AVID:Tutorials

Hello, there! Welcome to the Audiovisual Identity Database; we're glad you've joined! Now, what's the most important thing you do to improve the site? Why, writing articles, of course! This tutorial will show you how to write a suitable entry for the site, and how to improve your page. For demonstration of logo descriptions see here and here.

Page Layout
All pages have a basic form that everyone follows. They are:

Page Buttons (optional)
Where a page also has Logo Variations and Print Logo pages or you intend to create them, you should add the  template to allow for easy navigation between these pages. The markup for this is as follows: ,

which results in:

You can add or remove any of the three additional parameters depending on your needs, for example:

,

,

,

If using this template, be sure to put it on all the pages you added buttons for to ensure coherent and smooth navigation between them.

Background (optional)
This shows the history of the company whose logos you're describing. They can include when the company started, their business practices, who runs it, business acquisitions they've made, or when they shut down (if they have). You do not have to include this on your page, but it's VERY informative. Use a level three heading for this section.

Year: The date of release and retirement of the logo. Use a level three heading for this. For example:

??? Logo/ID/Open/Trailer (????-????)
Note: If you use the boilerplate template, the header will contain an  template. When adding logos, simply add the number you're up to into this template and it will output as 1st, 2nd, etc. This template simplifies the process of renumbering if a logo is removed or relocated on the page for some reason.

Nickname(s) (optional): Just something people call the logo by. Nicknames are made from a certain theme shown in the logo; more often than not, however, they're made from how cheesy or scary the logo is. These are on many logos, but do not necessarily have to be on a description.

Logo/ID/Trailer: The heart of it all. This is used to describe what happens in the logo. Be very descriptive on this part - use colorful adjectives as much as possible, and try to describe every little detail. Start by saying what color the background is, and then whatever animations are in the logo. For still logos, just name the background color and whatever is on the still image.

Take your time on these, and make sure you revise, because if you leave an important detail out, you can easily confuse people.

Trivia (optional): If there is some trivia about the logo, put them in this section.

Byline(s) (optional): If the logo uses multiple bylines during its period of use, describe them here.

Variant(s) (optional): If there are different variants of a logo, post them here. Do not describe one-off variations here. These should go on a separate Portal:Logo Variations page.

FX/SFX: This is a short section. Say what is moving in the logo, and what kind of effects or special effects are being used, e.g.is it CGI? Stop-Motion? Scanimate? hand-drawn? Live Action? Also state who created the animation and/or where it was done if such information is available. Don't describe the effects of the logo using the words "Everything" or "All the animation of the logo"; be specific.

Music/Sounds: Describe what kind of sounds are being used in the logo. If possible, also mention how the sound is made and who made it.
 * If a specific piece of music is used, identify it and consider inserting a link to an upload of the music on YouTube, Vimeo or a similar site if available. Especially where the music and/or artist is less well-known.

Music/Sounds Trivia (optional): If there is some interesting trivia about the logo theme or sounds, put them in this section.

Music/Sounds Variant(s) (optional): If there are one or more variants of the logo theme or sound, post them here.

Availability: This section is important - gather all of the information about where this logo can be found. State whether it is rare or not, tell where it can be found, and where it was last seen. Don't forget to italicize titles (or use quotation marks for episode names of television shows) from where the logo can be found. When describing where logos are found, include specific examples where possible. Don't just say "found on the company's releases at the time", name at least some of the releases the logo is known to be on. Also specify if something that should have the logo doesn't for some reason.

Scale of Availability: Use this nomenclature for your future logo descriptions:


 * Ultra common/Very common: When you find this logo everywhere (also if this logo plasters everything).
 * Common: You find that logo on newly produced shows/movies of that company, or is left intact on reruns/DVDs.
 * Uncommon: You may find that logo on some prints of produced films/shows of that company.
 * Rare/Very rare: It appeared few times on some releases/prints.
 * Scarce: You may find it on several prints/releases.
 * Extremely rare: Appeared on some old releases/prints that hasn't been widely distributed.
 * Ultra rare: Difficult to find or appears on a very special release or print.
 * Extinct/Near extinction: Has been replaced by other logos and/or is beyond hard to find, but can be found on very old releases/prints.
 * Unknown: If you don't know on which films/shows the logo has appeared.
 * Unused: For logos that have not been used.
 * Current: Can be used to describe the current logo of the company
 * Brand new: For newer logos.
 * TBA: To be announced.

Do not put vague or incoherent descriptions like "common but rare" or "current but common". Phrases like these can confuse readers. Also, to repeat, don't make predictions on any upcoming shows or films that you think new logos will appear on as they may not even use them. For similar reasons, do not attempt to predict when a logo will make its final appearance.

Legacy (optional): Write about how the logo has affected the logo community and/or broader popular culture and how much of an impact it's left, whether it's beloved, notorious, etc. If it's not that notable, leave it out.

