Viewers' Advisory in the Digital Age slideshow prepared by Enoch Pratt Free Library/Maryland State Library Resource Center staff.

1. 1
Viewers’ Advisory
in the Digital Age
Fall 2016

2. 2
or…

3. 3
presented by
Tom Warner
Librarian
Sights & Sounds Department
Enoch Pratt Free Library/Central Library
Baltimore, Maryland

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Emerging trends and technology are radically
affecting library AV collection development.

5. Some emerging viewing and
technology trends:
• Need for online recommendation resources like
NetFlix’s “You may also like” or Amazon’s “people who
bought_ also bought _”
• All or nothing: The rise of binge watching
• Location, location, location: mobile device viewing
• Physical vs. Virtual Content: DVD/Blu-ray or Streaming?
• Finding free online sites for viewing popular and
educational content
5

6. We will look at good resources
for recommending popular &
educational movies and TV
shows based on a variety of
customer needs:
•“I want to see more movies like __”
•“What’s it rated? Is it appropriate for kids, family,
teens?”
•“Where do I find good critic’s reviews?”
•“Where do I go to watch free popular TV shows &
movies?”
•Where can I watch free online courses?”
•“What are the best places watch Anime or foreign
TV shows online?”
6

7. Does anyone need help with
this absolute “ground zero”
Viewers’ Advisory question:
But before we get started…
“What’s good?”

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…which is a query that puzzled
even Aristotle…
What is
the
nature of
“goodness
” ???

9. 9
Even better is the query:
“What do YOU recommend?”

10. 10
Patron Profiling
General questions like this can be difficult because, unlike
a specific request (e,g., “Do you have Twilight? Do you
have any vampire movies?”), they require that you
determine each individual’s tastes and viewing habits.

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The Viewer’s Advisory Interview
• What kind of movies do you like?
(Classics, Horror, British, Costume
Dramas, Blockbusters, Action, etc.)
• What was the last good movie you
saw?
• Do you have a favorite actor or
director?
• What kind of movie are you in the
mood for today (Chick flick? Date
movie? Action movie?)
Defining what is “good” for individual patrons requires you to
ask questions about their viewing habits and likes/dislikes,
which leads us to…
“So, what kind of crap,
er, entertainment do you
like?”

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Viewer’s Advisory Interview (cont.)
• What movies have you seen
recently that you did not enjoy?
• Why do you dislike that movie?
• Are violence or sexuality an
issue?
• Are ratings or age level
important?

13. Make sure you’re speaking the same
language as the patron.
13
Tower of Babel
• To avoid wasting time, throw the question
back at the patron to determine, what’s “good,”
“old,” or a “movie” mean to you?
• “It’s an old movie.” The classic! To some
people, old is something made before 2010.
• Movie vs. documentary. Educational vs.
entertainment.
• Actors vs. Real people. (The real Moses or
Charlton Heston playing Moses?)
• Titles vs. concepts

14. What kind of questions do YOU ask when asked
“what’s good?” And what kind of appeal factors are
important to your patrons?
14
• RATINGS?
• AGE?
• NON-FICTION?
• SUBJECT
MATTER?
• HOLLYWOOD
MOVIES?
• CABLE TV
SERIES?

15. Appeal Factors: Ratings
15
Ohmigod!
Showgirls has
bare-breasted
women gyrating
in G-strings?

16. 16
If ratings are important:
• www.filmratings.com
This MPAA*-approved site
enables you to search by title for
the official rating of any film
released since 1968. It is part of
the Classification & Rating
Administration (CARA) website.
The industry standard is FILMRATINGS.COM:
* Motion Picture Association of America

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Film Ratings.com
Enter
title
here
MPAA
rating
displays
here

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Film Ratings.com
Filmratings.com’s HOW, WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and
CHECK THE BOX menu bar tabs provide additional info for
determining a film’s appropriateness.
The WHEN and WHERE options are especially valuable.

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Film Ratings.com
Using WHEN enables parents and others to stay ahead of the curve
and get the latest news and content about a movie before they head to
theaters. To stay in the know, users can:
Sign up to receive
weekly
Red Carpet Rating
emails
Follow on Twitter at
@FilmRatings for the
latest information and
ratings on recently
released movies
This family is happy
because they are
using social media to
get the latest breaking
movie news!
Dang! “Emanuelle in Bangkok”
may not be appropriate for
all of us. Sorry, sweetie!

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Film Ratings.com
RED CARPET
RATING EMAILS:
Users can sign up to
receive weekly email
updates detailing new
movie ratings and
detailed rating
descriptors (e.g. “crude
language,” “disturbing
images,” “brief nudity,”
etc.)

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Film Ratings.com
Using WHERE takes users
to a screen of additional film
and TV rating links,
including Common Sense
Media, Fandango Family-
Friendly Guide, Kids in
Mind and TV Boss.

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thetvboss.org
TV Boss lets users control their child's TV consumption with the tips,
tools, and parental control resources found on this website. Includes
the TV Ratings Guidelines (shown on right).

