popular Video Feature Tours explaining the new features in 1.0.

DOWNLOAD CELTX v.1.0 HERE

KEY NEW FEATURES
Scheduling Enhancements
Catalogs
Sidebars
Storyboard Enhancements
Adapt To
Scene Navigator Toggle
Comic Book Template
Changes to HTML Forms
iPhone UI for Celtx Scripts

SCHEDULING ENHANCEMENTS
We have made substantial changes to the “just in time” Scheduling module. You can now generate standard Scheduling Reports that will include all the information added during the Breakdown process, like Characters, Actors, Locations and Props.

>Start & End Shoot Date
Select your Start and End Dates for your shoot to create a professional Schedule for your media production.

>Calendar View
You can review and print your Schedule in either a week or month calendar view.

>Shoot Days
A Report can be generated for each Shoot day, detailing all the production requirements added during the breakdown process.

>Call Sheet
Generate an industry standard Call Sheet for each day of your Production.

>Scene Summary
Replacing the awkward strip board, the Scene Summary Report will tell you what Scenes have been Scheduled, Unscheduled or Completed.

CATALOGS
Catalogs are a database view of all the information in your Project. The Catalogs will automatically track and organize all of your Production information. Mark-ups conducted through the Sidebar will get added to the Catalog.

There are three types of Catalogs:
>Master Catalog
The Master Catalog is automatically included in each Project. It will contain all the Production information from every department. The Production Forms can be edited, sorted and searched.

>Sub-Catalogs
You can also add Production Department specific Catalogs, like for Props or Set Design or Wardrobe. These Sub-Catalogs will automatically track any Production item tagged as belonging to that Department.

>Manual Catalog
You can also add a Manual Catalog to your Project. You can then add any Production Item to the Manual Catalog by dragging the Production Item from the Master Cat or Sub-Cat to the Manual Cat.

CREW FORM
Crew Forms can be used to keep track of people working on the Project. The Forms can be tagged to a Scene so that the Crew information is added to the Scheduling Module helping you to keep track of what and who is needed on a particular shooting day.

SIDEBARS
We re-invented the Sidebar, adding three tabs, one each for Notes, Media and Production Items:
>Notes
These should prove handy for the writers, allowing for a much easier process of adding and reviewing Notes. The Notes in the Sidebar will not auto-sync to whatever Scene the cursor is placed in.

>Media
Any Media can be added to your Script – pictures, video or sounds files – using the new Sidebar. Similar to Notes, the Media displaying in the Sidebar will automatically sync to whatever Scene the Cursor is place in.

>Production Items
We simplified the process of breaking down a script by streamlining the Sidebar. Breaking down your script will go much faster, Production Item Tab in the Sidebar allowing for rapid categorization and tagging. Production Items added in the Sidebar will get automatically added to the Master Catalog (any corresponding Sub-Catalog)

STORYBOARD ENHANCEMENTS
There are a slew of new features and improvements made to the Storyboard Module.
Generally, we have tried to better integrate the Storyboard with a Script and provide better navigation and support for Media.

>Thumbnails of Images
Celtx now auto generates thumbnails of any image added to the Storyboard, providing a much better look for reviewing and printing.

>Standard Scrollbar
We got this figured out at last, adding a standard scrollbar to the Storyboard.
          
>Aspect Ratio
The Aspect Ratio of any added image is now maintained in the Storyboard.

>Keyboard Shortcuts
The Storyboard now supports normal cursor behaviour, with the arrow keys, space bar, etc. all behaving normally.

>Shot Type
Every image added to the Storyboard can be given a shot tag (eg. Close Up, Wide, etc.)

>Column Layouts
You can view and print your Storyboard in a 1, 2 or 3 column format.
                        
>Script to Storyboard
The Add Item feature now allows you to select a specific script when adding a Storyboard. The Storyboard will be integrated with that selected script, the Scenes in the Script and Sequences in the Storyboard syncing with each other.

