"Some films have their colors decided before you even take a shot. KONO's are exactly that."

KONO Manufaktur in Vienna, Austria, has been making "effect films" for a long time. They tint the film surface in advance or give its light sensitivity a little twist, building in colors you'd never get from regular film before you shoot a single frame. The three new films, MOJO · OFFBEAT · BEBOP, follow in that line. Every name comes from jazz. Offbeat for playing off the beat, bebop for improvisation, and mojo for, well, vibe.

The numbers are identical across all three. The only difference is the color.

TypeColor negative effect film (pre-applied color cast)
ISO200
Format35mm (135) · 36 exposures
ProcessC-41 (any regular lab)
LineupMOJO · OFFBEAT · BEBOP, each with its own color cast
MakerKONO Manufaktur (Vienna, Austria)

MOJO: between pink and mint

MOJO sample: a seaside lined with a breakwater and trees. The frame splits into reddish pink and minty green for a dreamy split tone.
The same seaside splits into reddish pink and mint. MOJO's signature split tone. Image ⓒ KONO Manufaktur

MOJO puts pink and magenta into the highlights and a pale mint into the shadows and midtones. With two colors splitting one frame, even a nothing-special shot of the sky turns into a pastel dream. Contrast is low and the tones are soft. It's the haziest of the three.

MOJO sample: a hot air balloon rising with a burst of flame. A warm red tint sits over a faded pastel sky.
A balloon breathing fire. Warm red laid over faded pastel. Image ⓒ KONO Manufaktur

OFFBEAT: everything goes green

OFFBEAT sample: people riding in a hot air balloon basket. Everything from the lawn to the people is soaked in a cinematic green.
People in the basket, and the lawn too, all soaked in green. That's how strong OFFBEAT's color is. Image ⓒ KONO Manufaktur

OFFBEAT drags the whole frame toward green and teal. It's the strongest color of the three, and it calls cross-processing to mind. Sky, grass, skin, everything gets pushed a little green, so reach for it when you want to twist an ordinary scene into something strange. People either love it or hate it, but it's never wishy-washy.

OFFBEAT sample: hot air balloons floating in a sunset sky. Clouds and silhouettes settle into teal.
Even a sunset sky settles into teal. The texture comes from warm light running into the green cast. Image ⓒ KONO Manufaktur

BEBOP: the sun-faded one

BEBOP sample: a sea dotted with yachts and a wide stretch of sand. A midday beach faded into warm pink and amber.
A sea with yachts and a wide stretch of sand. Midday, faded into warm pink and amber. Image ⓒ KONO Manufaktur

BEBOP is the warmest of the three. Amber and gold settle in and saturation drops a little, so the pictures feel like they just came out of an old album. It's the easiest one to like, so if you've never tried an effect film, we'd start here.

BEBOP sample: hot air balloons turned into silhouettes against a sunset. A sky washed in gold.
Balloons turned to silhouettes in the sunset. Nostalgia spreading out in gold. Image ⓒ KONO Manufaktur

Before you load one

All three are ISO 200 · C-41, so you can just drop them off at your neighborhood lab. But since the color is already baked in, don't expect the white balance to land the way it does with regular film. The basic approach is to scan, then either lean into the cast or pull it back. If you want accurate color, pick a different film from the start. If you want to dress a whole roll in one mood, though, nothing beats these.

So these films don't sell you the "right answer." They sell you a personality. Pink and mint MOJO, green OFFBEAT, amber BEBOP. If you'd like to record the same day in three different moods, that's three pretty fun rolls.