Comparison

ShotDeck vs Mixer Brain

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ShotDeck

Access the world's largest library of high-quality, searchable cinematic images. This tool aids directors, cinematographers, and visual artists in finding inspiration, conducting research, and referencing visual styles for film production. Explore detailed information for each image to enhance your creative process.

Highlights
  • Largest collection of cinematic images
  • Meticulously keyworded and searchable
  • Detailed image metadata (cast, crew, camera, lens)
  • Time-saving image discovery
  • Inspiration, research, and reference tool
  • Collaborative professional tool
Features
Read full description

Shotdeck is the largest collection of meticulously keyworded fully searchable high quality cinematic images in the world. Hello directors, cinematographers, designers, ad folks, film students and visual artists, you’ve just discovered your new secret weapon, the best collaborative professional tool for bringing your vision to life - from pitch, to prep to post. Each image has information on cast and crew, aspect ratio, framing, lighting, camera, lens, shooting location, and a dozen more. This time saving app will help you not just find the exact image you are looking for but allow you to discover ones that you never new existed. You'll wonder how you ever worked without Shotdeck. Inspiration - Research - Reference - Education - Discovery Start exploring Shotdeck totally free today and witness your vision come to life and your creativity reach new heights.

About

Mixer Brain

Learn professional music mixing techniques from a Grammy-winning engineer. This app offers over 24 hours of video and written lessons to develop your ear, instincts, and unique sound, applicable to any genre or skill level.

Highlights
  • Principle-based mixing course
  • 24+ hours of video lessons
  • Written content
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Works across genres and DAWs
  • Behind-the-scenes of real records
Read full description

Mixer Brain by Jeff Ellis Worldwide Master the Art of Mixing – Anytime, Anywhere Step inside the brain of Grammy-winning engineer Jeff Ellis Worldwide—known for his work with Frank Ocean, Doja Cat, Joji, The Neighbourhood—and completely transform the way you mix music. The Mixer Brain app delivers Jeff’s full, principle-based mixing course directly to your phone or tablet, giving you the freedom to learn at your own pace, from anywhere in the world. With over 24 hours of in-depth video lessons paired with written content, you’ll learn Jeff’s approach to mixing from the ground up—designed to work across any genre, DAW, or skill level. Go behind the scenes of real records from some of the biggest artists on the planet, and gain a deep understanding of the principles that make great mixes truly work. This isn’t about templates or shortcuts—it’s about developing your ears, your instincts, and your unique sound. Whether you’re a bedroom producer, an aspiring engineer, or a seasoned mixer looking to evolve, Mixer Brain will radically elevate your craft and creative confidence.

Screenshots

ShotDeck4 screens
Mixer Brain4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mixer Brain at 100% against ShotDeck's 29%. Mixer Brain also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.2). ShotDeck's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (46 vs 4). On price, ads, device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Mixer Brain sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ShotDeck asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mixer Brain holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ShotDeck has 46 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of ShotDeck's written reviews are positive against 100% of Mixer Brain's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
ShotDeck versus Mixer Brain: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShotDeckMixer Brain
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (46 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings46 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size78 MB69 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperFilmmakers Research Lab, LLCJeff Ellis Worldwide, INC.

Customer experience

ShotDeck

All ratings44 ratings
Positive47.7%
Neutral11.4%
Negative40.9%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive28.9%
Neutral11.1%
Negative60.0%

Mixer Brain

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

ShotDeck

Reported bugs

35 issues
  • UI issues
  • Low quality grabs
  • App crashes constantly
  • App quits after a few searches or image saves
  • App crashes when searching
Show 30 more
  • Age verification required
  • New account creation with Apple ID required
  • iPad app crashes every time search is used
  • App crashes when entering a search term
  • Infinite loading
  • Won't allow sign up or log in
  • Password reset email not received
  • Enlarged images opened in a new page
  • Search feature completely useless
  • App wouldn't load anything
  • Servers down error
  • No more than 5 minutes without crashing on iPads and iPhones
  • Images take too long to load
  • Images won't load
  • System error causing refund
  • Asked to sign in, not sign up
  • Application would shut down itself when looking for more shots
  • App entirely crashes when swiping through full sized photos on iPad
  • App crashes after a few minutes of use on iPad
  • Search engine never works
  • Search bar not working
  • Filters don't work in search function
  • Burned 2 hours saving images to a deck, but they are not in the deck
  • App crashes repeatedly
  • Periodic crashing (typically when choosing to browse similar shots)
  • Quick add doesn't seem to work
  • Unpredictable search results
  • Pages don't load or have errors
  • Searches with fairly common words don't yield any results
  • Cannot use split screen or a floating window with the app on the iPad

Requested features

8 requests
  • Update app to be a great companion to desktop site
  • Fix login with Apple ID issue
  • Fix age verification and account creation hurdles
  • Make a widget that cycles random shots
  • Improve UI/UX
Show 3 more
  • Add more data to search and tags
  • Add dark mode
  • Faster way to add shots to favorites

Mixer Brain

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

ShotDeck

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Mixer Brain

One-time1
  • Mixer Brain$369.00

Questions

Is ShotDeck free?
ShotDeck is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mixer Brain free?
Mixer Brain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ShotDeck or Mixer Brain?
Mixer Brain is rated higher. ShotDeck averages 3.2 out of 5 from 46 ratings, while Mixer Brain averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do ShotDeck or Mixer Brain have ads?
Neither ShotDeck nor Mixer Brain shows ads.

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