User talk:Elzzupa

Welcome to IMFDB

Before you do any editing please take the time to read the Rules, Standards and Principles. This is a very important document that explains how this website is setup as well as telling you what is and isn't allowed. If it is determined by an admin that you have not read these rules, your account will be suspended. Continued non-compliance may result in a permanent ban.

There are a number of pages that desperately need your help. You can find these Incomplete pages here.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them here but make sure to sign your post by typing --~~~~.

Finally, IMFDB has a forum set up here that is only available to registered members. There is lots of good stuff to see there. If you would like to join the forum, please post HERE and an account will be created for you.

Now, HAPPY EDITING! Zackmann08 (talk) 19:22, 3 February 2013 (EST)

Screenshots

What program are you using to get screenshots? And please crop the black bars from your screenshots and re-upload. Thanks. --Funkychinaman (talk) 15:02, 7 February 2013 (EST)

Yes, your screenshots appear to be of inferior quality. If you're capturing from a streaming source like Netflix, I would recommend Fast Stone Image Viewer, which allows you to capture your computer screen and then crop off any excess information. Before uploading any more screenshots, please consider this or another better capturing program. --Ben41 (talk) 15:11, 7 February 2013 (EST)

I have downloaded Fast Stone but I am unable to capture screen shots from my DVD copy. Can you recommend a solution? I am still trying to figure this thing out. --Elzzupa1 (talk) 13:45, 7 February 2013 (PST)

If you have the DVD, you can use VLC. That has a screencap button, as well as a frame-by-frame button. --Funkychinaman (talk) 17:07, 8 February 2013 (EST)

Please remember to tag your screenshots with [[Category: Screenshot]] and poster and cover art with [[Category: Poster and Cover Art]] . Thanks. --Funkychinaman (talk) 12:04, 9 February 2013 (EST)

You should tag the image file itself with [[Category: Screenshot]] , like this (scroll to the botoom.) Please also review the rules on proper titles. --Funkychinaman (talk) 14:48, 9 February 2013 (EST)

Thanks again, funky. I'm try to learn all the rules. Is there a way to edit those pictures, to include the Category, once they have been uploaded?

You can open the image and click on the edit tab. --Funkychinaman (talk) 18:56, 9 February 2013 (EST)

Replacing files

If you have a new version of an existing file, you can click on "Upload a new version of this file" rather than uploading under a new name. --Funkychinaman (talk) 17:06, 8 February 2013 (EST)

Making Pages

First, thanks for your effort, but a few things to remember before making pages for films or television series:

1. Make sure that you have at least some of the firearms identified before finalizing a page, even if it is a work in progress. Putting up a page that has only unidentified weapons in it is not acceptable even if there is a work in progress banner at the top.

2. Make sure that your spelling is correct for the names and characters and especially the title of the film. If you have questions about the title, check how it's spelled in the IMDB.

3. When writing summaries, please use italics for the film's title by using single quotes and not double. There is a button at the top left with an "I" that you can also use.

4. When writing captions, please try to include the firearm seen in your description as well as avoiding obvious spoilers (such as who is shot or killed). The point of the caption should be about the firearm and not necessarily the plot point.

Please also read over the IMFDB Style Guide for some points on making pages as well as the Rules, Standards and Principles. --Ben41 (talk) 17:59, 9 February 2013 (EST)

Out of the Past

Sorry, but there is already a page for the film Out of the Past. Please conduct a search of the site in the future before starting a page. --Ben41 (talk) 20:03, 9 February 2013 (EST)

And this is why we emphasize the importance of properly formatting the title. --Funkychinaman (talk) 20:56, 9 February 2013 (EST)

I did search for an existing page and did not find it. I wouldn't duplicate an already existing page. I can't explain the mistake. Sorry for all the problems. I guess I'm not cut out for this work. I won't post again. --Elzzupa 06:31, 10 February 2013 (PST)

No one is suggesting you shouldn't post at all. But you're new and there's much to learn, so just ease yourself into it. --Funkychinaman (talk) 12:07, 10 February 2013 (EST)

My problem is that, while I know a lot about movies, I don't know so much about guns. I have posted photos not knowing the weapon but hoping that somebody else can identify the weapon. Is that prohibited/discouraged by the site's rules? [[User:Elzzupa|Elzuppa}} 11:07, 10 February 2013 (PST)

