I've been writing screenplays on OpenOffice but I'm starting think I should be writing on software that's meant for screenplays. I've looked at some but they cost over $70. I am not looking forward to pirate a copy so is there any screenwriting software that is good and free of charge? If it's open source, that would be splendid.
What Minstrel said - I've used Celtx and it's very good. Celtx Desktop is free for PC, Mac and Linux. There's a free and open source screenwriting software called Trelby, and the BBC Writers' Room links to Page2Screen, which is free, apparently. If it's good enough for the BBC...
I secound celtx, it's great, and free. It's pretty simple and it will get you the right format. Though Sometimes the spell check is a bit wonky.
One thing about Celtx: When I was using it (about five years ago), once my screenplay exceeded a certain size (around 50 pages, I think), the print function stopped working. To get a printout, I had to export to Word and print from there. Does anyone know if this issue has been resolved?
I think this issue has probably been resolved. I wrote a 90 page screenplay and was able to print it just fine. Though I think weird stuff happens when you try and import or export stuff with word.
I third Celtx, use it all the time and have had no problems with it. Plus it stores my scripts in the cloud so I can access them on my iPad as well.
Okay I download Celtx and so far it's going great. My screenplay so far actually looks like a real script thanks to the wonderful formatting. Thank you guys for recommending Celtx!
celtx is fine if you're just writing for yourself, or still learning the craft... if you intend to make screenwriting a career, you should save up for final draft, which is pretty much the lingua franca of the film and tv biz...
Is Celtx still good if you're screenwriting career is in independent filmmaking? I will get Final Draft when I have the money someday. For now, Celtx seems just fine.
depends on what you mean by 'in independent filmmaking'... if you're writing on contract for a small indie prodco and the producer and director don't mind celtx, then it's ok... but if you're going to be submitting your scripts electronically to various prodcos, then it's best to use fd or movie magic...
Independent filmmaking as if I am actually writing with producers and a director. Basically, the film would be finished if we pitched it to distributors and I don't know if they want to see a copy of the script.
Well Its definitally not the best software out there, but it does provide the correct format. So I wouldnt say that you couldn't be succesfull using such a program. I'm not sure why e-format would be an issue, because you can save as a PDF. Besides I thought film scripts were mostly sent as hard copy's, though I may be wrong.
Final Draft produces a variety of useful reports that studios and producers often want to use, including the "profanity report" which tells you how many lines you're going to need to get alternate coverage on. You can't generate these reports (automatically, anyway) out of a PDF. That's why you hand in the Final Draft file itself. Final Draft is also compatible with other industry standard programs, such as Movie Magic Scheduling. You can either export the FD script as a .sex file or use the FD file and import it to MMS. Even if you have to still do some stuff by hand, it's less than all of it. Celtx can get you a long way, but if you want to 'run with the big boys', you will need Final Draft.