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Yes, of course there’s an APP!
Clicking on the GET THE APP link takes you to iTunes, where parents-on-the-
go can buy and download the TV Boss App for their iPhone, iPad and iPod
Touch.

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If age appropriateness is important:
There are numerous Parental Advisory Sources. One of the best is Kids-in-Mind.
• Kids-in-Mind (www.kids-in-mind.com)
Provides parents and other adults with objective and complete information about a
film's content so that they can decide, based on their own value system, whether
they should watch a movie with or without their kids.” Incredibly detailed breakdowns
in 3 categories: SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE /GORE, PROFANITY. See sample:
The Aristocrats.
“Is this movie appropriate for Wally and the Beav?”

25. Kids-in-Mind rates “The Aristocrats”
25
SEX=10
VIOLENCE=6
PROFANITY=10
Detailed
description
of each
category

26. Common Sense Media (
www.commonsensemedia.org)
26
Common Sense Media publishes independent
ratings and reviews for nearly everything kids
want to watch, read, play, and learn. For each
title reviewed, they indicate the youngest
appropriate age, based on its specific content
and overall developmental guidelines.
Right below their ratings, they list content
categories with in-depth information on each
title. Each category is rated on a scale of 0-5
like Consumer Reports; if no dots are filled in,
that means the content is either not applicable
or doesn't rate on their scale. If three are
highlighted, that means there’s a fair amount of
that type of content, and five highlighted dots
indicates that there's lots of it.
“Common Sense Media helps families make smart choices.”

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Movie Lists
The “What do you recommend?”
query can be answered either by
your personal experience or by
referring to the opinions of leading
film critics and their essentials or
genre lists – of which there is no
shortage of print and online
resources – as well as award-
winners lists!

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Movie Lists - Online
• Academy Award Winners (www.oscars.org)
• AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies (
http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx)
• New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html)
• Tim Dirks’ 100 Greatest Films (
http://www.filmsite.org/momentsindx.html)
• National Film Registry (http://www.loc.gov/film/filmnfr.html)
1989-2008, searchable by year or title
A sampling of the innumerable lists…
The critics
say…

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Movie Lists - Books
• 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
Stephen Jay Schneider, editor. Barron’s, 5th
edition, 2008.
• 501 Movie Directors. Stephen Jay Schneider,
editor. Barron’s, 2007.
• The Great Movies. Roger Ebert, 2002.
• The Great Movies II. Roger Ebert, 2005.
• Have You Seen…?: A Personal Introduction
to 1,000 Films. David Thomson, 2008.
• Rough Guide to Anime, Gangster,
Independent, Kids, Noir, Sci-Fi Movies, etc.
Innumerable movie list books have been written – probably too many
(see bibliography handouts)…
“How utterly fascinating!”

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Following are some of the best print and online resources
you can use to keep pace with the never-ending onslaught
of information, blogs, tweets, databases, web sites, and
epinions about films and television shows in the Digital
Age.
Use them to help a patron find what they want - or what
leading critics think they should see.

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Film Resources - Books
1001 Movies You Must See Before Y
Steven Jay Schneider, editor
(Barron’s Educational Series, 10th
edition, 2013)
Where other anthology-type books simply summarize
the plot details and list the actors, 1001 Movies tells
you specifically why each film belongs in your must-
see list. Good general guide for patrons who want to
see what the experts think are the film essentials.
• Films are listed chronologically by year of release, from 1902’s A Trip To
the Moon to 2012’s Skyfall. (The online list is up to 1,130 titles, btw.)
• Includes indices for Genre, Title and Director.
• Lists country of origin, language & major creative contributors (director,
producer, screenplay, director of photography, etc.)
• Lists all Hollywood and film festival nominations/awards.

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Film Resources - Books
VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever
Jim Craddock, editor
online @ Movieretreiver.com
An A/V Librarian’s best friend, the Hound is bred to
answer the question, “What should I watch next?”
• Hound is renowned for its comprehensive Movie Lists and Category Indices, from
Abortion to Zombies, with cleverly snarky subcategories like Eat Me (characters
who end up as food) or Renegade Body Parts (see also Killer Brains).
• Includes indices for Cast, Composers, Cinematographers, Writers, Directors,
Video Sources, Awards (Academy, British, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit,
Raspberries).
• Includes “Kibbles and Series” index listing movie adaptation sources (literary,
theatrical, cartoon, TV), as well as Recurring Characters (James Bond, Indiana
Jones), notable Screen Partnerships (Abbott & Costello, Martin & Lewis) and
behind-the-scenes people.

