Shytlist

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  Novus Dashboard for Shytlist

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  Shytlist Landing Page

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  Shytlist Dashboard

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  Shytlist Shotlist Editor

Inspiration

As a filmmaker, I've spent countless hours in pre-production wrestling with generic spreadsheet software. When you're trying to visualize a scene, staring at an infinite grid of white cells is a massive creative buzzkill. Existing tools are built for accountants, not Directors of Photography. I realized the indie film community desperately needed a "consumer app that solves a very specific, very personal itch." Shytlist was born out of the desire to build a tool that feels less like administrative software and more like a natural, purpose-built extension of a filmmaker's creative hardware.

What i've built & What it does

At its core, Shytlist is an application designed to help filmmakers effortlessly build detailed shotlists and export them directly into production-ready tables or storyboards.

It acts as a high-performance, cinematic shotlist builder that replaces clunky spreadsheets with a frictionless, visual-first workspace. Instead of focusing just on aesthetics, the application is engineered around the core logistical needs of a film set:

• Comprehensive Shot Architecture: The editor provides a complete, industry-standard selection for every element of a setup. Users have extensive dropdown options for shot types, sizes, lenses, camera movements, angles, and framing, entirely eliminating repetitive data entry.
• Real-Time Schedule Metrics: It features an automated engine that calculates estimated runtimes on the fly based on your specific shot setups and transition metrics. You know exactly what your schedule looks like before you even hit record.
• Professional Crew Distribution: When the shotlist is locked, Shytlist instantly generates branded, landscape-oriented PDF documents (offering both a detailed Table List or a visual 3x2 Storyboard Grid) and customizable CSV spreadsheets ready to be handed out to the crew. It even handles automatic aspect-ratio logo scaling so your production documents look pristine and professional.

Who it's for

This is built specifically for filmakers, indie film directors, Directors of Photography (DPs), and production teams who are tired of hacking together pre-production documents on generic spreadsheet apps. It’s for creators who want their pre-production tools to feel as tailored and professional as the color grading suites they use in post-production, allowing them to focus entirely on the art of storytelling rather than fighting with software.

How i built it (The tools we used)

I embraced a modern, AI-assisted "vibe coding" workflow to build and ship this rapidly.

• Frontend: Powered by React 19 (TypeScript) and Vite 6 for a blazing-fast single-page application experience.
• Styling & UI: I combined Tailwind CSS 4 with Motion to nail the cinematic aesthetic and hardware-like fluid animations.
• Backend: User authentication and project databases are securely handled by Supabase (Postgres).
• Analytics: Novus.ai is fully installed and integrated to track user interactions and measure actual engagement within the shotlist editor.
• Deployment: The entire application is continuously deployed via Vercel.
• Workflow: I heavily utilized agentic coding environments and local LLMs via Ollama to accelerate the complex state logic.

Challenges i ran into

The biggest technical hurdle was managing the complex state of the drag-and-drop interface while ensuring that automatic shot numbering and estimated runtimes recalculated accurately in real-time without any performance lag. Additionally, designing a UI that is highly functional but still feels "cinematic" required strict discipline. Achieving the right visual hierarchy in a pure dark mode without washing out important text or relying on overly bright borders took dozens of design iterations to get right.

Accomplishments that i'am proud of

I am incredibly proud of achieving a user experience that actually feels physical and tactile. The drag-and-drop interactions don't just work; they have a satisfying "weight" to them thanks to the spring physics. Beyond the code, I'm extremely proud of successfully bridging the gap between my two passions: software engineering and filmmaking. Turning a massive personal frustration into a highly polished, shipped product that other creators can genuinely benefit from is a massive milestone.

What i learned shipping it

Shipping Shytlist taught me the absolute core of true product sense. I learned that a rough idea executed beautifully often beats a massive idea executed poorly. I realized that "shipping" isn't just about deploying code; it's about crafting an end-to-end experience that respects the user's craft. Furthermore, integrating Novus.ai completely shifted my perspective from just building cool features to actually tracking measurable behaviors and understanding what brings real, tangible value to a production set.

What's next for Shytlist

The immediate next step is introducing real-time multiplayer collaboration, allowing Directors, DPs, and Producers to edit the shotlist simultaneously from different devices on set. I also plan to implement robust export features, specifically generating industry-standard PDF call sheets directly from the app, and an offline-first mode, ensuring Shytlist remains fully functional even when shooting in remote locations without internet access.

Built With

• react
• supabase
• tailwindcss
• vercel
• vite