Roughly three years ago, Kessler launched the kOS app for the first time to provide a control interface for their motion control products, such as the Kessler Second Shooter or the CineShooter. Now, the company has announced a new version v5.1 that brings a few interesting upgrades. Let’s take a quick look at what is new.

Kessler kOS v5.1

The new update of the Kessler kOS app follows the recent launch of the Kessler CineShooter+ motion control system, which introduced several improvements over its predecessor, for instance, an Unreal Engine tracker-less integration. This feature is also included in the recent kOS version v5.1. It will now be possible to synchronize the camera’s motion in the Unreal engine-generated scene with the Kessler motion controller without the need for a tracker. Kessler published a useful tutorial on how this integration works.

Please note that for the Unreal integration, the paid Premium kOS version is required. The full kOS v5.1 release notes include the following:

• Added support for Unreal Engine (see documentation in app).
• The horizontal location (time) of multiple key frames on the graph can now be adjusted simultaneously.
• Device names can now be changed by right-clicking (or long pressing) on a device button.
• When selecting a Time Lapse or Stop Motion Exposure amount, additional choices have been added in five-second intervals up to two hours.
• Added support for Logitech Gamepad 310 (Windows version only).
• Various bug fixes and UI/performance improvements.

Kessler kOS functionality overview

In case you are not familiar with the Kessler kOS app, here is a brief overview of the supported functions:

• Movement
  • Live Motion
  • Event Mode
  • Timelapse
  • MultiLapse
  • Stop Motion
  • GigaPixel
  • Analog Control
• Compositing
  • Repeatable Moves – CineShooter+ is a nodal head with accuracy and repeatability, suitable for visual effects.
  • Same Move, any Duration – You can play the same move for 4 seconds or even 4 months. The move will always be the same.
  • Audio Sync – Easily sync audio with your move with built-in visual features. 
  • Flash Mark/Bloop Align – Use visual or audio-based marks for aligning takes for visual effects.
• Interactive Graph
  • 20 Keyframes per Axis – With kOS Premium you can program up to 20 keyframes per axis/motor.
  • Bezier Curves- Add and customize ease-ins and ease-outs to every keyframe for smooth moves.
  • Precise Positioning – Input an exact position directly.
  • Looping – Simply select one-time or continuous looping.
  • Bump Buttons – Useful for quickly moving the motors into the desired position.
  • Scrub through Move – Scrub through your move live to preview or to go to a spot on the graph instantly.
• Other
  • Camera Control – control your camera’s shutter or start and stop recording.
  • Delay – add an amount of time before or after the move or set a specific start time/date.
  • Multiple Tabs – have access to more than one move at a time.
  • Pre & Post Roll – program your camera to start recording before the move starts or to keep recording after the move ends.
  • Load & Go – load your move so that it’s ready to start instantly.
  • Save Moves – save your move for future use.
  • Pre & Post Photos – program your camera to take photos before or after your timelapse move has started or ended.
  • Fast Mode – allows the motors to move at their maximum speed.
  • Quiet Mode – this option automatically limits the motors to run at a low RPM and be quiet when sound is crucial.
  • DragonFrame – Kessler CineShooter+ & Second Shooter Pro support DragonFrame stop motion and live motion.

The Kessler kOS app is available for devices running Windows, macOS, or iPadOS systems. It now also supports client mode. This allows CineShooter+ (or Second Shooter Pro, Second Shooter Plus) and your device to connect to a location’s Wi-Fi network rather than connecting directly to the hardware’s own network. This can extend the connected range, and (if your existing network is connected to the internet) allow for easier multitasking.

Price and availability

The price of the Kessler kOS app depends on the type of licensing:

• Lite version – completely free of charge, but imposes a few limitations (no multi-lapse, Event mode, or Gigapixel, no Dropbox support, a maximum of 1 tab, and others). For the full list of differences, please refer to the Kessler webpage.
• Premium version – priced at $9.95/month, $99.95/year, or $199 for a perpetual license. It is worth noting that with the purchase of a CineShooter+, you will get 1 free year of kOS Premium.

For reference, the new Kessler CineShooter+ retails for $3,200.

Have you ever used any of the Kessler motion control systems for your work? What do you think about the new CineShooter+ and the kOS app? Do you use Unreal Engine for your productions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section underneath the article.

