ShotDeck
ShotDeck is a subscription-based cinematic image library serving cinematographers, directors, and film production professionals. It offers millions of hand-tagged, high-definition movie stills searchable across 30+ categories, with deck-sharing collaboration and ReelGood streaming integration.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What ShotDeck does
ShotDeck (legally Filmmaker's Research Lab, LLC) is a Los Angeles–based subscription SaaS company operating the world's largest fully searchable, high-definition cinematic image library. Founded in 2014 by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Lawrence Sher, the platform catalogues millions of movie stills across thousands of titles, with every image hand-tagged across 30+ categories and 50+ keywords covering crew, genre, cameras, lenses, framing, lighting, color, composition, locations, and actor emotion. Users — primarily cinematographers, directors, production designers, art directors, film students, and advertising and broadcast creatives — search the library for visual reference, build shareable "decks" of images for team collaboration, and transition to full-film viewing via a built-in ReelGood streaming integration.
The product is delivered through a self-serve web platform, a mobile application, and a dedicated community forum, with no public API and explicit anti-scraping terms. The proprietary tagging taxonomy is the company's central technical asset, with thousands of new shots added weekly by an internal team rather than via crowdsourcing or automation. Distribution is primarily product-led: a 2-week free trial converts into monthly ($12.95) or annual ($99.95) subscriptions, supplemented by gift subscriptions ($70/$99.95), educational discounts, and custom enterprise and team pricing. Marketing relies on filmmaker endorsements (e.g., Russo Brothers, Todd Phillips, Erik Messerschmidt), YouTube creator partnerships, and an active community platform.
Commercially the business is bootstrapped (no disclosed funding rounds), privately held, and operates with a 51–100 person team. Revenue is concentrated in subscription fees across a long tail of individual subscribers and a smaller set of enterprise/team accounts, with payments processed through Stripe under PCI-DSS-compliant infrastructure. The company is actively expanding library diversity to include more filmmakers of color, female filmmakers, and international and independent cinema, signaling content-side expansion targeting broader creator demographics.
ShotDeck firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ShotDeck
- Legal name
- Filmmaker's Research Lab, LLC
- Website
- https://shotdeck.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- ShotDeck is a subscription-based cinematic image library serving cinematographers, directors, and film production professionals. It offers millions of hand-tagged, high-definition movie stills searchable across 30+ categories, with deck-sharing collaboration and ReelGood streaming integration.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ShotDeck industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cinematic Image Library
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Commercial Photography (541922), Postproduction Services and Other Motion Picture and Video Industries (51219)
- SIC
- Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Footage & Stock Media Licensing (Archival/Newsreel/Stock) (MPADALAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Clip/Short-Form & Archive Footage Syndication (Libraries/Stock) (MPABAMAL)
Keywords
Where ShotDeck is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
ShotDeck business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Subscription - Monthly: Monthly subscription at $12.95 billed monthly with cancel anytime option.
- Subscription - Annual: Annual subscription at $99.95 billed yearly, offering 36% savings compared to monthly ($8.33/mo equivalent).
- Gift Subscriptions: One-time purchase gift subscriptions available for six months ($70) or one year ($99.95). No recurring billing charges.
- Enterprise/Team Subscriptions: Custom enterprise and team pricing available by contacting sales for volume discounts.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly subscription at $12.95/month |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual subscription at $99.95/year (best value, save 36%) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Six Month Gift Subscription at $70 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | One Year Gift Subscription at $99.95 |
| Subscription | Monthly | Student/Professor Discount |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise & Team Pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
ShotDeck product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ShotDeck sells subscription access to the world's largest fully searchable high-definition cinematic image library, containing millions of movie stills across thousands of titles. Every image is hand-tagged across 30+ categories and 50+ keywords (crew, genre, cameras, lenses, framing, lighting, color, composition, locations, and actor emotion) to support visual research, reference, and collaboration. Subscribers can build shareable decks, integrate with ReelGood for one-click streaming of discovered films, and access the library via web and mobile.
Product overview
ShotDeck is a single, unified platform offering the world's largest fully searchable cinematic image library alongside built-in deck creation and sharing tools, streaming integration via ReelGood, and a community platform. Founded in 2014 by cinematographer Lawrence Sher, the service provides millions of tagged movie stills across 30+ categories with 50+ keywords for filmmakers, directors, cinematographers, and creative professionals to research, reference, and communicate visual ideas from pitch through post-production.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ShotDeck Cinematic Image Library Subscription-based access to the world's largest fully searchable high-definition movie image database, with millions of shots across thousands of titles, every image hand-tagged in 30+ categories with 50+ keywords including crew, genre, cameras, lenses, framing, lighting, color, composition, locations, and actor emotion. Designed for filmmakers, directors, cinematographers, designers, and film students to research, reference, and communicate visual ideas.
