Spend your money wisely -- on something else

Hollywood isn't a cheap place to live. You've got rent that starts at around $1000/month. You've gotta get gas, and that'll cost you $1,000/month. And you've gotta bribe your way past the doorman at Area and that's another $1,000/month. So the last thing you want to spend money on is a necessity that you can get for free. Those necessities are software to make your script look right or your short film look good.

The Hollywood Temp Diaries is not turning into PC Week. But I'd like to offer you links to software that'll save you money (because they're all free). Trust me, no one will know the difference.

Scriptwriting Software
[Cost for Final Draft -- $200]
Sure, lemme just go out and drop a few hundred on Final Draft. And instead of eating, I'll suppress my appetite by smoking these unfinished cigarettes. Or you can download one of these. I've used both and prefer Celtx. They both have their shortcomings as neither has a setting for a 3-camera sitcom format (but you should be shot for writing one anyway). They both allow you to make the file into a pdf.

• Cinergy -- http://www.mindstarprods.com/cinergy/ScriptEditor.html
• Celtx -- http://www.celtx.com/

Video Editing Software
[Cost for Final Cut Express -- $200]
Macs come with iMovie, which isn't bad. PCs come with some crappy program which is...well...crappy. I'm not an editor. Truth be told, I still look at the keyboard when I type. But these programs look cool and seem to do more than either of the pre-installed software. It ain't Avid or Final Cut, but you're not George Lucas and the price is right.

• Jahshaka -- http://jahshaka.org/
• HyperEngine -- http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11073

Word Processor, Spreadsheet and PowerPoint
[Cost for MS Office -- $200-$600]
Your new laptop is cheap, but like the razor industry, they get you by jacking up the price on things that make it work. I use pen and paper because they don't have Internet access - thus no distractions. But for those who like them new-fangled computers (they're a fad), these are really good alternatives. Google Docs is much improved from earlier versions and you can access anywhere -- even at work (except for CAA, which blocks access). OpenOffice can be clunky. But maybe you like clunky?

• Google Docs -- http://docs.google.com/
• OpenOffice -- http://www.openoffice.org/

Photo Editing
[Cost for Photoshop -- $650]
For those moments that you need a cool still for your video or reality show treatment, there's no substitute for good photo editing software. If nothing else you can graft together a picture of you with Ari Emanuel and tell your friends you met the guy from Entourage.

• Splashup -- http://www.splashup.com/
• Photoshop Express -- https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html