As a photographer, I’ve used PortraitPro for many years to retouch both individual portraits of models and artists, and often to streamline the retouching process for large amounts of photographs. For me, the program’s basic adjustments for skin smoothing and other minor imperfections can be handled much quicker and more efficiently than with Photoshop, for example. It’s been especially useful when time was of the essence and a lifesaver when dealing with large batches of photos – for example, when post-processing school and event photography. I’ve also used it to fix the lighting – something that often needs to be adjusted when a photographer has been taking one portrait after another with no time to tweak the light or camera settings. This program has a wide choice of settings, all of them adjustable, depending on your needs.

I keep my adjustments to a minimum, but this doesn’t mean the program doesn’t have a lot of capabilities for you to explore. Even before the AI integration in this version, there were intensity sliders for all the feature enhancements (like wider eyes or smaller lips) and presets to alter the lighting and background, essentially transforming a face into someone you might hardly recognize. As expected, you can change hair and eye color, add makeup, and change the background to artsy as well. It’s completely up to you how far you want to take it.

What’s new in PortraitPro 24 – key features

The integration of generative AI modules with this version allows the program to offer some interesting new features.

• Mouth inpainting & teeth replacer
• Glasses reflection remover
• Face recovery
• Skin and hair masks
• Improved workflow
• New gender and age detector

New features in detail

So what is meant exactly by some of these new features? Something that for me is most irritating, for example, is the removal of reflections in eyeglasses, and the program seems to do a pretty good job of it. The use of some of the other features, like restoring and enhancing teeth, which the program also seems to do quite well, will depend on individual preferences, but it’s nice to know it’s there. Skin and hair masks can now be saved as additional channels in TIFF files and the gender and age detector has been refined, all pointing to a more efficient workflow. The improved workflow offers the ability to easily switch between faces in groups, the ability to share presets, and more image save options as well. I’m not at all sure about Face Recovery because to me, it’s either blurry or it’s not, but again, that’s a decision we make for ourselves.

Availability and pricing

Three separate editions are available for PortraitPro 24 and are as follows:

• The stand-alone Standard edition is priced at $54.95 and includes AI-powered portrait editing, background replacement, and customer support.
• The Studio edition is priced at $94.95 and includes everything in the Standard edition, plus RAW and DNG support, Batch dialog, and Photoshop and Lightroom integration.
• The Studio Max edition is priced at $174.95 and includes everything in the Studio edition, plus fully automatic batch processing.
• You can purchase an upgrade if you already own a previous version of PortraitPro.

Check out their website to compare the details of what is included in each edition. There are also special bundles in their “Anthropics Collection” that include more of their products like LandscapePro and PortraitPro Body. Lastly, you can download a free trial of PortraitPro 24 here, to see if the program is right for you.

What do you think of the capabilities of PortraitPro 24? Do you use it or any of the previous versions? How far do you push your editing when working on portraits? Let us know in the comments below!

EVRapp is an Italian post-production software company founded by Antonio Marogna, a one-man-band photographer and filmmaker. At the core of their mission, EVRapp aims to improve “the accessibility and utility of metadata for media files within video editing platforms.”

The first version of the EVRapp ChronoX was launched back in 2020. The primary purpose of this tool is to measure your Final Cut Pro exporting times precisely. Indeed, as a benchmark tool, this is not a tool you would use every day. However, it can come in handy to optimize your computer and external drives/GPU, so your editing system is faster.

Last year, Apple introduced Final Cut Pro 10.7 with many workflow and performance improvements, including a scrolling timeline, voice-over recording and stabilization for the iPad version, and much more. One of the missing pieces within Final Cut Pro since its launch is the ability to properly check your render times/pieces of information when you have clicked “export.” To solve that problem, EVRapp launched version 2 of their ChronoX tool.

EVRapp ChronoX 2 – features

When you click the Export button, ChronoX 2, via a proprietary algorithm, can identify the exact moment Final Cut Pro started exporting your timeline. According to the company, it provides accurate timing down to the second. So, what is new within ChronoX 2?

• More precise: ChronoX 2 can measure export times very precisely, down to the centisecond.
• Expanded file format support: ChronoX 2 now supports MOV/M4V/MP4 and MXF files.
• Additional export options: automatically open the exported file directly within QuickTime Player or any other compatible application.
• Easier to install: ChronoX 2 is easier to install than its predecessor.

