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42 iPad Links For Filmmakers, Screenwriters & Movie Lovers

July 17, 2012 at 12:48 pm

iPad Links For Filmmakers, Screenwriters & Movie Lovers

The iPad has changed the way we communicate, enhanced the way we share information and represents an evolution in many forms entertainment. Movies are no exception. Whether your a film fan watching the latest releases or a filmmaker using the iPad’s vast library of creative tools, it’s a truly remarkable device.

Screenwriters have access to brilliant mobile apps to craft their tales. Illustrators can create storyboards with powerful drawing and image authoring programs. Movies can be planned, shot, edited and shared with one device.

Directors, Producers, Designers, Photographers, Musicians… Artists.

With the announcement of The New iPad, Apple has raised the bar for film fans with 1080p video, an amazing new Retina display and updates to their core creative apps like iMovie and Garage Band.

iPad = Creativity

FINAL THOUGHTS

I use my iPad non stop. It’s with me wherever I go. I read book and screenplays on the bus. I write scripts during breaks at work. I’m constantly connected to my websites, blogs and social media account. I watch movies, short films and documentaries. I create.

I guess what I’m trying to say is… The iPad is neat.

Why the iPad 2 is the Center of my Creative Universe!

March 7, 2012 at 9:16 am

iPad, iPad 2 review screenwriting, filmmaking, blogging, movies, indie Two years ago, I got my iPhone and it instantly tripled my productivity by allowing me to keep up to date on my screenwriting and blogging. I could write anywhere I wanted and I did. Being able to craft blog posts while riding a subway actually had me looking forward to my journey to work each day. For the last few months, I’ve been working really hard on a ton of projects in order to begin 2012 with a clean slate. So far, it’s looking like I’ll be able to hit my deadlines and I have my iPad 2 to thank for that.

MY NEW CREATIVE COMMAND CENTRAL

I’ve had my iPad for a little over a month now and in that time, I’ve accomplished a ton.

-The Athletic Nerd has a whole new design with brand new content created on the much easier WordPress for iPad app.
-I’ve finished all the work leading up to the launch of my brand new blog which will be online later this week.
-I finished editing my short film thanks to notes and shot lists I created using Apple’s Pages app.
-I’ve also been using Pages to create outlines and breakdowns for a number of projects I’m hoping to begin next year.
-I’ve written 3 brand new short screenplays during my breaks at work thanks to the awesome Celtx screenwriting app.

Check out my full review of the Celtx app here.

-I’ve grown accustomed to using Flipboard, Twitter, Facebook and more to increase my social reach online which helps boost traffic.
-A full browser experience has helped me stay up to date on all the movie news that inspires me on a daily basis.

Click here to read my Top 6 Apps For Movie News

I’ve only had the device for a month and it’s changed everything. Let’s face it, being able to read my daily news, post a new article online and revise a new screenplay before I get out of bed each morning is a nice touch. There are a million tiny reasons why the iPad 2 is amazing but for me, it all boils down to productivity.

My biggest fear before I purchased my iPad 2 was whether or not typing would hinder me. I’m happy to report that after a slight adjustment period, I’m firing out posts at a decent pace and hammering out new screenplay pages. The iPad is fast, convenient (not too mention cool) and integrated easily into my life. From a filmmaking perspective, the iPad has a number of amazing tools I plan to take advantage of whenever I begin my next project. Until then, I’ve been having a ton of fun messing around with iMovie, the iPad’s camera and my dog. But beyond that there are apps for every aspect of production.

Filmmaker IQ has a great rundown of 22 fantastic apps for filmmaker.

Stick figures still count for those of us who can’t draw but still need to create storyboard.

When I started discussing the need for an iPad, many people (myself included) wondered if it was just a big iPhone. I’m here to tell you it’s absolutely true and it’s wonderful in every way. The iPhone is still my number one source of communication but when it comes to creative outbursts, I now have a tool that has everything I need to express my thoughts and share my work.

I’ve already compiled an album of graphics and posters I’ve created. Soon, I’ll have all my movies & trailers loaded into the device to show people. Presentations, demonstrations and conceptual meetings will never be the same again. Indeed, it’s only been a month but my iPad 2 has taken a firm grip on my creative routine and enhanced every aspect of it in the process. Sometimes, you just don’t have enough time at home to finish everything you had hoped to accomplish that day. With the iPad, I’ve been able to sneak in more and more work on road trips, breaks and any other moments when inspiration strikes.

It has truly become the center of my screenwriting, filmmaking and blogging universe.

This post was written on my iPad.

