The Celtx Blog

Script Frenzy 2009!... Get Wrready to Wrrrite!

Rev up those laptops, desktops and mellontops people, 'cause it's soon time to write, scrawl, scribble and scribe your way to 100 pages in 30 days for the ever popular, international writing event of the year...  Script Frenzy 2009!! 

As always, Script Frenzy is presented by the same fine crowd who also bring you NaNoWriMo. Despite cleverly coining themselves ' The Worst Scriptwriting Contest Ever ', SF continues to be a huge success, attracting thousands of new and repeat participants of all ages and abilities since its inaugural debut in 2007. And as before, the mission for SF09 challenges all participants to write 100 pages of pretty much anything during the 30 days of April. Writers can chose any type of scripted format, be it screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, comic book scripts, adaptations of novels, or whatever you please.

Younger scribes are encouraged as well to put their keyboards to the test in the Script Frenzy Young Writers Program geared toward elementary, middle and high school students. 

T'is all very simple really, as no fees are required and the award is the incredible sense of pride and satisfaction that ensues once you've accomplished that 100 page goal. Those who do make the mark will receive a special winner's certificate and web icon, to boot.

To tweak your interest further, here are the Script Frenzy 5 Basic Rules and FAQs, but please note that throughout this 'frenzied' journey, it is of paramount importance,.... to observe Rule #5!!

So with only 13 days left before the stop watches start, ...Well, what are you waiting for? Sign up for Script Frenzy09 now and challenge thyself!

Oh, and by the by.... Last year, Script Frenzy's total collective word count was 1,643,343,993, with a HUUUGE amount written with Celtx!!  So if you're new to this frenzied Frenzy and looking for a free and easy-to-use tool to help write that pending masterpiece, Download Celtx now,and see for yourself just how easy it can be :)

GOOD LUCK to ALL!... and HAVE FUN!!!

Sheila

                        

Celtx Studios Update

Hi Gang,

Just wanted to let you know we've rolled out a Celtx Studios update. This update adds a few minor features and fixes a bug too.

Under the minor features department we've added window resizing, and
fixed up the drag 'n drop behavior of the Studio windows. Drag 'n Drop should be a little more responsive now.

In the Dashboard we've added a Preview column which will provide a direct link to a project preview if there is one available.

The bug we fixed was related to the Project item Share feature. The Share list wasn't showing project members that were added to a project. This bug is now fixed and project members should now be listed.

Cheers,

Steve Pick
celtx.com

Lee Stranahan Interviews Director Kevin Smith On Selling Out And Salty Language

Celtx buddy, Lee Stranahan is a writer, photographer, and independent filmmaker living in Burbank, CA. He writes for The Huffington Post and contributes regularly  at BobCesa.com.

Lee''s latest foray took him to the home of Writer /Director Kevin Smith for a Huffington Post exclusive and candid interview about his upcoming film "A Couple Of Cops", featuring  stars, Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.
So enjoy the article...View the vid.... and,... be sure to subscribe to Lee's wicked YouTube channel!!

Director Kevin Smith On Selling Out And Salty Language by Lee Stranahan

Interview Part 1:

(Note - This interview contains coarse language. Viewer discretion advised.)

The Story Department guest article, 'From One to Many' - by Celtx CEO, Mark Kennedy

Fresh from the release of Celtx v2.0, our boss Mark Kennedy, was invited to contribute a guest post to a series in screenwriting software initiated by Karel Segers of The Story Department. Read on to hear Mark's thoughts on where Celtx has been, and where it is going...

'From One to Many'
by Mark Kennedy
CEO Celtx

Celtx v.2.0 Released! .... Introducing New Celtx Studios!

Hey Everybody!!!

Our first release for 2009, Celtx v.2.0 is finally here and available for Download from Celtx.com

V.2.0 reflects a leaner and meaner desktop client, PLUS new web services. For all the goods, check out the Release Notes below, give it a kick and post your feedback to the Forums or email us directly at info at celtx dot com. 

We hope you like, and sincerely 'Thank You' all for your support, and your patience.

TallyHo!

