One person answers these. That person is me.
PreFrame is made by one filmmaker, so support is honest rather than instant: most messages get an answer within two working days. If something is broken mid-shoot, say so in the subject line and it jumps the queue.
Getting it running.
How do I install it?
Open the .dmg, drag PreFrame to your Applications folder, and open it. That's the whole process. The build is signed and notarized by Apple, so macOS opens it like any other app — no right-click trick, no security override.
There's nothing to download yet: the signature and notarization are still in progress. Current status here.
What does it need?
macOS 12+ · Apple Silicon & Intel. Windows has no build and no date.
Do I need to be online?
Only to sign in and to sync your projects to your account. The planning itself works offline: your audio and your reference images live on your machine, so you can keep working on a location with no signal and it syncs when you're back.
The track and where it lives.
PreFrame says it can't find my MP3. What happened?
Your audio file is never uploaded and never copied into the app. PreFrame stores a reference to the file where it sits on your disk, the same way an NLE does. If you moved it, renamed it or it was on a drive that isn't plugged in, the reference no longer resolves.
Point PreFrame at the file again and everything reconnects: sections, shots and timecodes are unaffected, because they belong to the project and not to the file. Relinking the same file is free and you can do it as often as you need.
Why can't I swap the track after I've exported?
Because an EDL you've already handed to an editor refers to specific timecodes. If the track underneath changed, that EDL would quietly stop matching the cut, and you'd find out in the edit.
So the first export fixes the audio for that project. You can still relink the same file as many times as you want, keep editing, and re-export. If you genuinely need a different track, that's a different piece — make a new project for it.
The same goes for a project planned without music: its first export fixes the duration you set by hand, because that duration is what defines the piece. Everything else — sections, shots, the emotional curve — stays editable. And if the song arrives later, you can still attach it: the audio then becomes the project's timeline and you keep working and exporting freely with it.
Can I start without any music at all?
Yes, and that's the normal case. Set how long the piece should be and draw the emotional curve by hand: sections, peaks, the moment it breathes. When the master finally arrives you attach it to the same project, and everything you planned stays where you put it.
Who charges you and what your statement shows.
I see a “LINK.COM* PREFRAME-APP” charge on my card — what is it?
That's your PreFrame credit purchase. Payments are processed by Stripe, PreFrame's seller of record, through Link, their payments platform: that's why the charge shows as “LINK.COM* PREFRAME-APP” and your receipt comes from Link.
PreFrame never sees your card number: the payment happens entirely on Stripe, which also handles the tax side.
How do I get a receipt or a refund?
Receipts and refunds are handled by Stripe as the seller. The conditions live in the Terms; if something doesn't add up, write to support@preframe-app.com and we'll push it through.
Where your files are, and how to remove them.
Where does PreFrame keep my things?
Your MP3 stays exactly where you put it — PreFrame only remembers where that is. Your reference images and a local cache of your projects live inside the app's own storage on that computer.
What travels to your account is the plan itself: sections, shots, timecodes, curve, notes, plus your shot and gear library. That's what lets you open the same project on another machine.
How do I wipe the local data on this computer?
In Settings there's an option to delete all local data on this computer. It removes the local caches, the reference images stored by the app and the audio references — then the app reloads clean.
Two things worth knowing: it does not sign you out, and it does not touch the original files on your disk. It also doesn't delete the projects held in your account.
How do I delete my account?
Write to support asking for deletion and the account goes, along with the projects stored in it. Anything that was only ever local — your audio, your images — was never on a server to begin with, and you can remove it yourself with the wipe above.
Purchases can't be undeleted along with it: a spent credit is spent. Read the Terms before asking.
Does the website track me?
There are no cookies on this site and no advertising trackers, which is why you're not being asked to accept anything. See the Privacy Policy for the details.