ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

8 years, 3 months ago - Jon Hogg

Hi John,

Have you tried CELTX - I believe this is free - but not sure whether also free from viruses? ;(

Jon

8 years, 3 months ago - carlo ortu

Try this: https://writerduet.com/

No need to download any software.
Carlo

8 years, 3 months ago - Christopher Bailey

Google docs actually has a 'screenplay formatter' app that you can download into it. It's a little clunky, but free, and easy to share via drive to the rest of your team.

Also, for more power, i think it's free as well, Adobe Story is a -mostly- online software that you can use for pretty much every stage of your script development including developing call times, script breakdowns, storyboarding etc.

Chris

8 years, 3 months ago - Adrian Bracken

I use CELTX - https://www.celtx.com it's free and it creates Scripts in Industry format - & I have never had any virus problems with it. , If you have a decent Anti Virus programme (AVAST is free) and you don't open ANY unknown e-mail attachments you should be OK.

8 years, 3 months ago - Ed Griffiths

Hi, a further related question for anyone in the know - can CELTX or any other freeware be downloaded to use offline? I see that CELTX can be saved as a .pdf via PRINT to your machine but I have no home internet connection and would like to use a formatting tool offline much of the time. Is that possible now? Be grateful to know!

8 years, 3 months ago - Matt Thompson

I used to use Celtx but since it went web based I found it cumbersome and the free version has hardly any features. It also behaved in unexpected formatting ways. I now use FadeinPro which I find fabulously simple and intuitive and like a slick Final Draft. But it does cost $80. Another interesting general writing programme is Scrivener - again not free - but very good for complex stories which are non linear. I wouldn't get too hung up on the free aspect. You are going to spend so much time writing have a few less lattes and find a programme that doesn't get in the way of what you want to create. Best of luck. Matt

8 years, 3 months ago - Athena Mandis

Celtx is free and easy to use. For starters, but worth investing in something better if you want to continue down this road, Matt's response is spot on

8 years, 3 months ago - Mark Alexander Todd

Adobe Story it's free and it scales up to allow you to make schedules and budgets for when the project gets going. If not put out the money and get Final Draft, it's worth the investment as it will ensure your scripts are industry standard and can be imported into scheduling/budgeting software later. Mark

8 years, 3 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Just because a tool is "industry standard" doesn't mean it's any good. I recently switched from Movie Magic Budgeting (which feels like working in 1997) to Showbiz Budgeting (which at least feels like the early 2000's, but is a LOT more powerful and still actively developed). MMB is what "everyone" uses, and so EP seem to think of it as free money they don't need to work for. Just because something is what "everyone" uses doesn't mean that someone else isn't doing better, cheaper, and with more imagination and drive!