adding a credit for film not in database

Thank you Cliff. I've gone through the process and there is information that is required (even when I only need 1 of 3 or 3 of 5 items, etc. that I just don't have. So I don't see how I can complete this. It was a film short done by a church that will be used for their Christmas services. They want to pursue distribution but that won't be addressed until after the holiday.

I do not have a URL to anything connected to the film. 

I understand why IMDB wants to make sure the project is real and that we aren't just padding our IMDB page wih fake material but I just don't have enough information about the production to be able to get past IMDB's restrictions. It's just not actor friendly.

Hi Cliff, I know there's a lot to read in this thread so I'll review what I mentioned above. The production just wrapped a week ago. They are in post production. They are planning on releasing it for their Christmas services in mid-December. I know of no media that I can access that will prove the existence of this production. (other than all the photos I took between takes!

It sounds like this title may not be eligible for inclusion in IMDb in any case. 

Your best option would be to add it to your "Additional Credits" section assuming you have an IMDbPro account and have claimed your name page.  Please see https://help.imdb.com/article/imdbpro/manage-your-imdb-page/faqs-for-resume/GMLWQXHRJL84G66W

If you have IMDbPro there's a good example at https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm0366890/ 

I believe I have an IMDB pro account. I pay $163 per year.

I'll try what you suggest. Thank.

Col, I'm actually doubting that I have a pro account. I pay an annual fee but I'm guessing that an imdbpro account is different from an imdb account. I tried to go there but all I get when in the pro section is offers to sign up for the pro serivce.

In any event, I did try editing my page and adding the film but it took me back to the same page that requires information that I don't have. I didn't used to be bald but at this point I have pulled all my hair out. Having to deal with the only game in town when they don't provide support and on top of that, when they have an almost unusable interface is just unthinkable.

Hi Cliff. The IMDB URL area explicitly says that links to FB or other social media are not acceptable.

Frankly, I don't have anything except for the film title, the church who hired me and the names of the director and producer.

If you think that will work despite what you say, I can try that but I wouldn't think it appropriate to create that page without contacting the production company first. I can do that but it just adds more hassle to the whole process.

Sorry, I didn't completely answer that. Unless you need to know the details, I'd have to go back to IMDB and go through the process again to try to enter the film just to find out the things it's asking for that I don't have.

Every time I hit "Check again" or whatever that mislabelled button is at the bottom, it tells me something cryptic about my having to fill out anything that's not green.

The explanation field only appears after the corresponding checkbox is ticked and the "Re-check these updates »" button is clicked.

Well, there is the "let the IMDb staff decide" option, for ambiguous identities, when incorporating credits onto an IMDb title page.

Craig: The country code is the two-letter abbreviation for the country, in brackets, which is placed after the name of the company.

For example, if XYZ Films is a United States company, it would be entered as:

XYZ Films [us]

See https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/industry-professional/company-name-formatting/G5UFMUM3FLU...# for information about company name formatting and https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/other-submission-guides/country-codes/G99K4LFRMSC37DCN?re...# for the complete list of country codes.

Regarding the issue of "it forces me to choose from a list of producers and directors ...", you should see near the end of the list a choice along the lines of "This is a different person not currently listed - create 'Wollman, Craig'." That's what you should choose if the person has no IMDb-listed credits yet.

Creating a new title page has nothing to do with IMDbPro.

I didn't think it did. But for the price they charge, they should put a little of their budget into designing a website that at LEAST someone with a B.A. in engineering and a Master's degree can use and figure out without having to involve 10 people on a community help site.

I'm confident that at least one third of all secondary school graduates, can figure this out (spending three hours everyday for two or three days), provided they have not been socially promoted and are still "fresh" with education. Apropos, engineering tertiary certification is typically in the form of Bachelor of Science rather than Bachelor of Arts.

Yes, That was a typo, my undergrad degree is a B.S. from Penn State, but I digress. Not a certification, but a degree.

I'm so happy three hours for two or three days will allow someone to add a credit. And if at least 1/3 of those graduates can do that, we'll that's all I need to know. Just think of the shape the world would be in if only (or at least) 1/3 of the population of educated people could figure things out. What does that say for the uneducated?

Cliff: Please don't encourage people to submit arbitrary, inaccurate budgets. Craig would be much better off submitting the church that made this film as a Production Company and leaving the Budget section blank.

I agree with Gromit.

Moreover, please refer to what Col said above and namely: "It sounds like this title may not be eligible for inclusion in IMDb in any case." (do not ask me why!)

Cliff, no, I was paid a reasonable amount for my work as an actor in this film so no assumption about the budget is appropriate.

Just because a church has donors doesn't mean there is no budget for the work they do. Donations are there income and the have a budget for the various expenditures the church incurs.

"Budget", "Official Sites", "Distributors" or "Production Companies". At least one of those fields has to be filled out, and often it is easy to identify/determine everything in that section except for the budget, if the project is non-fictitious.

Jeorj, not true, I wish it were true. It's not fare to make the assumptions you have. The film was shot by a church. I assumed they were the production company but I can't be sure. I listed them in any event.

Distributors? No, this film will be shown only at Christmas services for the church although the church will be seeking distribution next year. I suppose I could call the church the distributor for now.

Official sites? None. There has been no website set up for this project as far as I know.

And of course, I've already covered the fact that I don't know the budget.

"...if the project is non-ficticious?" If I shoot a 10 minute short on an iPhone with the intent of trying to get into some festivals but I have no budget (this church film has one, I just don't know the number) no distribution, no website for it, and no official production company, does that make my film fictitious? This church film is somewhere between that iPhone movie and a standard Hollywood film.

I've been to the Sundance festival 25 times since the mid-80's. 90% of the time, the film representatives on stage, (director, producers, etc.) will not discuss budget and I don't think it's appropriate to ask the church what that budget is. I was flown to Denver from NYC, I was put up in an apartment, and I was paid a reasonable fee for my work. There is definitely a budget.

An ecclesiastical organization can count as a production company if it exhibits studio behavior such as filmmaking.

I looked up the pro rates. It's $142 annually but with Tax and Var, I'm guessing it's about what I'm paying. But I don't understand why, when I'm logged in, I am offered a free trial to IMDBPro. If I'm paying the same price why am I not a Pro subscriber?

I sent the message, thanks.

Just one more way that IMDB continues to amaze me with it's issues and poor design. Wanna bet they don't give me any credit for paying for something I'm not getting?

I'd imagine that they can extend your subscription by an amount of time equivalent to how long your were unable to access IMDbPro's features, or they could indeed reimburse part of your payment.

I would hope, thanks Jeorj. Most importanly, I need to get access to the site and get what I'm paying for.

Understood. I do not have any knowledge of any credits put together yet.

Either way, I was able to finally get the form submitted about 4 days ago, but I have seen no update on my page. I'm assuming that imdb will take it's usualy 10-15 days to make the update so I'll wait until then before I check into why it's not there.

Thanks for your comment.

I do have a link to the film with a password but I'm not supposed to give that out. Maybe few screenshots?

No need at this stage.
You might be able to retrieve and share the 18 digit submission ID on the page I have you the link for.
This information is essential if you want to get help from an IMDb staff.

Please read carefully all instructions on screen especially if the section background is pink or yellow: I guess that the submitted format of your title doez not comply with the formatting rules, e.g. did you add the year between parenthesis at the end of the title?