WATT-IF turns your location scout into a lighting flight simulator. Build the plan, get director buy-in, and hand the gaffer a printable blueprint before the trucks even arrive.
Beta. Processing time and output quality vary. Verify exposure and electrical decisions with professional tools and qualified crew.
The Android build and shared capture adapter are in the branch, but real-device verification is incomplete. Do not rely on Android capture for a production room reconstruction yet. For the verified capture workflow, use a LiDAR-equipped iPhone Pro or supported iPad Pro.
iOS · Verified Beta CaptureAndroid · Internal BetaiPhone Pro / iPad Pro LiDAR · Verified Capture Path
Pre-light the question before you pre-light the room.
Set a simple relationship between key, fill, and a background panel. This is an honest planning cue, not a substitute for a meter, a gaffer, or the actual location.
Key-led balanceShape the subject. Keep the room present.
Quick pre-light lesson
Set the conversation.
Move the controls, read the relationship, then carry that question into the Field Guide and the real room.
Key intensity
Fill intensity
Background panel
2.2 : 1
A flexible portrait starting point. The key has shape; the fill keeps the shadows open.
Don't tell them what you want. Hand them the blueprint.
A mood board is a suggestion. A WATT-IF Set Plan gives the electric department a concrete starting point from the actual location. Review the planned fixtures, diagrams, and gear list together, then validate exposure, power, rigging, and final placement on set.
Concept visual, not a product screenshot. A real Set Plan PDF sample with lux and power-budget values will publish after native export QA.
How It Works
The cost of not using WATT-IF is measured in hours.
Every hour your crew spends experimenting with lights on set costs you money. WATT-IF moves the experimentation to pre-production. Scan the location, drop in the fixtures, and walk on set with a plan you already trust.
01 / Capture
Capture the location
Capture supported locations with a LiDAR-equipped iPhone. Three loops: eye-level, downward-tilted, upward-tilted.
Supported capture path · iPhone 12 Pro+ · LiDAR
02 / Build
Build the spatial reconstruction
Cloud processing produces a photo-textured mesh and aligned static splat.
Cloud processing · 15-25 min
03 / Light
Test virtual fixtures and estimated light
Drop cinema fixtures into your reconstruction. Review estimated lux, ratios, and exposure values.
Physics-informed estimates
04 / Export
Export the plan for the crew
Generate a Set Plan PDF, Recipe PNG, Gear CSV, or Digital Twin JSON. Hand the gaffer a document they can rig from.
PDF · PNG · CSV · JSON
The Stage · Fixture Planning Surface
Drop a fixture. Review estimated values. Plan your setup.
The Stage lets you place virtual cinema fixtures on your reconstruction and review estimated illuminance values.
Fixture-led planning
Build a virtual lighting setup with supported fixture types, modifiers, placement, and color controls. Treat manufacturer references as planning inputs, then verify the final plan on set.
Estimated light values
Review subject illuminance, key/fill relationship, exposure guidance, and power planning values as physics-informed estimates.
Lighting presets
Start with classic portrait patterns such as Rembrandt, Butterfly, Split, Loop, or High Key, then revise the supported fixture setup for the room in front of you.
Recipes — save the intent
Save a lighting setup with its fixtures, camera, and subject context, then revisit the plan when you need to explore a related setup.
Illustrative planning artwork. The actual beta Stage screen below shows the current product interface.
Supported fixtures
The current picker covers LED panels, LED Fresnels, LED COBs, HMIs, tungsten ellipsoidals, and practicals. Seeded models include Aputure LS 600d Pro and Amaran 200d, ARRI SkyPanel and Orbiter, Litepanels Gemini and Astra, ETC Source Four, ARRI M40 HMI, and a 100W practical bulb.
Catalog status, October 2026: manufacturer references are planning inputs. The current registry uses a cone-based approximation until individual IES distributions are sourced and verified. New fixtures are added from manufacturer data sheets, not guessed.
Original planning artwork. It illustrates a spatial lighting conversation, not a product screen or simulation result.
Original planning visual
This visual shows the kind of spatial lighting conversation the Stage is designed to support. WATT-IF is a planning tool, not a claim that exposure, electrical, rigging, or safety decisions have been approved.
The Math
Stop Burning $500 an Hour on Set.
A 90-minute lighting overrun on a 12-person day costs roughly $750 in burned crew time. Pro is $9.99/month, or $119.88 a year. One avoided overrun can cover about six years of Pro.
Set-plan PDF · Beta
Location review — share with electric department
A single-look document with cover, top-down diagram, per-light technical table, and a power summary. Verify every electrical decision with qualified crew.
Cover · Diagram · Gear · Power Budget
Recipe PNG · Beta
A compact record of a saved look
A PNG card that records the saved Stage and its lighting context for quick reference or sharing. Final native-device QA remains pending.
Saved-look reference
Gear CSV · Beta
Rental order to the rental house
A per-light export for planning and cross-checking a gear list. Treat it as a starting point for a rental order, not an automatically approved order.
Rental order
Digital-twin JSON · Beta
Re-import on another device
A structured scene-state export for a supported downstream workflow. Local Stage and recipe persistence should not be described as cross-device sync.
Scene archive
Electrical planning note
The Set-plan PDF can summarize estimated fixture wattage and safe-load circuit counts. It is a planning aid, not an electrical calculation or a substitute for a qualified crew member's approval.
The Cine Camera & Light Meter
Pre-light through the lens. Verify the physics.
Explore body, lens, aperture, shutter, ISO, and focus-distance settings. Then check the estimated lux and contrast ratios using the built-in light meter.
