The full version of Hotspring’s Slapshot AI for VFX toolkit has now been launched.
Slapshot launches with two core tools – Rotoscoping and Generative Retiming and, in the coming months, will continue to “expand the number and scope of tools in the toolkit.”
Slapshot’s AI-powered rotoscoping allows users to select and isolate elements “in just a few clicks” with results exportable in formats such as EXR, JPG, and MOV in hard and soft mattes.
The Generative Retiming tool uses AI to predict and generate new frames, enabling video extensions of up to 200%.
“One of the things we’ve spent a lot of time on is building a platform that can scale out to support a whole host of AI technologies, not just rotoscoping. There’s so much great research happening in this space that we thought it was super important to build an application that would allow us to onboard these technologies as rapidly as possible, and that’s exactly what we’ve done with Slapshot. It’s going to drastically reduce the time it takes for the latest research to make it onto the screen,” said Jon Mason, Co-Founder and CEO of SLAPSHOT.
Hotspring & SLAPSHOT Managing Director, Ben Stallard, said: “It’s important to understand that AI-Powered Rotoscoping and VFX are not intended to replace traditional Rotoscoping in Film, TV, or Commercial Production. Instead, it serves as a complementary tool used alongside traditional techniques when appropriate. Whilst AI Roto adds efficiency and provides options faster than before, it’s rarely intended to produce final results in high-end productions. Its primary role is for tasks like temp work, editing, or background elements in appropriate shots. This technology enhances workflows without replacing the precision of hand-done roto in professional pipelines.”
“If you’re an individual creator, adding VFX to your work has traditionally been too expensive. You just don’t have the budget to create the work using the toolsets that exist today,” said Mason. “We believe AI can bridge this gap, bringing down the cost of creating visual effects, and empowering millions of content creators to tell better stories.”
“Most of the recent innovation in the VFX market has been focused on pushing big, expensive, manual processes a little bit further,” Mason said. “With the rise of the creator economy, it’s time to make these VFX tools and techniques accessible to everyone. SLAPSHOT is the first step toward making high-end visual effects affordable and easy to use, helping creators produce more compelling content.”
The app has been created by the team behind Hotspring: Co-Founder and CEO Jon Mason, Co-founder, COO and Head of Product Varun Parange, and Managing Director Ben Stallard. Recent projects include The Tattooist of Auschwitz; feature film ‘Timestalker,’ written, directed and starring Alice Lowe; Disney short film ‘The Boy & The Octopus;’ Direct to Brand campaign of 3 commercials for Squarespace; and 2024 Christmas Commercials for John Lewis, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.