Making Pages, Part 2

I really don't want to discourage you, but why did you put up another page without even trying to follow the suggestions that were given to you by admins? You didn't properly capitalize the title and all of the weapons are unidentified. Since you're doing films in an earlier time period, I would suggest that you look over previously made pages for Westerns and film noir pages such as The Searchers or films directed by John Huston to see what weapons were used there and see if they are similar to the ones on the page you want to make. It's not fair to put up a page that has nothing identified and expect that others clean up the work. --Ben41 (talk) 18:11, 10 February 2013 (EST)

When I created the page, the platform created the name for me. I don't know how to reformat the title and the rules don't tell me how to do it. I guess I thought this was a collaborative enterprise; I didn't expect others to "clean up the work" for me, but I couldn't find a page for this film, which is an important picture with lots of firearms. If this isn't a collaborative enterprise, please let me know. --Elzzupa 15:30, 10 February 2013 (PST)

What, specifically, does "Work in Progress" mean? I assumed it meant, "Help, from those who know more about guns than I do."

It makes "I'm in the middle of working on this right now, please don't make any edits." --Funkychinaman (talk) 18:43, 10 February 2013 (EST)

Okay, so does that mean I should post nothing unless I can identify all of the weapons used in the film? --Elzzupa 15:450, 10 February 2013 (PST)

When conducting a search for a film you believe isn't on the site, try typing in the title with the proper capitalization. This way the page will be created with the proper title. You can also "move" the page over by clicking the "move" command located at the top. Please study some of the other complete film pages to see how others do the pages. If you're having trouble making the page, you ask the question either on the Main Page Discussion or try to post the question on admin's discussion page such as mine or Funkychinaman (who has been very gracious to help change the pages to the proper titles). --Ben41 (talk) 18:45, 10 February 2013 (EST)

My page formats are all based on funky's "Muppets Movie" page. I'm really not trying to be unhelpful; I am just trying to understand the rules, which aren't always very well stated (e.g., the "move" command--Elzzupa 15:48, 10 February 2013 (PST)

Have you gone through the IMFDB Style Guide and the Rules? And which program are you using again for screencapping? --Funkychinaman (talk) 18:51, 10 February 2013 (EST)

Yes, I have gone through the Style Guide and Rules. I found nothing about identifying each weapon before posting a page, which I would gladly do if I knew as much about weapons as my friends on this Board. With all due respect, those with knowledge of weapons and those with knowledge of films ought to be collaborative and supportive of each other, IMHO. When I saw no page for "Network" or an incomplete page for "Body Heat," I thought I could help this community build better pages. It was my impression that Wiki pages are collaborative. I would gladly engage in a collaborative enterprise, but I do not have enough knowledge of firearms to identify all of the weapons used in the films I enjoy. As a firearm owner and NRA member, I appreciate the work you are doing to educate the public and I would like to be a part of that enterprise. But if total knowledge of all firearms is a prerequisite for collaboration here, then I am out of my league. I understand that, for those who wrote the rules, everything is self-explanatory. But I hope you will accept my protestation at face value that I am very supportive of what you are doing here and I would only like to help. Perhaps you might entertain the notion that some of the rules need to be stated better so that novices like myself can contribute to the commonweal. For example, an exemplar of a correct page, something that folks like me could copy, insert the new information, and then post would be helpful. I did, for instance, catch on to the WIP notation without anything about it in the rules. Help me to be a better contributor, understanding that my mistakes might be more common among new posters than you imagine. --Elzzupa 16:01, 10 February 2013 (PST)

Understood. It's just that dumping a bunch of screencaps on a page make it look like you don't care. If you want an example of a good page, go to the main page and click on any of the featured articles. (They're "featured" for a reason.) And the reason why we didn't make any mention of IDing weapons in the rules or style guide is that we didn't think it had to be said. (Otherwise, why are you here?) Like I said before, you should ease yourself into making pages, instead of dropping four pages on us and then getting angry when we tell you you're not doing it correctly. (And if you can't make the IDs, how do you know you're not missing anything?) --Funkychinaman (talk) 19:13, 10 February 2013 (EST)

