Questions.
Honest answers.
What is the current status of CineTwin, and what is the ambition behind the project?
CineTwin is currently in a fairly advanced beta stage, but it is still a work in progress. Not everything is finished, and there is more to develop, refine, and test.
Our ambition is for CineTwin to become a digital twin of a real lighting setup, where working digitally follows the same practical principles as working on set. We want you to explore lighting ideas and plan setups using equipment that behaves and fits together as it would in the real world. We are still working toward that goal, and we want to be open about what is ready and what is still in development.
Which platforms does CineTwin support?
CineTwin is currently available for Mac only. We are focusing on the Mac version first, to see whether it finds an audience of paying users before expanding to other platforms.
What kind of Mac do I need?
An M1 Max Mac — hardware that is now around five years old — is the baseline we are targeting. More powerful Macs should offer a better experience. We are still developing and refining the rendering engine, so performance and hardware requirements may change as the beta progresses.
What is still unfinished?
The rendering engine is still under development, and the asset library is not yet complete. CineTwin is a fairly advanced beta, but there is still work to do on both the renderer and the range of assets available.
We are not yet satisfied with the app’s responsiveness, especially during real-time interaction. There is more work to do, and we believe there is room to make the app feel faster and more responsive as you work.
Animation is also at an early stage. We want to make it easier to use and improve how movement is handled. We are still finding the right approach to camera moves and other animation, with the aim of making motion feel natural and controlled, as it would in real life, without erratic jumps or bouncing.
Will there be a Windows version?
Possibly, but we are not committing to a Windows version yet. First, we want to see whether CineTwin gains traction on Mac and attracts paying users. If it does, we would consider bringing it to Windows too. There is no confirmed timeline at this stage.
What does “digital twin” mean for CineTwin?
For us, it means more than recreating the look of a lighting setup. Our goal is for the way you build that setup to reflect how you would work in real life, including the practical constraints of the equipment.
For example, a light should only fit a stand if the real equipment is compatible. If that combination does not work in the real world, it should not work in CineTwin either.
That is the design philosophy we are building toward. It is an ambition for the finished experience, not a claim that every real-world rule is already implemented in the current beta.