The Celtx Blog

'The Celtx Phenomenon' - by Marion Grace Wooley

As a contributing writer to Suite101.com, Celtx user and valued forum member Marion Grace Wooley (aka Thinair), recently published a great article called 'The Celtx Phenomenon- Free Screenwriting Software Taking the Internet by Storm'.

In this article Marion did a wonderful job of injecting real and objective views from fellow Celtx forum members making for a balanced, candid and refreshing perspective on the software.
Thanks so much for spreading the word, Marion.

Vive la Celtx!!

Sheila et al

AFI ScreenNation launches with 'Hometown Claim to Fame' challenge

One of the American Film Institute's latest initiatives is AFI ScreenNation - a new online video posting-and-sharing community where teen filmmakers age 13-18 can share their work, receive recognition and compete for prizes in ongoing challenges. Topics include all kinds of stuff from the power of friendship to global warming. So go ahead... Have some fun and take the challenge!

To get started just REGISTER HERE to become a part of the AFI ScreenNation community, create your masterpiece, and then UPLOAD for a chance to WIN big! For more details check out the vids for the AFI ScreenNation general Call for Entries and their first Challenge below:

SCREENNATION CALL FOR ENTRIES

AFI ScreenNation Challenge #1 - HOMETOWN CLAIM TO FAME

Anytime between now and JUNE 30/08 American filmmakers, ages 13-18 are invited and encouraged to submit a 5-minute documentary short film about their hometown's claim to fame! It could be about one of the town's local legends or about something it's best known for, or.... [your better idea here].

All entries will be reviewed, judged, and prizes awarded by members of the American Film Institute. The winning video entry will be announced July 15/08 with its creator receiving a wicked prize package that includes a Sony DCR-SR45 ~ HDD Handycam Camcorder w/ 30 GB Hard Disk Drive and Tripod!!!

To qualify your video entry must:
- comply with all AFI ScreenNation Submission Agreement GUIDELINES
- include at least three interviews
- be under 5 minutes.

For all the exciting details click Play below, or head on over to AFI ScreenNation.

Walvince's animated movie, Brisé selected as Celtx Project of the Week!

This week's POW is a 42 minute French animated movie entitled Brisé (Broken) created by Walvince of Vert Saint Denis, France. Made with Celtx and 'The Movies' software, this tragic story about Sebastian Gate's shattered life as a result of a violent car accident, is technically fluid and aesthetically beautiful to watch. The combination of lighting effects, medical details, camera angles, foley effects and music do a wonderful job of bringing this original screenplay to life.

I had the opportunity to find out more from Walvince about himself, his project and how he came to use Celtx:

"So I am 22 years old and I live in France near Paris. I work as a webmaster for a little cyber shop. Writing stories is a passion since several years but the envy to do this really seriously is pretty recent."

"I don't really remember what inspired me the idea. I was probably looking for a subject different from the precedent one (it was rather fantastic). Then the idea of an history on a man "broken" came. At the beginning, this story had to be a short story of 4 or 5 pages. I just wrote the synopsis in order to develop it later. And then i discovered a game that is pratically a software that allows you to make your own movies. I think most of people here don't know this game, this is "The Movies", it is not popular but it's the ideal solution for people like me who dream about making a movie. With a little time, we learn a lot of things and a lot of things can be done (placing your camera, customizing your actors, choosing actions in a huge list of scene, ...)! That why I decided to develop this story and make the research I had to do in order to provide something credible. Some students in medecine (on a forum) helped me for that, they were really great."

"I finally managed to make the movie I wanted. I've also search for free musics for a moment on the site Jamendo in order to have something completely free of rights. If I had to estimate the time spend on this project i should say about 6 months but between the begining and the end, more than 1 year has passed."

"If some of you are interested in making movie, I suggest you to search for forums on the game "The Movies", there is a big international community and several forums for each country. Here is the french one with a lot of films."

"Movies are being more and more interesting and I have already suggest them to use Celtx for a better work because it is becoming more and more useful for projects that are more and more complicated."

