Trelby’s open source screenwriting software has an intriguing story. Blyte was originally a commercially built screenwriting product by Osku Salerma but after disappointing sales, Osku abandoned the project but open sourced it in 2006 . This strategy was to see Blyte updated and maintained by the community. Unfortunately though nobody invested time into advancing the product, so it just sat on the sidelines with little love and fanfare.

Fast forward to 2011 where a couple hero’s emerged to put the technology back on the map. Anil Gulecha was the screenwriter/developer who initiated the rebound initiative with Salerma. They decided to call the new product Trelby, tweak the functionality and design, and of course leave it open to any developers who want to iterate on the code. Trelby launched earlier this month, and it runs on both Linux and Windows.

Screenshot of Trelby below

Trelby Features

• Screenplay editor: Enforces correct script format and pagination, auto-completion, and spell checking.
• Multi-platform : Behaves identically on all platforms, generating the exact same output.
• Choice of view: Multiple views, including draft view, WYSIWYG mode, and fullscreen to suit your writing style.
• Name database: Character name database containing over 200,000 names from various countries.
• Reporting: Scene/location/character/dialogue reports.
• Compare: Ability to compare scripts, so you know what changed between versions.
• Import: Formatted text, Final Draft XML (.fdx).
• Export: PDF, formatted text, HTML, RTF, Final Draft XML (.fdx).
• PDF: Built-in, highly configurable PDF generator. Supports embedding your chosen font.
• Free software: Licensed under the GPL, Trelby welcomes developers and screenwriters to contribute in making it more useful.

Want to write your next script using Trelby? Great! You can download the software here.

Or if you want to get a better sense for Trelby before downloading it, then check out the screen shots. You can follow Trelby’s progress via their Twitter account or their blog. And if you are a developer and are interested in iterating on Trelby then you can contribute your code.

Jeremy Campbell Lists, Production Tool, resources Anil Gulecha, Blyte, filmmaking, open source, Osku Salerma, product, screenwriting, script writing, software, Trelby, videomaking

Because we are an influencer, innovator, and evangelist in the filmmaking industry we were sent a copy of the new book “Mastering Celtx” by Writers Guild of America member Terry Borst. Celtx is the top product for managing your film and video pre-production, and also any kind of other professional writings you may do.

This fantastic book includes: The Evolution of Pre-Production, Getting Familiar With Celtx, Project Navigation, Creating and Editing Production Film Scripts, Script Breakdowns, Reinventing Project Scripting, Storyboards, Sketches, Calendaring and Scheduling, Sample Projects, Creation and Admin, User Interaction, Sketch Images, Celtx Community, and other related topics. The book is also very visual with lots of great Celtx screen shots, which was a good idea so readers can learn very easily.

We have read it over, gotten value from its contents, and now want to give the book away as a gift to one of our Spidvid members. If you want to win this book, be sure to get a Spidvid account, and then let us know why you deserve this book more than anybody else. You can tweet us, post on our Facebook page, email us, or comment below to enter. Tell us a story and emotionally engage us to maximize your chances of winning! We will announce the winner tomorrow on July 26th so enter NOW!

P.S. We will throw in a few Spidvid stickers (as modeled below by this little guy) inside the book as well!

If you are a Spidvid member you should be using Celtx for your collaborative projects. Celtx is the perfect pre-production tool to complement your Spidvid projects, and any other film project you want to successfully bring to fruition.

Jeremy Campbell Give Aways, Production Tool audio play, author, book, Celtx, comic book, contest, film, film production, free, giveaway, Mastering Celtx, new media, novel, pre-production, product, screenwriting, scriptwriting, software, story, storyboard, Terry Borst, theatre, video

How do you write scripts for your films? An old school approach with ink and paper, or do you prefer writing your scripts in a digital format? If you are a screenwriter or director, chances are pretty decent that you have downloaded Celtx’s pre-production software for managing your script work flow and collaborative efforts.

Celtx is a free desktop product that has been downloaded over 1,000,000 times by people in 170 different countries, in 30 different languages. I’ve long known about Celtx and always assumed its creators were based in Los Angeles or Silicon Valley, but was surprised to learn that Celtx is a product of St.John’s, Newfoundland. We are based in Toronto, and I’m always proud to hear about cutting-edge technology getting developed in Canada.