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The VideoHound’s Litter
• VideoHound’s Cult Flicks & Trash Pics
• VideoHound’s Dragon: Asian Action & Cult Flicks
• VideoHound’s Family Video Guide
• VideoHound’s Groovy Movies
• VideoHound’s Horror Show
• VideoHound’s Independent Film Guide
• VideoHound’s Sci-Fi Experience
• VideoHound’s Vampires on Video

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Magazine Resources for Well-read Librarians
• Sight & Sound (http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/ )
This is the British Film Institute’s monthly magazine, which is
international in scope and is also available online. Besides featuring
topical and retrospective articles, coverage of all major festivals and
film events, and interviews with leading directors, it provides
extrensive reviews of all new theatrical and DVD releases, as well as
book reviews, arranged in easy to read alphabetical order. More so
than other magazines, SaS includes detailed credits in its film
reviews. Sets the standard for film reviews.
• Variety ( http://www.variety.com/ )
Recognized and respected through out the world of show business,
Variety is the premier source of entertainment news. Since 1905, the
most influential leaders in the industry have turned to Variety for
timely, credible and straight forward news and analysis - information
vital to their professions. Also available online. Renowned for its
timely reviews of all new film, TV, and music releases, as well as
“legit” (legitimate) theatrical productions on and off Broadway.
• Video Librarian ( http://www.videolibrarian.com )
Video Librarian is a video review magazine for public, school,
academic, and special libraries, as well as video fans who are
interested in a wider variety of titles than what's found in the average
video store. Written by staff, librarians, teachers, and film critics,
Video Librarian offers over 225 critical reviews per issue, alerting
readers to upcoming new releases of special-interest, documentary,
and video movie titles. In addition, they inform their subscribers of
video bargains (and free videos) and track technological trends.
If you have the time or money, these are erudite choices

35. But this is what the public reads:
EW is surprisingly well-
written. You need to
know what’s in it in
order to keep up to
date with what’s new,
what’s hot, and what
you’ll probably be
asked for.
35
As seen in doctor’s offices and
waiting rooms the world over!

36. “I want to see more movies like…”
Jinni.com
Was the best online
resource for finding
movies & TV shows
matching a patron’s
tastes. But is now a pay
service.
36

37. “What is my movie?”
www.whatismymovie.com
37
This site lets you use your
own words to describe a
movie (e.g., "Sean
Connery in red pants")
when you don't know the
title.
You can also search by
titles, actors, directors and
genres.

38. Here are the results when you search for “exploding heads”:
38

39. Here are the spot-on results for “Johnny Depp in a dress”:
39
There are options to
“Watch Now” (if
available) and to give
feedback about whether
this is a good or bad
match.
This helps further refine
future searches.

40. Where do you go for online reviews?
40
Rotten Tomatoes?
Metacritic?
MRQE?
IMDB?
DVD Verdict?
Leonard Maltin on Twitter?
(yes, his daughter made
him get on Social Media!)

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Internet Movie Database
(www.imdb.com)
This subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. is the most extensive film
database on the Internet and covers over 150,000 movies with over
2,425,000 filmography entries. The IMDb provides links to reviews
by leading critics (Roger Ebert is usually first), images, credits, and
other pertinent information, as well as to Amazon.com for purchase
information. (IMDB was bought by Amazon in 1998.) Allows title,
name, keyword, and advanced searching.
A personal fave!
Though not infallible, IMDb is my first choice for:
• Accurate filmographies (director, year of release, country of origin,
language, running time, studio)
• External reviews by leading critics
• Finding out if a movie is still “in print” – because IMDB is a subsidiary of
Amazon, if the Amazon link isn’t highlighted, you can bet it’s unavailable.
• Linking to IMDb Pro (if you subscribe) for distributor, agent, industry info
(also useful for finding determining film clearances for
programming/screenings)

42. IMDB Pro – $ubscriber $ervice
42
Your library may
want to consider
purchasing an
annual license
($150) for this pay
service.
IMDB Pro contains
a database of
entertainment
industry
information and
other content
regarding the
entertainment
industry.
People…Titles…Companies…Casting Notices…Agents

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Web Resources - Reviews
• Metacritic Film & Music Reviews (www.metacritic.com)
Metacritic.com provides a cross-section of reviews by
respected critics and assigns a “metascore” (a weighted
average of all reviews, from 0 to 100) to show a critical
consensus (e.g., Twilight Saga: New Moon received a 45
score, reflecting mixed or average reviews from 31 national
critics.) There is also a user’s score reflecting online reader’s
comments.
• Green scores are generally favorable, yellowyellow are mixed, red
are unfavorable.
• Metacritic.com also provides a cross-section of reviews by
respected critics of popular television series from 2005 to the
present.

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Metacritic.com – Sample “Metascore”

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Metacritic.com
Sample reviews (top down, highest to lowest) of The Road.

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The Movie Review Query
Engine, or MRQE (pronounced
“marquee”) was founded in
1993 and offers over 100,000
movie reviews, with a
searchable index, news, and
other materials for specific
movies.
Movie Review Query Engine (www.mrqe.com)
MRQE uses a users and critics
rating system similar to
metacritic, with a numerical
score (1-100) and a chart of A-
through-F reviews similar to
Angie’s List.
MRQE offers links for
Outdoor Movie Guides in
select cities, as well as
user-generated Flicktweets
on new movies.

