Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Film Industry Wikipedia Public Engagement through Editing, Training, and Handout Materials (ID: 22896249)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Arielaortizb
- Organization
N/A
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
N/A
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
Main Proposal
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Film Industry Wikipedia Public Engagement through Editing, Training, and Handout Materials
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2025-02-15 - 2025-12-31
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
United States of America
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Not applicable
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
Film content consistently ranks in the top-viewed pages on various language Wikipedias every year. However, the film industry itself is not aware of the editing conventions of Wikipedia, and while many articles with high traffic are well-done, there are also many movies that are currently a mess.
There are many causes for this. Some are due to film industry members: they don’t know they can edit pages; they don’t know they shouldn’t edit where there is conflict of interest (publicists); they don’t know that they shouldn’t edit their own pages; they see it similar to IMDb (which doesn’t need sources); they create pages for films before they are notable; they write articles in overly promotive voice that just causes a lot of distraction for editors who have to clean it up; and so on.
In addition, the information around film festivals is sometimes (surprisingly) very out-of-date. As of last year, the winners of the SXSW Film Awards had not been updated before 2019. The new president of the Cannes Film Festival had not been updated in the main Cannes Film Festival article two years after she had taken charge, nor did she have a bio.
User:The Film Creator has over 25,000 edits, mostly around new film pages. In addition, he created his own Google Doc guide and template to instruct users on how to write new film-related pages.
Piggybacking on the presence of WikiPortraits, Creative Commons, and the Wikimedia Foundation at SXSW, we would like to create a training series and handout materials. We would put these to the test during the week of SXSW 2025 at the WikiPortraits Studio where a number of film publicists and film makers will be passing through. Historically, from past years, the WikiPortraits Studio brings in 300-500 people from the entertainment industry—these are actors, directors, producers, cinematographers, publicists, etc. who come in to get their picture taken. There, The Film Creator would distribute handout materials (both online and physical) with general guidelines of varying degrees on how to edit, revise, etc. sustainably and productively on film-related articles. In addition, their contact information, along with that of other enthusiastic trainers, would be made available for film publicists and industry people who have been there. We hope that the impact of these efforts would extend past SXSW 2025 by creating long-term relationships between Wikimedia properties and the entertainment industry and promoting better, more informed editing practices on film-related articles.
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
We are partnering with WikiPortraits at SXSW to take advantage of the fact that, every year, between 300-500 people are anticipated to pass through the WikiHouse to get their photos taken. These are industry professionals: actors, directors, producers, publicists, and so on. We’re hoping to do the following activities with these people: Create a diverse series of illustrated handouts that can be given to people in the entertainment industry. For instance, one can be a simple double-sided sheet with highlights. Another is an elegantly designed booklet designed to be evergreen so other people can use it. Help film industry people register for Wikimedia accounts and do their first (likely, preferably film-related edit) with a proper citation. Do more in-depth training for those who are more intensely Wikicurious and convert them to longer-term, or at least consistent, editors. Create a QR code for people who don’t have time for training but would like more information on editing film-related articles on Wikipedia. This can be a digital hub for not only documentation but also how to get involved with virtual training sessions and other relevant resources to this project. WikiCurious photo training so that people can learn how to upload images to Wikimedia Commons.
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc. Team members involved in the grant application need to be aware of their involvement in the project.
In addition to the participants:
- Sergio Cardenas (User:The Film Creator) has been highlighted by The Depths of Wikipedia for his prolific creation of Wikipedia articles on films—near the pace of one page a day. Trainer. PAID
- Ariela Ortiz (User:Arielaortizb) is an Orlando-based multimedia artist who initially designed the WikiPortraits logo as well as numerous design assets for the project. She is also the designer for WikiCredCon at the Internet Archive in February 2025. She has covered Cannes and Venice Film Festivals for WikiPortraits. Her work ranges from digital and traditional art to photography and graphic design. She loves movies and is a passionate Letterboxd fan. She was born in Costa Rica and speaks fluent Spanish. Designer. PAID
- Kolby Webster (User:AirEdits) is the logistics organizer for WikiCredCon, taking place at the Internet Archive in February 2025. He became exposed through the Wikiverse through training He will be helping with the WikiPortraits Studio at SXSW. Logistics. VOLUNTEER/PAID (depending on if time is covered by other Wikipedia activities)
- Bea Phi (user:Phibeatrice) has, as of December 2024, entered the top 5000 users list for article creation, with over 160 articles mostly pertaining to literature, and nearly 300,000 words contributed to Wikipedia, since completing their initial training with Jake Orlowitz (user:Ocaasi) in July 2024 through the Wikipedia Immersive Training program. In the last few years, they have worked at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, the Creative Writing Program and Comparative Literature Department at Stanford University, the Asian American Theater Project, Plympton, Poets & Writers, and BOMB Magazine. They also have worked on the WikiPortraits project, specifically with photo coverage of the 2024 National Book Awards and data support for other events like the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
- Kevin Payravi (User:SuperHamster): Kevin has contributed to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia sites since 2007 and is currently a co-organizer of WikiConference North America and Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States. He also serves on the Board of Wikimedia DC and is an organizer for the Ohio Wikimedians. Kevin helped organize the precursor portrait studio at Sundance Film Festival, and helped organize and photograph the WikiPortraits studio at South by Southwest, as well as covering Cannes Film Festival 2024, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 and Toronto International Film Festival 2024. GENERAL VIBE GUIDANCE. VOLUNTEER
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
The target participants are primarily people in the film industry, though we are open to training the film-enthusiastic WikiCurious public too. Our most productive people include publicists, producers, directors, actors, and numerous below-the-line talent (cinematographers, production designers).
