Data Entry Project – Film Festival Database

This data entry project involves going to 2000 film festival websites and copying information on each site into my data forms on my website. I am building a detailed database of film festivals that will require precision NOT possible in a perl script. You need to be very detailed and careful about this. You will learn a LOT about film festivals when you are through with this project. But a lot of the data that needs to be entered will not be so obvious. for instance, data about submission deadlines and fees are sometimes only found in a word doc or PDF on the website (the submission form), or in different pages on the website. You will need to become very familiar with each festival’s website in order to best fill in the forms. For instance, “THEME?? or “what sets this festival apart??, should be located somewhere on the festival website, but if it is not there, you must write something that makes sense. Please familiarize yourself with the data fields (described in detail below). ## Deliverables (see the word doc and 5 screen captures in attached ZIP file, also, visit [login to view URL] and click "find fests" to see what you will be working with) Project Steps (MUST USE INTERNET EXPLORER): 1) go to [login to view URL] 2) login (I will provide user/pass when project begins) 3) click Find a Fest 4) click Custom, then Search 5) a list of 2048 film festivals will be returned. this is the list of festivals that need to be updated or deleted. 6) CTRL click "update this information" (link will appear when you have logged in) and CTRL click "Google this fest" so you have those two tabs to switch between 7) in the google TAB, you should be able to locate the film festival's actual website. some of these festivals do not exist, but you need to try google-ing in basic ways to try to find the fest site. (many results that come up will belong to film festival directory sites, and not the real festival). if you CANNOT find the fest's real website and are convinced it does not exist, go to the "festival update" form and click "No, delete this fest". otherwise, click "I'm ready to start entering my information" 8) the update form is 5 pages long. (see attached files) go through the festival website thoroughly to fill in all the update forms on my site. See the “DATA REQUIRED?? list below to understand the types of data that I’m looking for. 9) Repeat these steps for all 2048 festivals. EXAMPLES of UPDATED FESTIVALS: [login to view URL] [login to view URL] [login to view URL] [login to view URL] Data Fields and Requirements from each Film Festival Website: Title Please enter the exact title of the festival. Do not use words like "a" or "the" in the beginning of the title. Also avoid using abbreviations, extraneous punctuation, or any kind of numbers, dates, or years in the title. Sometimes a festival has CHANGED it’s name: “The 18th Annual 2007 Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival (fka Adam Baran Honolulu Gay & Lesbian Film Festival?? ([login to view URL]) Bad title: " The 2nd Annual NY Int'l Independent Film & Video Festival, in LA, Feb .2002 " Good title "New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, The" Years Operating Put in the number of years this festival has been operating. EXAMPLE "The 2nd Annual NY Int'l Independent Film & Video Festival, in LA, Feb .2002 " The number would be “2??. Venue Please provide as much information as possible about where the films will be played. Organization Please provide the name, address, and telephone number by which people can contact the festival and submit their films. Submissions Although some festivals do not accept film submissions, like the Maryland Film Fest, which is "by invite only", we would like those festivals to update as much of their information as possible to ensure that we have the most complete database of fests. Web • Email: the email of the primary contact for the festivals through whom more information can be requested. • URL: Full Web address of the Festival's website including "http://". • Logo URL: Please enter the full web address of the Festival's logo (if available), including "http://". Ideally the logo should be as close to a square as possible, and in JPEG format, not exceeding 200 pixels in either dimension.4 Example: "[login to view URL]" • Application URL: Full Web address of the Festival's submission application (PDF, DOC, HTML, TEXT formats, etc.). Example: "[login to view URL]" Dates Please enter the next start and end date of the Festival. Submission Deadlines Please enter the early, normal, and late submission deadlines. It is required that you enter the normal deadline. The early and late ones are optional and can be left blank. Make sure to fill out the month, day, and year on each line. If one of the deadlines doesn't exist, make sure it's blank. Statistics • Please enter the number of films submitted to the festival last year • Please enter the number of official selections (films that were actually shown last year) Prizes / Competition Please describe in as much detail as possible the kinds of prizes and/or awards that are given out in each category of competition. Prizes may include, cash, equipment, scholarships, gift certificates, etc. Theme Please describe in a few sentences the festival's theme for this year. Please leave it blank if the festival has no theme and accepts films about any subject matter. Tagline Please provide your festival's slogan (25 words or less). Example: "World's Friendliest Film Festival" Description Please describe the festival in as much detail as possible. Include things like when the festival was founded, what its main purpose is, what types of films and audiences it caters to, etc. Professional Description Please address the concerns of professional filmmakers applying to your festival regarding competition, prizes, rules, limitations, etc. Also answer questions like: "Will investors, distributors, or studio representatives be attending, and how can I get them to attend my screening, and network with them?", "What kind of distribution deals have past films gotten?" Student Description Please address the concerns of student and amateur filmmakers applying to your festival regarding discounts, student categories, and special considerations, etc. Also answer questions like the following: "How many college filmmakers get in or attend this festival?", "My film caters to a college audience, how young will the screening committee be?", "I couldn't afford Tom Hanks or big explosions, by what criteria are you going to judge my low budget student film?", "How easy is it to network with other students?", etc. Student Oriented? Check this box if the festival has special consideration for student and ameteur filmmakers, such as discounts, separate student competitions or categories, or if the festival takes place on a college campus. Submission Checklist Please list out the contents of a complete application for this film Festival, (IE production stills, director's biography, etc.). Eligibility Requirements Please describe the requirements for submitting to this festival or for getting special discounts or consideration. Please include language, subtitle, or location requirements for the film. (IE "must be a Kansas City resident for a 15% discount", "Entries must have a bona fide connection to Westchester County, which includes any ONE of the following conditions to satisfy entry requirements: Entry shot on location in Westchester County OR Directed, produced, shot (DP) or edited by a Westchester County resident OR Written by a Westchester County resident") Categories Please check all the categories in which you accept films. If a category is not listed, please mention it in the suggestion box at the end of the update procedure. Projections Please check all the formats that your festival is capable of projecting in. If a projection format is not listed, please mention it in the suggestion box at the end of the update procedure. Fees Please use this fee table to represent your festival's specific fee structure as closely as possible. If you offer discounts for certain groups of people, other than students (IE Westchester County residents, etc.) fill in the 'OTHER' field with the discounted fee. We understand this isn't as complete a fee table as some festivals require, but we want to offer filmmakers an approximate, but concise table of fees, to make this tedious process easier. Fee Note Use this field to explain any of the fees, the 'OTHER' field, and any special discounts or rates. (there's more, see files for details) ## Platform IE