The Title Manager app is designed to ease the transactional entry of title registration information. If you need to register many titles from a catalog or import list, we provide an alternative means of getting titles into our system.
Title metadata may be submitted via an Excel spreadsheet by email. These titles will be ingested and processed by the Title Registrar, and added to your account. You can then use the Title Manager application to review and update the titles, and to pay for registration. Note that this spreadsheet can be used only to create abstract titles (root records).
You may download the spreadsheet template from the link at the bottom of this article. Once completed, the registration spreadsheet can be sent to bulkreg@TitleRegistrar.com.
Detailed instructions are provided below.
Introduction
The Title Registrar’s Web interface is designed for registering records for EIDR IDs one at a time, a few at a time. For larger or more frequent data sets, it may be more convenient to submit records in a flat file (Excel) registration format. This document provides instructions for filling out and submitting bulk EIDR ID registrations.
There are a few simple steps:
- The prospective registrant provides descriptive metadata for one or more audiovisual works in a standardized Excel spreadsheet template.
- The registrant submits the completed spreadsheet as an email attachment sent to bulkreg@TitleRegistrar.com. NOTE: Be sure to use an email address associated with your Title Registrar account.
- The Title Registrar processes the spreadsheet and returns an email with a cost summary.
- The registrant logs into the Title Registrar Web site to pay the outstanding charges.
- The Title Registrar processes the records and returns the IDs to the registrant via email.
The descriptive metadata required varies based on the type of record being submitted. At present, the Title Registrar bulk EIDR ID registration process supports:
- Basic stand-alone records such as films, documentaries, shorts, etc.
- Finished works with stable descriptive metadata (title, director, cast, etc.).
All "required" fields must be provided. If there are any problems with the submission, the Title Registrar will contact the registrant to resolve them.
Filling Out the Registration Template
Obtain a Registration Template
Start by downloaded the latest release of the registration template appropriate for the kind of record(s) you are registering. The template may be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this article. Templates are currently available for:
- Basic stand-alone records v9.2
Fill in the Record Details
Add a row for each submitted record on the first spreadsheet tab, “Basic (Stand-Alone) Records.”
- Each record must be in its own row.
- Processing will begin with the first data row and will continue until the first empty row.
- Required fields (columns) have a red “Required” header. These fields must be populated with valid entries for each data row.
- Optional fields have a green “Optional” header. These fields may be left empty. If they are filled in, then they must be populated with valid entries.
- Some data points can occur more than once per record (e.g., Original Language) while others can occur only once (e.g., Duration). Repeating fields have a number in their name (e.g., “Original Language 1”).
- You can add more repeating columns, as necessary, so long as you follow the established naming/numbering convention.
- When providing values in a repeating column, begin filling in from the left (lowest column number first) so that any blank cells are to the right.
- Each data point must be in a separate field. For example, if there is more than one Director, each must be entered in a separate column. They cannot both be entered in the same cell.
- Do not change the column order, other than to add repeating columns in numeric order.
- Do not repeat a particular value more than once per record (e.g., do not list the same Title more than once; you can list the same Original Language more than once so long as each entry has a different Language Mode; you can have two Directors, so long as they have different names; etc.).
- Do not include formulas or cells with special formatting. All entries must be plain Text.
- The assigned EIDR IDs will be returned in the identified EIDR ID column at the right edge of the spreadsheet, along with any error messages or notes.
Individual Data Requirements
Basic Stand-Alone Records
Unique Row ID
Required. An alphanumeric string, unique within the spreadsheet. This could be the registrant’s house ID for the submitted record or a simple integer record number. The same value cannot repeat in this column, but could be re-used in other registration spreadsheets (e.g., if using a simple record number) and could appear in other columns (e.g., if using the registrant’s house ID that also appears in the same record as an Alternate ID).
Mode
Required. Select from “AudioVisual”, “Visual”, or “Other”. Most records will be “AudioVisual”. Use “Visual” only when there is video but no sound.
Work Type
Optional. Select from the following list:
- AD – Commercials, advertising films, and other supplemental materials (Supplemental)
- FF – Feature Film (Movie)
- TF – TV movie or Telefilm (TV)
- DO – Documentary (TV)
- ED – Educational (TV)
- SH – Short (Short)
- NE – News (TV)
- LV – Live Event (TV)
- PF – Performance, e.g., dance, music, stage productions, etc. (TV)
- SP – Sporting Event (TV)
- TE – Television Entertainment not otherwise listed (TV)
Work Kind
Optional. Select from “L” (for Live Action), “A” (for Animated), or “LA” (for a mix of Live Action and Animation).