And not everyone comes in here as "experts," we pick up knowledge just looking through the pages here. How many users do you think knew the difference between a Beretta 92FS and a Taurus PR92, or could differentiate between SIG-Sauer automatics before they came here? --Funkychinaman (talk) 19:32, 10 February 2013 (EST)

Lever Action Rifles and revolvers

I would suggest that if you see a lever action rifle, the first page you should look at is the Winchester page. For revolvers, I would suggest searching the Colt and Smith & Wesson pages first. --Ben41 (talk) 18:15, 10 February 2013 (EST)

I will look, but I cannot claim any particular expertise when it comes to specific firearms. --Elzzupa

Heroes for Sale

Much better with Heroes for Sale. Make sure you just watch your spelling and that an unknown firearm that can be easily seen in the screenshot provided (could not make out the handgun). --Ben41 (talk) 16:29, 14 February 2013 (EST)

I'm trying, Ben. Thanks for your patience with me.

Are you manually limiting your screencaps to 500 pixels across? --Funkychinaman (talk) 17:16, 14 February 2013 (EST)

No problem. One more thing, generally if you're asking a question and needing a reply from a specific user, it's best to post a question on that user's talk page and not your own. Users aren't usually looking at the recent changes, but will get an alert if someone posted something on their discussion page. Usually you can respond by clicking "talk" next to user's signature. --Ben41 (talk) 16:37, 14 February 2013 (EST)

Uploading a new screenshot

To upload a new screenshot over an older one --Ben41 (talk) 17:03, 14 February 2013 (EST):

1. Click the screenshot to be modified.

2. Below the "File History", click "Upload a new version of this file".

3. Browse and upload the new version.

4. Change the picture size from 500px or 600px to "501px" or 601px" to see how the new one looks.

No luck. I can't figure out my mistake.--Elzzupa ((User talk:Elzzupa|talk]]) 15:55, 14 Feburary 2013 (EST

Ben means to change the thumbnail size. You already have the thumbnail size set to 600px, but your image size is 500 px. Now it's obvious you're manually setting the image size to 500px. Why don't you leave it the native size? If you have the DVD, it should be around 840-853px. --Funkychinaman (talk) 21:40, 14 February 2013 (EST)

I suppose I'm a bit confused as to the preferred size of screenshots, 500px, 600px, or something else.--Elzzupa (talk) 14:46, 15February 2013 (PST)

If you're getting them from a DVD, just use their native size, should be around 840-853x400-480. If you're using Fast Stone, then they should probably be at least 800 or 900 wide. If you actually have the disc though, just use VLC and you can go frame-by-frame and use the screen capture button. --Funkychinaman (talk) 18:09, 15 February 2013 (EST)

20K under the sea

The IMFDB Style Guide provides guidelines on how to format the pages, such as not including periods in "USS" and what size to set thumbnails to. Please take some time to go over it. --Funkychinaman (talk) 14:45, 16 February 2013 (EST)

Silence of the Lambs

Why are you uploading new versions of my Silence of the Lambs screenshots? Please state your reasons why you did this because mine are actually from the Blu-ray. Unless you are getting your screenshots from a higher quality source, please avoid replacing my screenshots. --Ben41 (talk) 19:49, 25 February 2013 (EST)

I replaced them because they were so dark as to be unrecognizable. I won't replace your photos again, but really, you ought to upload photos that can actually be viewed by visitors. Just because an image is from a Blu-ray doesn't means it is any good. --Elzzupa (talk) 15:39, 28 February 2013 (EST)

I'm a little more cautious from someone uploading new pictures who's only recently been on the site. You can see when an image goes down 1280 x 720 to something smaller, it draws some attention. It's always better to start from better quality sources when getting screenshots. --Ben41 (talk) 21:10, 28 February 2013 (EST)

Got it. Copied and understood. --Elzzupa (talk) 14:10, 1 March 2013 (PST)

Smith & Wesson Models

Just FYI: In order to differentiate Smith & Wesson revolvers from automatics, the site puts "Model" in front of the number for revolvers and just the number for automatics, as in Smith & Wesson Model 36 and Smith & Wesson 3913.