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More Web Resources - Reviews
DVD Verdict (http://www.dvdverdict.com)
“A class action approach to film criticism.”
Very detailed reviews by a panel of film “judges”
who give a thumbs up (innocent) or thumbs down
(guilty!) review of over 20,000 film and TV titles
available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Since a recent conversion to Wordpress, the
format has changed, but the quality of reviews is
still consistent.

48. Best TV Resources
48

49. 49
Epguides.com
This site contains a vast,
searchable archive of episode guides
for over 7,500 television series past
and present. You can search by show
title, episode title, main characters,
and main actor names. You can also
search by categories like US
Dramas, UK Comedies, Canadian
shows, and Australian shows. The
link for TVRage.com additionally lets
you search by plot summaries, guest
stars, writers, and directors. For best
results, put multiple words or people’s
names in quotes, as well as any
hyphenated words like “x-files.”

50. Decider.com
50
This “TV Guide for the
streaming age” helps
you decide what to
watch and where to
watch it (Netflix,
Amazon Prime Video,
Hulu, HBO Go, Google
Play, YouTube, Sling
TV).

51. Apps to help you decide “What to Watch”:
51
Fan TV (www.fan.tv)
(Android, iPhone)
Yahoo Video Guide
(iTunes)
“From searching to
streaming in seconds!”
Yahoo Video Guide
searches across all your
streaming services,
including Netflix, Hulu,
Amazon, HBO and more!
Within seconds you can
find where a movie or
show is streaming, and
stay on top of what's
newly available to watch.
“We speak
entertainment.”
Helps you find where to
watch 1,000,000+
movies & shows,
instantly.
Use its new Fan Voice
feature to say what you
want to watch (“Game
of Thrones,” “Tina Fey,”
etc.)

52. Wait With Us
52
waitwith.us
TV Release Dates and
Breaking News:
This comprehensive “TV
Renewal Scorecard”
tracks which TV shows
have been renewed or
cancelled, keeping
viewers up-to-date with
the status of popular
broadcast, cable and
digital TV series around
the world

53. Archive of American Television
www.emmytvlegends.org
53
Archive of American
Television has conducted
over 800 oral history
interviews (over 4,000
hours) with the legends of
television.

54. AdViews
library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adviews/
54
This is Duke University
Libraries’ digital archive
of over 9,000 vintage
television commercials
dating from the 1950s
to the 1980s. You can
search by company,
title or subject.

55. TelevisionTunes.com
55
This is a great site for finding TV theme songs.

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Best TV Resource for Parental Control
PTC’s mission is “to promote and
restore responsibility and decency
to the entertainment industry in
answer to America's demand for
positive, family-oriented
television programming.”
M Use the PTC’s Family Guide To TV
link to see a “What’s On TV
Tonight” viewing guide…
• Parents Television Council (parentstv.org)

57. PTC’s Family Guide to TV
57
Use PTC’s Ratings
Guide to look up TV
shows and movies and
determine their
appropriateness
according to a traffic-light
rating system:
Red - unsuitable for
children
YellowYellow - may be
inappropriate for children
Green - family-friendly
show
Blue/Gray - unrated

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Best DVD Release Date Resources
• VideoETA (
http://videoeta.com)
This is a handy source
for finding the release
dates of upcoming
theatrical films, games
and DVDs.

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OnDVDReleases.com
provides release dates for
the latest new and
upcoming movies on DVD
& Blu-ray available for
streaming, rental or
purchase.
They also stay up-to-date
on all major release dates
for popular rental places,
including Redbox,
Netflix, Blockbuster and
online stores like
Amazon, iTunes and
Google Play.
OnDVDReleases.com (www.ondvdreleases.com)

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The “Judging a Movie by Its Cover” approach to Viewer’s Advisory.
As a last resort, you can always use the
“Judging a Movie by Its Cover”
approach to Viewer’s Advisory. Though
we’re told that “You can’t judge a book
by its cover,” judging a DVD by its
cover art is often an fairly accurate
guide to what kind of movie is
contained within.
The folks at the web site “Oh No They Didn’t” (
http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/64047251.html#ixzz1d98GUgLG)
came up with a satirical guide to “13 movie poster trends and what they
say about their movies.” Their guide is an effective on-the-spot Viewer’s
Advisory when trying to find titles for patrons with general viewing interests
(Action, Romantic Comedies, Horror, etc.) – especially when you are
unfamiliar with a specific title or genre. After all, a picture is worth a
thousand words…

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Question:
•What sort of movie do
you think this is?
•To whom would you
recommend it?
#1. Tiny People on the Beach. Giant heads in the Clouds.

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• Do not be mislead by the trailer
or calibre of the people involved
into thinking otherwise.
• The protagonist/his little
brother/father and/or love
interest is very likely to end up
dead. You probably should
keep your tissues handy
because you'll cry tears of
sorrow, tears of joy, tears
because you just wasted money
on this movie.
• This sort of cover is inevitably
used for anything that involves
Nicholas Sparks (The
Notebook, Message in a Bottle,
Dear John, A Walk in the
Clouds).
These movies are always sappy dramas.

