Review: Screenwriting Software

I've only recently started looking for a good screenwriting program, as I wanted to find something to help me speed up the production of my uni work- formatting manually in word was a chore.

To this end, I undertook a relatively brief search into what programs were available and three in particular kept cropping up:

1/ Final Draft 

2/ Celtx

3/Trelby

Final Draft- looks like fruit loops, costs a whole lot more

Being a university student, and a first year no less, I do not have the kind of money to be splashing out on a purchase such as Final Draft. Although I have no doubt that it is a highly valuable piece of kit in the professional screenwriter's arsenal, I only wanted a free piece of software to get me going, and even after a month or so I still don't require all the bells and whistles that Final Draft can offer for creating my own short script pieces.

As for Celtx, it is a highly commendable free screenwriting package. Indeed, it is part of a larger Celtx suite including story boarding, radio script formatting, mind-mapping and several other useful creative tools. Again, my usage of these features would be fairly limited, but as they are offered for free (sort of, I'll get to that in a second) it is hard to complain. My user experience wasn't all that great to begin with. The web browser version didn't load text properly on my laptop, but I am using an older version of Windows, and therefore I'm relegated to an outdated version of Chrome. From what I can see, the page looks beautiful, and I have no doubt it will work fine on most computers. Knowing that the browser version was a bit, well, squiffy for me, I downloaded the iOS app in the hopes this would provide me with a way to write and edit on the go, and I was not disappointed. Celtx is what I use to get down basic skeletons of scripts when I'm out and about; it's funny what you can dream up when you're in a crowded, noisy space compared to what you might consider the ideal writing spot, in comfortable isolation. For me, the downside to Celtx (aside from my glitches out web browser viewing) is the so called 'freemium' model that separates features into basic and subscription only availability. Unlike what is often common with freemium products, my experience was not ruined by ads positively demanding I 'upgrade' to their full suite- ads are nowhere to be seen, and it  is only when you go to create a new project that you might realise some formats are locked. No, my qualms rest in my belief that what you see should be what you get- I'm not a fan of additional purchase models. Furthermore, all of the standard formats you will use are available in the basic, free version, so unless you are a professional, or seriously committed to creating a variety of different script styles, I see no reason to upgrade (other than to support the company that is). So recommended, but not perfect.

Celtx- Close, but no cigar.

Coming to number 3 on the list (number 3 in order of search priority, not ranked by brownie points awarded), I'd actually say that Trelby is the best screenwriting program available to newcomers, and it earns this mark of my respect for several reasons. Like final draft, and unlike Celtx, which requires an active internet connection for their browser version, Trelby is a downloadable program with a very trim file size, and can be used without being connected to the Internet. This makes it incredibly portable and handy when installed on a laptop or netbook.

Trelby is completely free with no hidden extras- though if so inclined, donations are welcomed by the developer, and they deserve it- and is certainly as fully featured as I could want. There is nothing I use on Celtx that Trelby doesn't do, and in fact nothing that Trelby doesn't do in an alltogether smarter way; this brings me to my next point.

Trelby- the smoothest screenwriting experience. Ssss.

The main reason why Trelby sits so well with me is it just so intuitive. Using the tab and enter keys, the prospective writer can change which mode they are writing in (scene heading, action, dialogue, stage directions etc.) completely fluidly and with great speed. After having used the program for a month I can't believe how comfortable it is to use. I must surely have halved the time it takes me to write a scene as I do not have to stop and click to add a new marker- as I might in Celtx. One simply has to type their heading, press enter, write their opening action, press tab, enter a character name, enter, dialogue, tab, action, enter, character and so on, and after a while this becomes second nature and no pauses for formatting are necessary. In short, Trelby is the best free, fully-featured, well-designed screenwriter I have come across. Oh, and did I mention it's free?

Final Draft: https://www.finaldraft.com/

Celtx: https://www.celtx.com/

Trelby: http://www.trelby.org/

All opinions are my own. But hey, they must be justified, otherwise, what's the point in giving them?