Kino AI

Luke Igel and Wesley Block met at MIT and began making MIT:Regressions in 2020. Organizing the documentary’s material inspired software for automatic labeling, transcription and footage search. Kino AI subsequently joined Y Combinator’s Summer 2023 batch.⁠[1]

Igel recalled deployments on Survivor and Beef, followed by a 2025 rebuild as a unified editor using code to express editing decisions.⁠[2]

Official updates added recording and trimming tools, Windows and Ubuntu desktop apps, a built-in agent, review links and project tabs. October additions included LUT imports, editable captions and template browsing, extending the product from footage management into a broader editing workflow.⁠[3]

The updated terms and privacy document names Kino AI, Inc. as operator. It covers account, payment, usage and technical information, used for service delivery, security and transactions. The policy describes sharing with service providers and retention tied to processing purposes and applicable requirements.⁠[4]

Igel introduced Kino for importing footage, selecting highlights, collaborative editing and review links, with Claude Code and Codex connections. The launch emphasized a shared timeline for people and agents.⁠[2]

Kino combines a media library, editable timeline and review notes. Its website describes motion graphics built on Remotion and templates for titles, maps, captions and transitions. Users can refine details visually and manually adjust clips after an agent edits them.⁠[5]

By default, Kino stores 720p proxies in the cloud while originals remain locally unless uploaded. Searches can distinguish speech from visual content and filter by people, codec, camera or shoot date. Saved filters become smart bins that update as new footage arrives.⁠[6]

The desktop app exposes an MCP service so Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor and other tools can search footage and edit projects. Kino must remain open while external agents work. Documentation also provides Mac setup for ChatGPT and Claude Desktop.⁠[7]

People and agents can edit the same project with synchronized changes. Agent edits create checkpoints, and users can save and restore versions. Frame-specific review comments return to the timeline for replies, resolution or agent action; delivery can include versions in different dimensions.⁠[8]

Kino can read supported projects or libraries from DaVinci ResolveDaVinci ResolveDaVinci Resolve is post-production software developed by Blackmagic Design, combining editing, color grading, visual effects, motion graphics, audio post-production and photo editing. Available in free and paid Studio editions, it originated as a professional grading system from DaVinci Systems.Open the full entry, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, CapCut and After EffectsAdobe After EffectsAdobe After Effects is Adobe’s desktop software for motion graphics, compositing and visual effects. It was developed by CoSA, a start-up in Providence, Rhode Island, which released version 1.0 in January 1993; it became an Adobe product after Aldus acquired CoSA and Aldus merged into Adobe, and in 2019 its principal developers received a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Open the full entry, relink media and rebuild timelines. Desktop migration and manual file selection are available. Documentation recommends using chat to address remaining issues after import.⁠[9]

Supported footage includes ProRes, DNxHD/DNxHR, Blackmagic RAW, selected REDCODE RAW, H.264 and HEVC. Exports include H.264, HEVC, VP9, AV1 and ProRes. Documentation excludes older RED sensors, ARRI RAW and Canon Cinema RAW Light.⁠[10]

Free access covers local editing, imports, exports and MCP connections. Paid capabilities include shareable links, searchable footage and AI editing. Credits support transcription, scene detection, search and generation, renew each billing cycle, and incur on-demand charges for overages. Current plans determine allowances.⁠[11]

The separate Filmstrip web tool detects scene cuts locally and exports filmstrips, still frames, animated GIFs or short clips for reviewing and dividing existing video.⁠[12]

Transcode converts camera or Avid footage locally in the browser to H.264 MP4 or ProRes MOV without upload or registration. Users can select a range, but HDR and wide-gamut conversion and some older formats such as MPEG-2 are unsupported; color and bit-depth preservation are conditional.⁠[13]