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Question:
•What sort of movie do you
think this is?
•To whom would you
recommend it?
#2. Man and woman standing back-to-back.

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You shall not go into
these with high
expectations - especially
if you already spied Kate
Hudson or Reese
Witherspoon on the
cover!
These are rom-coms that lean more on the comedy side of things.

65. 65
#3. Sexy Back (Most Likely to Contain Weaponry).
Question:
•What sort of movie do
you think this is?
•To whom would you
recommend it?

66. 66
These movies will feature a lot of action with a thin veneer of pretentious
intellectual posturing.
(Unless it’s a
biopic about
Johnny Cash.)

67. 67
#4.The Bed
Question:
•What sort of movie do you
think this is?
•To whom would you
recommend it?

68. 68
The ultimate in false advertising!
These movies will feature
very little sex and a lot of
talking. Also:
•Two men in bed usually =
gay bent.
•Two women in bed usually
= lesbian bent.
•Threesomes = Euro
arthouse (Jules and Jim).
•Foursomes = swinging
couples (Bob & Carol &
Ted & Alice)
•Man, woman & dog =
don’t go there!

69. #5. Got My Eye On You.
69
Question:
•What sort of movie do
you think this is?
•To whom would you
recommend it?

70. There is a 98% chance that these films will be
horror. One way or the other.
70
• Candyman
• The Eye
• Chucky
• Ju-on
• The Grudge.
• Grudge 2.
• Grudge 3.
• Etc.
• Etc.
• Etc.
• Etc.
• Etc.
• Etc.
• Etc.
• Etc.

71. #6. Nature is Blue.
71

72. Using blue or a picture of planet Earth for nature-themed movies is apparently
mandatory. They'll kick you out of the entertainment business if you use any
other color.
72

73. #7. Black/Orange.
73
Black/Orange usually
indicates action movies
because Black is cool and
Orange is the color of fires
and explosions. (Just in
case you forgot: there will be
explosions!)
The Girl
with the
Dragon
Tattoo used
black/orange
to emphasize
sex/violence
quotient.

74. #8. Run for Your Life!
74
Apparently all action
heroes run through the
same blue-lit, narrow
alleyway when trying to
escape/catch the bad
guys. It's also possible
that graphic designers
just re-use the same
stock image of the
running guy over and
over again. The movies
themselves are pretty
similar to the
Black/Orange ones
except that all the
explosions have been
replaced with angst.

75. #9. Legs Wide Spread.
75
Blatant Sex
Appeal.
Unlike the Bed
cover trend, not so
much false
advertising here.
However of the 42
movies on display
here, only one has
any sort of critical
acclaim. You do
the math.

76. #10. Is That Your Face or Are the Drugs Kicking In?
76
This cover trend is
a mixed bag, so
you’ll have to tread
carefully. But it
usually indicates
that the filmmakers
think they’re
brilliant and
original, regardless
of reality.

77. #11. The Sexy Red Dress Never Goes Out of Fashion.
77
An easy one.
Women in red dresses
are sexy and are going
to sell tickets. It's an
enduring trend.
These movies will
feature women in
prominent roles.
(Guys: deal with it.)

78. #12. The Rip-Off.
78
These are supposed
to either remind you
of another (and
much better) movie
or outright trick you
into believing you're
actually getting this
other movie at the
videostore.

79. OK, back to The Future. What’s next?
79

80. Like stand-up comedy, watching movies
nowadays is all about the delivery.
• Blu-Rays (pumped-up DVDs w/superior picture &
storage; introduced in 2006)
• Cable Video On Demand (VOD)
• Internet Video Streaming and Digital Downloads
(Netflix “Watch Instantly,” Hulu, Amazon Instant Video,
Warner Archive) viewable on mobile devices
• Netflix may eventually phase out DVD mailings
• Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Roku as devices
• Manufactured On Demand/Made-to-Order DVD-Rs (
Warner Archive, Sony’s Pictures Choice Collection,
MGM’s Limited Edition Collection, 20th
Century Fox’s
Cinema Archives)
• Harder to find VHS titles for video hold-outs
80
Perhaps more than any other medium, movie watching is approaching a
cultural shift. The days of the digital disc as a factory-pressed & packaged
object of mass consumption may be coming to an end.

81. Video Streaming: The new kid in town
81
“Dude, DVDs
are like so 5
minutes ago! I
streamed Scott
Pilgrim Vs. The
World through
my PS3!”