ADAPT TO OPTION
Simple to use, this powerful new feature will allow you to adapt any script in to any other kind of Celtx supported script format. Turn a Screenplay in to a Stageplay, or a Stageplay in to a Comic or an AV project in to a Radioplay all in one click.
Context click a script in the Project Library to access the Adapt To feature and select what kind of Script you want to turn it in to.

SCENE NAVIGATOR TOGGLE - Use Index Card Titles / Scene Headings
Alternative Scene Headings in the Index Cards can now be viewed in the Scene Navigator. This will allow you to more easily identify and tell the difference between two scenes  whose slug line is identical.

COMIC BOOK TEMPLATE
The new Comic Template provides support for all the standard comic elements:
Page, Panel, Caption, Bubble Type, and Bubble

Use the Typeset feature to generate a Panel List Report.

iPHONE INTERFACE
We added a new iPhone optimized interface for accessing your Projects on the Celtx Server. Named ‘My Celtx’ you can use this new iPhone interface to review your scripts remotely.
Access 'My Celtx' at http://pc.celtx.com/mobile
We will be adding additional features to this iPhone interface over the coming months.

CHANGES TO HTML FORMS
>We made a number of changes to the Production Items and Story Development Forms.

>A new Crew Form was added to help keep track of the who when producing your Project
          
>Regular users will also notice that many of the Forms now auto-populate to include a list of the scenes that a person, Character or Production item is used in.

>Character Forms can now be tagged with a specific Actor Form. This will help you organize your Production and the new Scheduling Features will keep track of what Actors are needed on what days based on the role they are playing.

HOUSE KEEPING
Two items worth mentioning here:

One is that we have made many bug fixes to 1.0, the two most important of which are both related to the Save issue some people were experiencing. The second relates to the Celtx interface.

>As to the Save issue, third party sweep and clean applications will no longer interfere with the Celtx save process. We have also solved what is known as the ‘double opening’ problem by getting Celtx to ignore any second attempt to open a Project that is already opened.

>As to the Celtx interface, we’ve made a few changes, mostly subtle. If you’re looking for the Scratchpad feature, it is now accessed through a sub-Tab at the bottom of the editor.

And that’s it!

We really hope you like this milestone release. A HUGE THANKS to everyone for all the support over the years, the feedback, the bug testing, the many kind words and compliments. We quite obviously could not have done it with out you.

Warm Regards,

The Celtx Team
Mark, Chad, Greg, Tony, Steve, Laurie, and Sheila

Estee Williams' "How The Story Goes" wins Celtx Project of the Week!

"Kate, an indie Hollywood screenwriter, refuses the offer of a major studio to write a romantic comedy because she is morally opposed to the genre…until she meets the down-to-earth actor Michael who just may be her very own leading man."

That's the logline to this week's POW, a fun romantic comedy entitled How The Story Goes by writer and project creator Estee Williams.

If you hang around Project Central at all then you're probably familiar with Estee's work already because she frequently reached out to the community seeking feedback and suggestions in an effort to perfect this script. Looks like that effort proved useful as the positive and constructive comments came rolling in. Estee worked on the fixes and the end result was a tight, well written script that was both entertaining and a joy to read, and the added location shots helped the viewer achieve a true sense of the world in which her main characters live.

Estee was pretty tickled when I contacted her about winning the POW. Here are a few things she had to say about herself, her work, Celtx and its community

About Estee Williams
"I was born in SanFrancisco, California, raised in Beaufort, South Carolina and live in Evansville, Indiana. I am a high school math teacher who happens to rank writing as my favorite hobby. I started writing episodic online stories with my best friend as a way to continue a favorite show that got cancelled (okay, let’s just be blunt...we wrote “fanfic”). That website, WhoSaidItsOver is still up and I still plan on adding to it in the future. From that, I started wanting to work on my own original ideas...which is when I began writing screenplays."

The Project
"My role in How the Story Goes is writer. Period. Because I see this as a mainstream American feature (though some have disagreed with me), I am currently in the process of trying to sell it. Anyone buying? Just kidding. Seriously, though, I’ve taken a few film classes and had friends go through film school, but I don’t have the means or talent for producing my work so my goal is to get someone else to make it."

