FrameThrower
A film still reference library with a REST API and MCP server
About FrameThrower
FrameThrower is a reference library rather than a generator, and that distinction is the reason it belongs in an AI workflow rather than despite it. The premise is that the difference between a fine shot and a great one is usually the reference, and finding the right reference is slow. It positions itself against ShotDeck, which is the established tool in this space, with the difference being that FrameThrower was built to be called by software.
That is the part worth attention. Alongside the browsable library there is a REST API, an SDK and a hosted MCP server, which means an agent can search the library as a tool rather than a person searching it in a browser. If you are building anything that plans shots, assembles mood boards, or grounds a generation in real cinematography, that is a callable source of visual reference instead of a site you screenshot from.
Browse or search the library for stills matching what you are after, by look, colour, framing or subject. For programmatic use, the REST API returns the same results to your own code, and the MCP server exposes the library to an agent directly, so a coding or creative agent can fetch references mid-task. Credits are consumed per call on any plan including the free one, and purchased credits do not expire.
- •Large curated still library - Reference frames from real cinematography rather than generated approximations.
- •Hosted MCP server - An agent can query the library as a tool without you writing an integration.
- •REST API and SDK - The same library available to your own code.
- •Free browsing tier - The library is usable at zero cost before any commitment.
- •Credits that do not expire - $20 buys 20,000 credits and unused ones carry forward indefinitely.
- •Team plans - Studio covers an owner plus invited members for crews working together.
Useful to filmmakers and cinematographers building shot lists, colourists chasing a look, and increasingly to people generating video with AI who need a real reference to anchor the result. The reviews on their own site lean heavily toward that last group, describing it as a reference source for AI projects and as an alternative to ShotDeck built for an AI era.
The developer case is separate and probably the more interesting one: an MCP server over a visual reference library is a building block for agent workflows that did not previously have a good source. Pricing runs free, then $14 a month for Pro after a seven day trial, or $7 a month if paid annually. Studio is annual only at $345 a year, roughly $29 a month, so compare it against the monthly tier carefully rather than by headline figure.