 "I discovered Celtx in the forum I've just quote. One person had found this software, i downloaded it and never leave it^^ All can be done with it and things are extremly simplified. We can make a real file of a all the elements we use, i really love it. And the fact that we can share an place it on a web page is an excellent idea. If by mistake I could loose my project, I can find it on the web...no fear anymore^^"

TITLE: Broken
GENRE: Drama
DURATION: 42 min
CASTING: Babar, Cinecittà, Frederis.Ettenein, The Cip, Walvince, Sylvie, LeKing56, Melicendre, Alshten, Riggs, Jujuol
MUSIC: All music are free, free to right and from the site Jamendo (http://www.jamendo.com/fr/)
SYNOPSIS: Sebastian Gate is a young man nailed to the bed for the rest of his life. A car accident broke his life, his body. The list of damage he suffered is incredibly long, however, survived.
Beyond the desire to want to know what happened, the young man will make a request rather innatendue: he wants to know the exact cause of each of his injuries, everyone of its troubles, those very people who have broken a life.
TRAILER: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v6430461GZDs6JKg

Tips from DownUnder on Remote Backup of Project Files

Hi Gang!
Thought you might appreciate this blog post published by our buddy Mike Jones for his students over at International Film School, Sydney.

It's all about the importance ... and ease, of doing remote backups of your project files.

Thank You, Mr. Jones!

S

'The Witch of Portobello: Andrea McCain' gets POW'd!

The creation of this week's POW was inspired by a very innovative film contest called The Experimental Witch Film Competition, based on Paulo Coelho's book 'The Witch of Portobello'.

Last year, this world renowned and best selling Brazilian author (The Alchemist, The Pilgrimage, Eleven Minutes, The Zahir, to name a few of his books) thought it would be a great idea to make a full feature movie with his readers.

'The Witch of Portobello' is divided into 15 narrators/perspectives, and thirteen of them directly interact with Athena, the main character. Inspired by the talents of many of his readers who work as actors, musicians and filmmakers, Coelho invited interested parties to submit videos based on the perspective of one of these characters and illustrate all the scenes in which they interact with Athena. Once uploaded to YouTube, winners will be selected, prize money awarded and then submissions will be professionally edited to re-create the book on film.

Answering to the call, California-based visual artist, Director / Producer, Chris Motola and his cast and crew undertook to create their own interpretation of the character, Andrea McCain. Among many assets in the project, we get a view in to the screenplay, scene/ character breakdown, storyboards, and casting process. Also included are a number of helpful filmmaking resources for the new and uninitiated.
Shot on HD in southern California and London in February and March, primary filming has been completed.

Below is Chris's detailed explanation of the genesis of his project:

"I have been a big fan of the author Paulo Coelho for about 15 years, since I read his book "The Alchemist"
I was talking with my friend Kirsty Hawkshaw (who is a wonderful person and singer) in Second Life, and we were talking about Paulo's writings. Kirsty asked me if I had read "The Witch if Portobello" I said no and she replied "Why not! it is wonderful, you should read it!"

"Ironically that same day I received blog on my myspace from Paulo about making a movie based on the book. I am a big fan of serendipity/ synchronicity and as it so happened I was already moving to Los Angeles to pursue a film career so it was very good timing, I read the book and thought "this is what I will devote the next few months to". Now I had a project I could sink my teeth into and learn from and hopefully have something  worthwhile to give back to Paulo."

"So I started to write the script for my section of the film, however my scriptwriting skills were non existent and I wanted to be able to work with other people that were more talented than I in that area, I searched around the internet for scriptwriting/ collaborating software and after trying a few  things that did not satisfy I found Celtix, the moment I installed it I knew it was what i was looking for, from the scriptwriting interface to the ability to share projects, i started working with it right away. Originally I was going to do 2 versions of the movie, one in real life and one in Second Life and Celtix would have helped do both. I plan on using it again for some Machinima projects I have coming up in Second Life."

In his Artist Statement Chris indicates he "...wants to produce a feature film collaborating with others around the world." I'd have to say this was an incredibly interesting way to go about doing that.

The deadline for inscriptions is May 31, 2008 and the results will be known by the 25th of July 2008.
We anxciously await the results, and wish all the very best to Chris and his crew.

Cheers!
Sheila and The C-Team

Bruno Chansou's 'Talma' selected as the Celtx POW

Based on the life of 19th Century French actor and playwright, François Joseph Talma, this story of historical fiction entitled 'Talon' by Bruno Chanson of France is this week's selection for the Celtx POW.

