Product Review: Page (1) of 1 - 04/02/07

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Editor's note. part 1 of this review can be found here
Where Celtx really pushes the envelope and presents a uniquely fresh approach to pre-production development is the total integration of script writing, character and plot with the logistics of taking a script into production. This process begins in Celtx with the superb tagging and breakdown system that works from the script itself and makes project development part and parcel of the writing process.

Virtually any element in the script that will require some sort of production component - prop, sound fx, visual effect, location, animal  etc. - can be tagged with its own detail page. The process of application couldn't be easier; highlight the word or phrase in the script that refers to a production element and from the sidebar menu select the type of tag. Once applied all manner of custom information can be entered for the element including images, videos and sounds, descriptions even practical information such as where such a prop will be sourced or what person is responsible for finding that location.

This process of tagging mark-up of script production elements is useful enough on its own but Celtx goes one very large step further directly integrating this information with the script breakdown process. Celtx is built with an integrated database which allows for information entered to be retrieved and filtered in an almost infinite number of ways. Hence items tagged in the script are automatically part of screenplay's database of production elements. From there the process of generating complex and detailed production reports based a huge number of fields is a virtual one click process. Selecting the Generate Report button collates all tagged elements, scenes, locations and cast and produces a comprehensive report that can be filtered to show as much or as little information as desired.

This functionality in Celtx is superbly implemented and puts all other screenwriting tools on notice. It is fast, efficient, effective and comprehensive. What it does however currently lack is more refined means to export and print this information. Invariably the breakdown information for the script needs to find its way into physical form for use on set in very pragmatic ways and whilst there is currently superb filtering and collating options the information is still rather locked up inside Celtx.

Being an Open Source software system Celtx is also itself built with open source development tools. The underlying engine of Celtx is the Mozillia API which means that foundation of Celtx is surprisingly enough the Firefox web browser. This might seem strange but it provides an incredibly efficient and powerful base coupled with a simplicity of interface that makes most other software tools seem positively archaic. The on-line manual, tutorials and help for Celtx is excellent but the simple truth is you'll probably never need them; so logical and self explanatory are most functions in Celtx and accessed through a delightfully uncluttered interface. Moreover this use of the Firefox engine to drive Celtx makes the code-base itself incredibly efficient and flexible - the download file of Celtx is a mere 10 megabytes. Considering that Celtx has more features and a more comprehensive approach than any other screenwriting tool on the market this is quite remarkable. Similar commercial software, with not near so many features, can take up an entire DVD...

Firefox is however not the only open source engine powering Celtx, also incorporated and leveraged for its efficient flexibility is Sunbird which provides a complete scheduling and calendar system for Celtx. Rather than simply an add-on, the scheduling feature in Celtx is fully integrated into the script itself so the pre-production planning of a shooting schedule is an incredibly easy drag+drop affair where scenes headings from the screenplay and simply dropped onto dates and times in the calendar.

Whilst solidly embedded with the script and scene elements the calendar integration in Celtx could be taken further whereby props, cast and production breakdown elements tagged to a scene are compiled into the calendar with the scene itself to create such vital production reports as a call sheet. This is certainly a feature that is no doubt already in development for the next update of Celtx.

Of course a script existing only in Celtx on a computer is not much use to a cast and crew and so export is required and Celtx provides a number of highly flexible options. Scripts can be exported, complete with scene and page numbers as well as MORE's and CONT's, as PDF. This feature is provided via the Celtx server which can be accessed with a free password and login. This is an instantaneous process no different from producing a pdf locally only that it requires an on-line connection. Scripts can also be exported as plain text and a very effective HTML creator for mounting the script for viewing on-line, formatting in tact.

Celtx is designed at its core to be both a stand alone application and an on-line tool in a server-client mode whereby extra services and functionality are accessible on-line remotely. In this capacity the Celtx server side features offer on-line hosting of screenplays and this serves particularly well in building an open exchange community. Similarly it also functions as a secure remote backup system for your screenplay projects. In a more directed mode the Celtx server offers a superbly functional pre-production collaboration system allowing multiple parties located anywhere in the world  to not only jointly write, develop and review a screenplay but collaboratively work through the entire pre-production process from a central managed and annotated project file set.

For all its flexibility, sophistication, ease of use and comprehensive, integrated approach Celtx is not yet perfect. Whilst the ability to format in theatrical stageplay style was recently added there is yet not A/V, two-column scripting that so many documentary makers would dearly love included. The much requested storyboard features are a very welcome addition but do not yet have any real linkage to the script itself. The break-down and reporting function is amazingly powerful but is still largely tied to Celtx lacking output options.

But all these criticisms in regard to Celtx possess a markedly different tone to shortcomings in traditional software tools driven by the simple certainty that Celtx grows, evolves and responds to its users in a way that traditional software models simply cannot. Any criticisms that could be levelled at Celtx are invariably short term omissions. There's no doubt Celtx will continue to grow quickly, as it as already done, and develop powerful, user-driven solutions in all the areas it might be currently considered weak. Whilst many software developers pay lip-service to the idea of 'listening to their users', Celtx wears its user input proudly on it's sleeve and seemingly builds it's entire development process around a collaborative model of not just  responding to user need but seeking out user input as a matter of course. The result is not only a software tool that can adapt with infinitely greater ease and flexibility but also one where the community of users feel a tangible and profound personal investment and 'ownership' over the tool itself.

It's virtually impossible to not be impressed by Celtx. Right now it is more capable, flexible and efficient than any commercial pre-production application on the market. And whilst still needing further development in several areas there is no doubt that Celtx possesses a conceptual and technical framework that guarantees a very bright future of forward thinking progression.

But the broader truth is that it isn't what Celtx can do, or its broad feature set, that makes it such an exciting tool to use. Rather, what makes Celtx such a delightfully refreshing addition to media production  technologies is the virtually limitless potential of what it may offer in the future and the myriad directions it may grow and develop.

Where so many software applications for media production seem bloated with inefficiency and misdirected complexity, where picturing what else might be possible is like peering through a thick and murky haze, Celtx; by virtue of its lean, efficient, extensible structure seems almost limitless in what it might become and what it might offer. There is no reason why Celtx cannot or shouldn't become the future standard for pre-production from conception to screen. And there is no reason why any media-maker should be without Celtx in their digital toolbox it right now.

Celtx is available from www.celtx.com

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Mike Jones is a digital media producer, author, educator from Sydney, Australia. He has a diverse background across all areas of media production including film, video, TV, journalism, photography, music and on-line projects. Mike is the author of three books and more than 200 published essays, articles and reviews covering all aspects of cinematic form, technology and culture. Mike is currently Head of Technological Arts at the International Film School Sydney (www.ifss.edu.au), has an online home at www.mikejones.net and can be found profusely blogging for DMN at www.digitalbasin.net