I'm assuming the answer will be an easy no, but what about this: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4HJ3QDQL7ObTvTyRJiIrn8CabSeRBMiO?

This web series is called Edge of Normal and I would consider it a "student film(series)" (in the end credits of ep 6: "Completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.F.A degree at The University of Southern California") and so is not acceptable as an entry. Would it be perhaps be allowed because it was launched by Wonderly: https://www.thevideoink.com/2013/07/15/big-frames-wonderly-to-launch-first-scripted-series-tomorrow/?

Hey @tmdb24407783 the asmr series would not be valid for our database i am afraid (asmr like video games and commercials just do not belong).

About the other my first Guess would be it doesn’t meet out amateur content guidelines.

But i am not too sure about what wonderly is. Maybe if it is something professional that is like “picky” about what they publish. Like crunchyroll and hulu and such it is OK?

[oh it Seems wonderly.com is dead?]

How come? (It's not a video game or a commercial). What about Edge of Normal?

EDIT: I'm not really sure what Wonderly is to be honest.

That article describes it as "a Big Frame media brand".

Do these articles help?

https://awesomenesstv.com/bigframe/

https://techcrunch.com/2013/08/12/big-frame-new-hollywood/

https://www.tubefilter.com/2013/02/02/squaresville-season-2-big-frame-wonderly/

EDIT: Also: https://variety.com/2014/digital/news/awesomenesstv-buys-youtube-mcn-big-frame-for-15-million-1201151559/

2nd EDIT:There no mention about asmr in the contribution bible or the support forum, and I would argue that Intimate Moments isn't purely just asmr- it does actually follow/tell/have a (romantic) plotline/story (and has entertainment purposes?) as far as I can tell anyway (I watched 2 or 3 eps).

Should Intimate Moments really not be added to the db? To me, Marr's reply implied that the reason why it shouldn't be added is that it is an asmr-like video game or an asmr-like commercial (when it is neither a video game nor a commercial).

Or was he saying that anything asmr is not valid for the db? (Even if the series may be plot driven?)

No sorry. I meant. Asmr, just like video games and commercials, are something that isn’t supported in the database. Maybe i was unclear!

oh, I get it. woops.

Sorry, I'm late to this discussion ...

I had no idea what "ASMR" actually means in regards to movies/shows, and then I was curious why we don't support it on TMDb? At first I thought it's a new video technology like 3D or something like that. But it has more to do with a certain stimulation of a person that can be done, for example, by video content. Wikipedia explains that these stimuli can be triggered unintentionally (it could happen by watching any video) and intentionally, meaning the director of a video knows about ASMR and wants to trigger a reaction in the viewer with certain effects (sound etc.). Okay, so that's it - or do I miss something?

And now I don't know why this ASMR is in any way relevant to this discussion?!? I don't know, let's just fantasize: Tomorrow, Sony Pictures decides that they hire a director for the next big blockbuster and this director should use techniques of ASMR to lure more people into the cinema and then the people will storm into the theatre and it's a gigantic success. In this fictional scenario, of course we would include this movie into TMDb -> but not because of this ASMR, but because it's a movie that was released like any other movie. What I want to say: ASMR seems to me just a gimmick, a publicity stunt, a marketing tool -> and it's completely irrelevant when it comes to the main question of this discussion here. In my opinion.

Just curious. There's are a number of guidelines about whether or not a short film is allowed on the database, are there any for web series (at all)? What exactly qualifies as a web series?

I'd say, in general, there has to be some kind of professional film/tv background behind the makers of a series, maybe even backed by a company or supported by people from the film/movie industry. That's sometimes a very close call, but if the series looks too amateurish, I would not add it to the database. Also, I always search for other people who talk about this show, especially people in media outlets, news papers or communities like the gay/lesbian community, for example. Also, if the showmakers get invited to festivals to present their content, or to roundtables and conventions, to talk about their work and how they did it. The more things you can find about a show, the better (of course, that does not include the self promotion of the content producer). It's often a very close call you have to make yourself - and even we mods might argue differently from case to case.

And while I'm asking about web series in general I might as well ask about one I'm considering adding to the db: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOMJNGCENQ-9QLinPIpybJ8YPPl_jhPdE

Would this be accepted in the database?

I would say no! Not only is this ASMR an obvious promotional gimmick to push some (not really good and amateurish looking) content. The series is also not very well known. I tried to find any reviews or even other people who talked about it professionally - but there's almost nothing. The person behind it, Alexander Roman, is a known filmmaker of short films (more infos on his google+ page) - but the series itself didn't generate any buzz or recognition outside his own Youtube channel. I'm not very familiar with the gay community, so I might not have found enough positive/negative feedback -> but for now, I'd say it's just not enough to add it to TMDb.

