When it comes to developing your film, one of the biggest outlays can be the cost of the software and it’s usually the last thing to consider. Every filmmaker and video producer needs software to complete their projects, we've compiled a list of the essential software indie filmmakers.

From storyboarding to post-production, we breakdown the best software to meet your needs and budgets. The software we recommend is a combination of cost, price and quality.

Screenwriting - Celtx

Celtx is a diverse piece of screenwriting software. It has all of the essential features in the free version to write a script and collaborate with multiple people on a project. If you pay for the subscription you can use Celtx’s video production management tools and production calendar functionality.

Cost: Free (Basic version) and Paid: ($9.99 per member per month if billed annually, or $14.99 billed monthly).

Storyboarding - Storyboardfountain

Storyboard fountain is one of the best programmes to visualise your story where you can pull the text from the page and onto your storyboard, it also allows you to upload your script from other script editing software. You can then begin to create your storyboard within the script and bring it to life with the visualiser pen that allows you to sketch out each scene with ease. This helps when pitching the script to potential collaborators. You can even export out from Storyboard Fountain and import directly into Premiere Pro where you can record over with the actual footage from the film to assist with post-production.

Cost: Free.

Video editing - Adobe Premiere Pro

We know the previous software mentioned is free, however, Adobe Premiere Pro is an essential editing tool. The seamless integration with other Adobe products is a huge benefit. When in post-production the combination of after-effects and premiere pro can bring your film to life. It works with multiple video formats with excellent tools to mix audio and reformat video specs. It includes colouring tools like Lumetri Scopes to polish off your footage to give your final film an edge.

Cost: Dependent on the package (If you are a student you receive a huge discount on the Adobe Cloud).

A free alternative we recommend is Blender.

Audio Editing - Audacity

Audacity is an open-source free-to-use audio editing platform. It can record live audio through a microphone and digitize recordings from other media; with several effects and plugins, you can create an authentic and crisp sound. It also allows you to remove or reduce background noise from pre-recorded audio in a few simple steps. The spectrogram is an essential tool to visualise and analyse the audio levels.

Your software doesn’t have to be an expensive part of filmmaking. There are plenty of options out there to suit your budget that will help you create a polished and high-quality film.

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