Add Your Movie Collection to MoFo

[Yoda]

The Idea
A few weeks ago I made the not-insignificant decision to try to launch a home theater collection feature. I've thought about doing this for literally years, because the few sites that offer this now, well...they aren't very good. I also happen to know a developer who works for eBay and who's been trying to get a similar project off the ground for years, as well. And we're talking about joining forces to finally make this a reality.

Now, this is a pretty big undertaking because, as you probably realize, there are tons of movies out there. You know because, if you're reading this, you probably own a bunch of 'em. And that's why I could really use your help.


What We Need
Simply put, we have a giant database of discs; DVDs and Blu-rays. And we have access to a giant database of movies. What we don't have are a) a way to automatically link the discs to the movies, or b) box/cover art for the discs. So, I'm calling for volunteers to help with the effort in linking discs to movies, and in copying box art.

A good way to make this manageable is to ask people to just add their own movie collections. It works nicely because, if you own discs, you know exactly what the covers should look like, you'll be adding films you're interested in, and because the system will let you tag anything you add that you own, so once the feature goes live, your collection will already be there!

I even built a special, private area of the site with a few tools designed to make the process as painless as possible. And we could even do with volunteers who don't want to upload their collections (or don't have large collections) and just want to link films for us. Every little bit helps.

So far, a handful of MoFos have added discs, and I owe them all a great deal of thanks. I have to particularly single out Jason (Sexy Celebrity), who's added an insane number of discs so far. And a big thanks to Dex, PW, TUS and Skepsis, too.


How To Help
So, if anyone else is interested, please leave a reply in this thread, and I'll PM you the details. I really appreciate it. :) We're off to a good start already, and this kind of thing is very doable if even a handful of us can pitch in by just adding our own collections, or even part of them. :) Thanks!

[Powdered Water]

I'm slowly (very slowly) wading into this. Think I may have done about 20 or so, so far. I've got a long way to go, but I can tell anyone interested that once you do it a few times the adding and finding of the pictures and whatnot is pretty easy to do.

[Yoda]

You're up to 34, in fact. :) And I'm grateful for each one.

[Miss Vicky]

PM me the link. I'll give it a shot.

[wintertriangles]

I have lots of dvds, I feel obliged

[ElmoLovesYou]

What the heck I'll try this out too. :D

[Deadite]

I'm willing to give it a try but I'm still not sure what is required/how it works...

[Deadite]

I should add that my collection isn't that big anymore. I decided awhile back to "streamline" it and gave away a lot of tapes and dvds that were either impulse buys accumulated over time or stuff that no longer really appealed to me like it used to. Right now I have roughly 200, around 250 if you counted sets.

[mastermetal777]

I'll give this a shot. I'm in :)

[Yoda]

Wow, that's a great start! I'll make sure you all get access and a quick rundown of how it all works by tomorrow. Thanks. :)

[rauldc14]

I can help out in my spare time. It sounds like an interesting add to the site.

[TylerDurden99]

I'll give it a go.

[The Rodent]

Not sure how it all works but if I can help, I will.

I got a 150+ DVD collection. Mainly mainstream stuff but hey, if I can help...

[Tyler1]

Drop me a pm. I'll see what I can do.

[Yoda]

Awesome; just added some of you to the access list and sent off a link with instructions.

By the by, even the smaller collections would be very valuable; I'd be thrilled with 100-200. Every little bit helps, too, and obviously if any one wanted to add any that aren't in their collections, too, well...let's just say I wouldn't try too hard to stop you. :D

Really great of you guys to respond so enthusiastically. Thank you. :)

[The Rodent]

Done two now.
Thanks to Yoda for the tuition after I c*cked up the first one I put up :D :D :D

Actually quite good fun getting a collection together. :)

[Yoda]

Yeah, and you guys are really going to dig the end result, I think. It's a big project so it'll take quite a bit of time, but at the very least, when you've uploaded your collections, I can give you access to a script that'll let you see your whole collection and sort it and everything, as a small thank-you for helping out. :) We'll probably end up redesigning a lot of it, but speaking for myself, just seeing that list with all the pretty box art is really satisfying.