Also, before finalizing your edits, it's best to tap the "Show Preview" at the bottom to make sure your links are not red. --Ben41 (talk) 16:53, 6 March 2013 (EST)

Thanks for your help and patience Ben. --Elzzupa (talk) 16:30, 6 March 2013 (PST)

Steel Helmet

Please don't just label the weapon image with the name of the weapon, it's customary to add the caliber as well, so instead of "M1 Garand," it's "M1 Garand - .30-06." You might want to hyperlink some of the actors as well. William Chun only has two screen credits, but Gene Evans has 156. Thanks. --Funkychinaman (talk) 02:18, 24 March 2013 (EDT)

The Big Trail

trail29_sm.jpg does not appear to exist. Is that the right name? --Funkychinaman (talk) 19:37, 4 April 2013 (EDT)

For some reason, I was unable to upload the screenshot. I tried three times and received an error message each time. I will keep trying until I get it right. If you haven't seen the film, it is worth your time. Great movie.--Elzzupa (talk) 07:03, 5 April 2013 (PDT)

A few users, including myself, have experienced the same issue. Just tweak the file name and try again. --Funkychinaman (talk) 10:29, 5 April 2013 (EDT)

Darby's Rangers

Looking good. You're work has shown some real improvement over the past few weeks. Keep it up. --Jcordell (talk) 16:42, 7 April 2013 (EDT)

the Spook "the most influential African American motion pictures in U.S. history?"

I question that wording. It was obscure and very controversial but where have you seen it lauded as one of the most "influential African American motion pictures in U.S. history"? To say something like that for a movie that has it's supporters AND it's detractors, we should have an attribution (footnote) like Wikipedia. MoviePropMaster2008 (talk) 17:38, 21 April 2013 (EDT)

Virtually unknown to white audiences, the film is only one of two IMFDB Blaxploitation films to be included in the National Film Registry, Shaft (1971) being the other. Elzzupa (talk) 06:38, 22 April 2013 (PDT)

(1) It is customary to answer the person on their talk page. Not your own. There is no way for people to know you answered their question unless they go looking for it on your page. (2) You already pointed out that this film was virtually unknown to white audiences and that is true. Being listed in the film registry itself does not merit the title of 'one of the most influential' films. Maybe we could consider a change in description to something more neutral. There are many who found the movie offensive and racist, extolling the overthrow of the U.S. Government and stoking the fans of race riots. "Birth of a Nation" is just as offensive from a white supremacist perspective, but it is still listed here at IMFDB. I think with any potentially controversial titles, our descriptions should be purely factual and openly avoid any appearance of advocacy. Thanks. MoviePropMaster2008 (talk) 03:05, 24 April 2013 (EDT)

(1) I have been to your talk page and cannot find a way to post a message there. Help, please.

Sorry about that. I forgot that a my talk page was locked for admins only, and I actually don't remember why. I think it was during the feud with Liam and others (usually from the UK) who were constantly vandalizing our pages. I remember that a particular vandal named Liam seemed overly obsessed with hating me. Well. that seems to be over and my apologies. You were right in that you were unintentionally blocked from writing on my talk page. Thanks for the updates and input MoviePropMaster2008 (talk) 17:40, 24 April 2013 (EDT)

(2) Perhaps you did not notice my edit. I eliminated the words, "one of the most influential films" (which it was, for black directors), and replaced it with the entirely factual "listing on the National Film Registry." For some reason, I cannot find the page, Birth of a Nation, The, on IMFDB, but simply because it was racist should not preclude its inclusion on the list. In any case, the term, "influential," does not insinuate approval, IMHO. Triumph of the Will is undeniably an influential and evil motion picture. By the same token, John Wayne's The Alamo (1960) is considered to be controversial by Hispanics for its racist, revisionist depiction of the Texas War of Independence, but it is still a worthy of inclusion on the IMFDB, in my opinion.

(3) Your comment did inspire me to create a new category, National Film Registry, of which I hope I have your approval. Thanks. Elzzupa (talk) 08:21, 24 April 2013 (PDT)

Ivan Dixon and Director Category

Do you plan on creating any more pages for films directed by Ivan Dixon? The general rule is that we do not create a director category until there are at least three of the director's films in the IMFDB. --Ben41 (talk) 07:13, 23 April 2013 (EDT)

I'm glad to know the rule. I'll take a look at his body of work. --Elzzupa (talk) 07:04, 23 April 2013 (PDT)

