020. Profile Images
The time has come! The grand tip you all have been waiting for = the mighty profile pics of (y)our beloved celebrities. All the most memorable world wars happened in that section. Long-lasting relationships ended, users giving up on the site, giving up on the celebrity, giving up on the staff, hating on the staff, people forming new cults, new relationships, and the discussion over the images never dies out. Eternal fire! It's always festive whenever someone mentions some celebrity's profile image on MDL.
Filled with endless amount of examples, please follow along, and see how you can become a pro at submitting good profile images, and (hopefully) never get a rejection message again. Maybe some relationships can be mended too?! You never know.
❗️The image should have a 300x360 px crop ratio, with the head in the middle.
❗️The image shouldn't be smaller than 300x360 px as the system will stretch it out and make it blurry.
❗️There should be nearly equal space from all four sides (from the head to the top, from the chin to the bottom, and from the ears to the side). i.e. PIC #1
❗️The profile image should focus solely on the head, and a bit on the neck.
❗️The face should be full frontal.
❗️The profile image should be in full color.
❌ Don't add full body shot profile images. i.e. PIC #3 No one can recognize those tiny little heads, especially when looking at cast lists, except the fans who are familiar with the photoshoots of their favorite celebrity. i.e. PIC #20
❌ Don't add profile images that contain any accessories and items that obstruct the face or cut off the head of the person in any way (hats, glasses, hands, hair, flowers, other props). i.e. PIC #4
❌ Don't add profile images that are so super close up that you can almost see the celebrity's pores and everything except their mouth, nose and eyes gets cut off. i.e. PIC #5 Hardly anyone will be able to properly associate the face with the actual person and their respective body. i.e. PIC #21
❌ Don't add profile images that contain only the head, are cut off from several sides, and are super long. Like a baguette. i.e. PIC #6 Their faces get cut off on every list on MDL.
❌ Don't add black and white profile images. i.e. PIC #7 This rule can be overwritten only when there's literally no other option available.
❌ Don't add images that are side profile shots and have weird head tilts. i.e. PIC #8 The profile images are not about sexy eye looks, and right/left profile side being better looking than the frontal view.
❌ Don't add profile images which are more wide than they are long. Small rectangular shapes. i.e. PIC #9 It shouldn't be a landscape profile image.
❌ Don't add profile images that are nude or partially nude. i.e. PIC #10 Keep the profile images PG-13 and leave the fan-service options for another place.
❌ Don't add full body shot images that are so long, they cover their entire acting career list on their profile pages. i.e. PIC #11 Long profile images will get cut off when presented as a thumbnail in cast lists and actors' lists, making them thus unrecognizable. i.e. PIC #21
❌ Don't add blurry, pixelated, granny, and/or low quality images. i.e. PIC #12 Celebrity "looking better" or having a "better pose" in the picture cannot compensate for the low quality of the image, making them then unrecognizable to other regular users looking at their profile or checking them out in the cast lists.
❌ Don't add profile images that contain any type of borders. i.e. PIC #13
❌ Don't add profile images that are circular and are missing a lot of the background. i.e. PIC #14 This rule can be overwritten only when there's literally no other option available.
❌ Don't add profile images that are crowded; those that contain a lot of other people behind the person. i.e. PIC #15 The focus will be lost on whose profile image you're looking at.
❌ Don't add profile images in which you can't even see the face of the person at all. i.e. PIC #16 This rule can be overwritten only when there's literally no other option available, as is the case with original creators and crew members.
❌ Don't add profile images that contain any kind of writing/watermark/text on the image, especially if it obscures the face of the person. i.e. PIC #17
❌ Don't add profile images that have very busy backgrounds. It diverts the attention from the person in the image. i.e. PIC #18
❌ Other beautiful examples of bad profile images can be seen in PIC #19.
❗️❗️Pro-pro tip = Instead of focusing all your attention and getting angry because your submission got rejected after you've tried to change your favorite celebrity's profile image because it's (God forbid) two months old, check out the other 7000+profile images on MDL. They're all crying for your attention and love. There's always plenty of them to go around that anyone can hop on the train and fix at least a few images every day.
021. Chinese: Traditional or Simplified
Chinese is a special "language", isn't it?! It has so many variations, romanizations, readings, this and that, and it can make your head combust trying to figure out what's what. It can all a bit overwhelming. We understand. So today's MDL tip is gonna focus on how you can correctly write the main names, native names, and AKA names of titles that are produced and released in China/Hong Kong/Taiwan.
❌ Don't add Simplified Chinese as the native name if the title is from Hong Kong or Taiwan.
❌ Don't add Traditional Chinese as the native name if the title is from China.