[The Rodent]

Quick question. Some of them don't have a tick box next to them in the search results, does that mean they've already been done and I can't add them?

[Yoda]

Yup. If a checkbox is missing, it means that one's already been linked. And if the title is just text and not a link, that means box art's already been added.

[She-ra]

I'll give you a hand.

[wintertriangles]

By the by, even the smaller collections would be very valuable; I'd be thrilled with 100-200.I have that in Criterions alone :laugh:

[Nausicaä]

Is this just for Region 1 discs, or can any region be added since a lot in my collection are Region 2/Region B and various other regions.

I'd like to take a look at the link also. :)

[Yoda]

Sadly, as huge as the database is I believe it only has region 1. However, it seems like the box art is the same more often than not. We'll probably just be using the R1 box art with a toggle later for people to specify region if they want (though I expect most users just want to show off the movies themselves, rather than all the tech specifics). This is probably one of the handful of things we'll have to work on after any beta launch, bit-by-bit, and build up over time.

Thanks very much for taking an interest; I'll have another round of PMs off today.

[ElmoLovesYou]

I uploaded a DVD and linked it to test it out and it didn't show up. What now?

[Yoda]

I'll PM you. :)

[ElmoLovesYou]

I thought the purpose of this was to showcase our DVD collections. Or am I wrong.

[TheUsualSuspect]

In due time Elmo, in due time.

[Deadite]

I figured that was the point of clicking the box that indicates you own the film when you've uploaded box art for it. I think I may have forgotten to click it once or twice while adding box art, though... :D

[ElmoLovesYou]

Well I'm not going going to spend the time searching for images and whatnot when my collection won't even be seen. I can just use DVD Afficianado and be done in half the time lol

[Deadite]

Elmo, the feature isn't implemented yet. From what I understand, this is a preliminary effort for volunteers to help out before it is implemented.

[MovieMan8877445]

Wait, I don't get it. Is it gonna be like a drop down menu thing like the movie lists or is it like linking to somewhere else?

[Deadite]

Yeah, and you guys are really going to dig the end result, I think. It's a big project so it'll take quite a bit of time, but at the very least, when you've uploaded your collections, I can give you access to a script that'll let you see your whole collection and sort it and everything, as a small thank-you for helping out. :) We'll probably end up redesigning a lot of it, but speaking for myself, just seeing that list with all the pretty box art is really satisfying.

Wow, I somehow missed this before. Sounds really cool! :cool:

[ElmoLovesYou]

Elmo, the feature isn't implemented yet. From what I understand, this is a preliminary effort for volunteers to help out before it is implemented.

I'll just wait for the feature to be implemented then maybe try it again.

Wait, I don't get it. Is it gonna be like a drop down menu thing like the movie lists...?

If so, that would be one heck of a huge drop down menu.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I'll just wait for the feature to be implemented then maybe try it again.

Well, fine. See if any of us tell you how to get to Sesame Street.

[Deadite]

I think it's actually kinda fun. Some of them are a bit tricky to find, like the Platinum edition cover for The Gate. I found a great img of it, though, good quality and size. I also went ahead and did the Special Edition cover too.

[The Rodent]

I'm having a right mare finding Independence Day. The list is a bit dodgy too, keeps giving me pictures of pots and pans.
The dvd I own isn't on the list either, though that might be down to the dvd itself being a cheapo one that's churned out after the initial supply-and-demand.

[Yoda]

Deadite and TUS and the others have it right: this is a new feature in the early stages. You're all getting the first looks at it, and for helping you'll naturally get to use it as it's further developed before any one else.

If it would help a lot to be able to see it even as you're going along, I can make that happen. :) It won't be "done" or anything, but it'll be a good start and I can see how that could make the process a lot more fun. What do you guys think?

[Yoda]

I'm having a right mare finding Independence Day. The list is a bit dodgy too, keeps giving me pictures of pots and pans.
The dvd I own isn't on the list either, though that might be down to the dvd itself being a cheapo one that's churned out after the initial supply-and-demand.
The list = Google Images searching for "Independence Day"? Anyway, this'll happen sometimes, and the list isn't totally exhaustive...though it's pretty close most of the time, which is no small feat given how many discs are floating around there.

