FrameThrower · Actors · Joe Swanberg
Joe Swanberg
4 films · 285 frames · top-billed in 2 · 2010–2022
Born 31 August 1981 · Detroit, Michigan, USA
Joe Swanberg is an American independent film director, producer, writer, and actor. Known for micro-budget films which make extensive use of improvisation, Swanberg is considered a major figure in the mumblecore film movement. His films often focus on relationships, sex, technology, and the filmmaking process, and include V/H/S (2012), Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007), Win It All (2017), Digging For Fire (2015), and Nights and Weekends (2008), the last of which was co-directed by Academy Award nominee Greta Gerwig.
How their films are shot
Measured across 285 frames from the 4 films we hold. This is the look of the work Joe takes, not a claim about any single frame — we index the cast of a film, never the people in a shot.
Across the 4 films we hold, 62% of their frames are night, 63% low key — the look of the work Joe takes.
Time of day
Lighting
Shot size
Camera angle
Mood
Films in the library
Every poster opens that film — stills, cinematography notes and colour palette.
Often with
Shared films in this library, not a full filmography.
A reference database for filmmakers
FrameThrower is a fully machine-searchable film database and visual reference library — all 285 frames from Joe Swanberg's 4 films, and 5,000+ films besides, indexed frame by frame and readable by AI. Search it in plain language, from a reference image, or by colour; call it from an API, an MCP server or an SDK. It's the reference layer for making the next movie.