Celtx is an all-in-one, real-time system for collaborating on the writing and planning of films, videos, games, and VR productions from the Canadian company of the same name. Higher pricing tiers and the Celtx Pro plan include project management features such as budgeting, resource scheduling, and reporting with a project management dashboard. The Celtx freemium plan includes access to the service's online script editor, allowing users to create and print scripts and screenplays as pdfs.
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Frame.io
Score 9.1 out of 10
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Frame.io in New York offers a video collaboration platform, supporting the video editing process by providing creative teams with time stamped comments, annotations and hashtags, and an accelerated sharing and approval process, as well as integrations with popularly used editing tools (e.g. Final Cut Pro) to enhance the editing and collaboration process.
In our experience at Eight Engines, Celtx shines in multi-faceted projects that require extensive pre-production planning. For instance, when working on Transport for Greater Manchester's promotional videos, the software's breakdown features helped us meticulously plan everything from location shoots to talent schedules, ensuring a smooth operation. Similarly, its robust scriptwriting tools were invaluable in our work with the BBC, where nuanced storytelling is key. However, for smaller, quick-turnaround projects, such as social media clips or internal training videos, Celtx can be a bit of an overkill. The platform's comprehensive features may not be fully utilised, making simpler tools or templates sometimes more efficient for these tasks. Additionally, Celtx's pricing model might not be cost-effective for freelancers or smaller teams that only need a scriptwriting tool, without the additional pre-production features. Overall, while Celtx is an excellent all-in-one solution for complex video projects, it might be less appropriate for simpler tasks or smaller teams with budget constraints.
The best thing about frame.io (and the reason we subscribed to the service in the first place), is it is very easy for clients to give notes when reviewing videos we produce for them. It allows them -- forces them, actually -- to give frame specific notes, so there is no confusion about what shot they are talking about. The one thing that would be nice would be another area for clients to make more global, general notes, so that both the global and specific notes could all be referenced in one place. But overall, had this service for about three years and still very happy with it.
Simple UI. Its drag and drop interface makes uploading and organizing something that happens inherently. Versioning is a huge issue when reviewing videos and frame allows you to keep old versions while prioritizing updated edits on the same link.
Frame.io allows you to make accurate notes on a video down to the frame - including drawing on a frame to indicate exact details your notes refer to. This allows for your post team to know exactly what the note-maker is referring to.
Privacy settings. Frame has an easy way to manage sharing by providing a "review link" and a "presentation" - this allows you to limit whether a reviewer has access to provide notes or just to review an edit. Simple password protection is an option for any review as well as the option for allowing a file to be downloadable.
Though I love the integration with After Effects, it's a tiny bit buggy from time to time. You'll need to re-sign in once a week (at least, this is what my tests have determined) and there is an issue with timeline jumping. If you click onto a comment, the timeline takes you to the problem area, but if you move the playhead elsewhere and click onto the same comment, it will not return you to the location. You must first click onto a different comment, then back onto the original. It's silly, and to me, a bug that will be resolved eventually.
Frame.io does not provide an archiving feature, so it's a bit of sore spot to delete old videos. When running into storage problems, which you might depending on your plan, you'll need to remove old videos.
Video links play natively at 560p. I don't understand this, as 720p or 1080p should be the standard playback resolution. This means some clients might not be as technologically-savvy, and won't think to click onto the resolution button to upgrade the resolution playback. I've had clients ask why the video was "low-quality" when they needed to change the resolution. This feels like boneheaded development to me.
I've used other video review systems, Frame was the only one I didn't question how they allowed you to review - I just started reviewing. It's that simple. It's easy to set up projects, invite collaborators, and then provide a final cut for download. It's naturally built for the kind of work that TV/Film & video production companies do.
I've only reached out to Frame.io a few times but they responded quickly and offered achievable solutions. The fact that I haven't had to reach out to them more is proof that the platform is easy to use, reliable, and can run on its own. The only issues we have had were related to uploading issues on our end.
We prefer Celtx's user-friendly approach over Final Draft for its intuitive interface and ease of onboarding. Unlike Final Draft, which can have a steeper learning curve, Celtx allows us to dive straight into the creative process without getting bogged down by complex functionalities. This streamlined user experience promotes collaboration, as team members can effortlessly switch between scriptwriting, pre-production planning, and other tasks. In a fast-paced agency setting, Celtx's accessibility is not just a preference but a necessity for efficient work.
Frame.io is better when being compared to the Google Drive as a platform just because of the usability. Frame.io has a more simple design format, that makes organizing projects and file structures much more readily available when doing a quick search. The ability to review and comment on the different projects is also better in Frame.io as it shows who said what and at what timecode they are referring to.