82. Video Streaming
"Video Streaming" means watching a video over the Internet in real
time instead of downloading a file to your computer, tablet, smart
phone, or mobile device and watching it later.
Though no definitive list exists of all the free content streaming sites,
you can find out if a title is available to stream by checking these sites:
82
• Can I Stream.it?
• Gowatchit
• Just Watch
• Where To Watch

83. Where to Watch?
No existing database lists or provides access to every type of video
stream. But there are a few “first places” to look if you want to find the
answer.
83

84. Watch Movies, TV Shows and More Online for Free
The old ways of watching movies and television
(DVDs, movie theaters, network TV) are being
challenged by the Internet, video-on-demand
(VOD) and video streaming technology at the
same time that long-form, episodic television
series (Downton Abbey, Boardwalk Empire, etc.)
are challenging the Hollywood feature film in
popularity and critical esteem.
Following are some of the top resources for
viewing movies, TV shows and more for free -
anytime and anywhere. All you need is a
computer, TV or mobile device with an Internet
connection.
84

85. Check out Pratt’s guide to the top places to
watch popular movies, TV shows and more online for free
:
85

86. Popular Movies and TV Shows
• Crackle
Crackle's partnership with Sony Pictures enables them to provide hundreds
of free, full-length streaming movies, TV shows and original programming,
uncut and unedited. You may have to sit through a few commercials, but
they are short and infrequent.
• Yahoo View
Featuring free content from Hulu (now a pay-only site), this site enables
users to watch popular movies and TV shows; full seasons of select anime
and Korean TV dramas; and the last five episodes of ABC, NBC, Fox and
other network series (available eight days after original broadcast), along
with day-after clips.
• YouTube
YouTube is no longer just a place to watch cute cat videos and movie
trailers. There are a number of free movies, classic TV shows and
documentaries that you can watch in their entirety online. You can also
search YouTube Channels to find free and public domain movies;
Mrfilmschatten (specializing in classic and cult movies) and
Video Cellar's Classic Movies are two of the best.
86

87. Over-the-Air TV Networks
The major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, The CW, PBS)
also stream recent episodes for a limited time.
87

88. Educational Videos
88

89. Open Culture: Best free cultural &
educational media on the web
89
Open Culture.com
This site offers over
675 free movies (including links
to free Oscar Winners,
Hitchcock, and Chaplin films;),
links to other free movie sites,
and 950 free online courses
(broken down by topic) from top
universities.

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Free courses are
divided by topic:

91. 91
Especially valuable are
expensive, hard-to-find
Annenberg Learner videos.
For example, it would cost
you $240 to buy the 8-
volume DVD set of the
archaeology/anthropology
series Out of the Past
(1993).

92. Teachers and Documentaries
Example: a teacher who wanted to screen Morgan
Spurlock’s fast-food doc SUPER SIZE ME was
unable to find a DVD copy in time for his class. The
usual online documentary sites didn’t have a full-
length version, but we were able to find it online at
YouTube. Problem solved!
92
Documentary DVDs can be expensive acquisitions
for some school departments and individuals. The
following links address this problem by enabling
anyone (teachers, students and other interested
parties) to watch high quality educational
documentaries online for free. All you need is a
computer, television or mobile device with an
Internet connection.
Thank you
Internet!
Skinner!

93. 93
Documentaries are classified
in categories so users can
easily find what they are
looking for.
The site is in open form,
allowing readers to add
comments about films they
like or dislike.
Top Documentary Films (topdocumentaryfilms.com
)TDF is an alternative educational resource for watching over 2,100 full-length documentaries online. It
doesn't host videos but displays embedded media from other sites like Google Video and YouTube.

94. 94
Full Documentary (www.fulldocumentary.net)
This is another site for full-length
documentaries. (All documentaries are
assumed to be either in the public
domain or uploaded with the consent of
their copyright owners.)
Its
ALIENS, UFOs & CONSPIRACY THEORIES
link is especially useful for hardcore
conspiracy theorist customers.
“The dang ol’ Truth is out
there.”

95. Watch Free Public Domain Movies Online
95
A number of classic films have
entered the public domain,
meaning they are completely
legal to download or watch
online for free.
The best resource for
accessing these films is…

96. Internet Archive – Moving Image Archive
(https://archive.org/details/movies)
• This is the best site for downloading or
watching free movies online that fall under
the public domain.
• It contains thousands of digital movies
uploaded by Archive users which range from
classic full-length films, to daily alternative
news broadcasts, to cartoons and concerts.
Many of these videos are available for free
download.
• You can search by title or browse genres
(e.g., Feature Films, Kino French Films,
Shorts, etc.).
96

97. 97
Here’s a search for University of Baltimore’s Special Collections archive,
which includes thousands of newsreels from WMAR and WJZ TV.

98. 98
See Oprah
Winfrey
when she
worked at
WJZ-TV in
1987!
Browse by
Subject/Keywords.
Here is a list of
topics indexed so
far.

99. 99
Raw
footage of
Oprah
Winfrey
Shown with
Time Code
Reading
(TCR).