Two versions of ChronoX 2 are available: a standard and a professional version. The standard version only displays the elapsed export time in a pop-up window. If you want more information about your exports, the professional version can export automatically up to three times. Also, the pro version generates CSV reports with CPU/GPU information, storage media, and macOS/FCP versions.

Pricing and availability

The EVRapp ChronoX 2 tool is now available in standard (free) and professional versions for €9.99.

For more information, please visit EVRapp’s website here.

What do you think about this export tool for Final Cut Pro? Do you feel it would be helpful to optimize your editing workflow configuration? Do you wish similar tools were available for other NLEs? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!

According to their press release, the company comprising 200 employees, intends to sustain their operations until a new investor is secured. They aim to finalize a deal within the next two to three months.

Sinking revenue due to complex portfolio

Magix, which is known mostly for their Magix Video deluxe and VEGAS Pro NLE applications (which it bought from Sony in 2016), as well as their Music Maker software, has reported that revenue fell dramatically from thirty-two million Euros in 2021 to twenty million Euros in 2023. A complex product portfolio in the last years has mostly been blamed – this has led to confusion amongst customers. 

Magix offered four versions of Video deluxe, three of Vegas Pro, and two of Magix Video Pro. These were priced from €60 to €400 and offered vastly different sets of functionalities. 

This complex portfolio not only confused customers but also led to problems in product development, harming core products and their features. The company also blamed the slow adaptation of cost structure and a failure to use modern e-commerce methods for their problems. It has announced restructuring measures – which usually means layoff of personnel – in the near future. 

Focus on Vegas

Now the company wants to focus on Vegas, although Video deluxe will continue. Instead of three or four versions, only two versions of each product will be available. Releases already planned will go ahead as scheduled, the company said. 

Difficult market with free version of DaVinci Resolve

I think it’s fair to say that NLE software isn’t an easy market to be in, with a powerful software such as Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve being available for free in its standard version. Full disclosure, I am a certified Blackmagic trainer, but even our recent poll on the subject of NLEs showed how much of the market Blackmagic has already taken – see a screenshot of the current results below.

Are you using Magix products? Will you be making the switch to other applications now? Let us know in the comments below!

In one of our recent polls, our dear readers elected DaVinci Resolve as their editing software of choice. To fight back against this mass migration towards Blackmagic Design’s suite of tools, Adobe is constantly trying to improve their historical NLE with periodical, incremental updates.

Back in January, the company announced a new Beta version of Premiere Pro with a very sharp focus on audio workflow improvements. Now, although with only minimal changes, a new official release is here – so let’s take a quick look at what’s new in Premiere Pro 24.2!

Adobe Premiere Pro 24.2 – what’s new?

To start, the previously-in-Beta “Enhance Speech” function is now publicly available in Premiere Pro. This helpful repair tool, which you can find inside the Essential Sound panel, uses AI to help you remove noise from your audio recordings, making voices sound clearer and more crisp. You can see it in action in this tutorial.

On top of that, if you use Premiere Pro to create content for TikTok, you can now export directly from the NLE to the social media platform. This option, which sits under “Destinations” in the “Export” tab, also allows you to package your post with text, captions, hashtags, and keywords before publishing to social media.

Another small improvement involves the “Create Proxies” dialogue window, which now displays a new “Frame size” dropdown menu. From there, you can choose to create proxies at exactly the same, half, or quarter of your original media’s resolution. Alternatively, you can choose the “Custom” option and manually dial in your desired resolution. Moreover, the list of proxy format presets has been updated to include the following:

• H.264 in .mp4 container
• H.264 in .mov container
• ProRes
• Cineform
• DNxHR VR Monoscopic
• DNxHR VR Stereoscopic
• Custom

Furthermore, new color font options can be synced from Adobe Fonts and installed in the Essential Graphics panel, while emojis are now fully supported on Mac machines. This can be useful if you often work on social media content.

Lastly, as the Sony BURANO is now shipping, professional video editors will soon see their timelines populate with X-OCN and XAVC clips recorded with the new CineAlta camera. All flavors of both formats are now natively supported in Premiere Pro, including:

• X-OCN (LT)
• XAVC H Intra HQ
• XAVC H Intra SQ
• XAVC H Long
• XAVC Intra
• XAVC Long

Price and availability

If you already have an active subscription, you can now update to Premiere Pro 24.2 for free within the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app. Otherwise, if you’re new to Premiere Pro, you can subscribe on Adobe’s website, starting at $22.99/month.

