Community-run · peer-reviewed
The cinematic reference library.
Real frames from verifiable professional work, tagged down to the lens. Contributed frames publish only once a blind panel of reviewers agrees.
therefs.org is in build. The library opens October 2026.
New contributors start with a credit grant. No subscription — credits never expire.
Find the frame
Type it the way you’d say it on set — ‘claustrophobic corridor, hard light’, ‘two silhouettes on an empty rooftop’. Filter by frame size, lens, format, light. Or hand Mood search a feeling, and it pulls what matches.
Filter by
- Frame Size
- Lens Size Category
- Capture Format
- Lighting Quality
- Time of Day
Lexical for facts, Mood for feel.
The sheet on every frame
Frame size, lens, capture format, light, time of day, the credits — the full record on every frame. Contributed frames are checked blind by working members — no names, no running tally. Spot something wrong? Suggest an edit; approved corrections earn credits.
Details
Example record- Frame Size
- Medium Close Up
- Lens Size Category
- Long Lens
- Capture Format
- 35mm
- Lighting Quality
- Hard Light
- Interior/Exterior
- Interior (INT)
- Time of Day
- Night
Built by the people who use it
Upload frames, fix details, review other members’ work — approved contributions earn credits, and credits pay for searches and clean HD (1080p) or 4K Master downloads. There is no subscription, and credits never expire.
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Upload new frames
Stills from titles that are not in the library yet, tagged with what they show.
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Update existing frames
Fill in a missing detail, fix a wrong one, or propose a better master.
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Review new frames
Approve or reject what other members just submitted.
The API
In buildThe library, over REST, for your tools: search it, read a title’s sheet, fetch a single frame. Keys spend their owner’s own credits at web rates.
The standards
- No AI-generated imagery. Ever.
- Real frames from verifiable professional work — nothing else gets in.
- Every frame’s history is public.
Questions
What is therefs.org?
therefs.org is a peer-reviewed cinematic reference library: real frames from verifiable professional work, tagged down to the lens and searchable by frame size, lighting, format and mood.
Who is it for?
Cinematographers, directors, production designers, editors and agency creatives pulling references for a pitch deck, a treatment, a lookbook or a shot list.
What does it cost?
There is no subscription. Credits pay for searches and clean HD (1080p) or 4K Master downloads, contributions earn them, and they never expire.
When does it open?
The library opens in October 2026.
Is there an API?
Yes — the library over REST, for pre-production tools: search it, read a title’s sheet, fetch a single frame. In build for the opening.