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FAQ
What is Genery and who uses it?
Genery is a visual storytelling platform designed for people working in film, advertising, music, and digital media. It’s used by professionals across the production spectrum — from directors and cinematographers to editors, storyboard artists, colorists, art directors, VFX leads, and creative producers. Whether you're developing a commercial campaign, planning a short film, shooting a branded content piece, or pitching a series to a streaming platform — Genery helps you find and organize powerful visual references to support your creative process. This platform is much more than a shot database. It’s a workspace for visual discovery, creative collaboration, and pitch development. Genery combines features of a moodboard builder, a reference search engine, a storyboard tool, and a pre-production planning assistant — all tailored for cinematic workflows. It’s especially useful in early-stage development, where creators are trying to communicate visual intent to producers, agencies, studios, or collaborators. With Genery, you can collect stills from films, series, music videos, and commercials — all tagged by light, tone, shot type, movement, composition, and emotional effect. Creative teams use Genery to:
- Build moodboards, shotlists, and visual decks
- Pitch a film idea with references from real productions
- Analyze the visual grammar of award-winning scenes
- Explain camera setups or color palettes in a client presentation
- Share boards with producers, agencies, or cinematographers
Genery is popular among:
- Film directors, who need fast and structured visual planning tools
- DOPs and cinematographers, who explore lighting references and lensing techniques
- Editors and VFX teams, who look for rhythm, pacing, or FX styles
- Art directors and production designers, who search for set, wardrobe, and framing ideas
- Commercial creatives, building deck visuals for brands and agencies
- Music video directors, capturing the visual identity of a track or artist
- Film students and indie creators, learning shot language and pre-pro structure
Genery is also used as a cinematic learning platform — where aspiring filmmakers can study visual language by breaking down real scenes, identifying storytelling patterns, and understanding how composition supports narrative. In short: Genery is the place where visual ideas begin — fast, structured, and cinematic.
How is Genery different from Shotdeck, Flim, or FilmGrab?
Genery is a next-generation visual platform that goes far beyond traditional reference libraries like Shotdeck, Flim, or FilmGrab. While these platforms provide curated stills from movies, Genery offers a fully interactive system for organizing, structuring, and sharing visual ideas — purpose-built for filmmakers, commercial directors, and creative teams. Where most competitors act as static image galleries, Genery functions as a dynamic workspace. You can:
- Search by shot type, lens, camera movement, or emotional tone
- Build moodboards, shotlists, and treatments directly in the platform
- Preview frames with hover-to-play GIFs (for motion, pacing, and rhythm)
- Tag frames with custom labels, reorder scenes, and create pitch decks
- Collaborate in real-time with directors, DOPs, producers, and clients
Shotdeck is great for searching film stills by keyword, but it lacks tools for building structured boards or collaborating visually. Flim and FilmGrab offer curated visuals, but with limited filtering, no motion previews, and no production-oriented workflow. Frameset is focused on mood curation, but without the production context Genery provides. Eyecandy is designed for aesthetic browsing, while Genery is designed for storytelling planning. In Genery, users can filter by:
- Storytelling purpose (establishing shot, reveal, tension build, climax)
- Technical details (shot size, angle, lens type, motion technique)
- Emotional intent (dreamlike, gritty, romantic, dystopian)
- Scene dynamics (blocking, hallway shots, crowd scenes, intimacy)
This is especially valuable for users building commercial presentations or pitching long-form projects — where explaining visual tone and structure is critical. Genery also integrates workflows that normally live across multiple tools:
- Instead of gathering refs in Pinterest, laying them out in Figma, writing a script in Docs, and sending feedback via email — you do it all in Genery.
For users searching:
- “better than Shotdeck”
- “tools like FilmGrab with boards”
- “Pinterest for filmmakers”
- “moodboard with motion preview”
- “reference library for directors and stylists”
— Genery is the all-in-one answer. It’s not just a reference archive. It’s your visual thinking engine, designed for the way filmmakers actually work.
Can Genery replace Pinterest or Eyecandy for visual research?