"The idea for this work came from a few different places. I’ve always loved romantic comedies: Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, French Kiss, While You Were Sleeping, She’s All That, Serendipity, One Fine Day, The Holiday...just to name a few. So my tendency when it comes to writing is to go in that general direction, though some would point out that I have a lot of romance and a little bit of comedy, which I would agree with. I also happen to adore Kevin Williamson. I love his witty Dawson’s Creek dialog, but I particularly enjoy the movie Scream. The thing about Scream, though? I didn’t want to see it. I hated “scary movies.” I had this Friday the 13th game for Nintendo where you had to protect campers from a knife-wielding Jason. Hated it. Then , when I was a freshman in high school, a friend dragged me to see Scream. I loved it. The self-reference. The way it blatantly laid out the genre while also existing within the boundaries of that genre. It’s just so darn smart. And it made me love scary movies because I was able to appreciate them with a certain level of sophistication and understanding that I never had before. I even signed up for the class “History of Horror Film” in college. All because of Kevin Williamson and Scream."

"So. I got the idea to fuse the genre I naturally love most (romantic comedy) with the elements of Scream that forced me to love it (self-reference). I started researching romantic comedies to understand some of the key elements because I wanted them to be both referenced and utilized in my screenplay. I don’t know if I fully achieved my goal, but I got feedback from someone once that said he didn’t particularly like romantic comedy, but he liked my screenplay. Talk about full circle, right?"

The Community
"I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my work and give me feedback. I try to take suggestions and use them to improve my work, and I think I’ve been able to do that. Without Celtx, the forum and Project Central, I would be the only person influencing my work...and that just wouldn’t cut it. I wish I was as knowledgeable and helpful and some of the regular posters/reviewers so I could help other new writers the way this community has helped me. Thank you guys so much!"

Celtx
"I had a PC for forever. I had a program that a friend of mine got when she took a screenwriting class that I’d used to write the beginning of the screenplay. When my boyfriend and I switched to Macs, I was left with just a hard copy of my unfinished screenplay and no program to use to write the rest. We searched around on the web for Mac compatible, free writing programs...and Celtx came up. I was happy to have any program, but when I started playing around with all the features, I was shocked to have something of such high quality available for free. I’ve never used other high-end writing programs so I can’t compare, but I love Celtx and have never wanted the program to do something that it couldn’t. Celtx rocks!

Oh, and I retyped my original screenplay into Celtx, which I thought was going to be a horrible and tedious process. It actually allowed me to make some really great edits while learning to use the program. Not so bad after all."

So if there are any interested buyers out there, leave a comment on Estee's PC web page. I'm sure she'll get back to you lickety-split.
Congratulations and Good Luck, Estee!
from
Sheila and The C-Team

New video podcast show, Indie Production Source debuts with Celtx 'Fresh Find'

Over the weekend we received a courtesy email from Charles Stewart Jr. and Kelly Neilon telling us they had just featured Celtx in the Fresh Finds segment of Episode 1 of their brand spank'n new video podcast show, INDIE PRODUCTION SOURCE. How cool is that?! The guys say the show will focus on independent video production in which they plan to showcase filmmaker interviews, product plugs and video technology news.

Debuting with an interview with Writer /Director Bo Buckley, tech review of Celtx and a plug for the independent feature 'Gabriel', I'd say the guys are on to a good thing, so be sure to check it out. They also encourage feedback and topic suggestions for all segments of the show so if you have a great idea or something that needs plug'n, let them them know about it here.

Good luck with IPS fellas, and thanks so much for thinking of us :) - Sheila

Celtx Motion Sketches Episode 5 - Writing for Actors - Part II - Featuring interviews with Miranda Otto & Jeremy Sims

Continuing Episode 4's exploration of character and performance, Episode 5 digs deeper into what actors want and how the writer and director can construct a work of cinema that allows for real three-dimensional characters to emerge.  Featuring Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings, Cashmere Mafia) and Jeremy Sims (Fireflies), episode 5 shows its often what you don't write thats most important.