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“And, speaking of Libraries &Streaming…”

101. Subscription-based streaming for Libraries
Many libraries are licensing streamed content for free viewing on Internet
devices via 3rd
party providers such as Midwest Tapes’ Hoopla, LibraryIdea’s
Freegal Movies and Television, Recorded Books’ Indie Flix and Overdrive,
Film Media Group’s World Cinema, or Alexander Street Press’
Criterion Collection.
101

102. 102
Many library systems offer Hoopla and Overdrive; Harford offers Indie Flix,
World Cinema and Open Culture; Pratt offers Indie Flix from RB Digital
Gateway.

103. Baltimore County Public Library lets you stream
Criterion Collection films to your Internet device.
103
This service from Alexander Street Press
collects over 145 of the most significant
arthouse films of all-time, supporting teaching
and research in film studies and related
disciplines.

104. Shop & Compare
• IndieFlix - hosts thousands of independent films screened at more than
2,000 film festivals worldwide, including Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, and
SXSW. These “indie flix” can be streamed via Roku devices, Xbox Live,
and PS3 game consoles, as well as computers, tablets, mobile devices,
and Smart TVs.
• Hoopla, Freegal and Overdrive – host contemporary and classic movies
and television programs. Freegal and Overdrive’s s video streaming
component is offered as a separate add-on from their other services.
• Criterion Collection – offer various packages of Eurocentric Arthouse and
World Cinema classics.
• World Cinema - Films on Demand’s World Cinema offers almost 400
streaming videos of movies from around the world: Europe, Asia, Africa,
the Middle East, and Latin America.
104

105. Best places to watch Anime online
105
Otaku fanboys and fangirls
know that Crunchyroll is one
of the best sites for watching
anime series online.
Crunchyroll has over 20,000
videos and 10,000 hours of
Anime, Korean Drama and
Live-Action titles that can be
watched on a variety of
devices, including iPhone,
iPad, Android, TV set-top
boxes, Playstation®3, Xbox
LIVE, and other devices.
Crunchyroll (www.crunchyroll.com)

106. 106
Kiss Anime (kissanime.com)
Kiss Anime enables fans to
see full episodes of popular
Anime series and to search
by keyword, series status
(completed or
ongoing),genre, and by
looking through an extensive
A-through-Z series listing.
Also available for viewing on
mobile devices.
Can remove ads by signing
up for premium service.

107. 107
If customers prefer
downloading manga
(because of having low-
speed internet or wanting to
store manga), they can
download DomDomSoft
Manga Downloader from
this site.
Kiss Anime also lets
customers read or download
translated popular Manga
series.

108. 108
Watch-Anime.net (www.watch-anime.net)
This free site allows fans to watch
a wide selection of high-quality
Anime shows in either English-
subbed, English-dubbed or “raw”
(untranslated) versions. Viewers
can search by keyword, status
(completed or ongoing), release
date, or via A-Z series listings. In
addition, it enables users to read
popular manga books online – in
either untranslated or English-
translated versions – by linking to
mangainn.com.

109. 109
Best places to watch Korean TV/movies online
Viki.com (www.viki.com)
Global TV powered by fans, for fans
Viki (from “video” and “wiki”) is a global fan-subbed site powered by a
volunteer community of avid fans of (mainly) Korean, Taiwanese and
Latinto TV and music videos. Content includes ads, which can by
bypassed with a paid subscription.
Viewers can also access their favorite shows on any web-enabled phone
or tablet, including iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android-powered
smartphones and tablets, as well as connected TVs, including Samsung
Smart TV and Google TV. Viki also syndicates select programs with fan-
generated subtitles to partners such as Hulu, Netflix, Amazon.com, MSN
and Renren in China.

110. 110
Dramafever.com (www.dramafever.com)
DramaFever has the largest online
video library for international
televised content (over 13,000
episodes from 60 content partners
across 12 countries). Viewers can
watch Korean TV Dramas, Latin
American Telenovelas, and many
Asian TV shows and movies for
free and with professional subtitling.
•DramaFever is available on a variety of
devices including iPad, iPhone, Android, and
Roku.
•Users can search by title or browse genres
like “Bromance,” “Gender Bending” or
“Flower Boy.”

111. “Manufactured on Demand” (MOD) DVDs
111
“Made to order” DVDs pioneered by the Warner Archive Collection
(www.wbshop.com) and adapted by others like Sony’s Pictures Choice
Collection, MGM’s Limited Edition Collection and 20th
Century Fox’s Cinema
Archives (carried by Amazon, Oldies.com, ClassicFlix & Movies Unlimited).
• Burned on computers.
• Produced in limited
quantities with generic
covers.
• Generally devoid of extras
like elaborate menus,
supplementary material, or
restoration work.
• Allow niche marketing of
movies that don’t have
wide commercial appeal of
recent theatrical releases.

112. Warner Archive Collection (shop.warnerarchive.com/)
112
Warner
also links to
other studio
collections

113. Like TCM, Warner
Archive is an ideal
resource for nostalgic
older customers who
pine for older, hard-to-
find titles.
They are often willing
to purchase these
beloved old films.
113
“Hello? Do you have any old movies
with Kay Kaiser or Sophie Tucker?”

