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Hey all. Since my first screenwriting post was kinda “meh,” I figured I’d spend a little more time with our first “In the Spotlight” for screenwriting. So what we’re going to look at is software.
There are several different kinds of software out there. All of them do pretty much the same thing. It’s pretty much the one tool you’ll actually want (unless you want to just do the production part, in which case you’ll need equipment). I personally have only had experience using three. Each one has different levels in price and quality. So I’ll start with the cheapest and work my way up from there. Since we haven’t delved into formatting yet, I won’t go into any specifics as far as that. We’ll save that for the next part of Screenwriting next week.
WORD – The cheapest will be your generic Word program. Yes, it’s not really meant for screenwriting, but if you have trust issues with downloading things from the internet or don’t want to spend money on a new program, then this is your best bet. Word programs have an interesting feature that allows you to create a template. When we go over formatting better, you can actually set up Word to indent and space properly. I did try this for a bit, but it didn’t feel right. In fact, I quickly abandoned this idea just because it felt weird. At any rate, you can use Word if you really want to. Not my most recommended, but helps in a pinch.
CELTX – This is the software I use. It’s free to download, takes up hardly any space, and can be used to do text documents as well as stage plays, comics and format storyboards. It’s easy to use and makes life so much easier. Everything formats correctly with the Enter button on your computer. There are a few things you’ll have to do yourself, but for the most part, you’ll be pretty much set with this program. One of the weird things CeltX does is sometimes, when you backspace something too far, you might end up putting action text in a character spot and then the program saves that as a character name. Yes you can go in and fix it, but it’s still something weird. The other thing is that you must be connected to the internet to get an accurate print preview. Since you all can read this blog, I don’t think connecting to the internet is a problem. But if you’re on the go somewhere and don’t have internet, you’ll be out of luck. You can still get a general idea, but it won’t be completely accurate.
SCREENWRITER – The name is all you need to go on! Actually, not really. This software is the “professional grade” stuff and is used in all the classrooms. It currently retails on Amazon for $167. If you have a few extra bucks, you can put it towards this, but I don’t think it’s completely necessary. In fact, Screenwriter does the exact same thing as CeltX. So why bother paying? Well, for one thing, Screenwriter plays well with other programs, especially Movie Magic Budgeting. CeltX is okay with things like Word and Notepad, but Screenwriter is a bit better. Screenwriter does have its shortcomings, but they are few and far between really. I honestly only ever used Screenwriter while in class. So if you want to actually spend money, you can’t go wrong with this.
As I mentioned, I use CeltX. If you’re on a budget, it’s really the best thing to get. I’ve only ever had a few problems, and they were only because I was learning my way through it. Now that I know it inside and out, I feel comfortable recommending it. It does a lot and it’s free.
Well, it’s not much, but it does give you some options to look into. Next week shouldn’t be too bad as far as posts, so hopefully I can redeem myself.