CeltX Shots for iPad: Made of Awesome
Who knew all this storytelling coolness would one day fit in your pocket?
I’m a big fan of mobile tools for working on set, and drumming up camera/ set blocking/ storyboards are key to getting from concept to concrete in everyone’s mind. Communication is key, so I’ll use whatever I can to get the visuals out to all involved.
That said, I use OmniGraffle and Celtx Studio to do the voodoo I do in those departments and dare I say, with much aplomb. I’ve not to be failed yet with these app’s in my digital toolbox.
Not ones to rest on their laurels, the fine folks at Celtx HQ have been busy bee’s indeed, the fruit of their labors proving second to none. Much app alchemy is drummed up in the Celtx Lab of Awesome; the latest release is called Celtx Shots.
Celtx Shots is a storyboarding and set-blocking app transfigured to work alongside the basic Celtx & Celtx Script platforms on the desktop as well as on your iPad. Fear not, ye of little storyboard producing acumen; this app will light your way to enlightenment. No need to draw a thing (you can add diagrams, photos, etc) and yet relish in the fact you’ve got clear, concise plans produced in a short time. A few hours with Celtx Shots, and you ‘ll be flying thru the stuff that may have taken days, prior. Clean, practical and downloadable. Nice. Mobile mastery of your set blocking and storyboards is at hand.
Keeping it real. Simple.
Simple tools abound, enabling scale-able geometric shapes, lines, and whatnot; augmented with standard directional arrows, camera icons, dolly track (straight & curved), lighting rigs, etc. Many of these come with both side and birds’ eye views to accommodate your perspective and placement needs for blocking descriptions. Handy!
Buy the additional Celtx Art Pack, and you’ll have a plethora of images to play with (There are people, too). If you need to add some photo’s or images previously created on your desktop, load them in thru iPad’s Gallery or snap a shot on the fly with your iPad 2′s on-board camera. Nice to have while doing a simple layout, or working out some blocking on a location scout. Got your stuff loaded up? Drop your images into your storyboards or script. Very cool.
Some good things in life are Free
To get started, you’ll want to grab Celtx online for your desktop. The basic set up is free (as in, no cash money need change hands) so have at it. Be sure to get hold of the CeltX Sync Plugin, too – enabling export of your script to both Celtx Shots and CeltX Script. A must have. Once this is up and running, away you go!
Celtx has a viewer/ player to roll thru your storyboards/ images/ sketches & layouts much like an animatic, or Leica reel. Sync this stuff to your laptop / desktop and iPad, and your off to the races. You can even share the images thru CeltX via either Celtx Studio, or shoot the images / pages/ storyboards off as separate files to share digitally or print and hand around.
“Your Creativity Knows No Bounds”. Indeed. Intuitive, inexpensive, and super practical. I like it.
As for storyboards, check this gem from yesteryear The Art of Storyboards. Campy, timeless, wonderful stuff. Enjoy!
OmniGraffle on iPad: Hello, Hollywood!
If picture is worth a thousand words, what could I get for a fancy Diagram?
I’m a huge fan of OmniGraffle. As a TV series director, I’ve been using it for years on all sorts of production adventures. I have to say, like a fine vintage wine, it’s only gotten better with age. I’m not talking old age… but it’s been around a little while, and picking up hordes of happy users along the way.
Unlike a vintner’s special stash collecting dust in the cellar, the folks behind OmniGraffle have been keeping things up to date with mobile technology, pushing the process of capturing your wildest ideas, thought trains and myriad mind-meanderings on to the most current, coolest mobile platform: the iPad. Yes, it’s true.
Old guys like using new technology, too
For a bunch of us ‘old timers’ accustomed to seeing the wondrous works of OmniGraffle solely on our Mac (or PC), we now have the option to bring this secret weapon to work, on- set or where-have-you, and fire away with diagrams, mind-mapping, sketching, etc on the go. It’s all about communicating your ideas here, and OmniGraffle does it supremely well on the iPad.
Personally, I use it from pre-production through to post production. Especially handy for me is building quick diagrams; I can whip up a quick set plan for blocking, compile notes, change plans on the fly, and immediately work these changes out with client & crew visually. Film production being a visual medium, we’re already on the same page, so this approach makes things fast, easy and downloadable– print and save as a .pdf for later reference. How cool is that?