Rewriting Your Screenwriting Goals

February 1, 2012 at 12:59 am

FIND OUT WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF

The last new screenwriting post I wrote for this site was posted on December 1, 2011. 2 months ago to the day. It was about the frustration screenwriters sometimes feel that leads them to furiously type FLKJFLSDDSJ:LF. I haven’t written about my passion since…

The reason for the lack of posts is simple. I wasn’t writing any screenplays. I decided that, once and for all, I would wrap up some big projects and start 2012 with a clean slate. I’m happy to say I accomplished that goal. We finished and released 17 West’s latest short film The Climb. In addition to that release, we put Playing Through online as well. It was all timed with the launch of our brand new website 17west.ca. Now I can start a new year with nothing left to do except write. (And get married in the fall)

All of the sudden I’m just a screenwriter. I’m not a web designer anymore. I’m not a director either. All my projects in 2012 involve writing in some capacity. Whether it’s blogging, picking away at my eBook or finishing up a new script, my mind is free to create new things. It’s an incredible feeling.

First up for me is a deeply personal story that I’m absolutely terrified to write. It’s a terror I can’t wait to explore. A demon I can’t wait to banish from my mind and onto the page.

Thinking about the new projects I want to tackle makes me wonder where I will be at the end of 2012. Mainly because I’ve been asking myself a very serious question for over a year now:

Am I a screenwriter? Or do I simply enjoy writing screenplays?

I’m not sure I can answer that. I’m an honest person so I don’t mind admitting that currently, I have no screenplays in production. I have no screenplays awaiting judgement in competitions. I do not have an agent texting me hourly for updates on my latest draft. There are no producers with a copy of my screenplay on their desks.

But that didn’t stop me from writing short screenplays entitled After, Lorraine, Maybe Not Today, Nathan’s Hoard, The Cold Spot, The Guardian, Caligari, The Blanket Fort and Droid. It didn’t stop me from dusting off a feature length script I started in college and finishing it. It didn’t stop me from developing treatments for 2 new features I plan to write this year in addition to a bunch of new shorts I’m excited about.

I am not a professional screenwriter in the sense that I do not get paid to write screenplays. I just love to write. Screenwriting is my cure for anxiety. It’s my calm place. It’s mine. But I’m 28 years old now and I just don’t think that’s enough anymore. I feel like it’s time to find out what I’m made of. Yet, I’m frustrated because I’ve said that before. I’ve even written about it on this blog.

“This year, I’m going to get my act together and find out if I have what it takes.”

It sounds great but that sentence won’t fill up the pages will it? It merely starts the engine but it’s pointless if the engine dies less than a mile down the road. What makes this year different?

“Nothing changes if nothing changes.”

What changed this year? I’ve simplified things. All I’ve got is screenwriting now. It’s just me and Final Draft. (Or Celtx on my iPad)

Above all else, I think the main difference is my main goal overall. Normally, I start a year thinking about all the screenplays I may or may not finish. This year, I’m thinking about the screenplays I’d like people to read. The screenplays that actors, agents and producers can get excited about. The screenplays that may become films someday. That’s a BIG difference in my usual thought process and it’s a ‘rewrite’ I should have done years ago.

Maybe I was afraid. Maybe I’m still afraid.

So… Am I a screenwriter? Or do I simply enjoy writing screenplays? I think I’d be happy with either in the long run because no matter what I’ll get to do what I love.

Check out my 150th screenwriting post featuring 15 of my personal favorites.

Have you rewritten your screenwriting goals lately?

I Owe Final Draft An Apology

April 10, 2011 at 11:31 pm

WHY UPGRADING TO VERSION 8
WAS LONG OVERDO.

Long ago, when I first became obsessed with screenwriting, I wrote my scripts using a template in Microsoft Word. It hadn’t even crossed my mind to search for a program designed specifically for writing screenplays. Then I came across a demo of Final Draft and wrote a few movies trying my best to ignore the page count and the water mark on the print outs.

In those days, I couldn’t really justify the cost of the full version if my new found passion fizzled. However, it didn’t take long for the craft of screenwriting to take hold and become my number one pass time.

So finally, I managed to scrape together enough for an educational copy of Final Draft v6.

The day that box came in the mail was awesome. My heart was beating pretty fast when it was installing. I remember thinking about how my heart would break if the install was corrupted. Thankfully it worked and I began my long and loyal relationship with Final Draft…

UNTIL THE GREAT CRASH OF 2011…

My PC died early in 2011 and it was absolutely crushing. After Effects was gone. Dreamweaver was gone. Photoshop was gone. Final Draft… Was gone.

My first priority was to find a way to write screenplays on my iMac so I immediately looked to Celtx as their iPhone app is quite fantastic. It’s a solid program and you can’t argue with the price of FREE so I figured I was set.

