Monogram, formerly Palette Gear, is expanding its portfolio of editing console tools with a dedicated keyboard. Called simply the Monogram Keyboard, it combines many of the benefits of its consoles into a standard keyboard to help speed up workflows.
While its modular editing consoles are popular with some creators, they do require more space on a desk and are designed to be used in tandem with a standard mouse and keyboard. The new Monogram Keyboard is meant to combine two of those three items into one and arranges an input console around a low-profile mechanical keyboard.
The result is a bit of a mix between its modular peripherals, a standard keyboard, and an Avid keyboard — a very popular tool among broadcast and cinema editors who use the Avid video editing platform.
“Housed in a precision-machined aluminum chassis, Monogram Keyboard arranges an input console around a low-profile mechanical keyboard. This gives you the functionality of discrete hardware controllers, but in a smaller footprint,” Monogram says. “And with Monogram OS6 onboard, you get our most capable and responsive software platform ever and native integrations with creative applications like Photoshop, After Effects, Capture One, Final Cut Pro, and more.”
One of the main selling points of the Monogram Keyboard is that it takes the boring, repetitive tasks that either use keystrokes or manual mouse clicks and replaces them with what the company calls dynamic Action Keys.
The function of Action keys is application-dependent and changes automatically. Thanks to mini OLED displays, the current active toolset can be displayed and editors can cycle among options, bypassing the need to remember hundreds of keystrokes across all of the creative apps that editors use.
The keyboard also features standard media controls, a miniaturized version of Monogram’s Control Dial, a customizable display, and the option to add what Monogram calls a Multipad. That last piece is a modular number pad that adds 20 more customizable Action Keys and comes with its own Mini Display. It can be used in tandem with the Monogram Keyboard but also works as a standalone controller.
The Keyboard and Multipad are both powered by Monogram’s OS6 software.
“Where old-school hotkeys merely trigger software functions, Monogram puts you in command with its own real-time operating system. Its suite of API integrations were developed in partnership with Adobe and other software companies, enabling actions that would otherwise be impossible with regular keyboard shortcuts,” the company explains.
“In apps like Adobe Photoshop, Action Keys give creators direct access to functions like cropping, moving layers, or applying effects, without requiring repetitive keyboard or mouse actions each time they switch tools or navigating menu layers for commands. This way, Monogram can save users hundreds of micro-actions in a typical day, significantly increasing the speed and fluidity of creative workflows within complex software.”
The Monogram Keyboard is launching through Kickstarter starting at $169, $30 off the eventual retail price. Backers shouldn’t be in a hurry though, as the Monogram Keyboard won’t be shipping until November 2024.
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Image credits: Monogram