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

RELEASE NOTES:

NEW FEATURES

CELTX STUDIOS
We are pleased to introduce Celtx Studios, a set of web services designed to work with the Celtx software. Your Celtx Studio provides:

Web Based Storage and Access to Your Media Projects
Media Projects created in Celtx can be saved straight to your Celtx Studio. You can also open your Media Project from your Celtx Studio, and work straight from your Studio, or save the project locally.

Collaboration
Sharing Projects with other users of the Celtx Studios is a click away.

Archives
Your Celtx Studio provides granular access to every script, and every file, and every form, in every version, of every project. You can do side-by-side comparisons of different versions, and open any version in your Celtx software to revert to any previous state.

Previews
Create a private, web view of your project for collaborators, producers, financers or anyone else with whom you want to share the project.

The Celtx Studios are FREE as we run a short commercial beta. After the beta period is over (March 24/09), the Celtx Studios will be offered at a $50 PER YEAR subscription.

CELTX CLIENT CHANGES:

Toolbox
Extensions/Add-Ons
We have enabled extensions in the Celtx software. A 'Toolbox' icon in the main toolbar accesses a new Toolbox page on our main web site, where Add-Ons can be downloaded to customize the Celtx software.

Non-English dictionaries are available for those writing and working in several languages.

We have also added a Developers page to the Toolbox site on Celtx.com. We welcome any developers who would like to add their own Add-Ons. At the moment, we can only accept Free Add-Ons, but we'll soon be introducing a Pay service as well.

Notifier Ribbon
We have added a notifier ribbon to the bottom of the application window. This is to ensure that people opening Celtx directly from a Celtx file continue to receive the Splash Page Notices. No screen size is lost in the editor function when the Notifier Ribbon is closed, which it is by default. The Notifier Ribbon will display the latest Community News and Project of the Week. It will also provide Notice of any new Releases of the Celtx Software.

Interactive Notice Tool
We have also added a small interactive notice to the Celtx Toolbar. The individual notices are delivered by the Celtx Server, allowing us to tailor the Notice to specific issues as the need arises. The default Notice will provide a direct link to a dedicated Help page.

Direct Saves to Studio
A new option, added to 'File' in the main menu, enables a direct 'Save to Studio'. This replaces the cumbersome 'Upload' process that was accessed from the Web Services. Selecting 'Save to Studio' will save the Project straight to your Celtx Studio.

Direct Open From Studio
An 'Open from Studio' option has been added to the 'File' menu. Selecting 'Open from Studio' will bring you to your Celtx Studio. After opening your Projects folder in your Celtx Studio, you can select 'Edit' from the Studio Project toolbar to open a Project directly in your Celtx Software. Subsequent Saves of the Project will get Saved straight to the Studio.

Save Status Bar
We added a new "Save Status" dialog. Located in the very bottom of the application window, this status bar will confirm saves, providing a date and time stamp as well as confirmation on whether the Save was made to your own computer (local) or to your Celtx Studio.

Note to MAC Users / MAC Panther (10.3) Users
Celtx Version 2.0 will NOT work on Mac OS X 10.3.x (or earlier Mac systems) This new version of Celtx (v.2.0) is not compatible with the MAC OS X 10.3.0 operating system. On moving Celtx to the new Firefox 3.0 code base, we are no longer able to support 10.3 (or earlier) versions of the MAC operating system.

PROJECT CENTRAL
Uploading Projects to Project Central has been simplified by introducing a new direct Upload feature on the Project Central homepage.

GENERAL
Celtx Client Upgrades

Moved to Firefox 3.*
We upgraded the underlying code of the Celtx Software to the newest version of Firefox (v. 3.*). A big thanks to the awesome community of Firefox developers and to the Mozilla organization for producing such a fantastic open source product.

Implemented TraceMonkey
Upgrading Celtx to the Firefox 3 code has enabled us to use the new TraceMonkey Javascript engine, resulting in much faster loads times, and better behaviour for all features.

Moved to new Sunbird 0.8 code
We have also upgraded the Celtx Calendar and Production Schedule modules to the new version of the open source Sunbird calendar application, resulting in an improved user interface for both, and greater stability. A big thanks too to the Sunbird developer team.