Year of Reference
Optional. The four-digit year (“yyyy”) of production or copyright as it appears in the credits of the work, from 1896 to current year +1.
Release Date
Required. The full date (in the format “yyyy-mm-dd” or “mm/dd/yyyy”) or four-digit year (if the full date is not known) of the work’s original release or first public presentation, either actual (in the past) or anticipated (up to 10 years in the future). May or may not be the same as the Year of Reference.
Duration
Required. The approximate running time of the work in minutes or seconds expressed as a positive integer number, rounding up if necessary.
- Zero (“0”) is not allowed.
- For works produced for television broadcast, you may use the scheduled time slot duration if the actual running time is not known.
Time Unit
Required. The unit of measurement used when recording the Duration. Select from “MIN” (for minutes) or “SEC” (for seconds). Most records will use MIN.
Original Title
Required. The name by which the work was (or will be) first known in its original release in its home territory, presented in mixed case without trailing articles. Full support for Unicode characters is provided.
NOTE: If there are more Original Titles than available columns, then add additional Original Title columns as necessary, incrementing the number by 1 each time. See Adding Additional Columns, below.
NOTE: If a work was known by multiple titles in its original release, select the most prominent of them and list it first. This will be used as the EIDR Resource Name. All other Original Titles and any Alternate Titles will be recorded as EIDR Alternate Resource Names.
Original Title Language
Required. The language code for the language of the Original Title.
- In most cases, an ISO 639-1 2-character alpha code (in lowercase letters) will suffice.
- Use ISO 639-2 3-character alpha code (in lowercase letters) if a 2-character code is not available.
- Use BCP 47 (RFC 5646) language codes to express non-standard scripts, regional dialects, etc.
- If the language cannot be determined, use “und” for “undetermined.”
NOTE: This is the language of the title itself, not the language spoken in the home territory or the dominant language in the work itself (though they are often the same).
Original Title Class
Optional. Select an entry from the Title Class list. For Original Title, this will most often be “release”. Leave blank if unknown.
Alternate Title
Optional. Supports multiple entries. Additional name(s) by which the work was (or will be) known in different markets, distribution channels, at different points in time, in different languages, etc. The presentation order does not affect registration or de-duplication. Full support for Unicode characters is provided.
NOTE: Please include all known names for the work without repeating any of the Original Titles. This is vital to ensure proper de-duplication across territories and over time.
NOTE: If there are more names than available columns, then add additional Alternate Title columns as necessary, incrementing the number by 1 each time. See Adding Additional Columns.
Alt Title Language
Required if the corresponding Alternate Title exists. Supports multiple entries, one per Alternate Title. The language code for the language of the Alternate Title. See Original Title Language for notes on language codes.
Alt Title Class
Optional. Supports multiple entries, one per Alternate Title. Select an entry from the Alt Title Class list. For local territory titles, this will most often be “regional”. Leave blank if unknown.
Original Language
Required. Supports multiple entries. The language code for the most prominent language expressed (spoken, written, or signed) in the work in its original form.
- See Original Title Language for notes on language codes.
- Script codes are not valid for spoken languages (i.e., it is not possible to speak in Cyrillic).
- If there are no spoken or signed languages, then record the written language (of the credits, intertitles, etc.).
- If the language cannot be determined, use “und” for “undetermined.”
- If there are no spoken, written, or signed languages, then use “zxx” for “no linguistic content.”
NOTE: If there is more than one prominent language in a work, then add additional Original Language columns as necessary, incrementing the number by 1 each time. See Adding Additional Columns.
Language Mode
Required. Supports multiple entries, one per Original Language. Select from “Audio” (for spoken languages) or “Visual” (for signed or written languages).
NOTE: Each additional Original Language column must have a companion Language Mode column.
Country of Reference
Required. Supports multiple entries.
Country Type
At least one Country of Reference required. Supports multiple entries, one per Country of Reference. Most entries will be PRO – Country of Production (i.e., where the main production company’s headquarters are located).
