Cinematographer: Christopher Nolan

About

EYECANDY is a labor of love for the people.
It’s something to enjoy and learn from.
It’s not something you should gatekeep—
It was made to blow the gates open.

It’s forever WIP.
It’s never 100% accurate.
It’s a little messy.
It’s for you.

Created by Jacobi.
Curated by you.

What is Eyecandy?

Eyecandy is a database of over 5,000 GIFs representing the very best visual techniques in the world of filmmaking.

Eyecandy can be used as an educational tool, or to help build decks and moodboards for your next film.

How do I use Eyecandy?

From the main page, you’ll see an overview of nearly every visual technique on our site. Click an image to go down the rabbit hole.

The navigation up top is your compass.

To download a GIF, right click ‘Save As’ from the gallery view.

To see details, click on the GIF and it’ll enlarge showing you details about the shot such as title, year, and director.

Why is this a thing?

Creativity is competitive, and sometimes the best creatives gatekeep to keep a competitive edge. Lucky for me, I’m not in the ‘best creative’ category so have no problem sharing visual references I’ve accumulated over the years. Lucky for you, there are loads of other nice creatives that are also eager to share their libraries.

I started accumulating references in 2022, which grew to over 400 when EYECANDY was launched, and now sits at over 1,600 with help from creatives and viewers like you.

How can I submit?

Click the ‘Submissions’ link at the bottom of the website. It’s definitely not a personal email and you’ll definitely hear from me immediately and not in a few weeks when I randomly remember that you sent me something cool.

Are you filthy rich from this?

Nope! In fact I’m losing $33 a month on this website so it’s turned out to be a pretty shitty investment. But it’s not about making money. Never has been and never will be. It’s about not gatekeeping and giving creatives a better way to source creativity and inspiration for their ideas. Also not charging for this website means I care less about typoos.

Category Naming

Part of the struggle of film-making is people not knowing what things are called. So consider categories like “dream state” or “Game Glitch” Jacobi-isms. They’re what I’ve always used to find that type of shot, and chances are it’d be what you’d use as well. But don’t start writing essays about ‘Dream State’ technique.

More Eyecandy?

This website is our home and hosts an ever-growing collection of visual techniques, but we have other channels with different emphases.

Instagram: Showing the best of the best

Discord: Our town-hall. Where the community can come together to ask questions, submit work, and help educate each other.

Website 2.0 Information

We’ll have a new website by the end of summer. This website will feature

Search: The website will be fully searchable, using both manual and A.I. tags allowing you to more easily find the type of shot you’re looking for by searching by keywords.
Ability to upload GIFs of your favorite visual techniques directly to the website
Ability to save your favorite visual techniques to personal boards

Masking

While it has its root in the early days of cinema, today this technique involves creating masks to isolate specific areas of a frame, allowing for precise control over the integration of visual effects, CGI elements, or different footage.

Background replacement

Double Exposure mask

A combination between traditional double exposure and a masking shot, usually when one image takes the lead on the mask but the details are slightly visible.

Window masking

LEARN. DON'T GATEKEEP. ENJOY. LEARN. DON'T GATEKEEP. ENJOY. LEARN. DON'T GATEKEEP. ENJOY. LEARN. DON'T GATEKEEP. ENJOY. LEARN. DON'T GATEKEEP. ENJOY. LEARN. DON'T GATEKEEP. ENJOY. LEARN. DON'T GATEKEEP. ENJOY. LEARN. DON'T GATEKEEP. ENJOY.