But yeah, if this happens, feel free to save the title in a text file and send me the list whenever you like. I'm doing this in phases, and one of the phases will be specifically adding more entries to account for the editions missing.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Let 'em see their list. I've seen mine. It makes you feel good to actually see your collection. It motivates.

[MovieMan8877445]

I guess I can try to help out.

[Yoda]

Okay, you guys should see a new button in the header now. :) You can sort, filter, see all the box art, etc. You can even tag "Favorite" discs so they appear at the top of your list regardless of sorting. Obviously it's very rough, so please excuses the odd display problem or other little things like that.

[MovieMan8877445]

I don't see anything.

[Yoda]

Sorry, I meant people using the super-duper-secret tool should see it. ;)

I have, however, just given you access and sent you the link...

[Sexy Celebrity]

I see it here.

[The Rodent]

Yup, got it as well.

Only got 12 so far. Most of mine have already been done by other people :(

[John McClane]

I have no time and I'm rarely at home these days, but I'll add what I can.

[Yoda]

I'd say sorry, but actually, that's good! :laugh:

[Deadite]

Yeah, when you use Google image search, it's sometimes better to tweak it by inputting your own modified alternate searchs in order to find a good match. Sometimes being very specific helps, but sometimes being more general gets you better choices than you might think. If I'm having trouble, I'll play around with variations of the title I'm searching and usually find what I want.

[ElmoLovesYou]

I noticed the changes now. :) I'll give this another shot :cool:

[The Rodent]

Funny thing is, since I started doing this this morning, I've had more Inbox PMs today alone, than in my entire time on the forum. :D

[akatemple]

I only have 13 DVD's. :D
But I am willing to help out, I have tons of spare time.

[The Rodent]

Managed to get 25 done so far. Most of mine are already done though.

[thracian dawg]

I'll give it a try.

[Nausicaä]

I'm having a right mare finding Independence Day.


Are you looking for the Region 1 editions?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_scat_2650304011_ln?rh=n%3A2625373011%2Cp_n_format_browse-bin%3A2650304011%2Ck%3Aindependence+day&keywords=independence+day&ie=UTF8&qid=1334664476&scn=2650304011&h=61073a4e41b2cf6bfe87afd566815b4c4d13a36f

[The Rodent]

Am looking for any region that matches the DVD cover I have here at home.

I'm in England so mine are region 2, but I'll take any pic that matches the box.

Thanks for the link :) but none of those match my DVD.


EDIT: Here's a direct scan from my scanner of the DVD Box Art I have here.

[Nausicaä]

Oo seems to be the Italian Region 2 release:

http://www.amazon.it/Independence-Versione-Estesa-Jeff-Goldblum/dp/B003GZTM3W/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1334665723&sr=1-2

http://img5.cherchons.com/marchand/pmcdn.priceminister.com/photo/880671338.jpg

[The Rodent]

You're an absolute star. The bottom link of the two is perfect.


+rep there methinks :yup:

[bouncingbrick]

Fine. Whatever. I don't play well with others.







can i play?:o

[Skepsis93]

That looks great, Yoda. :up: I just got back to Uni (where the bulk of my collection is) so I should be able to add some more discs tonight.

[bouncingbrick]

I'd gladly add my collection, but I have over 1000 discs. Well, it may be down a bit from that number because I sold some, but this is a crazy undertaking for me. I guess I could do my Blu-rays first...

Anyway, how does it work?

[Yoda]

I'll send you a PM with instructions and a link. :) Up to you if you just want to do part. All help is appreciated.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I'd gladly add my collection, but I have over 1000 discs. Well, it may be down a bit from that number because I sold some, but this is a crazy undertaking for me.

I added almost 700 in a week. It wasn't bad. I enjoyed seeing all of my DVD covers in connection with Movie Forums.

[Yoda]

Yeah, since SC went ahead and outed his disc count there, I'll just tell you that he's the guy you're all chasing. :D He's been insane. Boy owns a metric ton of movies, and decided he wanted every last one of 'em in there.