- ShotDeck Mobile App Mobile application that gives subscribers access to the ShotDeck cinematic image library on phones and tablets for reference, inspiration, and sharing while away from the desk.
- ShotDeck Community Standalone online community platform where ShotDeck users share decks, discuss filmmaking, and collaborate around the cinematic image library.
Quantifiable outcome
- Thousands of new shots added weekly, expanding library diversity
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use ShotDeck
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ShotDeck technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature4 records
ShotDeck partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- ReelGoodcoreStreaming service integration that allows ShotDeck users to watch any film discovered on the platform through their favorite streaming service with a single click. Enables seamless transition from visual research to content consumption.
- StripecoreThird-party payment processor handling all payment card transactions. Stripe collects and processes payment information directly, and ShotDeck never stores full payment card details. Stripe commits to PCI-DSS compliance.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ShotDeck competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Storyblocks: Storyblocks is an unlimited-download subscription library of stock footage, audio, and images used widely by video creators and agencies. Its subscription economics, target audience of SMB creators, and curation layer are highly comparable to ShotDeck's model.
- Pond5: Pond5 operates a stock media marketplace with footage, music, and images licensed by subscription and à la carte, serving filmmakers, editors, and producers. Its vertical media-library + subscription model is the closest commercial analog to ShotDeck's curated image library, even though Pond5 is broader in content scope.
- Artgrid (by Artlist): Artgrid is a subscription stock-footage library specifically curated for filmmakers and cinematographers. Like ShotDeck, it positions itself as a craft-driven reference and source asset for visual creators rather than a generic stock site, and competes for the same director/DP wallet.
- Frame.io (Adobe): Frame.io is a video review, collaboration, and asset management platform built for film and TV production teams, now part of Adobe. It overlaps with ShotDeck as a daily-use tool inside the same cinematographer/director workflow and competes for the same enterprise seat-budget on productions.
Emerging players
- Wipster: Wipster is a video review and approval tool for creative teams and agencies. It competes less on content depth and more on workflow share with ShotDeck inside the same film/ad-production team account budget.
- Boords: Boords is a storyboarding and pre-visualization SaaS for filmmakers and agencies. It addresses a closely adjacent step in the same pre-production workflow that ShotDeck serves (visual planning), and competes for the same director/creative producer subscription.
- StudioBinder: StudioBinder is a production management and shot-listing platform for film and video teams. It overlaps with ShotDeck in serving the visual-prep phase of film production and selling into the same cinematographer and production-designer personas.
Broad incumbents
- Shutterstock: Shutterstock is one of the largest subscription- and on-demand stock media platforms globally, offering stills, footage, and music to filmmakers, agencies, and enterprises. It dwarfs ShotDeck in scale and breadth but competes directly for the same reference and licensing budgets.
- Getty Images: Getty Images is a global stock photography and editorial image platform licensing imagery to media, advertising, and entertainment customers. Its editorial/entertainment division is the closest incumbent overlap with ShotDeck's film stills library, though its breadth extends far beyond cinema.
- Adobe Stock: Adobe Stock is a subscription stock-image and video library bundled into Creative Cloud, serving filmmakers, designers, and creative teams. Its bundling with Premiere Pro and Photoshop puts it in the same workflow-adjacent position as ShotDeck for the same professional customer base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ShotDeck social profiles
Digital presenceShotDeck compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
ShotDeck financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ShotDeck leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
ShotDeck funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ShotDeck M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ShotDeck
What does ShotDeck do?
ShotDeck sells subscription access to the world's largest fully searchable high-definition cinematic image library, containing millions of movie stills across thousands of titles. Every image is hand-tagged across 30+ categories and 50+ keywords (crew, genre, cameras, lenses, framing, lighting, color, composition, locations, and actor emotion) to support visual research, reference, and collaboration. Subscribers can build shareable decks, integrate with ReelGood for one-click streaming of discovered films, and access the library via web and mobile.
Is ShotDeck a public or private company?
ShotDeck is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was ShotDeck founded?
ShotDeck was founded in 2014. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is ShotDeck based?
ShotDeck is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does ShotDeck make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Subscription - Monthly is the primary driver. The others are subscription - Annual, gift Subscriptions and enterprise/Team Subscriptions.
Who are ShotDeck's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Storyblocks, Pond5, Artgrid (by Artlist) and Frame.io (Adobe). Emerging players are Wipster, Boords and StudioBinder. Broad incumbents are Shutterstock, Getty Images and Adobe Stock.
Does ShotDeck have an API?
No public API is recorded for ShotDeck.
What industry is ShotDeck in?
ShotDeck's product category is Cinematic Image Library. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADALAD, Footage & Stock Media Licensing (Archival/Newsreel/Stock), with a secondary code of MPABAMAL, Clip/Short-Form & Archive Footage Syndication (Libraries/Stock). Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7819.