PAL-NTSC
Professional production management — built for filmmakers who work under occupation, across checkpoints, and through infrastructure that the rest of the industry never had to think about.
NTSC
PAL-NTSC
Production Tools
The tools exist. They weren't built for this.
StudioBinder, Celtx, Filmustage — they're good tools. They assume stable internet, unrestricted movement, predictable power, and that your biggest scheduling constraint is an actor's availability.
For filmmakers in Gaza, the West Bank, and across the Palestinian diaspora, the constraints are different. Checkpoints fragment your shooting schedule. Power cuts kill cloud-only workflows. Communication blackouts make real-time collaboration impossible. And $29–99 per month per project is a barrier when your production budget comes from solidarity, not studios.
PAL-NTSC is a direct response. Not a stripped-down version of someone else's tool — a production app designed from first principles for the conditions Palestinian filmmakers actually work in.
Core Modules
Everything a production needs, from first draft to wrap
Screenwriting
Industry-standard screenplay formatting with real-time collaboration, automatic scene numbering, and export to PDF/FDX.
AV Scripts
Two-column audio/visual script editor for documentary and interview-based productions. Timestamped, sync-ready.
Shot Lists & Storyboards
Visual shot planning with camera angles, lens choices, movement notes, and drag-and-drop storyboard assembly.
Call Sheets
One-click call sheet generation from your schedule. Crew contacts, location maps, weather, and safety notes — all formatted for mobile.
Scheduling
Stripboard-based scheduling with automatic conflict detection, weather windows, permit tracking, and checkpoint awareness.
Task Management
Department-level task boards with dependencies, priority flags, and progress tracking — from pre-production through wrap.
Design Principles
What makes PAL-NTSC different from every other production tool
Offline-First
Full functionality without internet. Sync when connectivity returns. Designed for areas with unreliable infrastructure, power cuts, and communication blackouts.
Free for Palestinian Productions
No paywall for filmmakers in Palestine. Production companies and crews operating under occupation should not have to pay Western SaaS prices to tell their own stories.
Checkpoint-Aware Scheduling
Built-in awareness of movement restrictions, permit zones, and access constraints. The scheduling engine accounts for realities that no existing tool even acknowledges.
Arabic-First Interface
Full RTL support with Arabic as a first-class language, not an afterthought. Bilingual production documents that respect the language of the crew.
Competitive Landscape
How existing tools compare — and where they fall short
| Tool | Pricing | Strength | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| StudioBinder | $29–99/mo | Full-featured production management | No offline mode, no conflict-zone considerations, US/EU-centric design |
| Celtx | $15–25/mo | Strong screenwriting integration | Limited scheduling, no call sheet generation, cloud-only |
| Filmustage | $49/mo | AI-powered script breakdown | AI-focused, requires stable internet, no free tier for independents |
| Saturation | $20/mo | Free tier for budgeting | Budgeting only — no scripts, no scheduling, no call sheets |
| PAL-NTSC | Free* | All of the above, unified | In development |
* Free for Palestinian productions. Sustainable pricing for international crews.
A documentary and a tool
In the Shadow of Now isn't just telling the story of Palestinian life — it's building infrastructure for Palestinian storytellers. PAL-NTSC is a core deliverable of this project: a production tool that outlives the documentary and serves every Palestinian filmmaker who comes after.
The name encodes the mission. PAL and NTSC are broadcast standards — the technical systems that determine how the world sees moving images. PAL-NTSC bridges them, just as this tool bridges the gap between professional production infrastructure and the filmmakers who've been locked out of it.
PAL-NTSC is being built alongside the documentary. Follow the project for updates, or get in touch if you'd like to contribute to development.