[4] In 1996, Arnaud Hervas and Allen Edwards founded Nothing Real, and released Shake 1.0 as a command-line tool for image processing to high-end visual effects facilities in early 1997.

In 2003, version 3 of Shake was announced,[7] which introduced the Qmaster software, discontinued support for Microsoft Windows, and allowed unlimited network render clients at no additional cost.

A year later, the release of Shake 3.5 at the National Association of Broadcasters show saw the price drop to $2999 for Mac OS X and $4999 for Linux and IRIX.

It was actually released on June 20, 2006 and was rebranded as a companion for Final Cut Studio;[8] as such, its price was dropped from $2999 to $499 for Mac OS X but remained the same for Linux.

Shake's final release, version 4.1.1, was issued in 2008 to make it compatible with revised Apple 16-bit QuickTime codecs that used a different byte order (Endianness) than they had previously.

Shake had been officially been declared end of life status 3 years prior but continued being sold in the Apple Store for $499 until that time.

Shake was used by Broadway Video for restoring the release of Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season DVD box set.

Other major productions using Shake include the 2005 adaptation of War of the Worlds, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,[15] Fantastic Four, Mission: Impossible III, Poseidon, The Incredibles, Hulk, Doctor Who, The Dark Knight[16] and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,[17] and for the restoration of South Pacific.