| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Salopian 
"Four ever European"
|
 Posted - 10/20/2008 : 02:01:38
|
It seems good. Here are some thoughts and queries:
(1) Perhaps after clicking on Reimport it could take one back to the film's page, just to confirm that the click has actually registered. Alternatively, there could be an auto message as with reporting reviews. (In both cases, though, returning to the film's page would usually be more useful.)
(2) When it says "Click Reimport to get the latest alternative film names, cast list and film year from IMDB", does that mean that it will automatically change to the latest film title in every case, or for the films where the title here has already been made different from that (e.g. to the British one), is that disabled?
(3) Occasionally, people make a special case for a title that the I.M.D.B. does not claim is the British one -- is there any way that those could be locked or listed so that we don't change them back?
(4) If a non-English film has any English title listed (e.g. a literal translation one) do you want that used here, or do you only want to use ones that the I.M.D.B. lists as release titles? If the options are 'USA' and 'literal translation' or 'undefined' (a new one to me!), which would you prefer in general? This example is one that I have just changed from the German as a test.
(5) I'd be quite happy to reimport cast lists whenever a film has been released (as they nearly always differ from those added here beforehand), but could there be a system of dating when that was last done, i.e. could the Edit page have at the top "Last updated XX/XX/XXXX"? If you or demonic or anyone has just done it then there is no point in my doing so too.
(6) I assume that Save is only for confirming title changes -- or do we need to click that after reimporting too? |
Edited by - Salopian on 10/20/2008 04:37:10 |
 |
|
|
benj clews 
"...."
|
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 08:30:37
|
(1) I assumed that if you reimported the film details, then you might also want to change the title according to the latest information. If this isn't the case then, yes, I can change it so the page returns to the film page.
(2) The previously defined film name will be kept. The only way to modify this is to alter the contents of the Name box and click the Save button.
(3) Um... not sure what you mean. You want some way of locking a film name?
(4) I tend to go with the UK title. If there's no UK title, I'll go for the International title. If there's no International title, I'll typically go with the topmost item in the list as that's what IMDB will be using. Anything else (literal titles included), I tend to ignore. To be honest, I'm surprised you're asking this- aren't you normally the one telling me which title to use? 
(5) Good idea. I'll add that when I get chance.
(6) Correct- save only saves the film name. Reimport updates and saves (but not the title) all at once. Given your first point, I think it would probably make more sense to add this to the film page itself. |
|
|
|
Salopian
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 10/21/2008 : 02:43:29
|
Thanks Benj. Sorry for any confusion.
(1) Yes, good point. I guess that will be the case often enough that one may as well be left on the Edit page. Could we get an auto message then? (It's just that we are so programmed to expect a visual response to clicking on anything.) Not a pop-up box, but a copy of the same screen with "Film details have been reimported" at the bottom. Actually, there is no need -- if you are going to add a last-updated record, then this will change when one does that.
(2) Great.
(3) Yes, remember how people sometimes make a case for the supposed U.K. title not actually being widely used here? Or like how I asked for one of the Seven Up sequels to have the option that matched the others rather than the I.M.D.B.'s top-listed one? In these cases, especially the former, one of us might think "Oh, that needs changing (to the British title)" when in fact it has already been consciously decided. Do you see what I mean? I cannot find the example of the former category that I had in mind: it was some kind of cult film and there was a difference between the cinematic release and the video title or something; someone made a case for going with the U.S. title and you followed that.
(4) Yes, the top two standard preferences are definitely U.K. title and then international English title. However, it would be good to set an order of preference for I.M.D.B. default, U.S. title, literal English title and 'undefined' (if English). Going by what you say above, it would seem to be the I.M.D.B. default (which is the title of first release). However, I'm not sure that that is actually what is usually followed here: the title tends to be changed to an English title whenever any is available. Previously, my posts have all been suggestions or requests, and they have virtually all been either the listed U.K./international English title or the one which I have physically seen used at a cinema (which I usually haven't checked but has tended to be listed as the U.K. title whenever I have done so). Now that I can change the titles myself, I think it's better to have fixed rules (even though there always might be unusual cases where one would make an exception). So I suggest this order of preference when there is no special request: U.K.; international English; U.S.; literal English translation; undefined (if in English); I.M.D.B. default. Actually, in my example above, I used the undefined (but obviously literal) English title rather than the U.S. one, but I'm happy to change that.