[Nausicaä]

Slowly adding, it's a small collection compared to say 700 since I'm working through my Region 1/Region A discs only. :p;) Got region 2, 3, 4 and Region B. So bla.

[Yoda]

Yeah, for the across-the-pond volunteers, we're using Dog DVDs, since they have it harder with the region thing. So 100 = 700. :D

[Yoda]

We're flyin', man. MoFos are awesome.

Hope it goes without saying that, in addition to getting to see certain things sooner, I'll be gladly soliciting your advice for tweaks and features once we get further into the development. You guys deserve to be a part of the process and, seeing as how you're all the target audience, I'm sure your insights would be invaluable in improving it.

[Nausicaä]

White lines are the enemy! :yup:

[Yoda]

Like white blood cells! No, wait. That's totally not right.

[Ðèstîñy]

I'll do this. Where do I go and stuff?

[honeykid]

You don't go anywhere Destiny. You stay right here and never leave us again!!!

[Ðèstîñy]

OK! Well . . . see ya later! :p

[Yoda]

She's the Keyser Soze of MoFo. And just like that...pfft...she's gone!

She also may or may not be a Hungarian mobster.

[She-ra]

BBFC ratings logos are becoming the bane of my life now. Aaaaarrrgggghhhhh.

[Nausicaä]

She-ra: If you look for the Region 1 DVDs they will not have the BBFC Region 2 rating logos on.


I have been able to remember 46 of my Region 1/Region A discs so far without looking at my collection in the other room, all on the floor in another room until I sort them out. So tomorrow if I have time, will look through the piles for the others I can't remember. :yup:

[Yoda]

I did the same thing at first. :laugh: But sometimes the covers were different enough that I just wasn't sure. Eventually I ended up conceding and bringing piles in to stack on the desk.

[Nausicaä]

Yeah I've left some until I look at them because I couldn't remember if they were old edition criterions or new for example.

[Ðèstîñy]

I just realized that this only started two days ago. I barely missed out. If you can send the PM tonight, I'll start listing them right away.

[Yoda]

Sure, will do right now. :)

[Miss Vicky]

I'm having some trouble finding suitable cover images. Most I seem to find are blurry, grainy or just plain too small.

Shame I don't have a scanner anymore or I'd just make my own.

[Yoda]

It can be tricky, though it depends a lot on the movies in question. More recent ones tend to have more available box art, and obviously that goes for more common ones, as well.

That said, if it's at least a few hundred pixels tall, and there's nothing better, that's better than nothin'.

Anything I can do to help? Any particular ones causing trouble?

[Miss Vicky]

Nah, I think I'm just being too picky. Also it doesn't help that I was looking for Victor Mature movie covers.

[sarah f]

I keep drifting back to this thread, tempted to help out, so I guess that means I should help out.

[Yoda]

Excellent. :) PM coming your way.

[The Rodent]

I've got over 40 done and that's my entire collection exhausted.
I've got well over 150 but most of mine were already covered by other MoFos, so well done guys, keep it going but I'm going to have to back out now...


... my work here is done.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I've got over 40 done and that's my entire collection exhausted.
I've got well over 150 but most of mine were already covered by other MoFos, so well done guys, keep it going but I'm going to have to back out now...


... my work here is done.

No, it's not. Buy some more DVDs and add them. Hit up flea markets.

[Yoda]

Hehehe. Thanks a lot, TR. :)

[The Rodent]

Quick change, just added Eight Legged Freaks, missed it because it was on top of the DVD player.
Definitely done now. That makes 48 from me.

[Thursday Next]

I could give this a go, if you still need volunteers. Although I think the chances of me having any dvds that haven't already been done are slim.

[She-ra]

I've started to get into my grove with this now. Looking at what i've already put up I didn't realise I had such an obscure collection of films.

[Deadite]

That's what I'm most interested in, seeing the more eccentric collections. :)

[Nausicaä]

I found a nice pile of seven region 1 films and only two were not in the collection. Oo someone else has put in Sin City (Miramax/ Recut & Extended Special Edition w/ Graphic Novel) Deluxe edition. Also Reservior Dogs 15th Anniversary Arson edition. Own up!