IMPROVEMENTS & BUG FIXES

RDF

1. Celtx files not opening - corrupted RDF files. This new version includes an automatic RDF fixer. Illegal characters in the project RDF file, which were usually added from cut and paste actions, and would sometimes prevent a project from opening properly, are now fixed automatically.

Adapt To

2. The 'Adapt To' feature now copies any Index Cards over to the new script.

Add Item

3. The Add Item Dialog for Characters and Scene Details will no longer display a folder option for their placement in the project library.

4. The Add Item Dialog will no longer appear truncated when adding a file with a long name.

Calendar

5. Tasks can now be selected and/or deleted directly from the task list.

6. The Calendar interface has been improved for easier use.

7. The "Invite Attendees" option has been removed from the Calendar toolbar, as it was not a supported feature in the application.

Catalogs

8. Double-clicking on a column heading no longer opens the currently selected Catalog item.

9. Sorting a Catalog list will now preserve the currently selected item.

10. You can now sort a Catalog by any field, not just the name field.

11. The Catalog filters (columns) are now re-sizeable.

12. In a Character Form, the 'role selector' now defaults to blank instead of 'protagonist'.

13. Wardrobe Forms now correctly display 'Scenes Used In'.

14. Media is now correctly removed from Catalog forms.

Comic Book Template

15. Minor formatting fix made so a new page begins with a Panel element. The Panel prefix does not appear at the end of the previous page. It now appears on the new page instead.

Editors

16. Improved adding of a character element to the Catalog via the script. Changing a non-character element to a character element will now add the new character to the Catalog.

17. Improved dragging of two or more paragraphs (e.g., character and following dialogue) around in a script. The dragged text will no longer disappear.

18. Changes to the zoom level are now saved. If you change the zoom level then save, close and re-open the script, the zoom level change made previously is preserved.

19. Changes to paper size are now saved and immediately affect the document when pagination is enabled.

Index Cards

20. Increased the number of scene words displayed on a card's script side.

21. Improved ability of index cards to preserve scene information. Changing a scene heading to another format and back again resulted in the index card information being lost. We now preserve scene id info so that the index card information can be restored by undo.

22. Index Cards - Text pasted in to an Index Card is now saved.

23. Plot colour changes are now saved on closing the project.

Project Library

24. You can now add items to a Manual Catalog (e.g. a prop icon) by dragging and dropping any shortcut from the Project Library to the Manual Catalog.

25. We have improved the behaviour when dragging and dropping library items from one Project to another.

Preferences (Shot Words)

26. Shot words added in preferences now appear in uppercase in the storyboard shot dropdown menu. Please note that you must close and re-open the storyboard after adding the shot words in order for them to appear in the dropdown.

Print Preview

27. On closing Print Preview, the script editor will restore the previous cursor position.

Scheduling

28. Reports - The Shooting schedule will now properly display scenes that are scheduled to start before midnight and finish after midnight.

Sidebar

29. The first click on a highlighted item in a new scene immediately selects the item in the sidebar.

30. The sidebar now remembers its closed/opened state.

31. Breakdown items in the Sidebar drop down are automatically sorted alphabetically.

32. You can now cursor up or down inside of a sidebar note.

33. After modifying a note in the script the user will be requested to save changes to script.

Splash Page

34. Deleted projects will no longer reappear in the Recent Projects List.

35. Double clicking a recent project (Windows) will no longer open the project twice.

Tab Limits

36. The limit of 15 open tabs is no longer exceeded when creating new documents via Adapt To.

Typeset

37. Changing the paper format in TypeSet (A4 versus American) now changes the paper format in the editor at the same time.

Windows Vista

38. Vista - enabled support for Vista Aero theme Fixed.

Celtx Against Malaria Students Challenge - 'Special Recognition' goes to....

Celtx, in partnership with the Against Malaria Foundation is delighted to announce and give Special Recognition to the top 3 media creators who submitted entries to the Celtx Against Malaria Students Challenge.

The quality of entries from around the world was impressive, and we’d like to thank everyone who took the time to submit their work in an effort to inspire others to donate and help raise awareness on the impact bed nets have in the fight against malaria. To date, the collective effort of individual donors and Challenge participants has helped Celtx /Against Malaria raise $1,482.11 (US), 100% of which has helped protect over 1.5 million people with long lasting insecticidal mosquito nets!!!