I'm assuming the answer will be an easy no, but what about this: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4HJ3QDQL7ObTvTyRJiIrn8CabSeRBMiO?

This web series is called Edge of Normal and I would consider it a "student film(series)" (in the end credits of ep 6: "Completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.F.A degree at The University of Southern California") and so is not acceptable as an entry. Would it be perhaps be allowed because it was launched by Wonderly: https://www.thevideoink.com/2013/07/15/big-frames-wonderly-to-launch-first-scripted-series-tomorrow/?

I would say yes! The series has it's own Wikipedia article with lots of informations and links to articles/interviews. It was created as a thesis project for university, but it was then sold to the distributor Wonderly, a multimedia platform for young female content creators, who aired this series on Youtube. In 2013, Wonderly was launched by a company called Big Frame -> but 2 years later, Big Frame was bought by AwesomenessTV, which belonged to Dreamworks Animation at this time and is now owned by Viacom. With the acquisition, Wonderly died a quiet death in the same year -> all official pages and social media sites are dead since around 2015.

I didn't check every article on the show, and I only read parts of the interviews about it, but I think the show was a success and well known. It also had it's own website that you can partly access in the WayBackMachine. I stop here -> all of that research would already be enough for me to decide to add this web series to TMDb.

EDIT: The twitter and facebook page for the show are still available:

https://twitter.com/EoNSeries
https://www.facebook.com/EoNSeries

Haha, I thought since all the bible said about web series was basically:

Content allowed in the TV section:

Television shows

Miniseries

TV movies originally released in two or more parts

TV pilots

Web series

Annual award shows

That that meant pretty much meant all web series are good (with maybe the exception of those that are a high school/university student projects).

I will go ahead and add Edge of Normal.

I agree with both of you that it is amateur content. But I think the fact that they are a bunch of relaxation clips, not episodes of a web series is also relevant since we don't support video content in the TV section.

(@Janar I just remembered I forgot to respond to your other hypothetical case. Whoops! )

What do you mean "not episodes of a web series"?? How did you make that judgment? The episodes are titled from Ep #1 - Ep #8. The last episode is even titled with a "(FINAL)". "Intimate Moments - AMSR Gay Web Series". They have episode titles in the description boxes (or on Amazon). Why do you say it's "not episodes of a web series".

I think web series is used very loosely here. The descriptions/episode titles point to it not being a series.

How come?

The episode titles look like any other show's episode titles. What is it about titles like "Will & Brandon’s First Meeting", or "Will & Brandon Sunday Afternoon", or "Will & Brandon The End" that point to it not being a series? Quotes from the descriptions: "This is a limited one-time series with eight episodes starring Doug Acre", and "Web Series that infuses a romantic story with ASMR"?

Or is it because they say the main objective is to bring relaxation? Isn't that a bit of a subjective thing though- to say that it's not a series just because of the director's intentions? Didn't janar already say that the reason this shouldn't be included is that it's not professional enough (and that ASMR shouldn't be a disqualifying trait in her/his opinion). Or are you challenging that? Are they right in saying something being ASMR (in this case, it's a romantic story that heavily uses ASMR techniques) shouldn't be a disqualifying thing?

Amazon and YouTube both have series of "video" content. For example, Yoga classes in an episodic format.

Isn't that a bit of a subjective thing though- to say that it's not a series just because of the director's intentions?

ASMR videos are a very specific type of content. I think there is a different between ASMR videos infused with a romantic story, and a proper film (or series) that use some ASMR techniques. The latter might be released as proper movie, but the former would likely get an event cinema release (like most video content do).

But either way, it doesn't qualify so...

Is it okay if I use this thread/topic as the go-to place to ask about the consideration of other web series?

What about a web series called Llamas with Hats? It's referred to as a web series on tv tropes. It was produced by the independent company, Film Cow, created by Jason Steel who also created the Charlie the Unicorn video series. I guess my reason for suggesting Llamas with Hats should have an entry here on TMDb is not so much that there isn't an entry for Llamas with Hats- because it does seem like it was only released on YouTube and there's not much else (press, showings on film festivals, etc.) about it online- it's more that I don't see why we wouldn't have one for Llamas with Hats if we have one for Charlie the Unicorn.

If Llamas with Hats are given the thumbs up to be entered in the db then what about Prostitute Mickey?

Also, I don't really see why/how the decision is made to make Charlie the Unicorn episodes all separate Movie entries rather than all part of one tv entry? While we're on the topic, I know we're not supposed to bring up a report that we've made unless it's been two months but it's related- I have the same confusion with the Don't Hug Me I'm Scared series. It's the same issue so I thought I'd bring it up. Besides, I think I somehow accidentally made the report under the "General Category" rather than under "Content Issues".