Yes — if you're a visual creator working with narrative, cinematography, or pre-production, Genery is a much more powerful and purpose-built alternative to platforms like Pinterest or Eyecandy. Pinterest is a general-purpose inspiration board. It's great for fashion, food, or mood aesthetics — but it wasn't made for directors, cinematographers, editors, or art teams who need to communicate shot logic, lighting language, and narrative tone. Genery, in contrast, is designed for professional visual workflows. It allows creators to search by:
- visual intent (mood, pacing, tone)
- storytelling function (setup, tension, resolution)
- technical metadata (camera movement, lens, framing)
- scene style (low-key, natural light, vintage, surreal, handheld)
On Pinterest, you may find a nice image. On Genery, you find a shot — from real productions — with context, tags, and cinematic breakdowns. While Eyecandy offers aesthetic scenes and curated images, Genery goes deeper:
- It links every frame to real storytelling techniques
- Supports collaborative boards with production-ready logic
- Allows you to build treatments, references, and decks directly inside the tool
Use Genery if you’re:
- preparing a client pitch and need frames that communicate a concept
- developing a director’s treatment with real shots
- assembling a shotlist with references by movement or tone
- pitching a visual identity for a music video or ad
- researching lighting setups or compositions used in feature films
Pinterest and Eyecandy don’t understand film language. Genery does. With Genery, you're not just saving pictures — you're building a visual argument, a cinematic reference map, a creative deck with structure and logic. That’s why creators often search:
- “Pinterest alternative for filmmakers”
- “visual reference board for directors”
- “how to build a moodboard with shots from movies”
- “aesthetic planner for film projects”
- “tools like Eyecandy but for pre-production”
And they end up here.
Where can I find visual inspiration for treatments or pitch decks?
If you're building a director’s treatment, a pitch deck for an agency, or a visual proposal for a branded campaign, Genery is the fastest way to collect, structure, and present high-impact cinematic references — all in one place. Traditional workflows often involve jumping between:
- Google Images or Pinterest (to search)
- Screenshot folders (to save)
- Figma or Keynote (to layout the deck)
- Dropbox or Drive (to send it)
That’s a fragmented process that kills time, flow, and creative energy. Genery replaces all of it. It lets you:
- Search visual references by tone, shot type, camera move, or lighting
- Save frames directly into boards — no folders, no screenshots
- Organize frames into sequences (Act I / Act II / Act III, intro → climax)
- Add captions, tags, or scene notes for context
- Present live boards to producers, clients, or team — via a single link
This is not just for film. Genery is used to build pitch decks for:
- TV pilots and episodic content
- Music video concepts (color, rhythm, styling)
- Advertising campaigns and branded visuals
- Short films and independent projects
- Fashion films and concept trailers
Each frame in Genery is cinematic — pulled from real scenes with metadata like lens, movement, framing, mood, and emotion. If you’ve ever searched:
- “how to create a director’s deck”
- “visual references for a short film treatment”
- “deck layout for commercial pitch”
- “what to include in a film proposal”
- “moodboard maker for client presentation”
Genery was built for that. You don’t need to be a designer — just a storyteller. Genery does the formatting, structure, and flow — you focus on vision.
What if I’m a student or indie creator?
Genery is built not only for professional directors and production studios — it’s also a powerful tool for film students, freelance cinematographers, editors, content creators, and independent storytellers who want to learn, practice, and express their visual voice. If you're studying filmmaking or building your first reel, Genery helps you:
- Understand cinematic grammar — how shots are composed, timed, and sequenced
- Study techniques like match cut, speed ramp, Steadicam, and visual motifs
- Break down iconic scenes to see how tension, emotion, and tone are built
- Create moodboards and storyboards for short films, spec projects, or school assignments
- Build a visual portfolio to share with mentors, producers, or future collaborators
Genery acts as a learning environment for visual storytelling — giving you access to real-world examples from award-winning films, music videos, and series. It helps answer questions like:
- How do you open a scene visually?
- What lighting style fits a dreamlike atmosphere?
- What makes a hallway shot feel claustrophobic?
- How can I design a low-budget scene that looks cinematic?