;):p

[Nausicaä]

That's me done, managed to find a mixture of 88 Region 1/Region A discs in my collection(I have more but people have put those onto the website collection already), the rest of my collection is taken up with other regions and most have very different artwork for the covers compared to the Region 1 editions.

So I wait for the day other regions/editions are allowed. :p

:D

[Yoda]

Thanks a ton, Nausicaa. :)

The main hurdle with various regions is our data source, which has had to dictate a lot of this to us. However, once we get into something resembling a beta launch, we're going to have forms for suggesting new versions, among other things. I think that's how we'll have to add discs from other regions in the long run; there'll be an approval queue and all that, and we'll be able to "whitelist" certain users, like yourself, to have changes either fastracked or possibly applied instantly.

[Deadite]

Also, when I search images I always immediately sort sizes to medium. It clears out a lot of irrelevant clutter and gives lots of good results up front...

[Yoda]

Sent out some more credentials for this. The response has been really tremendous; a few of you guys have really gone above and beyond. We've basically doubled the total we had before I posted this, and we've got a really wide range of different discs added.

There's still plenty to do and any other volunteers, or any previous ones who might want to take another crack at it, would still be tremendously helpful. So if anyone's hesitating based on the people who have already volunteered, don't! There's still plenty of room for help, and it really does add up, as we've seen over the last week or so.

Thanks a million, guys. :up: This has got me really excited about working on the site's code and making a lot of the ideas we've got floating around a reality. It's a very ambitious project, and you guys have really risen to the occasion so far.

[Sedai]

Missed this! PM me. :)

[The Rodent]

:facepalm: Sedai

These 'Mods' these days, what are they like?



:D

[Thursday Next]

Having some trouble with the titles on the left not matching the movie I'm trying to find - does this matter, or is it only the name on the right that needs to be exact? I don't want to link completely different movies to each other.

[Yoda]

Nope, that's fine; the ones on the left are the discs, the ones on the right are the movie titles. The ones on the left will inevitably have things like "Special Edition" after it, but if the movie title's in there (and doesn't have a different year, or something else to clearly signify that it's another film), then it's correct. :)

[Thursday Next]

But what if it does have something else that signifies it's a completely different film and there isn't anything at all on the left that matches with the film in my hand and the correct title on the right?

[Yoda]

Heh, I'm now replying to your PMs and posts each time. :laugh: But it's worth doing, in case anyone else wonders the same thing: if you're sure there's nothing on the left that matches, just skip it. Hopefully, this should happen pretty rarely.

[samjosh]

Count me in..

[The Rodent]

Yoda, I've added Silent Hill to the collection, but I've noticed a spelling error in the MoFO Database.

The Database lists it as Silent Hill Widesceren instead of 'Widescreen'

Just thought I'd let you know...

[Yoda]

Yeah, there are a few of those. Thanks man. :) I'll take a look.

[The Rodent]

Any news on this, Yoda?

Been two or three weeks since we last heard anything...

[wintertriangles]

Damn I totally forgot about this, but I probably added most of what others wouldn't...HM! Yes an update would be lovely

[Yoda]

Taking a short break; seems like you guys pretty much all finished up, so I'll probably take the box down soon. But the tools will continue to work, if you guys feel like adding any others.

It's a big, big project, so there might be a lull here or there. I've been working on a master feature list. Normally I just dive headfirst into this stuff, but given the scope involved I want to spend plenty of time mapping things out beforehand whenever possible. :) And I know that once I'm going at this completely, I'll neglect lots of other things, so paradoxically I need to finish a few smaller things first.

The response was fantastic and I owe you all huge thanks. It's a great kickoff to the project and you'll all get the first looks at anything remotely usable. Until then, I've got a whooooolllle pile of smaller tasks to sift through. But we'll get there. :)

[Redux]

I'll give this a go! :)

[zenderella]

Yoda, if you still need a hand with this, I'm happy to help out.