So without further delay, the creators of the following three projects receive special recognition for effectively delivering the CAM message in a creative, simple and clear manner:

  1. 'John and Mary' by Steve Macfarlane, Brooklyn, NY, USA
  2. 'Against Malaria' by Chris Clute, North Hollywood, CA, USA
  3. 'Give us Hope' by Angela Garcia, Alexandria, VA, USA

Steve, Chris and Angela will each receive the honor of determining the countries of distribution for 5,000 malaria bednets. Celtx swag packs are also on their way to everyone who submitted a project for the challenge.

The Celtx Team extends very special thanks to Rob Mather and his exceptional team at Against Malaria Foundation for being a terrific partner in this initiative, and to filmmaker /photographer, Zack Wilson and his creative crew for use of resource images and for their heartfelt enthusiasm and generosity in the making of the CAMSC promotional video. It's been a great pleasure working with all of you.

Celtx /Against Malaria will run this Challenge again in the Fall/09 so that should give you plenty of time to pull a team together and brainstorm a winning entry!  In the meantime we continue to accept donations over at the  [url=http://www.againstmalaria.com/Celtx.aspx]Celtx Against Malaria website[/url].... so please, ... keep spreading the word.

Thanks Everybody.

Sheila and the C-Team

Celtx Against Malaria Students Challenge- Submission Deadline Now Closed

Howdy Folks!

The entry deadline from the Celtx Against Malaria Students Challenge is officially closed (as of Dec.31, 2008 12:00 midnight PST). We're really pleased with the level of creativity and quality of the projects submitted from around the world, and sincerely thank all entrants for their effort and participation. Be sure to check out the entries here.

Over the next 2 weeks representatives from Against Malaria will review and select 3 of these projects whose creators will receive the honor of determining the countries of distribution for 5,000 malaria bednets. The winners will be announced on January 15, and the creators of all submissions will receive a Celtx swag pack (jacket and USB stick).

We would also like to extend many, many thanks to those of you who donated cash to the cause. To date, the Celtx Community has raised $ 1,444.29 (US) which has helped protect over 1.5 million people with long lasting insecticidal mosquito nets!!!

It's important to note that while this media challenge has come to an end for this year, the wrath of malaria unfortunately, has not. We strongly encourage everyone to continue in your efforts to help spread the word and inspire others to make a donation on the Celtx Against Malaria website.

Good Luck to the CAMSC participants!

and

Happy New Year to All!

Sheila and the C-Team

What's all the Buzz? Check out our new 'Celtx in the News' page!!

Attention Shoppers!

As many of you may be aware Celtx receives lots of quality attention in the news, both in print and on the Internets. So that we can easily share ALL the good vibes with you, we set up a new space at celtx.com called, (yep, you guessed it!) 'Celtx in the News'! The page is still a bit of a work in progress, but if you get the urge, feel free to grab the link and spread those vibes around
Link: http://www.celtx.com/reviews.html

Below is a sampling of just some of the articles that surfaced in 2008.

T'is all good, people!!

Enjoy!
- Sheila

 

	Nov 08	Celtx - a MUST HAVE resource for Writing in ANY Medium
	Nov 08	XULRunner Hall of Fame
	Aug 08	Celtx is the reshaping of the creative software culture (PDF)
	Aug 08	Complete Guide to Making Movies 2009 (PDF)
	July 08	The 30 Best Mac Apps You've Never Heard Of
	June 08	Need A Script?
	June 08	Creative Collaboration - The Open Source Filmmaking Experiment
Digital Media Net	June 08	Software as Service: Celtx pre-production system
Mike Jones Digital Basin	June 08	Reshaping of Creative Software Culture - Celtx 1.0
PixelHeads Network	June 08	How To Use Celtx To Write Your Next Famous Screenplay
CNET Download Blog	June 08	Celtx preproduction app gets scripts together
Machinima for Dummies	June 08	Celtx 1.0
Suite101.com	May 08	The Celtx Phenomenon
TV-Bay	Mar 08	Celtx Integrated Media Pre Production
Filmmaker.com	Jan 08	Interview with Mark Kennedy

Download Celtx!

