Monday, July 19, 2010

Free Video Scriptwriting Software

When I first started writing video scripts in the 1980s, I had to write using a primitive DOS word-processing program (remember DOS? Ugh!). It was a long, hard slog. But it was still better than using a typewriter.Nowadays, scriptwriting software abounds. But most programs are for screenwriting, which has a slightly different format than video.


For the last few days, I’ve been experimenting with the free scriptwriting program Celtx (http://www.celtx.com/).


While it’s also focused primarily on screenwriting, Celtx does have a good audio-visual module. I’m impressed with the amount of features, especially since the software is free. It contains the common formatting commands found in video, including scene heading (Ext/Int.), shot, character (or narrator), and parenthetical. Celtx creates the standard dual column (Video / Audio) format when you click on the “Typeset /PDF button” at the bottom of the screen.


As well, it also has a notes, storyboard and index card function. The Celtx website has short videos that show how the various modules operate. But I found this video tutorial from another site a better overview of the Celtx audio-visual module (as long as you don’t mind a short commercial before the tutorial starts) View it here:


http://tinyurl.com/2agwl4d

No comments:

Post a Comment