Company
Optional. Supports multiple entries. The name(s) of the production or distribution companies associated with the work.
Company Role
Required if the corresponding Company exists. Supports multiple entries, one per Company. Select from “producer” or “distributor”. Producers are preferred. Include as many as apply.
Company Party ID
Optional. Supports multiple entries, one per Company. If available, provide the EIDR Party ID associated with the Company. If your company does not have an EIDR Party ID, open a help desk ticket with us, and we can work with EIDR to get you one.
Metadata Authority Party ID
Optional. Supports multiple entries. If applicable, provide the EIDR Party ID associated with any Company that asserts to possess complete and accurate descriptive metadata for the identified work and agrees to assist with its maintenance in the future.[6]
Color Kind
Optional. Select an entry from the Color Kind list.
Credits
Optional. Supports multiple entries. The names (as credited) of the people who participated in the creation or presentation of the work, one per Credits entry, presented in mixed case.
- Arrange the entries so that the more prominent or important Roles are listed first.
- List the credits in each category (Role) in first billed order.
Role
Required if the corresponding Credits exists. Supports multiple entries, one per Credits. Most entries will be either ACT for Actor or DIR for Director.
Alt ID
Optional. Supports multiple entries. A unique identifier associated with the submitted work other than an EIDR ID. For example, the registrant’s house ID(s) or IDs from AlloCiné, BFI, IMDb, Lumière, Wikidata, the work’s production company(ies), etc. One per Alt ID entry.
Type
Required if the corresponding Alt ID exists. Supports multiple entries, one per Alt ID. Select from the following list.
- Ad-ID (ADID)
- Baseline (PROPRIETARY, gracenote.com)
- cIDF (PROPRIETARY, npo-ba.org/cid)
- CRID (same)
- DOI (same)
- GRid (same)
- IMDB (same)
- ISWC (Proprietary, iswc.org)
- ISRC (same)
- IVA (PROPRIETARY, internetvideoarchive.com)
- SMPTE-UMID (UMID)
- TVG (PROPRIETARY, tvguide.com)
- UPC (GTIN)
- URI (same)
- UUID (same)
- URN (URI)
- Proprietary (PROPRIETARY) – Requires a Domain
- CNC (Proprietary, cnc.fr)
- REGID (Proprietary, custom per registrant) – Requires a Domain
NOTE: “Proprietary” is a standards organization term of art. It does not imply that the associated ID is confidential; simply that it is not part of a recognized formal or ad-hoc international standard. Such IDs then require a unique domain to identify the issuing organization.
Domain
Required if the corresponding Alt ID Type is “Proprietary” or “REGID”. Otherwise, leave blank. Supports multiple entries, one per Alt ID.
The registrant’s house ID(s) are coded as “REGID” with the associated Domain set to the standard Internet domain of the organization (e.g., citwf.com, lumiere.obs.coe.int, etc.). Any other ID Types not explicitly identified in the Alt ID Type list are coded as “Proprietary” with an identifying Domain.
If the same organization has more than one ID type, then add a clarifying domain suffix (e.g., disney.com/MPM-P, disney.com/MPM-I, disney.com/ProductID; or bfi.org.uk, bfi.org.uk/gifford).
Relation
Optional in most cases. Supports multiple entries, one per Alt ID. If the relationship between the provided Alt ID and the work being registered is not one-to-one (“IsSameAs”) then you must include a clarifying Relation to indicate how the registered work is related to the provided Alt ID.
- IsSameAs
- IsEntirelyContainedBy
- ContainsAllOf
- IsPartiallyContainedBy
- ContainsPartOf
- IsDerivedFrom
- IsSourceOf
- HasCueSheet
- Other
NOTE: The Relation would be expressed in a sentence as “Submitted Record Relation Alt ID”, e.g., “Submitted Record is a derivative work of (IsDerivedFrom) the work identified by the provided IMDb ID.”
Description
Optional. A free text description of the submitted work, up to 128-characters long.
NOTE: This is not a synopsis. It is clarifying information about the work that will assist in manual de-duplication or will provide clarifying information for later discovery. For example, “Double-shot in Hindi (this version) and Tamil.” or “A composite movie made from Space 1999 episodes.”
Description Language
Required if Description exists. The language code for the language of the Description. See Original Title Language for notes on language codes.