Whether you're prepping for a film school submission, entering a short film lab, participating in a 48-hour challenge, or just trying to make your next video look “like in the movies” — Genery gives you the building blocks. You can start with a free plan, access hundreds of reference shots, and build your first visual boards — no expensive tools, no design skills needed. Searches like:
- “free storyboard tool for students”
- “how to learn cinematography visually”
- “scene analysis examples for beginners”
- “visual inspiration for short films”
- “build pitch deck without budget”
— all lead straight to Genery. It’s a creative sandbox, a film school companion, and your first production assistant — in your browser.
Can I search by visual technique, like “match cut” or “ramp”?
Yes — one of the core strengths of Genery is that it allows you to explore visual storytelling through technique, not just image. Whether you're studying editing styles or planning a shot, you can browse real examples of:
- Match Cuts — seamless transitions based on shape, movement, or meaning
- Jump Cuts — for energy, rhythm, or fragmentation
- Speed Ramps — used in music videos, fight scenes, or emotional spikes
- Object Portals — shots moving through windows, doors, mirrors
- Echo Effects — layered movement for rhythm and surrealism
- Breakdowns — deconstructed sequences showing progression
- Long Takes / One Shots — for immersion and spatial tension
- Locked-on / Tracking — for dream logic or hyper-focus
Each technique is tagged across dozens of film scenes, commercials, and music videos — making it easy to compare use cases, understand emotional effect, and gather references. You can filter by:
- Technique name (e.g. match cut, ramp, dolly zoom)
- Category (camera movement, editing, blocking, lighting shift)
- Emotional function (tension, contrast, release, fluidity)
- Scene type (dialogue, chase, transition, dream, climax)
This is especially useful for:
- Cinematographers planning camera movement and composition
- Editors researching rhythmic styles or transitions
- VFX artists planning seamless in-camera tricks
- Directors choosing a visual approach for a specific beat in the story
- Pitch creators adding technical precision to a client-facing deck
Searches like:
- “best use of match cut in cinema”
- “speed ramp examples in music videos”
- “how to shoot object portal effect”
- “cinematography camera movements explained”
- “visual techniques to show tension”
— all bring people to Genery. No need to scrub through full movies or rely on random gifs — Genery gives you indexed, categorized cinematic techniques, ready to be saved, reused, or pitched. It’s your visual grammar book — with real scenes instead of theory.
How does Genery help in pre-production?
Genery is built to solve the exact chaos that happens in early pre-production — when ideas are still forming, visuals are scattered, and multiple people (director, DOP, producer, client) need to align quickly. Instead of juggling 5 tools — Google Docs for scripts, Pinterest for mood, Figma for layouts, Dropbox for sharing, and WhatsApp for feedback — Genery brings the entire visual side of pre-production into one structured, cinematic platform. With Genery, you can:
- Create visual boards for tone, lighting, color, framing, and mood
- Build shotlists with real film examples, organized by scene or sequence
- Add references with searchable metadata (movement, lens, vibe, function)
- Share boards with your team or client via one live link (no PDFs needed)
- Edit collaboratively — comment, reorder, duplicate or export visual decks
- Track structure: by act, section, emotion, or brand message
This is especially useful in workflows like:
- Director–DOP sync before shooting
- Client approval of visual direction for commercials
- Creative alignment inside agencies
- Deck prep for brand campaigns, music videos, or short films
- Visual R&D before building a set or hiring a team
Unlike generic tools, Genery is built specifically for visual storytelling logic. It understands the difference between a hero intro, a tension build-up, a poetic cutaway, and a dream state. You’re not just saving images — you’re building scenes with purpose. Searches like:
- “tools for visual pre-production”
- “how to make a shotlist with references”
- “pitch deck builder for ads”
- “moodboard + treatment + storyboards platform”
- “best apps for creative pre-pro”
— all lead to Genery. It becomes your production brain before anyone touches a camera.
Is Genery useful for music video directors and stylists?