❌ Don't add Mandarin Pinyin as the main name if the title is from Hong Kong or Taiwan.
❌ Don't add Cantonese Pinyin as the main name if the title is from China.
❗️It's mandatory for every title from China/Hong Kong/Taiwan to have both the traditional and simplified Chinese names added along with their pinyin in the designated fields.
❗️The naming convention and order for every country should be followed as shown below.
❗️China title :
Main Name = Mandarin Pinyin OR official English name
Native Name = Simplified Chinese
AKA = 1. Literal English name, 2. Mandarin Pinyin (only if the main name has the official English name),
3. Traditional Chinese
❗️Hong Kong title :
Main Name = Cantonese Pinyin OR official English name
Native Name = Traditional Chinese
AKA = 1. Literal English name, 2. Mandarin Pinyin, 3. Cantonese Pinyin (only if the main name has the official English name), 4. Simplified Chinese
❗️Taiwanese title :
Main Name = Wade Giles OR official English name
Native Name = Traditional Chinese
AKA = 1. Literal English name, 2. Mandarin Pinyin, 3. Wade Giles (only if the main name has the official English name), 4. Simplified Chinese
EXAMPLE (with official English name):
❗️China title :
Main Name = Drunk to Love You
Native Name = 咕咚咕咚喜欢你
AKA = 1. Gudong Gudong Like You, 2. Gu Dong Gu Dong Xi Huan Ni, 3. 咕咚咕咚喜歡你
❗️Hong Kong title :
Main Name = Drunk to Love You
Native Name = 咕咚咕咚喜歡你
AKA = 1. Gudong Gudong Like You, 2. Gu Dong Gu Dong Xi Huan Ni, 3. Gu Dung Gu Dung Hei Fun Nei, 4. 咕咚咕咚喜欢你
❗️Taiwanese title :
Main Name = Drunk to Love You
Native Name = 咕咚咕咚喜歡你
AKA = 1. Gudong Gudong Like You, 2. Gu Dong Gu Dong Xi Huan Ni, 3. Ku Tung Ku Tung Hsi Huan Ni, 4. 咕咚咕咚喜欢你
EXAMPLE (without official English name):
❗️China title :
Main Name = Gu Dong Gu Dong Xi Huan Ni
Native Name = 咕咚咕咚喜欢你
AKA = 1. Gudong Gudong Like You, 2. 咕咚咕咚喜歡你
❗️Hong Kong title :
Main Name = Gu Dung Gu Dung Hei Fun Nei
Native Name = 咕咚咕咚喜歡你
AKA = 1. Gudong Gudong Like You, 2. Gu Dong Gu Dong Xi Huan Ni, 3. 咕咚咕咚喜欢你
❗️Taiwanese title :
Main Name = Ku Tung Ku Tung Hsi Huan Ni
Native Name = 咕咚咕咚喜歡你
AKA = 1. Gudong Gudong Like You, 2. Gu Dong Gu Dong Xi Huan Ni, 3. 咕咚咕咚喜欢你
022. Networks
Some fields on MDL seem to be straightforward, but having a reminder here and there from time to time is not such a bad idea. (: Today we're covering networks, streaming rights, licenses, and original labels, so follow along to better understand this field and what's the purpose and difference between the "Network" field and "Where to Watch" section.
❌ Don't add a network just because it says on a particular streaming site it's their Original.
❌ Don't add a network if it didn't air on the same day as the premiere date of the title.
❌ Don't add in the Network field all the places where a particular title is airing or will air in the future, if they didn't produce the title.
❌ Don't mix up the Network field and "Where to Watch" section on MDL.
❌ If a title already finished airing, and then it starts airing on a particular streaming site months later, don't add that network in the Network field, just because it has the label Original on that streaming site.
❗️The Network field is meant only for the original network which produced and originally aired the title.
❗️The Network field is meant only for the first network that aired the title, not for all subsequent networks which air the title the next week/month/year.
❗️The Network field can have the first network on which the title aired and also another network on which the title aired, if it aired within the same day but at a different time.
❗️A streaming site having the label Original on a particular title does not mean they produced it or that they're the ones that originally aired the title.
❗️Streaming sites buy licenses to stream a particular title, but that doesn't always necessarily mean that they've produced the title.
❗️The section on MDL, which says "Where to Watch" is where you list all the streaming sites where it says Original on their site and a place where users can navigate through to find where they can watch the show.
❗️❗️Pro tip:
>> The networks you see on the main official poster of a title are usually the ones that produced the title, have the exclusive rights to the title and the rights to air/stream on their respective network.
>> For Korean titles, look for the label 채널 or on namu.wiki site it will say above the poster "network 드라마".
>> For Chinese titles, look for the label 网络播放平台.
