Personally I took the phrase 'frame-by-frame' to be a figure of speech.

"A figure of speech is the use of a word or a phrase, which ascend from its literal interpretation."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_of_speech

I think the comment author was just trying to emphasize they were trying to be thorough, a bit like when police say they will search an area with a fine-toothed comb. No reasonable person expects the police to use actual combs.