Speaking of coolness, here’s a bunch of free Omnigraffle stencils to download for Film & TV work – click & grab ‘em!
Pre-Production Planning & Omnigraffle = BFF’s
I’m all about working the OmniGraffle magic for mind-mapping, story concepts, script notes, set blocking, etc. Once I have a bunch of my references, notes, diagram’s and whatnot ready to go, I’ll share with the storyboard artist, and DP, et al both digitally and on paper, if need be. For the visual effects & pre-visualization departments, I use Omnigraffle to map out the ‘lay of the land’, recording key data on-set for inclusion later (camera placement, lens info, F-stops, green screen set up’s, location notes, etc). All of this can saved and printed or shared online or as .pdf files, of course. When things shift and change on set ( I hear this happens to others, too), fire up Omnigraffle and change what you like. It’s digital. Neat.
Taz Goldstein likes it, too
A real pro, a director, all around great guy and mobile tech savvy man with a plan, Taz from HandHeldHollywood.com shared a very cool vid and accompanying post explaining how HE uses Omnigraffle (on his iPad) in his role as film director. Taz has kindly granted permission for me to post his vid, below. He’s just that kinda guy. Have a look:
Been to HandHeldHollywood.com?
Trip on over there why don’t you. Taz Goldstein is awesome, a great guy and he’s got the 411 on most any app worthy of film production usefulness on your iPhone/ iPad/ iTouch. His iPad App Directory is chock full of awesome– a veritable Pot of Gold.
From the OmniGraffle App site, a summary:
“OmniGraffle for iPad is the tool to help you organize your thoughts visually, document them beautifully, and communicate your ideas to the world.”
Doesn’t get a whole lot better than that, and for $49.99, it’s costlier than other production apps… but worth every penny. Check it and let me know what you think!
Excelsior-
M
SketchUp PRO is GO for Filmmakers!
What do Tyruben Ellingson (Lead Vehicle Designer for Cameron’s AVATAR), Production Designer James Bissel (Zack Snyder’s ’300′), and the production design/ special effects team on Chris Nolan’s INCEPTION have in common? They use SketchUp Pro. Do you?
Peruse the goodness, Pilgrim:
Art directors, film Makers and cinematographers alike use SketchUp Pro to create storyboards, digital lay-outs & virtual models for commercials, films, and visual effects, exploring complex conceptual plans during pre-production. From concept art to storyboards to on set camera moves, SketchUp plays a part in pre-visualizing and disseminating ideas in 3D. Pretty cool as it was, it just got even better with Advanced Camera Tools.
Using SketchUp Pro, you can view your virtual set/ location through a wide selection of cameras, select a lens/aspect ratio combination, adjust focal length & position, and preview your shots through the virtual camera. Camera tilt, dolly, truck and pedestal moves are simulated to reflect real camera movement. Still not a believer? Here are some case studies from working pro’s using SketchUp for Pre-Viz. To make life even easier, there’s even a plethora of free SketchUp training videos for perusal HERE.
The New Big Deal:
Google has finally dropped an update! In an effort to keep pace with the techno leaps and bounds fueled by the ongoing revolution in digital filmmaking, the newly minted Advanced Camera Tools plugin has arrived. This fancy pants plugin is FREE for paid subscribers of SketchUp 8 Pro.
Be ye a Mac or Windows person, it’s no matter; this thing swings both ways. There’s even a SketchUp version for the iPad. That’s cool, too.
Here’s the skinny on the Advanced Camera Tools Plugin-to-die-for:
It’s got a bunch (as in dozens) of pre-configured camera types ready to be dropped in a scene. You can even build your own virtual camera to your specs. As for onboard cameras, there are lots to choose from; 35mm to 65mm, Reds, Phantoms, etc. Neat.
Courtesy of www.formfonts.com
Get that camera into the scene, choose an aspect ratio & focal length, then maneuver the virtual camera in scene via basic keyboard strokes. Visualizing multi-camera fields of view are no worry; frustum lines provide the overhead views and volumes. Views of the scene are readily had through the camera itself. How cool is that?
It’s alot of coolness for the $495 this will cost ya. Should you need a shove closer to the edge of commitment, have a look at Google’s vid below to entice and intrigue. Take SketchUp Pro 8 for a spin; Google’s giving away a trial download. Have at it!
