Writing and Budgeting and Scheduling, Oh My!

Which writing, budgeting, scheduling production software from this list is most recommended, used and why? Now, I have my personal favorites but… I'd still like to hear your side of the story. Please participate?

Movie Magic Screenwriter - http://www.write-bros.com/movie-magic-screenwriter.html

EP Movie Magic Budgeting & Scheduling - https://www.ep.com/products/

Final Draft - http://www.finaldraft.com/

Gorilla Budgeting & Scheduling - http://www.junglesoftware.com/home/index.php

Slugline - http://slugline.co/basics/

Microsoft Word -

Movie Draft - http://www.moviedraft.com/us/

Adobe Story Free - http://story.adobe.com/

Fade In - http://www.fadeinpro.com/

Celtx (FREE) - https://www.celtx.com/features.html
 
I know people still like pushing Celtx, heck I used to push it too. That was five years ago though and lately it's become so bloated it's annoying. Final Draft has been buggy and way overpriced. If you want free, and are on Windows or Linux, Trelby is pretty good, though it hasn't been developed in a while. Personally, I use FadeIn. It's actively developed, free updates, and works on win/mac/linux. It's not bloated with features, or overly busy, just a nice solid screenwriter.

For planning the film, I use MovieMagic Schedule and Budget. They just work, everytime, without issue.

I have tried practically every solution on the list, and even some that aren't and for me, this is what I found is best.
 
For writing drafts, I use Google Docs and John August's Fountain syntax. Makes it easy to write from wherever. And I have current drafts synced for offline use so I can work whether my internet is working or not.

For breakdowns and scheduling, I've been using Celtx. Although I'm also a fan of just doing things the old fashioned way, and just color-coding my script and then budgeting in a spreadsheet. Then again, when you're dealing with a 10-page short, that's not very difficult.

I think for the feature I'm about to put into pre-production, I'll use something a bit more powerful.
 
Hi cameron, Pleasure meeting you and Thank you for your input. I love meeting new people especially fellow filmmakers and enthusiasts. I'm not a real fan of working online for the main reason of confidentiality but to each his/her own. I too have been called old fashion for doing things the tried and true way. As for my workflow? I've honed it over the years. I use Final Draft to write the script and its companion program, Tagger, to import it, lock it and then break it down. Next, I export the script file so it can be imported into Movie Magic's EP Scheduling and Budgeting software. Then I save and backup the original file for archival purposes and make just one file copy to send to the producer or line producer so they can print out or make copies to distribute them to all departments or everyone involved like the crew, above-the-line and below-the-line. Or we can save money by emailing everyone the shooting script on their laptop, smartphone or tablet as a PDF file or other digital file format. Sometimes I use Movie Magic Screenwriter too and I've been wanting to try out Slugline.
 
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I'm a solid Celtx fan, but I use a really old version (2.9.7) that's actually on my computer as a software program, not some online thing.

The way it's changed now, I wouldn't use it. The current version appeals to a completely different user base. I'm lucky I got into writing a while ago.
 
I'm a solid Celtx fan, but I use a really old version (2.9.7) that's actually on my computer as a software program, not some online thing.

The way it's changed now, I wouldn't use it. The current version appeals to a completely different user base. I'm lucky I got into writing a while ago.

Thanks for your input chris and a pleasure to meet you.
 
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