Final Note (optional)
This can be used on defunct company pages. Here, write on the fate of the company and/or how it became defunct, whether if it merged with another company or if it filed for bankruptcy.

External Links (optional)
If there is a site you believe will further inform our readers on the history and/or branding of the company, you can create an external links section. Examples of what you might list here include: If you have level 2 headings on your page, this should be a level 2 heading to ensure the table of contents is formatted properly. Otherwise, a level 3 heading is acceptable.
 * A relevant Wikipedia article
 * An IMDB filmography for the company
 * The company's official website
 * A site or article discussing the branding of the company, e.g. a page on TVARK or a similar branding compilation site/forum, an article about how the logo was made.

Notes: When having two or more logo descriptions, make sure you hit "Enter" two times in between each one so each description will have enough breathing room. Furthermore, when listing name changes for a company, use a level two heading for each name.

Navboxes
You can add a Navbox to the bottom of your page for easy navigation between related pages. You can add more than one Navbox if you choose, though typically an article would have a section Navbox, e.g. TV, Film, Home Entertainment and a company navbox, e.g. Sony, Disney, Comcast. For a full list of currently available Navbox templates, see Category:Navboxes.

Boilerplate
When creating a new page, you can load a standard template to simplify the editing process. When creating a new page, a box will appear above the editor asking you to choose a boilerplate. Ensure that you have selected the appropriate page template, then click load. This will load in a blank description template that you can use to build your page. We currently have boilerplates for standard pages and Logo Variations.

Linking
If your page mentions a company which has its own article on this wiki, please add a link to said article by wrapping the name in square brackets- for example: 20th Century Studios produces 20th Century Studios. This allows users to browse through the wiki more effectively and helps tie our site together.

Categories
Once you've finished your page, you should add it to our category system. You can add a page to a category by adding. You can see this in action at the bottom of this page, where you will note that this page is in the "Tutorials" Category.

Alternatively, you can turn on HotCat, which can be found on the Gadgets section of your Preferences. This will enable buttons to remove, change or add categories on the category bar.

Which categories do I use?

 * Logos appearing in film, including theatrical film, short film, direct-to-video film and newsreels are categorized into Category:Film logos.
 * Logos appearing in television series and films are categorized into Category:Television logos.
 * Station IDs are categorized into Category:Station IDs.
 * IDs are considered distinct from television logos; therefore they are not categorized into Category:Television logos.
 * Logos appearing in home entertainment (VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.) are categorized into Category:Home entertainment logos.
 * Direct-to-video films should have both Category:Home entertainment logos and Category:Film logos.
 * Logos used by animation studios are categorized into Category:Animation logos.
 * Logos (trailers) used by movie theaters/cinemas are categorized into Category:Cinema logos.
 * Logos appearing in music entertainment are categorized into Category:Music entertainment logos.
 * Logos appearing online are categorized into Category:Online logos.
 * Logos appearing in educational media, including classroom films and educational videos, are categorized into Category:Education logos
 * Logos appearing in video games are categorized into Category:Video game logos.
 * Logos and trailers used by technology companies are categorized into Category:Technology logos.

After adding the section categories, be sure to add the country categories according to the company's country of origin, and if available, the company category. For example, the categories for Sony Pictures Television are as follows:

Bringing a Page to the Top of a Category
If you want to make a page more distinct in a category you can add this:  to create the following markup:

Moving your page
If your page title has a typo in it or the subject of your page has changed their name, you may wish to move your page to a new title. To do this, simply go to the "More" menu at the top of the page and select the move button. You will be prompted to provide your changed title. If you are simply moving your page to a new namespace, click on the dropdown that says (Main) and select the namespace you want.

Once you have made the desired change, click the button to confirm your change and the page will be moved. Your original title will be preserved as a redirect, so you won't need to update any wikilinks to your page. If your move was to correct a typo in the title, please blank the resulting redirect page and mark the page for speedy deletion using. An admin will then delete your page promptly.

Creating a redirect manually
If the subject of your page is known by another title or an abbreviation, you might like to create a redirect so that any user who searches or links using this alternate name will easily find your page. To make one, simply create a new page with the desired alternate name and put the following on the page:

.

The markup should produce something like this:

Once you save your redirect page, any user who follows a link to this alternate title will be sent directly to your page.

If your page has Level 2 headings, you might want to use this markup to create a redirect to a certain section of a page:

.

The markup should produce something like this:

Translating Pages
Translation has been enabled for this wiki. This means you can create a translation for any article into the language of your choice.
 * If you would like to translate a page into another language and it has not been marked for translation, please add tags at the beginning and end of the page and at the end, add " " at the end of category links (i.e. "  ") and follow the "mark for translation" link that will appear at the top once this edit is made.
 * Once the page has been marked for translation, click "Translate this page", choose your language and begin your translation. For more information, see the MediaWiki help page.

More Information
To learn more about MediaWiki's capabilities, including more advanced markup and "Magic Words", see MediaWiki Help

That's about it. Have fun! - The AVID Team