Ivan Dixon directed Season 2, Episode 20, of The A-Team, Harder Than It Looks. Does that work? If not, I'll pull the page until I can get the third film. --Elzzupa (talk) 08:04, 23 April 2013 (PDT)

Edits on Maxim page

Sorry, your last edit on Maxim page is incorrect. You put in Maxim 1895 section the movies where a Maxim MG08 is seen. These movies are already listed in MG08 section. Greg-Z (talk) 12:07, 1 May 2013 (EDT)

Sorry, my mistake. :(--Elzzupa (talk) 9:33, 1 May 2013 (PDT)

Adding Categories

Did you consult with anyone before adding the category for Best Picture? Before adding any more categories to the site, please consult with the admins first. With the changes to the site and the sheer amount of categories already established, some of the pages are getting to the point where they are categorized too many different ways. You should articulate reason on why such a new category should be added. If you have a suggestion for a new category, please ask first either on the discussion page or you can make a new thread in the forums. --Ben41 (talk) 17:41, 7 May 2013 (EDT)

Director Category

If you're saying you want to remove the directors from the movie category, than that would be okay. However, because the site is undergoing a major overhaul, a lot of the corrections you may want to make might be removed. --Ben41 (talk) 18:12, 7 May 2013 (EDT)

Aren't the directors already listed here? Some users placed directors in the movie category due to the amount of films the director was involved with. --Ben41 (talk) 18:31, 7 May 2013 (EDT)

Cleanup of the actual pages is always good, but because there's going to be a lot of changes coming, I'm a little apprehensive about messing with the categories too much. --Ben41 (talk) 18:49, 7 May 2013 (EDT)

Not only on the movie category page, but as new categories are added, the movie pages themselves become too cluttered at the bottom. --Ben41 (talk) 19:15, 7 May 2013 (EDT)

HD Images

JPGs taken properly from HD sources such as Blu-ray or HD streaming will be significantly better looking than one taken from a commercial DVD. There could be a resolution difference when one uses a screencapture program instead of using one built into a video player such as VLC. --Ben41 (talk) 18:38, 7 May 2013 (EDT)

Take a look at the some of the screenshots from The Matrix page. When you click one of the screenshots, you can see the difference in dimensions from a SD DVD screenshot (usually 858 x 377) and a full Blu-ray image (1920 x 726) when it's blown up to full screen. --Ben41 (talk) 04:14, 8 May 2013 (EDT)

A larger .jpg image contains more "information" (the correct term would be data) than a smaller one, because the amount of data that was compressed originally is larger. It's nothing to do with the discs, increasing resolution increases the amount of pixels in a screencap and thus the amount of visible detail. The fact that .jpg is a lossy compression format has absolutely nothing to do with whether a 1920x1080 full HD image allows you to see more detail than an 854x480 SD cap does, please stop talking nonsense. Evil Tim (talk) 04:51, 8 May 2013 (EDT)

Firstly, I would very much appreciate it if you did not break the screen borders of my talk page with images I'm quite capable of clicking on. Secondly, unless you somehow think we can put the DVD image directly onto the site (what would you like here, 3+ meg uncompressed bitmaps?) what you're saying is totally irrelevant because every single image on this site that abides by the rules is already a jpeg. I don't know what you think showing me two different images is supposed to prove; we're talking about replacing existing SD jpeg images with HD-sized versions of the same images. This is a net increase in quality, all things being equal, because both images are compressed in the same way. Evil Tim (talk) 11:42, 8 May 2013 (EDT)

Yeah, but we're talking about straight resolution here. A 1920x1080 HD cap has 2,073,600 pixels, an 854x480 SD image has 409,920. Five times more pixels with the same encoding settings means more detail is visible when the image is viewed at full size, which helps with identification. Since the BD image is actually HD sized, you don't have artifacts cased by upscaling which you would create by making a 1920x1080 version of an SD image (and also the new pixels are in the original image rather than just being interpolated by your image editor). Therefore, it is better.

Your image was rather obviously not encoded with the same quality settings as the Matrix image was, so it's not really a particularly useful comparison point. If I encode an SD resolution video at a very high bitrate and an HD video at a very low bitrate I can get the same result, but that hardly means if I encoded the HD video at the same bitrate as the SD one I wouldn't be able to see more detail. Evil Tim (talk) 12:05, 8 May 2013 (EDT)