I wasn’t. No offense to Celtx but I’m the type of writer who likes certain things to fall in place before I feel comfortable writing. My area needs to be clean, my windows have to be arranged a certain way on the screen and I need Final Draft! It’s a routine I’ve depended on for years. My own personal screenwriting compulsion.

So I did something I figured I would never have to do.

I UPGRADED FINAL DRAFT

It sounds a little overly dramatic but I always thought it would be a waste to upgrade to a newer version. I used Final Draft to write screenplays so why upgrade for more bells and whistles when the version I had was perfectly fine?

Well, that’s where the apology comes in… I should have upgraded years ago.

FINAL DRAFT VERSION 8 REVIEW

It turns out, version 8 does everything better. I knew their would be some enhancements here and there but I wasn’t expecting to regret not upgrading sooner.

It started with the new interface. It’s simpler, cleaner and allows you to focus only on the blank page. Yet, at the same time, the scene navigator and scene properties windows have become staples in my writing routine.

You truly don’t realize how new features will affect your writing until you give them a shot. I suppose I was just being cheap.

I use the scene properties window constantly to jot down notes and changes for each scene. I used to write notes like that in all caps right in the screenplay which becomes an ugly distraction quickly. The old system still worked but it wasn’t as convenient as this.

I love being able to split the main window and see my index cards as well as my script. There are limitless uses of this feature.

It’s a better overall experience.

The lesson? Sometimes, upgrades are worth it.

In the end, my PC is still dead and I’m unable to create any new graphics for my websites or posters for my short films. Eventually, I’ll get another PC up and running but at least I can still write screenplays. That’s what I love to do!

Screenwriting Stuff I Carry Around Every Day

December 13, 2010 at 6:56 am

For years I carried around an old school bag to and from work. It was worn, battered and always slid off my shoulder.

I finally decided it was time to ditch the pack sack and thanks to my wonderful girlfriend, I’m now the owner of a fantastic man-bag.

I feel like a Seinfeld quote is appropriate for those of you laughing about the so called “purse” I carry around now.

“Its not a purse! It’s European!”

Actually it’s neither. It’s just a canvas bag. What’s important to me is what I carry in it.

It’s a screenwriters treasure… Bag. (I think even I would make fun of someone for calling it a treasure bag… So feel free. I don’t feel bad.)

Inside I keep items that come in handy when inspiration hits. I also keep items that help ignite the creativity within.

A copy of my latest feature screenplay.

I just finished the long awaited (by myself at least.) script loosely based on my time in college. I keep it with me in case I think of something to add or take away during the revision process. For this I also keep a good supply of red and blue pens.

The last 2 issues of Script Magazine.

One of my favorite magazines usually has a place close to the front of the bag. Normally, I blast through a new issue quickly then keep it around to read again later on.

The second Dexter novel.

I’ve been quietly making my way through the second installment of the phenomenal series by Jeffrey Lindsay. Dearly Devoted Dexter

The books as well as the incredible Showtime series serve as reminders of how to write amazing characters and stories. I love Dexter.

Advanced Photoshop Magazine

This may appear to have nothing to do with screenwriting but I don’t see it that way. I’m constantly using Photoshop to create images and posters for scripts I’m developing. I also have a theory that embracing Photoshop gives you another brilliant cure for writer’s block.

I love messing around with that program and it allows my mind to wander. The result is usually a screenwriting breakthrough or at the very least an interesting image.

A Screenwriting book.

This is a new addition to my arsenal. I recently decided to go back and re-read my old screenwriting books while I develop my new feature.

Currently it’s Real Screenwriting: Strategies and Stories from the Trenches

Expect a full review when I’m done.

The Screenwriter’s Notebook

My notebook is probably the most important item I carry.

A screenwriter needs a notebook.

No matter how much time people spend buried in smart phones these days, there’s nothing like writing notes with a pen. It’s faster.

I’ve used the notebook on multiple occasions in the last few weeks as I’m completely fascinated/obsessed with my new screenplay.

My iPhone Charger

While writing down notes with a pen can be useful if not inspiring, you really can’t argue with the convenience of the iPhone. The magical device tripled my productivity. I use Celtx for screenwriting, WordPress for my blog, Outliner for notes, Analytics for stats and I’m constantly connected with Twitter and Facebook.

My iPhone is command central when I’m not at home. So you can imagine how much I use it. An extra charger is vital.

Is this information useful to you?

Probably not. Who cares what I carry in my bag each day right?

I couldn’t agree more. Did this article change your life? Nope. Did you learn anything other than random facts about me? Not really.

But…

Are you thinking about screenwriting?

THE ATHLETIC NERD

42 iPad Links For Filmmakers, Screenwriters & Movie Lovers

Directors, Producers, Designers, Photographers, Musicians… Artists.

iPad = Creativity

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