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If you’ve got an iPhone, wifi, Final Cut Pro and a large edit suite in which you would like to kick back on the couch to view an edit then Keymote is the app for you. Keymote has a very simple basic purpose: “control your computer from your iPhone or iPod Touch using shortcuts.” It’s a great application of the concept of the iPhone as a remote in that people can write application support for Keymote. Once you have purchased and installed the app ($3.99) you can then shop for and download new application support right from within the app, kind of like shopping for applications with the iPhone’s built-in App Store. All of the applications that  I have added to Keymote have been free as well. You then download the free Keymote Receiver and you can then use the device to control your computer. There’s a lot of different support applications but the apps of note for editors are Motion, Photoshop CS4, QuickTime Pro and Final Cut Pro.

From the Keymote website:

  • Gorgeous, user-friendly interface that matches the current Apple hardware.
  • Make remotes for any application under any WiFi network.
  • Easily organize sets of keystrokes (keysets) and find the ones you use most.
  • Includes option for using black and white keys, key sounds, and more.
  • Built-in Shortcut Editor allows you to easily create a Keyset for your favorite Application.
  • Built-in Keymote Store allows you to download free Keysets for the applications you use most.
  • Share Keysets you create with the Keymote Store for other users to enjoy.

While you can’t do any real editing with the iPhone and Keymote (and who would really want to) I have used it as a screener remote as we are able to relax on the edit suite sofa and watch down an edit. You can stop and start at will and take notes along the way. Clients seem to like that option too! It’s important to note that if you’ve changed your default keyboard layout (and you should) then Keymote won’t reflect that layout.