Below are a couple screen shots of Celtx’s script writing software.

If you want to get full value out of the product, then check out the “Mastering Celtx” book below (Amazon link) by Terry Borst which is being released tomorrow!

If you are a Spidvid member you should be using Celtx for your collaborative projects.  Celtx is the perfect pre-production tool to complement your Spidvid projects, and any other film project you want to successfully bring to fruition.

Jeremy Campbell Production Tool Celtx, Celtx Studio, director, film production, film software, film tool, filmmaker, filmmaking, indie film, pre-production, screenwriting, script, scriptwriting, software, video production, work flow, writing

Did you go to film school? If you didn’t you may want to check out Vimeo’s new Video School series which is a collection of how to videos that will help you create better quality videos. And hey, if you did graduate from film school you may still want to check out some of the videos to refresh your memory on how to do specific production things.

Topics in Vimeo’s Video School to date include choosing camera gear, shooting, lighting, sound, framing and composition, storyboarding, editing, everything DSLR, effects, and other useful elements to improve your production value.

You may want to start with the 3 videos below, and go from there. These videos cover the basics that every filmmaker needs to have.

Choosing a camera

Shooting basics

Editing basics

Is there something you need help with to create better quality video entertainment? Post your needs in the comments below, and we will try to help you out and get you on your way! Or you can contact us if you want to have a private conversation.

Jeremy Campbell resources camera, compositions, DIY, do it yourself, DSLR, editing, educate, effects, film school, filmmaking, help, how to, information, learn, lighting, post production, production, production help, production value, resources, shooting, software, sound, transitions, video production, Video School, Vimeo

Quick mention: First off, extremely happy to announce that our hacked servers from late last week have been 100% restored, and everything is back to normal once again. So you can again feel safe visiting and using our platform, and reading our blog. Now onto the topic of the day which is giving you five video editing tips you can use for your future production projects.

Since the mid-1990’s, video production has undergone vast changes due to technological improvements in video equipment and software, distribution options, funding avenues, and barriers to entry have been virtually eliminated.

Once you film and record an entertaining video, you or someone on your team needs to edit it down to its core to tell viewers an engaging story.

Here are five video editing tips:

1. Always use a tripod if possible. Tripods have been created for one reason, steady shots. Earthquake-like effects are sometimes desired, but you don’t want your audience to sit through an entire shaky video. In fact, they won’t anyways. Let the tripod do it’s job. When it comes to video editing, steady shots will help you make clean edits.

2. Use instrumental background music. That way the lyrics or vocals from the artist don’t clash with someone speaking on-camera. You can safely use vocals for parts of your video where there is no dialogue. Also, try to edit to the beat of the music, meaning change your shots on each beat.

3. Normalize your audio when editing. This means that all of your sound levels should peak in the middle of your audio meter bar. This bar is an area of your video editing software that quickly moves up and down when a video is playing. You don’t want audio that is too low to hear, or too loud which hurts viewer’s ears.

4. Don’t use too many video effects. This is a rookie mistake, and I’m sure you don’t want to look like a rookie even if you are one. Find one or two good transitions which fit the video’s format and stick with them, but don’t use them for every little scene. Also, use only one or two good filters, which are effects that make the entire screen change or look different. At times a nice effect is to start your video black and white and let it gradually dissolve to color. Experiment with video effects as they can make your video more entertaining, and deliver additional production value to your viewers.

5. Be patient. It takes lots of time to become a good editor. Use your editing software help section, read related blog articles, and tap into community knowledge on video editing forums. Forums are fantastic places to invest your time, and there are likely many thousands of people using the exact software you are. They know the pros and cons of your software, and any issues you are having they have likely experienced similar ones also. Some useful forums are CreativeCow.net, Videomaker.com, and Videoguys.com.

And most importantly remember to have fun, because if you aren’t having fun editing videos then perhaps partnering with a quality editor may make more sense to your projects.

If you have any other video editing advice, be sure to post it in the comments below.

Jeremy Campbell Lists, resources edit, editing, editing skills, editing software, film editing, how to, information, learn, list, software, talent, tips, video editing, video editor, video production