A translation of the tagline indicates,
" 'TALMA, the portrait of an actor at work' - According to Mlle George, an actress of great talent and also one of his partners, Talma was one of the greatest players of all time. At the end of his sixty year life, she remembered him as: The actor at work, tireless creator, leaving beautiful reflections on his art, unfortunately too little known."

Including numerous documents, background information, accompanying video and visual support material (some examples: Francois Joseph Talon, French Theatre, Comédie Française) it's clear that Bruno thought things through and put a great deal of research and effort into this most interesting subject. As a result, it serves as a terrific illustration of the versatility of the Celtx application.

Some research into the life of this project's creator indicates the multi-talented Bruno Chansou shares similar passions as his subject... a writer of plays and feature films, photographer, and an actor who has studied extensively with Jack Waltzer. In 2007 Bruno wrote and produced the short film, The Poupazzous.

Perhaps one day, when history repeats itself we'll discover a project of the week entitled, 'Chansou' ;)

Félicitations et Bonne Chance, Bruno!

Sheila and The C-Team

PS - A handy tip for those of you who may not understand French,... just cut and paste project text into Google Translate, et Voila!

And the Celtx POW goes to....'Watch Over Me' by Ita Udo-Ema!

'Get busy living, 'cause Death is a pain in the ass!' ....
And that's just what the main character, Alison Grant reluctantly attempts to do with some help from her 'guardian angel' Kaz in this entertaining Odd Couple-like comedy entitled ''Watch Over Me'.

Created by the multi-talented Ita Udo-Ema of Arizona-based View From Above Entertainment, 'Watch Over Me' is an episodic series consisting of fifteen 3-minute episodes in which "a sullen atheist must re-examine her place in the world with a disgruntled guardian angel as a house guest."

When I asked what inspired this project, Ita explained,

'Watch Over Me' is our first major push in developing an audience/fan base. The inspiration to do a web series came about when I saw my first Internet series, 'Mr Deity'. With all the videos out there on the web it's surprising that there are not more series. It seems to be a great opportunity to gain recognition and experience; as well as, hone your craft. That's what we hope to do. The main parts have been cast and we hope to shoot the first three episodes, as the "pilot" in early May."

And based on his bio, Ita and his crew have the experience to pull it off...

"Born in Bridgeport, CT , I am the last of three sons. After moving nine times in almost as many years, my family settled in the Valley of the Sun. My initial career path lead me to follow in the footsteps of my father, to Purdue University in West Lafayette IN, studying mechanical engineering. After 3 years, I realized that my future was not to be in engineering. While in Indiana, fate conspired to introduce me to a future influence that would kick start my film-making career. My fascination with movie magic led me back to Arizona and a degree in computer animation. Reuniting with fellow Boilermaker, Purdue Alumnus David M. Quiroz, I was given the opportunity to work on my first two feature projects: 'Night of the Chihuahuas' and 'The Lonely Ones' (see this wicked trailer! - SC). From that point the path was set. In 2006, I received a degree in business and formed the digital media studio,View From Above Entertainment (VFA). VFA is dedicated to featuring new independent films and video project as well a developing our own original content.  Most of all we want to make the most of the opportunities and innovations, like Celtx, that are available to this new generation of digital content creators."

Curious to know how he discovered Celtx, Ita told me it was quite by accident...

"I was looking for an affordable alternative to Final Draft and there it was.  With all of it's preproduction features I immediately knew it was going to be a key tool in my toolbox.  At this point, every project I plan goes into Celtx.  I religiously encourage other writers that I meet to take a look at it.  I've posted a few blogs and reviews and I can't say enough good things.  With its breakdown functions, it is great for developing characters and scenes and for planning out a production.  Now if there were just a budgeting module...maybe some production forms like production boards, call sheets *nudge nudge*. Thank you all for creating it.  I think Celtx is an invaluable tool."

And we think you've got a winner here Ita, so we'll expect an online invite when you're ready to go 'LIVE'!
Break a leg, Buddy,

Cheers from Sheila and The C-Team

Oh, and btw... re: "*nudge nudge*... keep an eye out for the release of v1.0 in a few weeks ;)

Lance Johnson's "A Sub Primer' wins the Celtx POW!

