Community-run · peer-reviewed
How /refs differs from ShotDeck and Frame Set
Four differences: how frames get in, who tags and checks the details, whether a frame’s history is public, and what it costs.
/refs is in build. The library opens October 2026.
This page compares /refs with ShotDeck and Frame Set, and the table adds Flim as a third.
The three are catalogues a staff curates and you rent; /refs is a library its members build, check and correct.
Every fact about them here comes from their own pages; where their pages do not say, this one says so.
How frames get in
Members upload the frames. Contributed frames publish only once a blind panel of reviewers agrees: working members, no names, no running tally.
ShotDeck’s own pages say only the ShotDeck team adds the images, and that a member may suggest a film or a TV series: the more requests a title receives, the more likely it is to be added. Frame Set’s own pages say all members can submit links to commercials, short films and music videos, and that its team then examines credits and identifies the content in a review stage.
Fixing what is wrong
Spot something wrong? Suggest an edit; an approved correction counts as contribution. Any member can propose a correction on any frame’s record, and other members review it.
ShotDeck’s own pages point to a contact form with a “Submit a Correction” option. Frame Set’s own pages give an email address. Neither says who reviews a correction, whether the person who sent it is credited, or whether the outcome is visible to anybody else.
The record is public
Every frame’s history is public. The full tag record sits on the frame, and so does the log of what changed on it.
Neither ShotDeck’s pages nor Frame Set’s say anything about a frame’s history. That is not a claim about whether they keep one; it is a claim about what their pages publish.
No subscription
Upload frames, fix details, review other members’ work. Approved contributions earn the credits that pay for searches and clean HD (1080p) or 4K Master downloads — no subscription, and what you’ve earned never expires.
ShotDeck’s own pages sell access by the month or by the year, with discounts stated for students, faculty and institutions, and separate plans for teams. Frame Set’s own pages sell its Pro membership on a monthly or an annual payment plan. All three sell access by subscription. /refs does not.
| /refs | ShotDeck | Frame Set | Flim | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How frames get in | Members upload; contributed frames publish only once a blind panel of reviewers agrees | Only the ShotDeck team adds images; members may suggest films and TV series | Members submit links to titles; the team examines credits and identifies the content | A curatorial team reviews work submitted through a portal |
| Who tags and checks the details | Members tag; contributed frames are checked blind by working members | Hand-tagged by the ShotDeck team; shots hand-selected by its image taggers | The Frame Set team, in a review stage | Its own curatorial team (their claim) |
| Fixing a wrong tag | Suggest an edit; other members review it, and an approved correction counts as contribution | A “Submit a Correction” contact form; reviewer, credit and visibility not stated | An email address; no process stated | not stated on their pages |
| The frame’s history | Every frame’s history is public | not stated on their pages | not stated on their pages | not stated on their pages |
| Earning by contributing | Approved contributions count | not stated on their pages | not stated on their pages; submissions may be featured | not stated on their pages; submissions may be featured |
| What it costs | No subscription; access earned by contributing, never expires | Monthly or yearly subscription; student, faculty and institution discounts; plans for teams | Monthly or yearly subscription for its Pro membership | A free tier and paid monthly or yearly tiers; custom pricing for teams |
| Search | Describe a mood, or words and filters in crew language; upload a still to search by picture | Fully searchable; hand-tagged by its team across its own categories (their claim) | Text search, similar search, filters, credits, camera and lens, upload search | By description, image, colour and similar image, with its own filters |
| Downloads | Clean HD (1080p) or 4K Master, earned by contributing; masters never re-encoded | not stated on their pages | Free members cannot download; Pro members download Frames as .png files and Motions as .gif files | Limited on its free tier, unlimited on its paid tiers (their claim) |
| Library scope | Stills only: feature films, short films, TV series, commercials, music videos; documentaries count as films | Films, TV series, music videos and commercials (their claim) | Music videos, commercials and movies, plus its Motions (their claim) | Stills and video cuts from films, TV, ads, music videos and documentaries (their claim) |
| API | In build: search the library, read a title’s sheet, fetch a single frame | none advertised on their pages | none advertised on their pages | none advertised on their pages |
Checked against their own pages on 2026-09-24.
What they have that /refs does not
All three collect frames inside the product — ShotDeck’s decks, Frame Set’s Sets, boards and folders — and let you share a collection with a team or a client. Frame Set carries motion as well as stills, and /refs is stills only. Frame Set builds treatments from slide templates, ShotDeck links out to a streaming service so you can watch the title, and both sell plans for teams with their own billing.
Questions about /refs
How is /refs different from ShotDeck or Frame Set?
Members put frames in, and a contributed frame publishes only once a blind panel of working members agrees. Anyone can correct a record, and it counts as contribution; every frame’s history is public. ShotDeck’s team adds the images itself, and Frame Set’s team works from links members submit; both sell access by subscription, and /refs does not.
Can I use /refs alongside ShotDeck or Frame Set?
Yes. /refs is a library with a public record on every frame — the full sheet and the log of what changed on it. An API for your own tools is in build.
Search, the sheet, contributing and the standards are on the home page.