Celtx Receives MicroFilmmaker Magazine's 'Award of Superiority'

Hey Guys!

Good news!!!! ....
Kari Ann Morgan of MicroFilmmaker Magazine recently wrote a great product review of Celtx and gave it a rating of 9.6 /10!!!

On behalf of the Celtx Team and our loyal community of users, we humbly Thank You!

Check out the review here.  - Sheila

Introducing zzizzl.com... and a Special Celtx Offer!!

Hey Gang!
Check out this offer from our new friends at zzizzl.com

zzizzl is a new video download store for indie creators, started by Dennis Morrison a filmmaker who, like many other creative people, had difficulty getting his work seen by a wider audience and get paid!! 
 
zzizzl showcases talented filmmakers, independent bands and other media creators to a worldwide audience - easy online submission coming soon! The difference is when you buy a zzizzl film or video we share the profits 50/50 with the rights holder - that's where creativity meets commerce!
 
For less than the price of a latte you can download fresh films or videos, transfer to your phone or mediaplayer and watch anytime anywhere - portable cinema in your pocket!

So head to zzizzl,com and give it a whirl, and be sure to follow the banner instructions below to get your Celtx discount (OFFER ENDS NOV.27/08)!!

 

And here's an update from Dennis regarding new additions to the site since zizzl's launch only 10 weeks ago....

Hi Sheila,

zzizzl has been going for 10 weeks. The feedback has been fantastic even with a few hiccups along the way. The signup process could have been easier for some people and we had a few film download issues. Our team have been actively working on fixing the bugs and we've received some great suggestions that have been implemented into the site.

Some of our new additions include: a quicker and easier joining process; a simplified credit system so now films cost 2 credits and there's a free download so people can taste the zzizzl experience.

zzizzl was set up for independent creators to have an avenue to get their work out to the public, with the ability to earn some money and for the public to be able to find and watch indie short films and videos anytime, anywhere.

So far everything you see has been completely self financed - we're not some large company with big backers behind us, we're a small team who passionately believe in everything we do and want to offer you more variety and choice that fits in with your lifestyle.

We're currently in discussions regarding additional financing for completion of Phase 1 and to start Phase 2, but this takes time. The problem is we don't have time especially in the current economic climate.

We need to show our potential investors that a sizable market for indie short films and videos exists. That's why we're turning to you and your friends to help us. We just need 5000 people to show their support for zzizzl by buying 10 or 20 credits each by Monday 24th November. That's just £5.99 or £9.99 ($9.99 or $15.99) each but we need it by next week.

If you all supported us by doing the following, we will raise enough to finance the final stage of Phase1.

So how can you help?

If you buy and get at least 10 of your friends to buy credits in the next week and get them to invite at least 2 of their friends to join and buy credits, we can do this.

Here's how:

Join us at http://zzizzl.com - it's free to sign up.

Email your friends from your personal email address and tell them to expect an email from you through zzizzl. You tell them to join and buy credits straight away. Remember credits are valid for 12 months so you don't need to spend it on films right now.

Once you have done this, log into the site, buy some credits yourself and go to your "spread the word" page in my zzizzl. Then do the following:

1) send invites to your friends by adding their email addresses. Each person is sent bcc so all email addresses are hidden
2) Each email sent includes your personal invite code
3) They paste your invite code when they join zzizzl
4) Their email address appears in your spread the word page
5) When they buy credits on their first purchase you receive a 1 credit gift
6) 2 of your friends join you have enough credits for a free film
7) You get your friends to do exactly the same thing and invite their friends

By inviting 10 of your friends you can receive 10 credits - enough for 5 film downloads.

If you really believe that content creators deserve to be paid for their work and this new form of distribution is a great way to do it, giving you access to some great indie content, you have to act now.

Help us to prove that indie creators make films and videos that people outside the industry want to watch and are prepared to pay for. Each film or video is cheaper than a latte!! The success of zzizzl could help change the status quo and also provide you with access to a growing catalogue of high quality indie films and videos.

Help us and be part of something amazing.

Thanks
Dennis
zzizzl team

http://www.zzizzl.com

Join us on facebook at http://facebook.com/zzizzl  and http://groups.to/zzizzl