Black Goblin to debut Thol AI-assisted audio spotting tool and new Pro Tools workflow with Posta Vermaas at IBC2026
First major industry demonstration will include a new Pro Tools region-generation prototype developed with Dutch audio post-production studio Posta Vermaas.
Audio technology startup Black Goblin will deliver the first major industry demonstration of Thol, its AI-assisted video cue spotting engine, at IBC 2026 (Stand 14.FT102) from 11–14 September at RAI Amsterdam.
Following an open Beta used by award-winning sound designers and audio post-production studios, Black Goblin will showcase Thol's live cloud platform at IBC alongside a new Pro Tools region-generation prototype developed as a custom integration for Dutch audio post-production studio Posta Vermaas. The company is also introducing cloud access to Thol through flexible pay-as-you-go credits and a freemium version.
Developed for professional sound designers, Thol eliminates one of audio post-production’s primary administrative bottlenecks: manually spotting video footage for audio cues. Traditional visual event logging typically consumes 8x to 20x the runtime of a video edit. When combined with department cue sheets, library searches, and DAW session preparation, setup tasks can drain up to 30% of a project’s total schedule.
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Thol uses computer vision to analyse visual edits in a single pass, automatically identifying physical movement and visual triggers to generate time-coded sound cue sheets and editing markers. Built upon an 'ethics-by-design' framework that ensures strict data provenance and model evaluation, this cue-spotting assistant is engineered specifically to automate repetitive administrative friction rather than displace human artistry. Exporting universal file formats, including MIDI and CSV, Thol integrates directly into major Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) like Avid Pro Tools, Steinberg Nuendo, Cockos Reaper, and Apple Logic Pro.
In a baseline funded pilot with the BBC through the MyWorld Amplifying Imagination programme, Thol saved over 200 hours of manual setup labour across the post-production team for a single 90 minute film. In its ongoing trial with Posta Vermaas, Thol’s computer vision engine generates precise, automated editing regions for Foley artists and sound editors directly within Pro Tools.
"Automated Spotting is exactly where AI belongs in the creative industry: it takes over the time-consuming, repetitive work so that human effort can go where it matters, the creative side of post sound," said Casper Molin at Posta Vermaas. "That's why Thol's idea resonates with us. It reflects how we think collaboration between creatives and AI should work: assistance with the non-creative tasks, more time for the creative ones."
"Post-production deadlines are tightening across broadcast and streaming, this comes at an enormous toll; nearly a third of sound post teams’ time goes to manual setup, this takes them away from the tasks that ensure quality and narrative remain at the centre" said Ana Betancourt, Founder and CEO of Black Goblin. "Having proven Thol in Open BETA with hundreds of award-winning designers, IBC is about showing how AI tools can be designed ethically and help teams reallocate valuable setup labour back into iconic sound designing."
Black Goblin is launching an open call at IBC 2026 for 2 European post-production studios to join paid enterprise pilots aimed at adapting Thol into custom offline studio architectures.
Black Goblin will demonstrate Thol as part of EIT Culture & Creativity's Scale programme presence in the Future Tech Ignite Innovation Village at Stand 14.FT102.
About Black Goblin
Black Goblin is an Edinburgh-based audio technology company building workflow software for audio post-production professionals and studios. Founded in 2018 as a boutique sound design studio, the company pivoted in 2024 to become a dedicated audio technology partner. Combining post-production craft with computer vision, Black Goblin builds intelligent tools, starting with Thol, to eliminate repetitive timeline setup friction while keeping creative decision-making in the hands of sound professionals. Supported by EIT Culture & Creativity and Innovate UK, Black Goblin develops software designed to protect and enhance human creative artistry.
