[MoviePropMaster2008]

Apparently many student films, fan films, student shorts, and amateurish efforts (aka some guy makes movie in his backyard and self distributes the DVDs via Amazon.com) have made it past the screeners and end up in IMDB (Internet Movie Database).

I sadly believe that inclusion in IMDB can no longer be the benchmark of what qualifies to appear in IMFDB.

A recent Fan film (using all toy guys) and a recent home made film (using all airsoft weapons) made by young filmmakers have been put on the site, probably by the filmmakers themselves. Though I always encourage filmmakers to go out there and follow their dreams, we must not allow an avalanche of this type of material to be dumped onto IMFDB.

IMDB used to be a lot stricter on films or shorts for inclusion. Back in their early days, IMDB used to get a flood of non-existent or non-finished Amateur 'digital films' which were primarily unfinished student or amateur projects. They tried to stop listing those. But I still see films listed in IMDB that I KNOW (a) are not done (B) have no budget and are being shot on a consumer digital camera and (c) are purely amateur efforts.

I don't want to see every student project, fan film, amateur film dumped here on IMFDB just because they used airsoft guns (!).

I propose a rule which says that for any film which obviously does NOT use live firearms, IMFDB will only allows professional titles that have had mainstream RELEASE. Self release, self distribution does not qualify. Fan films showing at Sci Fi Conventions don't count. Rinky Dink 'film festivals' which no one has ever heard of before don't count (what? the Michigan High School Film Festival doesn't count?!?!?!?!)

Note that I said live firearms. I am always curious to see live gun use in non-mainstream projects, primarily because they are so rare with the advent of airsoft. And I mean live as in firing blanks onscreen as part of the story. A shot of Grandpa's rifle rack in the background of a scene doesn't count.

What do you guys think?