For more information, please visit Adobe’s website here.

Are you an Adobe Premiere Pro user? What do you think of these updates? What features would you like to see in Premiere Pro in the future? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Hedge is a Dutch software company founded in 2016 and responsible for, among others, the Offshoot and Canister platforms. On this occasion, they have launched DropOff, a web-based file-sharing platform for creators. This app lets users send and receive files through their LucidLink Filespace.

DropOff at a glance

These are DropOff’s main characteristics:

• Sending files. DropOff allows users to send files by creating a link for the specific files. This link gives direct access to the files without having access to the user’s LucidLink Filespace.

• Receiving files. We can also create links to allow collaborators to send files that the users receive into their LucidLink Filespace set up in DropOff. As in the previous process, the sender has no direct access to the user’s Filespace.

• No monthly fees. Hedge decided not to charge via standing fees or periodic subscriptions. Aside from that, there are no file types, size limits, or expiration dates for the data sent or received. As an alternative, DropOff uses a flexible pay-per-GB model that is adaptable to the creators’ exact needs.

Although DropOff has a visually simple interface, Hedge ensures that the programming behind it integrates perfectly with LucidLink’s security measures. Hedge started this partnership with LucidLink after creating the PostLab Drive app. This collaboration means that DropOff currently works exclusively with LucidLink to receive files into Filespaces or share them via a secure DropOff location. New users must sign up for a LucidLink account or add their existing credentials. 

Price and availability

For new DropOff users, Hedge is offering 20GB for free so they can test the app. After that, they can top up at $0.50 per GB. You can sign up for DropOff here.  

As you will require a LucidLink Filespace when setting up, you can try LucidLink here for 14 days. After that, you have different options starting at $20. You can check them by visiting this link. 

What do you think about Hedge DropOff? Would you give it a try for sharing your projects? Let us know in the comments below!

Have you ever wished you could see where all your lights, cameras, talent, and props are on set? NANLINK APP 2.0 makes this possible with its innovative “Light Plot” feature. You can create a visual map of your set and control each element at the tap of a button. This means that there is no more guessing or searching through menus. Just tap on the fixture in “Plot” to take control and make adjustments. In addition, you can save different setups to use again later without having to start from scratch.

You can adjust the brightness, color, and effects of your NANLITE and NANLUX LED fixtures (PavoTube II, Evoke, Forza, and PavoSlim LEDs) all from your smart device – think of it as being in the director’s chair of your lighting setup.

With clear icons and vibrant graphics, the app has a sleek interface and a user-friendly design, providing a simple way to control your lights.

Speed, stability, and versatility

When you’re on a fast-paced set, speed matters, and timing is crucial. NANLINK APP 2.0 promises to deliver fast performance resulting in rapid response times, even in data-congested production environments. The APP is compatible with iOS, iPadOS, and Android devices, which allows versatility across the board.

It’s designed for individual creators and to streamline collaboration within a production crew. In particular, the Light Plot feature with the Control function provides a birds-eye view of the lighting setup, cameras, talent, and set elements. This could significantly enhance team communication and coordination.

Price and availability

The NANLINK APP 2.0 is free and available to download now in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. The iPadOS version will be available in the second quarter of 2024.

What are your thoughts on this new lighting ecosystem? Comment below!

ShotDeck is a collaborative online tool for filmmakers, creatives, film students, etc. Founded by Oscar-nominated cinematographer and director Lawrence Sher, ASC, as a solution to his needs, Shotdeck consists of a database of high-definition movie images. It works as a helpful library when looking for references or a visual style in the preproduction stage, and we have used it when trying to color grade an image, matching it to an existing movie still, for example.

A movie stills library in your smartphone and your tablet

With the new release as an iOS app, ShotDeck becomes the first image database with both a mobile and tablet app. With ShotDeck, we can create image ‘decks’ and share them with our team, ensuring everyone is on the same page – thanks to a massive database of keywords introducing us to filmmakers we may not have previously known. The good news is that we can do it now on the go, with more than one million images available from more than 5000 films, TV shows, and music videos. For those who want to study the cinematography details, the shots are tagged with information like aspect ratio, lighting, camera and lens used, shooting location, etc. 

