Wikipedia:WikiProject Films/Style guidelines
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Contents |
[edit] Naming conventions
- If a non-film article already exists with the name of the film that you are trying to create an article for, disambiguate and use (film) in the title: Film Title (film).
- If a film article already exists with the name of the film that you are trying to create an article for, use (YEAR film) in the title: Film Title (YEAR film). Rename the already existing article's title and change it to Film Title (YEAR film) also.
- If a film article already exists with the name of the film that you are trying to create an article for, and the two films are in different languages, use (LANGUAGE film) in the title: Film Title (LANGUAGE film). Rename the already existing article's title and change it to Film Title (LANGUAGE film) also.
Previously, both Film Title (film) and Film Title (movie) were accepted as film article names; however, this has since changed due to a talk page consensus in early July 2005. The correct title format is Film Title (film).
[edit] Infobox
| The Terminator | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | James Cameron |
| Produced by | John Daly Derek Gibson Gale Anne Hurd |
| Written by | James Cameron Gale Anne Hurd |
| Starring | Arnold Schwarzenegger Michael Biehn Linda Hamilton |
| Music by | Joe Dolce Brad Fiedel Tane McClure |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures Corporation |
| Release date(s) |  October 26, 1984 |
| Running time | 108 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6,400,000 |
| Followed by | Terminator 2: Judgment Day |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
The table to the right is the Infobox Film template for The Terminator. Note that the image has been removed, as Wikipedia fair use policy prohibits the use of fair use images outside the article namespace. Clicking edit on the right will enable you to view and copy the source text to use on film articles. If you have any questions or problems with this table, you can discuss them at Template talk:Infobox Film.
The parameters for the infobox can be found at Template:Infobox Film.
[edit] Image
The image presented in the table should ideally be a promotional style-A or teaser one-sheet (27" x 41") poster for the film. Failing that, a DVD or a video tape cover may be used. Posters can be found at various sites, including the Internet Movie Poster Awards ([1]) and the Internet Movie Database ([2], while DVD and video covers are available at Amazon.com ([3]) and Amazon.co.uk ([4]). A screenshot of the film's title card is also acceptable. For films that have multiple posters, limit the infobox poster to either the teaser (first run) or style-A (occasionally second run) version. If necessary, place earlier posters elsewhere in the article that would otherwise be replaced.
Once you have found a suitable image:
- Save it to your hard drive as a JPEG or PNG file. See preparing images for upload.
- Upload it to the wiki at Special:Upload. See uploading images.
- On the file's description page, add a short description of the image (e.g. "A promotional film poster for The Terminator."), and an image copyright tag:
- {{Movie poster}} for posters,
- {{DVDcover}} for DVD covers,
- {{Video tape cover}} for video tape covers,
- {{Film-screenshot}} for screenshots.
- On the image line of the template, insert the image's filename. A short description can be included in the field image caption. The image size in the infobox is currently set to 200 pixels.
- image = Terminator.jpg
- caption = A promotional film poster for ''The Terminator''.]]
[edit] Details
Cast and crew credits for most films are available at the Internet Movie Database, as is distribution, release date, language, runtime and budget information.
It is not essential to complete all fields in the infobox, or insert an infobox on every film article. This is especially true if scant information on the film is available.
[edit] Release dates
The Internet Movie Database provides long lists of release dates for films, but they cannot all be included in the infobox. The following should be included:
- The film's earliest release, whether it was at a film festival or a public release.
- Its first release dates in majority English-speaking countries (because this is the English Wikipedia); in other words, the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In same cases, it may be necessary to distinguish between limited releases and later wide releases.
- Release dates in the country or countries that produced the film.
- In some cases, release dates in countries that are the subject of the film (e.g. Munich is not an Israeli film, but it is not trivial to know when it was released there).
Do not include the following in infoboxes (although they can be included in a separate section in the main body of the article):
- Release dates for every country in the world
- Screenings at film festivals (except for the film's very first screening; see above), as these are only seen by a small number of people
| with flag | |
|---|---|
| Release date(s) |  23 February 2003 31 September 2004 |
| with country name | |
|---|---|
| Release date(s) | 23 February 2003 (Germany) 31 September 2004 (France) |
To save space in the infoboxes, it is advisable to use flag icons rather than country names in the Release Dates section, as they often take up less space (see examples, right). Flag icons are only necessary if there is more than one release date.
[edit] Article body
The following are the standard article components of Wikipedia film articles.
[edit] Lead section
The lead section of an article serves as a quick introduction to the film. The very first paragraph should cover the basics, such as the film's release year, alternate titles, genre(s), setting, country (if not the US), stars, and director (and possibly writer in some cases), as well as one or two of the most notable, verifiable facts about the film, such as "At the time of its release, it was the most expensive film ever made". The second paragraph should be a brief look at the film's impact: whether critics liked the film or not (and why), whether it was a commercial success or not, and whether any sequels to or remakes of the film were produced.
[edit] Plot
The plot section is made self-contained (and is a totally separate section designated by ==Plot==), so plot details and actor names already mentioned in the lead section are repeated here. Plot summaries should be between 400 and 700 words (about 600 words), but should not exceed 900 words unless there is a specific reasons such as a complicated plot.
Describe the basic premise of the film in a couple of sentences. Introduce key characters, with actors' names in parentheses after them, Character (Actor).
Then put in a {{spoiler}} template, which will warn readers of the article not to proceed if they do not want the film "spoiled" for them. After that, start a new paragraph going into more detail about the plot of the film, including the ending. The events of the film do not have to be described in the order in which they appear onscreen, however; see Pulp Fiction for an example of this. Spoilers should not under any circumstances be deleted, as it directly contradicts the Wikipedia-wide content disclaimer. There are also other unacceptable alternatives which have been proposed in the past. In short, Wikipedia contains spoilers; please respect this policy.