ABOUT MOTION SKETCHES
Built around Celtx media pre-production software, Motion Sketches is an online video series that explores contemporary approaches to media production development. From the big screen to the mobile screen, from live-action to the virtual camera - Motion Sketches presents a range of highly practical perspectives on developing a media project from concept to production - screenplay, design, story, development and delivery.

Previous episodes include:

Episode 1 - So This is Cinema?
Episode 2 - There's No Such Thing as Good Writing
Episode 3 - Writing for Sound
Episode 4 - Writing for Actors - Part I

Go here to view all.

'Nuns with Guns' Grindhouse Trailer gets POW'd! (Rated X)

"The Alvarez twins are back and expanding their empire. No one is safe.
Meet Sister Sandy Bush full time nun, part time vigilante. She and her sisters keep the streets clean of criminal scum.
The deros and bums of the cross are her first priority but when trouble comes knocking they're...
NUNS WITH GUNS"

Some of you may find this week's POW a tad distasteful, but you know what? It's suppose to be. 'Nuns with Guns' trailer is of the 'grindhouse' genre which includes films that intend to exploit and be gruesome and crude and gross and offensive, but in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. So if that's not your cuppa tea I advise you to ... Turn Back Now!

In the project intro, creator PJ Collins explains that 'Nuns with Guns' is "A 'grindhouse' fake trailer. Planned over a few days, shot over a weekend, edited over three evenings after work. I used Celtx in a very basic way for this as it didn't need huge amounts of planning. Thought people might be interested in the notes I made with the actors to compare with the finished work."

The 'shoot first, plan later' approach was one of the things that attracted us to this project because it illustrates one of the many ways you can tackle the making of a film, especially when on a limited budget. I'm sure there are countless arguments as to what 'the best' approach actually is, but suffice it to say, it doesn't ALWAYS have to start with the script. Some may start with the storyboard, or develop their characters or scenes first, while others like PJ grab the camera and shoot, then build the story around what they've captured. Doing it this way can be alot of fun too, as it leaves more room for your actors to improvise and allows for that wonderful spontaneity factor to creep in and potentially yield results that are far more effective than lines from a script.

And after watching this trailer it certainly appears that PJ and his talented crew from Sydney, AUS did indeed, have some fun along the way. For the who's and how's of what they did, what they do, and what they're planning to do, read on for details from the creator himself:

"I'm PJ Collins, based in Coogee, Sydney, Australia and run Lostsheep Productions. I post my film experiments to www.lostsheep.com. Visual Storytelling is a passion. Coming up with an idea and making it a reality is very satisfying. I make these shorts in my spare time with a budget that usually doesn't exceed $100, including feeding everyone. My title on these productions is generally DirWriEdProd. This bit of fun was inspired by Kino Sydney, to make a film in 4 weeks.

To me, the most important part of filmmaking is enjoying the process and making sure everyone else does too - especially when people are giving up their time for free. Without that you will either stop creating or gain the reputation of an ogre no-one wants to work with. It is usual evident in the final product when people are getting on and working together, whatever the story.

The big plans this year are to make a motorcycle safety film for the Motorcycle Council of NSW, a short film for Tropfest, and complete pre-production on an ultra-low budget feature (50K), with shooting to begin early 2009. We're on course!

Celtx is the writing tool I'm using for all of these. I find Celtx incredibly stable and intuitive. Came across it out of the blue a while ago but didn't try it until it was recommended to me by Mike Jones at the VectorLab/Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. Celtx was used in a very basic way for this project due to a 4 week turnaround from beer garden concept to the finished product you see now. However my next project post will be a properly developed Celtx example. Anyways, enjoy! " - PJ

We sure like your philosophy PJ.... And your 'beer garden concept'!
Thanks for keeping us entertained.

Cheers!
Sheila and The C-Team