(5) Thanks.
(6) No, I'd say keep all this stuff on one behind-the-scenes page. The film pages are pretty full already. |
Edited by - Salopian on 10/21/2008 03:15:10 |
|
|
|
Salopian
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 10/21/2008 : 03:07:04
|
O.K., some further thoughts on titles.
We'll of course follow your style of capitalising all words. (This is an especially good reason to use English titles, as it looks really weird in some languages, e.g. Il Y A Longtemps Que Je T'Aime.)
It's a bit more complicated than I thought, though. I think that if a film is definitely only released under a non-English title, then we should use that one. Examples are Bollywood titles not already wholly in English -- it would seem really weird to use literal translations of those.
Hopefully we can all agree that when the official (i.e. B.B.F.C.) title is idiotically presented as e.g. Il y a longtemps que je t'aime - I've Loved You So Long (as happens quite often) then we should just go with the English half. |
Edited by - Salopian on 10/21/2008 03:15:28 |
|
|
|
demonic
"Cinemaniac"
|
Posted - 10/21/2008 : 06:52:14
|
I'm hesitant about using the literal english title when listed, because on the whole films are hardly ever called that, it's often just pointing out the meaning for interest sake; hopefully it won't come to the point of us needing to use it.
However there are two contradictory cases I want to point up involving foreign language films:
Sometimes the title isn't translated into English at all - for example superb swashbuckler "Le Bossu" was released in the cinema and subsequently on VHS and DVD under that title, not literally translated to "The Hunchback". This makes sense to me... I've never known that film as "The Hunchback" and I doubt anyone else has. It's "Le Bossu" - it says so on my Region 2 UK DVD.
Sometimes the title is translated into English - for example the excellent knife throwing love story "La Fille Sur La Pont" was translated for the cinema and on the subsequent VHS and DVD releases in the UK as "The Girl on the Bridge". However IMDB doesn't list it as an official option... but I know the official UK title, because I'm looking at it. So I've edited the film title accordingly.
Basically I'm using 'retail' as my guide on this... if the title is tranlated on the UK release poster (like "I've Loved You So Long" and "The Wave" recently) or DVD cover in the UK I'll go with that; if it's not then I think we should leave it be. What do you think? |
|
|
|
Salopian
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 10/21/2008 : 10:46:03
|
Yes, I agree. I similiarly use retail experience in my suggestions, in the sense of how a film is branded at the cinema.
I guess by the literal English title, I imagined(?) cases where that either definitely or likely was the release title, but for some reason the I.M.D.B. did not have it. Let's consider that scenario an exception rather than a standard option then, if Benj agrees. I suppose perhaps I had in mind films which hadn't had an English-language-country release, but probably would have their titles translated if they did. Documentaries strike me as being in this category. Take a look at my Serengeti link above (not named as such). For some reason, I felt as though it should have the literal translation rather than the German or American title. What do you think? And in particular (to cover the general case), what do you think if there were no American title available?
Anyway, the main thing is that I'm happy to follow any preference of Benj's, but it just seemed a good idea to hammer it out. It's possible for one person to follow a system even if it is not explicitly laid out, but multiple people applying it need rules. |
|
|
|
Salopian
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 11/04/2008 : 02:38:02
|
| A lot of the earlier ones here have an 'undefined' titles as their only English one. What do you think? They often have titles in other European languages, so it's not just that they really only exist in the Spanish-language world. |
|
|
|
benj clews
"...."
|
Posted - 11/04/2008 : 08:51:55
|
| I'd go with the English title unless you have serious reason to believe it doesn't use that in the UK. In some cases the Amazon.co.uk link on IMDB might give you a better idea what the film is sold as here. |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Time-saving idea for Benj