[edit] Background/Production
Included here should be a history of the film's background and development, such as how many studios, actors, directors and writers were involved with the project at one point or another. Continuing onto the production of the film, facts such as filming dates, budget figures, any noteworthy tidbits (such as delays, reshoots etc.) should be transformed into prose. Comments from the cast and crew are also welcomed.
[edit] Cast
The cast list in the body of the article should be longer than the list in the infobox, and, depending on the number of minor characters in the film, can be furnished with a dozen or more credits. Credits should be written in the "ACTOR as CHARACTER" format, but for credits where the character has not been mentioned in the plot section, a short summary of the importance and role of the character in the film would be necessary, e.g. "Rick Rossovich as Matt Buchanan, Ginger's boyfriend" in the case of The Terminator.
Pertinent casting information might also be included in this section (or in production), and only then should bolding be used to make the credits stand out from the additional information. Please see Psycho for an example.
[edit] Distribution
The distribution section should detail any notable information about the film's releases in cinema, on video, and on TV.
[edit] Reception
Expanding on the second paragraph of the lead section, you should analyse how the film was received by critics, meaning professional or well-known film reviewers, and not comments from members of the public (for example, quotes from users of Amazon.com and the Internet Movie Database do not count). Websites such as Rotten Tomatoes ([5]) and Metacritic ([6]) collect professional film reviews and calculate a numerical score from them for each film. In the case of what the general public thought of the film, tend towards the expression "money talks" and provide a summary of the film's commercial success, consulting sites such as Box Office Mojo ([7]) and Box Office Guru ([8]).
[edit] Documentaries
Documentaries present a special case, as they present themselves as recounters of fact. Therefore criticism of content ought to be included if it is presented with reasonable documentation and if there is evidence of public awareness of the controversy. Responses to such criticism should likewise be presented on the same basis. The existence of a public controversy ought to be acknowledged whatever can be said about it; the publicity is by nature citable, and omission creates the false impression that the subject matter is uncontroversial. Cite specific critics, not just "some people have criticized".
It is not the purpose of Wikipedia to act as an investigator of claims, though if criticisms are addressed by others, they should as well be cited.
[edit] Soundtrack
If the soundtrack does not have a separate article and is included in the film article use the WikiProject Albums' Track listing guideline.
[edit] Notes and/or references
In accordance with Wikipedia's verifiability policy, all articles should cite their sources. A variety of methods to present your references is available at Citing sources:Style and how-to, as well as an inline citations/footnoting system at Help:Footnotes. If you are unsure of how to use internet links as references, simply inserting the URL into square brackets at the end of the corresponding text (e.g. [http://www.google.com/] becomes [9]) is an adequate form of referencing the web, although providing the date on which you accessed the web page would enable other users of Wikipedia to retrieve it using the Wayback Machine, should the web link change or cease to function.
[edit] External links
- {{imdb title|id=0088247|title=The Terminator}} gives
- "The Terminator at the Internet Movie Database"
- {{amg movie|id=1:49101|title=The Terminator}} gives
- {{rotten-tomatoes|id=terminator|title=The Terminator}} gives
- {{metacritic film|id=terminator|title=The Terminator}} gives
- "The Terminator at Metacritic"
- {{imdb name|id=0000881|name=Michael Bay}} gives
- "Michael Bay at the Internet Movie Database"
- {{amg name|id=2:203853|name=Michael Bay}} gives
[edit] Other article components
The sections listed above are the standard film sections and by no means should they act as limits to the content of film articles. Larger and more complex film articles would warrant additional sections, such as Music, Themes and Cultural significance.
[edit] Tagline
Even the Greatest of Taglines is Still Just a Marketing Gimmick
As a general rule don't include taglines in an article. "Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information". However, if a particular tagline was a significant part of the cultural influence of the film, create a section for it and describe its effects. For example, none of the many taglines for Wes Craven's New Nightmare deserve mention. On the other hand, discussing Jaws 2 without mentioning "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..." would be a glaring omission. (You make the call... remember be bold.)
[edit] Trivia
Trivia may be a useful section in a film article, as it can serve as a "Misc" area where important facts can go that may not fit nicely elsewhere. This is especially true for new releases and articles in their early stages of development. However, as the article matures, trivia points should be moved to other sections of the article whenever possible, and it is preferable that they be written using prose, not bullet points. The information should also be important, not just fan facts.
[edit] Upcoming
Here are templates to add to the top of pages about things yet to happen:
| {{Future}} | for upcoming/future general events |
| {{Future album}} | for a upcoming/future album |
| {{Future book}} | for a upcoming/future book |
| {{Future channel}} | for a upcoming/future channel |
| {{Future film}} | for a upcoming/future film |
| {{Future single}} | for upcoming/future single |
| {{Future television series}} | for upcoming/future tv series |
| {{Future television episode}} | for upcoming/future tv episodes |
[edit] Lists
Once an article has been created for a film, it can be entered into a number of lists to allow easier browsing for viewers. All films should be included in the Lists of films. Each film can be included in lists based on the alphabet, year, language, genre, location, etc. that a film can be included in.
[edit] Categories
The article should include categories at the bottom. At a minimum, year, country, language and genre categories should be included. It is best to keep them in alphabetical order for easier browsing. For example, you would add the following to the bottom of a page for an English-language comedy film that came out in 2007:
Category:2007 films
Category:American films
Category:Comedy films
Category:English-language films
[edit] See also
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Films/Templates seems to have been "lost" after creation. Good place for more film templates.
- Category:Film templates