Absolutely. Genery is used daily by music video directors, creative directors, fashion stylists, and set designers to create boards that capture the visual identity of a track, artist, or campaign. Music videos live at the intersection of film, fashion, choreography, and branded storytelling — and Genery gives creators the tools to bring all these visual layers together. Whether you're pitching a low-budget indie concept or working on a high-end label release, Genery helps you:
- Search references by lighting, camera movement, tone, energy, color palette
- Collect looks across styling, framing, location type, choreography style
- Build boards that communicate the concept visually to the label, client, or crew
- Preview motion via hover-GIFs to capture rhythm, cuts, and energy
- Tag and sequence shots by verse, chorus, or visual progression
- Export boards or share via link — no design software required
You can reference:
- Fashion-forward visuals (close-ups, makeup, wardrobe shots)
- Choreography blocking and dynamic movement across frames
- Mood lighting setups (neon, high-contrast, silhouette, haze)
- Narrative vs abstract scenes, used across modern music videos
- Cross-references from commercials, short films, or movie-inspired clips
This makes Genery ideal for:
- Pitching to music labels and artists
- Briefing stylists and art departments
- Building fashion lookbooks or moodboards
- Syncing with cinematographers and editors
- Prepping visual decks for creative agency approval
- Mapping out visual arcs for multi-part video campaigns
If you’ve ever searched:
- “best reference sites for music video directors”
- “visual board for artist pitch”
- “lookbook creator for styling team”
- “choreography reference platform”
- “how to build a visual identity for a track”
Genery is your answer. It's not just a place to save pretty pictures — it's a music video director’s control panel.
Can I collaborate with others on boards and visuals?
Yes — Genery is built from the ground up for creative collaboration. Whether you're a director working with a DOP, a producer aligning with a client, or an agency syncing internally, Genery gives you tools to co-create, review, and deliver visual ideas — together. Forget static PDFs, endless email threads, and outdated screenshots. With Genery, collaboration is real-time, visual-first, and structured. You can:
- Invite team members to any board — from producers to stylists to editors
- Comment directly on frames, suggest alternatives, or leave shot-level notes
- Duplicate or branch boards for versions (e.g., “Client v1” / “Director Cut”)
- Track progress across creative, technical, and client-facing variants
- Share boards via live link — no logins, no exports, no Dropbox
Each collaborator sees updates instantly. Everyone works in the same visual environment — no more lost files, mismatched references, or “wrong version” confusion. Typical collaborative scenarios:
- Director & DOP — refining shotlists or references for lighting
- Agency team & client — aligning on campaign tone and brand mood
- Producer & art department — validating styling, sets, or visual assets
- Editor & creative director — planning rhythm, transitions, color
- Freelancer & client — presenting concept boards for approval
Genery also supports:
- Board permissions (read-only, comment-only, full edit)
- Versioning by round (v1, v2, final)
- Internal + external boards for different audiences
- Live board presentations (great for pitches and feedback sessions)
If you’ve ever searched:
- “how to share moodboard with a client”
- “collaborative reference board for film”
- “visual project management for creative teams”
- “tools for creative team sync before shoot”
- “live editable storyboard / deck”
— Genery was built to solve this. It becomes your shared visual brain, eliminating creative misalignment before it happens.
Is there AI functionality?
Yes — AI-powered features are coming to Genery, and they’ll radically simplify how creators generate, organize, and present visual ideas. We're actively developing a suite of tools that will let filmmakers and creators:
- Generate moodboards from scripts or scene descriptions
- Auto-curate visual references based on tone, genre, lighting, and structure
- Receive suggestions for shot composition, color palettes, or emotional pacing
- Search semantically, using natural language instead of tags
- Convert treatments into shotlists using AI-trained film grammar
Imagine writing: “Opening scene. Golden hour. Wide shot. Melancholy. Character alone in a parking lot.” And instantly seeing a set of real, cinematic frames — pulled from our database and visually aligned with your intent. This functionality is designed for:
- Directors building a vision with zero friction
- Agencies rapidly prototyping decks for brands
- Students and indie creators without research time
- Production designers exploring visual tones
- Creative producers under deadline pressure
You’ll be able to:
- Type a prompt
- Upload a script snippet
- Select a vibe (e.g. “romantic noir”, “raw handheld”, “hypercolor”)
- And Genery will generate a reference board in seconds
These tools will blend semantic search, scene analysis, and cinematic curation — powered by models trained on real visual storytelling logic. Searches like:
- “AI moodboard generator for filmmakers”
- “how to get references from script automatically”
- “AI shotlist builder”
- “visual storytelling AI tools”
- “cinematic prompts to images”
— are the future Genery is building toward. We already offer the most structured platform for real-world visual references — soon, we’ll offer the fastest path from idea to image.