Registrant Extra
Optional. Any additional information that will help identify/clarify the submitted record. Free text up to 128-characters long.
Operator's Notes
Optional. Special processing notes. This is informational only. It is not included in the record submitted for registration.
Assigned EIDR ID
The assigned EIDR ID will be returned to the registrant in this column. It should be left blank on submitted spreadsheets.
Registration Errors & Notes
If an ID cannot be assigned by one of the Registries, or there are issues with a submitted spreadsheet that prevent it from being processed further, any error messages or notes from the The Title Registrar or EIDR will be returned in this column. It should be left blank on submissions.
Code Tables
The second spreadsheet tab, “Code Tables,” is provided for your reference. It includes the allowed values for each field with a controlled vocabulary. Other fields are free-text. Please refer to the applicable Code Table entry when providing values for the associated fields.
NOTE: Code values are case sensitive.
If you do not use one of the allowed values, then your submission may be rejected.
Adding Additional Columns
Please provide as much information about each record as possible. The spreadsheet template comes with a default number of columns for values that can potentially repeat. If there are more columns than you need for a particular record, leave the extra ones blank. If you need more, add them to the spreadsheet in order following the established naming convention.
For example, if you need a second Metadata Authority, add a new column immediately to the right of the existing “Metadata Authority Party ID 1” and name it “Metadata Authority Party ID 2”.
Most repeating columns come in sets. For example, “Country of Reference 1” and “Country Type 1”. If you need an additional Country of Reference, add two columns immediately to the right of the existing “Country of Reference 1” and name them “Country of Reference 2” and “Country Type 2”, respectively.
If you do not follow the established naming conventions, then your submission may be rejected.
Submitting the Registration Template
When all of the metadata for all of the submitted records have been filled in, save the file using a unique and descriptive file name, retaining the Excel file extension. For example, a file name that includes the submitting company’s name, type of records being submitted, and the submission date.
NOTE: Do not simply re-use the original Excel template file name.
Attach the file to an email and send it to bulkreg@TitleRegistrar.com using the email address identified on the spreadsheet’s Contact Details tab. All other communications should be directed to support@titleRegistrar.com. Retain a copy of your submission email until you have received your IDs.
NOTE: Attach only one registration template per email. Material in the body of the email may not be read by the automated processing system.
The assigned IDs will be returned to the submitting email address, along with any automated communications.
Paying for Your Registrations
Before submitting a Title Registrar registration request, you must first register your email address by setting up an account with The Title Registrar. You will then use the same email account when you submit your registration requests. (You may register as many email addresses as you like, so long as the email address matches the email address you use for the submission.)
- Go to the Title Registry's Login Page and fill out the New Customer Sign-Up form.
- Enter your email address in the lower half of the window and press the Create Account button.
- The New User Registration form will open.
- Fill in the required fields (marked with red)
- Click the Captcha box to acknowledge your humanity
- Fill in your selected Password and press the Submit button.[7]
- A pop-up message will appear saying that a confirmation email has been sent to you. Click OK.
- Go to your email in box and open the message called “Registration Verification”.
- Click on the indicated link to confirm that this is your email account.
- A new browser page will open where you enter a Captcha code.
- Press the Validate button.
You now have a registered email address and valid Title Registry account and can submit bulk EIDR ID registration requests.
- After you submit a registration request, you will receive an email summarizing the EIDR registration charge for your submissions.
- If your submission was rejected, please correct the identified errors and re-submit the registration template.
- If the summary statement indicates nothing is owed, your EIDR IDs will be sent to you automatically. Otherwise, your registrations will be held until you pay for them.[8]
- To pay for your registrations, click on the link in your summary statement or go to the Title Registry Login Page.
- When you are logged in to your Title Registry account, click on Check Out (upper right in the menu bar).
- You will see a list of all of your outstanding charges.
- If you do not wish to register any of the listed records, un-check them and they will be deducted from the amount owed.
- When you are happy with the list of charges, press the OK button and enter your credit card information, then press Pay.
- Once you have paid for your registrations, the selected records will be processed.
- After the pending registrations have been processed, you will receive an email from the Title Registrar with an updated copy of your registration template, now containing all of your assigned EIDR IDs.
If you have any questions, you can open Help Desk ticket with Title Registrar Support.