Shot Designer

Shot Designer is a camera-blocking app for planning scenes with camera diagrams, shot lists, storyboards, animation, a Director’s Viewfinder, and team sharing. When characters move in a diagram, the app can reposition cameras automatically. The integrated shot list and diagram update in response to edits in either one. Users can animate cameras and characters in real time to preview scene rhythm. The Viewfinder supports major camera formats and records the lens used for a shot. Other planning tools include set and lighting designers, production-drawing imports, templates, and a prop and furniture library. The free plan keeps the current scene saved, but allows only one scene at a time and does not include file management, export, or syncing and team sharing. Pro costs $19.99 once and adds file management, the Mac/PC version, sync and team sharing, Scene Freeze, and PDF, JPG, and Excel export. The app is available for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. Its maker positions it for directors and directors of photography, and its tutorials cover blocking, shot lists, storyboards, and set and lighting design.

Shot Designer connects blocking diagrams with shot lists and animation, with design resources for production planning. The free tier is limited to one saved scene; Pro adds file management, sharing, and export for $19.99 once.

Shot Designer is intended for directors and directors of photography who plan camera blocking and related scene elements. Its design tools also cover shot lists, storyboards, and set and lighting design.

Overview

Shot Designer is a scene-planning app that brings camera blocking, shot lists, animation, and production-design tools together. It is best suited to directors and cinematographers who need those plans to evolve together; its free tier is a useful single-scene workspace, while managing and sharing projects requires Pro.

Key features

Automatic camera movement follows characters as they move through a diagram, reducing the need to redraw camera positions by hand. More importantly, diagram edits update the integrated shot list, and shot-list edits change the diagram. That two-way relationship makes Shot Designer useful when blocking and shot choices are still in flux, rather than for teams that only need a static storyboard.

Real-time character and camera animation lets users preview scene rhythm before shooting. The Director’s Viewfinder supports major camera formats and records the lens used for each shot, tying visual planning to camera choices. Set and lighting design tools, production-drawing imports, templates, and a prop and furniture library add breadth for pre-production. Shot annotations and scene layouts support more detailed planning.

Pro adds file management, scene syncing across devices, team sharing through Dropbox scene folders, and PDF, JPG, and Excel exports. It also supports emailing camera diagrams and shot lists. The maker identifies 3D animation, script integration, voice recording, and speech synthesis as planned features, so productions needing those capabilities should look elsewhere for now.

Pricing

Free costs nothing. It keeps the current scene saved and allows work on one scene at a time, but has no file management, export, sync, or team sharing. That is a sensible way to plan a single scene, not a practical tier for organizing a larger production.

Pro Upgrade costs $19.99, paid once as an in-app purchase. It adds file management, Mac/PC access, syncing and team sharing, PDF/JPG/Excel export, and Scene Freeze. The one-time price makes it the straightforward choice for users who need to keep multiple scenes organized or circulate plans; the free tier gives up the features that make that workflow collaborative and portable.

Platforms

Shot Designer supports iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows. Pro includes the Mac/PC version and scene syncing across devices, making it a better fit than Free for users who move between mobile and desktop during planning.

Who it's for

Directors and directors of photography are the clearest fit, particularly when a production needs linked blocking diagrams, shot lists, and movement previews. Its design resources also suit crews handling set and lighting plans. Anyone seeking script integration or voice-based planning should wait for those planned capabilities or choose another tool.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Diagram and shot-list edits stay connected in both directions, reducing the burden of reconciling separate planning documents.
• Pro: Animation and a lens-recording viewfinder bring movement and camera choices into the same planning workflow.
• Pro: Set and lighting resources extend its usefulness beyond blocking.
• Con: Free is limited to one saved scene and excludes file management, exports, syncing, and team sharing.
• Con: 3D animation, script integration, voice recording, and speech synthesis are not current capabilities.

Alternatives

Storyboard Software is a useful starting point for readers comparing storyboard tools as a category. Consider Previs Pro if an animatic-focused workflow is the priority: its free tier allows one animatic per project and watermarks exports, while its Annual plan is $9.99 a year.

StoryTribe may suit users who want AI credits in a storyboard workflow; its free plan includes 100 monthly AI credits and limits projects to 10 shots each, with watermarked downloads and exports. Studiovity is another film and TV pre-production option, with custom pricing for PRO and an Education monthly plan at $22 a month.

Storybrdr is a paid option with a free trial, while ShotGlide is a paid iOS alternative. ShotPro is a paid option across web, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Boords is worth considering for web-based storyboard work: its free Solo plan includes unlimited storyboards and scripts, with 250 AI images per month. Mari is a different paid option with a free non-commercial tier for Windows and Linux.

Verdict

Choose Shot Designer if you need camera blocking, shot lists, and movement previews to stay coordinated through production planning. Its connected diagram-and-list workflow is the strongest reason to choose it, and Pro’s one-time $19.99 price unlocks the file management and sharing a multi-scene project needs. Look elsewhere if a single-scene free plan is not enough but you also do not want to pay for core project organization, or if your workflow depends on the planned script and voice features.