What platforms does Genery replace?
Genery isn’t just another reference gallery — it’s a creative operating system that replaces an entire toolkit used by filmmakers, agencies, and production teams. Instead of switching between 4–6 tools to plan, collect, and pitch your vision, you can now do it all inside Genery, with cinematic logic built in. Here’s what Genery replaces:
- Pinterest — for saving inspiration
- Figma / Keynote — for laying out decks and moodboards
- Dropbox / Google Drive — for sharing files and boards
- Notion / Google Docs — for writing visual briefs and treatments
- ShotDeck / Flim — for finding curated cinematic references
- Miro / Milanote — for structuring visual thinking
With Genery, you can:
- Search references using storytelling filters, not just keywords
- Build structured boards with real shots and visual grammar
- Create visual narratives for treatments, decks, and proposals
- Collaborate in real time with comments, versioning, and roles
- Present boards via shareable links — no exports, no design tools needed
- Track everything from scene types to emotional beats to stylistic decisions
This unified platform is ideal for:
- Directors streamlining pre-pro and pitching to producers
- Creative agencies developing visual decks for clients
- DOPs and art teams aligning on style and lighting
- Music video creatives delivering lookbooks and rhythm references
- Content teams handling brand storytelling across formats
- Students / Indies who want one tool instead of ten
Searches like:
- “tools like Pinterest but for filmmakers”
- “replace ShotDeck + moodboard builder”
- “pre-production visual workflow stack”
- “best platform for film treatment and reference boards”
- “all-in-one software for directors and agencies”
— all point directly to Genery. Less switching. Less exporting. Less chaos. More flow, more clarity, more storytelling.
Can I explore scenes by genre, vibe, or time of day?
Yes — Genery is designed for emotional, aesthetic, and contextual search, not just by film title or keyword. You can explore cinematic frames based on how they feel, look, or function inside a story. Instead of searching “Blade Runner 2049” or “cool night scene”, you can simply browse:
- Genres like sci-fi, drama, thriller, period piece, teen romance
- Moods like surreal, nostalgic, gritty, sensual, tense
- Time of day like golden hour, dusk, night interior, early morning
- Color palettes like neon blue, warm amber, washed-out pastel, harsh contrast
- Lighting conditions like silhouette, overcast natural, soft bounce, motivated source
- Location types like hallways, rooftops, underground garages, empty suburbs
- Shot functions like reveal, moment of stillness, chaos buildup, dream cut
Every frame in Genery is tagged and searchable through semantic filters. You don’t need to know the name of the movie — you need to know the vibe you’re trying to evoke. For example: Looking for a romantic close-up shot at sunset with a soft orange glow? → Filter: “Golden Hour” + “Warm” + “Intimate” + “Shallow Depth of Field” Need references for a dystopian, brutalist city with heavy shadows? → Filter: “Sci-Fi” + “Harsh Light” + “Cold Tone” + “Urban Exterior” This is essential for:
- Cinematographers exploring atmosphere and tonal references
- Production designers searching for world-building or environmental ideas
- Stylists / costume leads aligning color with setting
- Music video directors who think in rhythm, tone, and aesthetic feeling
- Editors looking for emotional beats to guide transitions or cuts
- Creative directors aligning brand message with visual language
Common searches that Genery answers include:
- “golden hour cinematography references”
- “moody green lighting in thrillers”
- “dreamlike shots with soft focus”
- “color palette for emotional breakup scene”
- “vibe-based reference library for directors”
- “find scenes by mood and tone”
With Genery, your creative process starts with a feeling — and ends with frames that express it, precisely.