CINEside is a Mac app that brings your shot list, script, references, and department notes together in one place — built for cinematographers and directors preparing narrative work. The script stays connected to the visual ideas — so what's practical never loses sight of what's emotional.

Your director sketches the shot on a napkin at dinner. You photograph it. It's anchored to scene 12 in the blink of an eye.

It works completely offline. Your script doesn't have to leave your computer.

Deliberately understated

CINEside is not a visual presentation tool. It doesn't try to create a mood — your images do that. The interface stays out of the way so you can focus on what matters: the script, the ideas, the preparation.

What it does

CINEside is built around the screenplay. Your script sits on the right, your shots and notes on the left, and everything stays anchored to the scenes it belongs to.

• Import screenplays as PDF and let CINEside detect your scenes automatically
• Build your shot list with size, angle, lens, camera move, POV/OS, multi-camera setup, unit assignment
• Anchor shots to specific passages in the script — or assign any script block to an existing shot
• Attach reference photos, location images, sun position diagrams, sketches and storyboards — per scene and per shot
• Open the Scene Board — a dedicated second window showing all visual references for the current scene. Works on a second monitor or iPad via Sidecar.
• Keep everything together — each project saves as a self-contained folder with all references and backups included.
• Color-tag scenes across the whole project — visual groupings for locations, blocks, shooting days, or anything else
• Add notes for specific departments: Director, Gaffer, Art Department, Costume, Make Up, Key Grip, and more
• Flag VFX and SFX shots and export separate shot lists for post production
• Build a multi-day shooting schedule — assign scenes to shoot days, drag and drop shots into order, and export a complete schedule per day or across all shoot days
• Generate a Location Dossier for tech scouts — notes, photos, floorplan, and all scenes per location in one document
• Export your shot list optimised for iPad — larger text and annotation margin for Apple Pencil, in the facing-pages layout
• Export your complete shooting script as a facing-pages PDF, shot list only, or notes sheet
• Share your work with one click via CINEside CONNECT

Works the way you actually work.

CINEside adapts to how the project is structured. In Cinematographer mode, the interface shows everything — lighting plans, sun position, crew and equipment notes, department discussions. In Director mode, it rearranges around a different workflow: lighting and equipment give way to discussion notes for screenwriter, casting, actors, editor, and composer.

When you're ready to share, export a share package with one click. The other person receives a single .cnsf file — it contains the project and all references. They open it in CINEside and it becomes a normal editable project on their machine. Nothing gets lost in transit.

No AI. No magic. Just your work.

CINEside doesn't generate ideas, suggest shots, or have an opinion about your visual language — that's entirely yours. What it does: keeps your preparation organized. Collect everything you need to discuss with your director and every department. Track decisions, open questions, technical requirements — shot by shot, scene by scene. When you work on the schedule or talk through the next shooting day with your AD, select the scenes, drag and drop the shots into order, and export as PDF. All the prep work in one place — the script, the shots, the notes, the references. Nothing more, nothing less.

Try before you buy.

Download CINEside and work through a real scene with your own screenplay — import the PDF, plan your shots, add references, draft your department notes. Everything works. Watermarked PDF exports let you see the layout. Saving and Connect export unlock when you enter your license key.

Share your work — CINEside CONNECT

Export your shooting script with one click. The other person opens it in CINEside CONNECT — a free companion app — adds their notes to shots, script passages, and images, and sends it back. You import the notes into CINEside and see all their feedback highlighted in context. CONNECT is read-only, works completely offline, and is free for all collaborators.

Get CINEside

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