Celtx is designed to automatically format your script for you into whatever form you need (e.g. radio, television, stage play, screenplay, or comic book). It will also cross-format scripts; so if you have a script for a screenplay, you can adapt it into comic book format with a few clicks of the mouse! In addition, you can upload scripts, photos, storyboards, video, and audio into the Celtx software to make the process even easier.
While almost everything about the software is fairly straightforward, there are video tutorials and a Celtx Wiki page in the “Help” menu to guide you through some of the different features if you get stuck. (Note: You must have Internet access to utilize these.) These features are incredibly helpful.
The amount of options you have with this program are mind-blowing. With its multi-format abilities, Celtx is highly adaptable and is able to integrate many different tools to make production organization easy. The various production menus are insanely detailed, allowing the user to enter in vital information about characters, locations, props, music, makeup, scheduling, and much, much more. The user can input everything from potential sound issues on a location, to the contact information for every person connected with the production.
In addition to the incredible depth of options this software offers, it also gives you the opportunity to share your work and ideas with fellow filmmakers around the world. By using the Web Services option, you can create an account and access the Celtx Project Central site. While this site is accessible to non-members, only members can upload their projects to share with others, either privately or publicly. You can view the details for a project written by a filmmaker on the other side of the world and offer feedback, as well as share your own work (if you’re so inclined). This is truly the paragon of what the filmmaking community should be.
The only option that was missing was some sort of local password protection, which I believe is absolutely essential with a program like this. While project saved under Web Services offer password protection, anyone who has physical access to your work computer can open a project and either erase it or alter information. Gorilla (a similar production software) has a customizable security menu that lets the user determine who can access different projects and –more importantly—what aspects of the project are accessible by specific people. (That way, the casting director can’t alter the script or change the shooting schedule!) I think that this feature (or something similar to it) needs to definitely be in the next version of Celtx. (In the meantime, the only way to prevent people from accessing your Celtx stuff would be to put a password protection on your OS so people can’t even get into the computer at all.)
