How to get an IMDb page for your film

It's the mark of a professional and you owe your cast and crew the credits

Whenever there are two actors having a chat, you can be certain that the subject of IMDb credits will come up. The most frequent complaint I hear from people who worked on indie or student films is that they never got the IMDb credits they were promised. In fact, the films themselves never even ended up on IMDb. Why is this? Why don't producers get IMDb title pages for their projects, when it only requires a half-hour or so of focused effort, some tenacity and some patience? Having an IMDb title page for your film is the gold standard of recognition and legitimacy around the world. By getting a title page, people everywhere can find out about your film, who worked on it, and all kinds of other helpful information that helps market the film, even while you sleep. More importantly, it lets you bestow well-deserved IMDb credits on the people who helped you as cast and crew. If you want to be a professional, you need to understand how the IMDb title page process works, and how to use it effectively. You don't have to spend a penny if you don't want to. Here's how:

1. Google is your friend. Search for "how to get an IMDb title page for your film" or similar search term. This will lead you to the IMDb page called "Submitting a new title to IMDb" or something similar. On this page is a link called "New Title Form" which is for completed or in-production films. Click on this link. Remember that sites like IMDb evolve constantly, and you may need to dig around to find these links - use Google.
   
2. Start filling out the required information on the New Title Form. You will soon realize that there is an advantage to having an original title for your film. There's nothing technically wrong with being "Scary Movie (VII)" but there is nothing right about it either. Confusing your audience does not help you or the marketing of your film. Next time, search IMDb before you pick a name for your film, and be unique.
3. Fill out all the information asked for on the New Title Form to the best of your abilities. There is a lot of information, and it takes a while to get the formatting right. Also, you need to be a senior person attached to the film (like producer, director, lead actor) and you need to be a known quantity to IMDb through having your own IMDb name page already. 
   
4. Understand that IMDb is just trying to make sure you have a real film in your hands that they can verify the existence of. With that in mind, the key pieces of information are the title, country of filming, budget, key people attached to the project, production status, external weblinks (Facebook page and external website for the film) and a link that leads to a viewable copy of the film. The more info you can provide, the smoother the process goes.
5. Be prepared to be patient and tenacious. The form asks for more and more information, and you can periodically check how you are doing by clicking the button to check your submission. It almost always gets turned back (until you get really good at the process anyway) with warnings and errors. Check each of these, and make the necessary changes and additions. In the end, you will get green-lit and invited to hit the submit button.
   
6. Once you have successfully submitted your page, be prepared to wait. It's quite cool how your new title page comes into being. Keep searching for your title, and sometime over the next several days, it will appear! At first it will be bare bones, but will fill in with more details over time.
   
7. Once your page is fully there, you can make changes and additions, by clicking the edit links scattered throughout different sections of the page. Forgot a crew or cast member? No problem, just follow the edit process to add or change people. For people who didn't have an IMDb page already, you just created one for them! Be sure to let them know so they can take ownership of it and promote it and your film.
8. I recommend you pay the fee to add a poster graphic to your page (~$35 at time of writing this). It makes the page look great and helps market your film. Click on the "add a poster" link on your title page. Finally,  share the page with everybody you know, including cast and crew, and encourage them to share it widely.
9. Congratulations! You just became a more professional filmmaker. Actors? You should know how to do this too, and don't be afraid to offer your skills to a film crew you have worked with - it beats waiting and being disappointed when your credits don't appear.
10. BONUS SHORTCUT: If you have a bit more money to spend, you can also upload your films and project data to Withoutabox, which is affiliated with IMDb. This lets you submit to festivals that are "IMDb qualifying" and you will get a title page as part of the process when you submit to certain festivals. Keep in mind that festival submission fees are often $25 and up (way up).

Well done! You now have an essential skill that lets you be a more professional filmmaker. People will want to work with you again. Being IMDb-savvy lets you give people the credits they deserve and need for their careers, and also helps market you and your film to the world.  Have fun with it! :)

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