M/mk AI · Text Lighting Assistant
Ask M/mk in text. Get a lighting critique you can act on.
M/mk reviews the current Stage, explains lighting choices, and can assist with supported recipe and setup actions through typed requests and tap-based actions.
Illustrative planning artwork. The beta screen below shows the current M/mk interface.
Text/tap interaction
Type a question or tap a supported action to work with the current Stage or save a recipe.
Local still-image critique
The current shell's still-image critique is local and deterministic. Your taste/style state is also local.
Cloud text reasoning
Text requests can use cloud reasoning for supported analysis and setup assistance. Treat outputs as creative guidance, not production approval.
Recipe and setup actions
Use supported actions to capture a recipe or explore a lighting plan, then confirm the final setup with crew and physical tools.
Original assistant artwork. It illustrates a lighting-review conversation, not an in-app critique screen or production approval.
Original assistant visual
This visual represents how M/mk can frame a lighting-review conversation around the current Stage. Its creative guidance is not production approval.
Lighting Reference Vocabulary
Use references to start the conversation, not replace the craft.
M/mk can discuss visual references and lighting vocabulary in text. These are interpretive learning cues, not affiliations, endorsements, or exact reproduction instructions.
Hard Overhead
The Interrogation
Single Fresnel overhead at 80° down, warm CTO gel. Eyes go dark. Oppressive, clinical. 10:1 key-to-fill ratio.
Top-Down Shadow
The Office
Overhead key at 80° tilt, warm CTO. Eyes in deep shadow. Classic high-contrast signature. 8:1 ratio.
Mixed Color Temp
The Beach
Cool blue key (8000 K, CTB) from camera-right. Warm accent from camera-left. Skin glows against blue shadows.
Natural Backlight
The Forest
Warm backlight (CTO) from directly behind. Cool skylight fill from camera-left. No front key. Golden rim.
Dreamy Soft Light
The Apartment
Giant soft key from camera-right, 4000 K, half-CTO. Matching soft fill from camera-left. Dreamy overexposure.
Theatrical Color
The Planetarium
Deep blue under-fill (8000 K) from below. Purple strip lights from both sides. Cool backlight. No warm tones.
A Realistic Day
From pre-light to wrap, in six moves.
WATT-IF is designed to support the handoff between an early lighting idea and an on-set plan. The final decisions still belong to the DP, gaffer, electrician, and the physical location.
01
Pre-light morning
You and the Gaffer review a Set Plan PDF and flag equipment or location constraints. Revise the virtual plan, regenerate the export, and confirm the updated approach together.
02
Camera prep
Use the Cine camera settings as a planning reference for today's package, then make final exposure decisions with the actual camera and physical tools.
03
Walk-through
Use the reconstruction to discuss possible blocking and fixture placement before talent arrives. Confirm occlusion, shadow behavior, and final positions in the real location.
04
First setup
The crew uses the PDF as a planning reference. Take physical readings, confirm electrical load and rigging, and revise whenever the room, gear, or talent blocking changes.
05
Coverage
Save supported recipe context as you work, then keep the physical shoot log and crew communication as the authoritative record.
06
Wrap
Export a final planning record where appropriate and retain the crew's verified notes. Final native-device export QA is pending in the current beta.
Original workflow artwork. It represents the pre-production lighting handoff, not a product screenshot.
Pricing
Professional plans.
The active beta tier is free through December 31, 2026. Post-beta configuration is shown below so the pricing story matches the product, not a fossilized Stripe mockup.
Beta Access
Free
through Dec. 31, 2026
Free users receive the active Beta tier while the beta window is open.
Beta access is not a promise of production-ready performance. Verify exposure, electrical, and location decisions with qualified crew and physical tools.
Pro
$9.99
/ month · $99.99 / year
Post-beta configuration for working filmmakers, DPs, gaffers, and higher-use professionals.
Studio is a legacy tier in the current branch and is not presented as a separate public offer.
The Creator
Joshiua Cole
Creative Director — Filmmaker — WATT-IF Inventor
WATT-IF was built by a Creative Director and filmmaker who got tired of watching talented people waste hours on lighting problems that could be solved in minutes — if the right tool existed. The gap between knowing what a lighting setup should look like and executing it on set was the problem WATT-IF was designed to close.
With a background spanning high-volume content pipelines, broadcast production systems, and cinematic pre-production, WATT-IF is a pre-lighting workflow that speaks the language of light in estimated units, reasons about fixtures from real manufacturers (Aputure, ARRI, ETC Source Four), and lets you scan your actual location and plan the light before you load a single case.
We are building a professional tool, which means being honest about its current limits. Read this before you buy.
1. Original room light stays visible in the scan.
WATT-IF does not remove all original illumination from a scan. Capture-time lighting remains visible in the reconstructed surface color. Virtual fixtures are a planning preview, not a promise of a perfect lighting simulation.
2. Values are physics-informed estimates.
The lux, exposure, and power budget values are calculated estimates. They are not a replacement for a light meter or a qualified gaffer on the day.
3. Android is Internal Beta, not verified production capture.
The Android build and capture adapter exist, but the current branch records no physical-device verification. Use LiDAR-equipped iPhone Pro or supported iPad Pro hardware for the verified room-capture workflow.
Capture the location. Plan the next lighting conversation.
Use the verified iOS LiDAR capture workflow to build a photo-textured spatial reconstruction, explore virtual fixtures, and prepare a crew-facing planning export. Android remains an Internal Beta while physical-device verification continues.