114. 114
OK, where do we go from here?

115. Is it End Times for cable TV?
• Netflix – It started here with Lilyhammer, House of Cards, and Orange is
the New Black. $7.99 a month.
• Amazon Prime – Followed Netflix’s lead with such series as Transparent,
Hand of God, Red Oaks, Catastrophe, and Bosch. $99 a year for new
subscribers.
• Hulu – Over 20 original series. Hulu Plus is $7.99 a month, $8.99 with
Showtime.
115
The amount of original content being
produced by 3rd
party streaming sites is
making cable companies nervous – and
rightly so. The scripts and actors are good
and growth possibilities are essentially
limitless.

116. New Trend: More Cable Cord-Cutting options
• HBO Go/HBO Now - HBO Now access HBO content without the
cable subscription. $15 a month.
• YouTube - YouTube has created original content.
• Sling TV - Streams live TV over the Internet. It offers a package of 16
cable channels at $20 a month, including ESPN, AMC and the Food
Network. HBO content is also available for an extra $15 a month.
• iTunes – Downloads TV shows at $2.99 per episode; discounted
“Season Passes” and some limited free TV show offers.
• PlayOn - Windows software that lets you play Netflix, Hulu, YouTube,
etc. from your computer on your TV via a PlayStation, Wii or Xbox.
$19.99 a year or $39.99 lifetime.
116

117. Hardware for watching TV on the Web
• Roku, Roku Stick – cable-cutters’ best friend; connects to TV and computer
network to let you watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc. $49-$99 depending on needs.
• Google Chromecast – plugs into the HDMI port on your TV so you can stream
media. It works with a number of apps so you can transfer what you see on a small
screen — as in a phone, tablet, or laptop — onto the big screen. The price is
currently set at about $30.
• Amazon Fire TV – attaching this device to your HDTV lets you to access Netflix,
Amazon Instant Video, HBO Go, games, music, and more. The current price is
about $99.
• Amazon Fire Stick - this stick allows you to access Netflix, Amazon Instant Video,
HBO Go, games, music, and more by connecting to your TV’s HDMI post.
Currently $39 a month.
• Apple TV - basically a front-end device to iTunes, and allows you to download
movies and music and play them through your TV.
• Smart TVs – many now come with links to Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Pandora and
more
• Game consoles - Netflix lets you play movies through your XBox 360 or
PlayStation 3. A variety of TV tuners and other devices can turn game consoles
into home entertainment systems.
117

118. 118
New Trend: Binge-watching
The Future is NOW! As pioneered by Netflix, binge streaming has changed
the traditional economics of TV production and how we watch TV.
“Bring me (burp!) another episode!”

119. Copyright & Streaming
Copyright issues are so complex and continually shifting that it's difficult to provide a
snapshot of what constitutes infringement, fair use, or illegal action.
Torrenting or sharing files over the Internet has become increasingly popular but is
illegal if the content is copyright protected. One website, ThePirateBay.org, has a long
history of international legal battles as do its founders. Then there is Kim Dotcom and the
Megaupload case.
The most important thing to remember is that you are the filter between a customer's
request/need and the solution to their need. If something looks too good to be true, it
probably is (especially if it is a streaming version of a movie out in theaters!). If the
word "free" appears on the website or you use the search term "free" along with "video
streaming“, well, as South Park always says, "you're gonna have a bad time."
119

120. OK, no one expects you to
remember all this information.
120

121. To help, SLRC put together the following helpful Web
guides under its Research Tools page:
www.prattlibrary.org/research/tools/
121
1.
2.
3.

122. Film and Television Online Research Resources
www.prattlibrary.org/research/tools/index.aspx?cat=19956&id=85093
122

123. Video Streaming Resources
www.prattlibrary.org/research/tools/index.aspx?cat=19956&id=85115
123

124. Maryland Film Resources
www.prattlibrary.org/research/tools/index.aspx?
cat=19956&id=8550
124

125. 125
Closing thoughts…
• It’s impossible to see everything, so don’t try. We are in an age of
Information Glut.
• Skim Entertainment Weekly to keep up with popular movies & TV
shows the public will ask about.
• Read Video Librarian to collection development ideas.
• Digital is here to stay. Hollywood's major studios are in the final days of
distributing movies on film reels and moving to digital distribution sent
via hard drives or satellite. 87% of movie theaters are now digital.
• As technology advances, more people will watch content on the go or
via streaming at home.
• As 3rd
-party streaming sites (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu) expand
quality programming, cable subscriptions will drop. DVDs may follow.
• Keep watching!

126. 126
Viewers’ Advisory Bibliography
For your convenience, we have
compiled a bibliography of helpful
print and online resources that can
be emailed to you upon request.

127. 127
Questions???
“Will this be on the final???”

128. 128
Contact Information
Tom Warner
Sights & Sounds Department
Enoch Pratt Central Library
400 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
tswarner@prattlibrary.org
(410) 396-4616
“Keeping it reel!”