Shot Designer vs Blackmagic Camera Control
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shot Designer
Create detailed camera diagrams and shot lists quickly. Animate characters and cameras in real-time to visualize scene rhythm. Import storyboards and sync projects with your team.
- Real-time camera and character animation
- Integrated shot list generation
- Director's viewfinder and storyboard import
- Set and lighting design tools
- Team sharing and syncing
- Template creation and library
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WHAT IS SHOT DESIGNER? • CAMERA DIAGRAM - Shot Designer dramatically speeds up the Director's process of making camera diagrams. Create full-blown diagrams in seconds. The software does most of the work. • ANIMATION - Animate your characters and cameras to move around your diagram in real-time. Previsualize the rhythm of a scene by seeing it play out. • SHOT LIST - The integrated Shot List is tied into the diagram and writes itself while you work. Edit shots intuitively in the diagram, not in a confusing spreadsheet. • DIRECTOR'S VIEWFINDER / STORYBOARDS - Bring in lens-accurate camera angles via the integrated Director's Viewfinder or Storyboard Import. • MAC/PC DESKTOP VERSION - An identical Mac/PC Desktop Version is included with the Pro Version (in-app upgrade). • SYNC & TEAM SHARING - Sync your scenes across all your devices. Share scene folders with teams. Control who owns which scene. (Pro Feature) Watch the feature-demo at https://www.hollywoodcamerawork.com/shot-designer-videos.html CAMERA-BLOCKING ON STEROIDS Shot Designer was developed by Per Holmes, the creator of the renowned Hollywood Camera Work training, and has been developed in conjunction with major TV and Film productions. Shot Designer is based on the realization that neither Camera Diagrams, Shot Lists, or Storyboards by themselves give you a satisfying understanding of camera-blocking -- you have to use them *together*. Shot Designer is FAST. The app knows how Directing works and automatically does most of the work for you. Cameras rearrange themselves when you move characters. Animate characters and cameras with simple Walk To and Track To commands. Create sophisticated tracking shots with multiple marks. Shot Designer is fast enough that you can rearrange the diagram with actors waiting. OTHER FEATURES • Integrated Set Designer for building floor plans. • Integrated Lighting Designer for DPs, with lighting symbols provided by Ari Golan of Atomic Imaging Studios Chicago. • Import production drawings as backgrounds and block on top of them. • Factory Templates of pre-made camera setups for any situation. • Make your own templates as starting points for new scenes. • Large and growing prop/furniture library. Email us requests, we'll build them. • Scene Freeze: Experiment easily by taking snapshots you can return to (Pro). • PDF/JPG/Excel export and emailing of Camera Diagrams and Shot Lists (Pro). • Unlimited Folder Structure for organizing scenes (Pro). The Free Version of Shot Designer is full-featured except for Save, Export and Sync/Team. Your current scene is always saved, and you can be fully productive working on one scene at a time. The Pro Version (in-app upgrade) adds File Management, identical Mac/PC Desktop Version, Sync and Team Sharing, PDF/JPG/Excel Export and more.
Blackmagic Camera Control
Remotely manage Blackmagic Design cameras with Bluetooth from your iPad. Adjust settings, control lenses, update metadata, and start/stop recording from up to 30 feet away. Ideal for hard-to-reach camera placements or for assistants needing quick data updates.
- Remote camera control via Bluetooth
- Adjust camera settings
- Control camera lens
- Update metadata (shot, scene, take)
- Trigger recording
- Remote power on/off (URSA Mini Pro)
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The Blackmagic Camera Control app allows you to control any Blackmagic Design camera that features Bluetooth control capability, right from your iPad! Get full control of your camera from up to 30 feet away, so you can remotely change camera settings, control the lens, adjust metadata and trigger recording. On URSA Mini Pro cameras you can also remotely power the camera on or off. Blackmagic Camera Control is ideal when you need to control cameras in hard to reach places such as on cranes, drones, gimbals and more! It’s also a great solution for camera assistants who need to quickly update metadata such as shot, scene and take numbers. Blackmagic Camera Control requires a Bluetooth enabled camera such as Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro or URSA Broadcast camera. Please ensure your camera has been updated to the latest Blackmagic Cameras software.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Shot Designer at 3.8 against Blackmagic Camera Control's 2.5. Shot Designer also leads on review sentiment (68% vs 26%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 12 months). Blackmagic Camera Control's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, ratings volume, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Shot Designer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Blackmagic Camera Control asks for nothing beyond the download.
Shot Designer holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 24 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Shot Designer's written reviews are positive against 26% of Blackmagic Camera Control's.
Shot Designer ships an update monthly, Blackmagic Camera Control every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shot Designer | Blackmagic Camera Control |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (10 ratings) — better | 2.5 (24 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.0% of reviews — better | 26.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10 | 24 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 12 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 82 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hollywood Camera Work SRL | Blackmagic Design Inc |
Customer experience
Shot Designer
Blackmagic Camera Control
Bugs and requests
Shot Designer
Reported bugs
17 issues- White screen of death on app launch
- App crashes when adding image props
- Login not working on iPhone devices
- Cannot register due to UI form scrolling errors
- Keyboard overlay blocking sign-in form
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- Sync deletes user work unexpectedly
- Pro version purchase not recognized after updates
- Cannot save designs to phone
- App doesn't fill entire screen on modern devices
- Lag when renaming scenes
- Keyboard doesn't appear when naming files
- Difficulty selecting objects when grouped closely together
- App crashes on iPhone 6s and newer devices
- Incompatibility with iOS 10.2 and later
- Director's viewfinder doesn't save metadata to photo gallery
- Cross-device sync losing work
- Account login issues between iOS and desktop versions
Requested features
25 requests- Apple Pencil integration for iPad
- Import custom designs and elements
- Drag-and-drop file import from Files app
- More lighting instruments and props
- PDF export functionality
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- Ability to import background images from Files app (not just Photos)
- Copy and paste functionality
- Assignable character names for multiple scenes
- Moveable background images
- Scene metadata for automatic camera labeling
- Ability to reorder shots in Mac version
- Undo functionality
- iCloud sync support
- Google Drive integration
- Full-screen mode for modern iPhones
- French language support
- Spanish language support
- Scene duplication feature
- More than 5 pages available
- Storyboard animation export
- Audio/soundtrack integration
- Script import capability
- Hide individual objects instead of entire categories
- Retina Display support for Mac
- Real-time sync between devices
Blackmagic Camera Control
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Shot Designer
- Pro Version Upgrade$19.99
Blackmagic Camera Control
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Shot Designer free?
Is Blackmagic Camera Control free?
Which has better reviews, Shot Designer or Blackmagic Camera Control?
Do Shot Designer or Blackmagic Camera Control have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shot Designer or Blackmagic Camera Control?
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