Lawrence Sher, DoP of Joker and The Hangover Trilogy started ShotDeck in 2014 as a passion project that was officially launched in 2021, quickly becoming a community of directors, cinematographers, designers, film students, and visual artists who were looking for references for their projects. 

The new iOS app adds a new feature, the ‘Discover’ page, offering movie suggestions curated by ShotDeck’s team. Most of the other desktop version functionalities are available, including the color picker tool, where we can specify an RGB value and get shots from the library with the same HEX code. The ‘Similar Shots’ feature is also available, using AI analysis to show us similar images to a specific image source. 

Price and availability

With the Android version still under development, the ShotDeck iOS app is now available in the Apple app store, and you can subscribe for a two-week trial on ShotDeck.com. After that, you can subscribe yearly for $99.95 or monthly for $12.95. 

What do you think of the ShotDeck iOS app? Have you used ShotDeck or a similar app for your projects? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

As you will already know if you follow this site, the iPhone 15 Pro series opened a new door for filmmakers thanks to its image quality, features, and the ability to record Apple ProRes Log. As with almost any mirrorless camera, filmmakers and colorists try to find LUTs different from those provided by the brand since they find these do not match their needs and tastes.

An alternative to Apple’s official LUT

On this occasion, Henry and Ballard have done the same for the iPhone 15 Pro. The One LUT offers iPhone 15 users an alternative to its native option since some creators don’t like Apple’s standard Rec709, which they find oversaturated. The One LUT founders also found Apple’s official LUTs for Apple Log unpleasant and unnatural. Because Apple ProRes Log bypasses the dynamic tone-mapping algorithm completely and deactivates digital sharpening, they could work with a consistent and known gamma curve, making it possible to develop their Alexa matching LUT. 

The One LUT was created in a studio setting using an ARRI Alexa Mini and the iPhone 15 Pro Max in Apple Log, and the good news is that users won’t get lost in a LUT pack since The One LUT works in different conditions. Its creators have followed the philosophy of what you see is what you get, matching it to the official Alexa K1S1 Rec 709 LUT. The image quality looks really pleasant from the examples, and it is an excellent alternative for those who want a different look than the one provided by Apple. 

We can use The One LUT inside our editor or color grading suite, and it is also helpful as a preview LUT when using filmmaking apps like the Blackmagic Camera App.

Price and availability

The Apple ProRes Log One LUT is now available for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max for $25, and you can purchase it on The One LUT website. 

What do you think about The One LUT? Do you look for alternative LUTs to start your grading process? Let us know in the comments!

If you have ever tried to match the colors of cameras by different manufacturers by hand, you know what a painful process that can be – each manufacturer having their own color science and the differences in sensors all contributing to make this task difficult. There are of course already plugins available to help you with this such as CineMatch by FilmConvert, which has camera profiles for many different manufacturers.

AI-powered matching

As we reported in October, Filmatic AI claims that their tool uses an advanced algorithm that takes into account many different factors such as light spectrums, exposure, camera angles, and sensor dynamics. 

Let’s have a look at the quite impressive sample video they have released on YouTube:

Supported cameras at launch

These are the cameras that will be supported at launch. More models from the Blackmagic Pocket series, the Panasonic LUMIX GH series, and the Canon EOS C series will be added over time:

ARRI

• Alexa 35
• Alexa Mini LF
• Alexa Mini

ARRI WideGamut3/Log C and ARRI WideGamut4/LogC4.

BLACKMAGIC

• Pocket Cinema Camera 4k

BMDGen5/BMDFilm.

SONY

• Venice 1
• Venice 2
• FX3
• FX6
• FX9

S-Gamut3.Cine/S-Log3

Kodak Vision3

• 500T 5219 Film Negative
• 250D 5207 Film Negative

RED

• KOMODO
• V-RAPTOR

REDWideGamutRGB/Log3G10

In this video example, you can see a match of the Sony FX3 to an ARRI Alexa 35:

Adding your own profiles

Furthermore, the company plans on including an extension that will allow the user to submit their own camera data to create a match or to re-create their own custom looks. 

Pricing and availability

There is no word on the pricing from the company yet, but the release date has been announced as February 2024 for the DaVinci Resolve version with a version for Premiere Pro on the way soon.

We will test the plugin as soon as it is made available and will let you know the results. 

We think this plug-in is looking quite promising. What do you think? Will you use it for matching? Are there any other tools you would recommend for this purpose? Let us know in the comments below!