For people who don’t have time to sit for a training session but yet remain curious, we intend to design a QR code where they can sign up with their emails.
We can follow up with everyone who went through training or registered through the QR code by sending them an after-festival email with helpful links and information designed to be forwarded around to other people.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
No
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
N/A
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
Sergio, as The Film Creator, was highlighted by the Depths of Wikipedia Instagram account a few months ago for his prolific pace of film articles creation. As a result, the WikiPortraits people reached out to Sergio on-Wiki to join them at film festivals sometime in the future. This was in part because they didn’t have the bandwidth to create the pages for the films they were taking photos of and thus sought his help. They also asked Sergio to create some training material since they didn’t have the expertise or bandwidth to address the problems they see in pages or answer the questions they get at film festivals. While Sergio didn’t have the ability to make pretty materials, they recommended that he contact Ariela Ortiz, who had experience with graphic design and illustration, to help him.
Some common issues:
- The simple announcement of a film project being in development is generally not enough to make it notable. It should begin principal photography before it gets a page.
- The citations around filmmakers’ bios are often not independent of their own website or IMDb.
- Film festivals listings, even at major festivals, are not enough to provide evidence of notability. Generally, independent reviews after the premiere is what kicks off an article.
As a result, Sergio is taking time off from work to go to the Sundance Film Festival to help edit film articles and also train some people. He will dry-run some of this training alongside the WikiPortraits Studio without the pressure of delivering metrics for a Rapid Grant at SXSW.
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Other Important Topics (topics considered to be of impact or important in the specific context)
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Not applicable
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Not applicable
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Identify Topics for Impact
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
We hope to see if we can engage film industry professionals in a productive way to help them contribute—or, at the very least, not contribute bad content.
We want to connect them with experienced Wikipedians that they can send questions to, i.e. whether something is problematic, such as someone editing a page where they have conflict of interest.
We want to create useful materials that we can hand out at film festivals, and at other industry gatherings, that address the issues that industry people often have (can we cite IMDb? Can we use a festival listing as a reliable source?) vs. experienced Wikipedia editors.
If this is successful, over time, we would be interested in scaling such training to other places—perhaps New York and Los Angeles, or at other smaller film festivals. We can do smaller in-depth events with film publicists if there is interest, demand, and budget, and/or we can encourage local Wikipedians to do public engagement as part of their local film festivals. For example, Indiana Wikipedians can partner with the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 250 | 100 new Wikipedia accounts created (an average of ~11 a day)
150+ attendees at sessions throughout the week |
| Number of editors | 10 | 2-3 trainers who are experienced Wikimedia editors and know how to introduce and hand-hold the Wikicurious.
8 editors. There will be numerous highly experienced editors helping at the WikiPortraits Photo Studio and ancillary wiki activities. However, while we expect them to be ambiently available, we do not expect them to have the dedicated time to handhold. |
| Number of organizers | 4 | 3-4
Sergio Cardenas Bea Phi (User:PhiBeatrice) Prolific editor of primarily literary content, but helped clean up the SXSW awards page, updated film/actor pages with WikiPortraits images, and made several pages about books adapted to film.
|
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 130 |
| Wikimedia Commons | |
| Wikidata | |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
50 or articles that have been meaningfully updated by new editors, mostly in the film industry, with handheld guidance. (These will not be new articles, but rather sufficient edits for the Wikicurious to understand what makes for a notable source and how to add a citation.) 80 new or expanded articles from the SXSW festival line up, assuming enough films get independent reviews in reliable sources. These can be films, directors, actors, screenwriters, or other notable film folks.
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
No
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
We would use the WMF event dashboard to monitor the following metrics:
- number of editors
- number of new editors
- number of edits
- number of new pages created
- number of pages edited
- volume of new content added
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/129A0mEd3G2gHVS62WY2fVcIk_fNXsACm8WkhyK5Xyas/edit?usp=sharing
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
5000 USD
- 22.2. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done only to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD.
5000 USD
- We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
Endorsements and Feedback
[edit]Please add endorsements and feedback to the grant discussion page only. Endorsements added here will be removed automatically.
Community members are invited to share meaningful feedback on the proposal and include reasons why they endorse the proposal. Consider the following:
- Stating why the proposal is important for the communities involved and why they think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected.
- Highlighting any aspects they think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc.
- Highlighting if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities.
- Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
- Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).