"Inspired by the American Sub-prime Crisis and the ensuing global "credit crunch", A SUB PRIMER examines a world where mindless consumerism intersects with the reckless collusion of unregulated greed.

Following the trail of one consumer's ill-conceived home loan, A SUB PRIMER tells the story of a mounting financial crisis in which ordinary people fall victim to their own lack of judgment. One by one, from small desert towns to the big city and beyond, the mounting paradox of fast money and non-culpability sucks each player into a world where saying "yes" to high risks becomes the expectation, rather than the exception.

Informed by years of work in commercial finance, A SUB PRIMER hammers home the concept that, when it comes to karma, you get what you ask for."

And there you have the Synopsis for this week's Project of the Week, "A Sub Primer". Created by Lance Johnson of Indelible Inc., Sherman Oaks, California, this clever and well written piece will be developed as an animated short. To see some of the pre-vis work involved, download the PDF of the related stick-figure story, and view the animation technique applied to the characters and locations.

Looking forward to seeeing the final results on this one.
Good luck with it, Lance!

Sheila and the C-Team

This just in!... More about Lance Johnson and Indelible Inc.

"At our roots, indelible inc is focused on story and episodic development for the wireless, web, small and silver screens. We began work on feature length screenwriting in 2002 and are now basically a four man operation devoted to writing, casting/crewing shooting, editing and distributing works independently until the film-loving world "gets the message"!!!

Both my partner John Orti ("JohnO") and I have backgrounds in software development and are both late 30's working profesionals in the software and financial sectors. We discovered CELTX in early 2007 on Wikipedia after actively searching for an open, and product-intensive way to share and collaborate on writing projects. Recognizing a quality application when we saw one (open source, small size), we immediately saw Celtx as a way forward for our group.

With the help of Celtx, we've managed to catalog and develop over 40-stories that are in various stages of existence (concept to screenplay), most of which are active projects in Celtx. We are in pre-production (utilizing Celtx plus a remote team manager and our own custom story wiki) on three of those projects, which are each short film scrips including "A Sub Primer". Over the past year we've managed.

We love intricate plot-writing laced with healthy doses of technology, humor and blunt reality. We are also partial to the human side of all good writing that brings things home for the reader/viewer. As we generally work remotely (over lots of late nights, scotch whisky and web cams) we are HUGE Web 2.0 devotees and look forward to: (a) a web (browser) version of Celtx and (b) the ability to work (edit) projects sans download.

Until then, we'll remain huge fans of both Celtx and the PC community. Thanks again!"

Just released! - Motion Sketches Episode 4 - Writing for Actors - Part I - Featuring interviews with Miranda Otto & Jeremy Sims

Hot off the internets from Baddad Productions, and featuring interviews with Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings, Cashmere Mafia) and Jeremy Sims (Fireflies), we are very pleased to present the next episode in our series of Motion Sketches....

Episode 4 - Writing for Actors - Part I
At the heart of every movie is performance; the interpretation of the words on the page into living breathing characters. But how do you write for performance? How do actors think? How do you construct a movie that actors can sink their teeth into? This episode of Motion Sketches explores the relationship between the script and performer.

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

Go here to view all.

From Here To Awesome's New Partner & a Deadline Extension - April 14

FROM HERE TO AWESOME PARTNERS WITH CELTX

Hey Gang,
Just wanted to share the great news that Celtx has officially teamed up with From Here To Awesome and will continue to help promote the fest in any way we can. So please stay tuned for event updates, .... like this Deadline Update , below:

FHTA DEADLINE EXTENSION - APRIL 14, 2008

As my buddy Laurie pointed out on the Forum, the deadline for submission to the From Here To Awesome online film discovery and distribution festival has been extended until April 14th, giving you another week to get your entry in. Here's the official notice from the FHTA site:

Due to a large number of requests from filmmakers, we’ll be extending the deadline to April 14th. So for those that had technical issues, needed more time, or are just now finding out about FHTA - you have until April 14th. This will be the final deadline. If you have questions or need assistance please let us know.

The website is still scheduled for an April 7th launch and all the submissions are now being turned into new film pages so if you’ve gotten your submission in we’ll be creating your page in the order that it was received. If you didn’t respond to the email about sending in your film details that we sent out or if you didn’t receive one drop us a line and we’ll resend it.

Cheers
The C-Team