Movie collection cataloging AND sorting

[James]

This is mainly aimed at Ben and Randall, but I thought it might make an interesting public discussion so am posting it here.

Do you guys have any sort of movie cataloging software for your collections? I used to have one when my collection was much bigger but that program is no longer supported. Everything else I've tried is too basic, too ugly, or wants a monthly subscription for the good features!

Libib is the latest one I've tried and it was very close to what I wanted, but I guess I'm just too picky!

At this point I've decided just to write my own web based database so it will have exactly what I want. But when I mentioned going that route the wife asked if I had consulted you guys -- which I thought was a very good idea!

My collection is much smaller now. So this isn't really as necessary. What I mainly want it for is to keep track of things like which version of movies I have so I can see what I have when I'm out shopping so I don't accidentally buy them again! Yes I have Snow White but is it the Signature edition or the Platinum version? Do I have Wreck it Ralph with the lenticular case? BD, 3D, or 4K?

[Randall]

I don't keep a database, only a text listing using Word. I once tried to start a software-based disc database, but it would take ages now to select my over 3000 titles. (Though the extra database features would be convenient and fun.) I'm blessed with a good memory, so I have a good idea of what I already own in my head anyway, though I do make specific comments on my text list to clarify, mostly for insurance reasons. I rarely if ever have to consult my list to see what I have.

[Ben]

This is exactly what "The Disc List" was originally going to be, back in the day.

Firstly, I’d just had a printed list of titles I had, with a few additional details about the edition, but then computers and databasing came along and I thought it would be cool to cross reference so that I could keep track of what I had, but then also select all the films from one studio, animated, by actor or director, etc, for when we wanted to pick a movie or see what we had without going through the discs.

So I asked a pal of mine to write me an XL type program that I could update and add to, with custom fields as well as the basics. The name of this, going back to what I titled my original LaserDisc compilation, was The Disc List.

Except...it never happened. The closest I got was a blank CD one year for my birthday with "The Disc List...coming soon!" written on it as an indication that he was writing the software/app, which was possibly going to be net-based so I could clock in anywhere and see it/edit it as I went (and also for other people to keep track of what I had and what they may like to see).

Needless to say it never happened, and over time various other database and cataloging apps have come along...but I’ve never found anything that is really exactly what that original Disc List would have been. Back in the day I made up concept pages for how it would be presented, how it could be printed out as a physical catalog, etc, but there's not been anything like it to come along!

Some have been close, but they don’t check all the boxes or allow for any custom changes or additions (for instance, for when I add an insert or booklet to a disc, or a ticket stub from when I saw the film in the theatre), and my List now has grown to include CDs, LPs, and other items other than just actual discs, so like associated books and VHS tapes, etc.

Also, my collection has grown rather, um, huge! So going back and cataloging everything again would be a bit of an awesome task (and potential chore!). At the moment, I have 15 differently titled Lists that are basic Pages documents that have the titles of all the discs I own and basic edition info, or if it’s a DVD or BD where there’s basically only one widely available edition.

So my various collections, mirroring how they are mostly stored, include Disney Animation, Feature Animation, Features 1890-1989 (Before Computers), Features 1990-20XX (After Digital) - !! - Music/TV/Documentary, and so on. I keep my 3D and 4K discs in with the regular BDs, but do keep a supplementary list so I know what I have in those formats separately.

It's funny you mention Snow White, since it’s one of those films that has multiple entries across the lists: 8mm print extract, VHS, Masterpiece LD, Platinum DVD, a deluxe Platinum DVD, Diamond BD, deliuxe limited edition Diamond BD set, and the Signature BD, plus a potential bootleg of an unrestored print. If a 4K came along, I’d probably add that, too, not to mention various books and soundtracks on CD and vinyl!

It's cray-cray, but that's not even a patch on the likes of Superman and a handful of other all-format, all-edition releases! So my current Pages version of The Disc List may be basic right now, but it does me for when I’m out and wondering if I need a title again, but like you I’ve never really found the *perfect*, picky and precise kind of thing that would really allow me to tailor my collection and its unique aspects - and look and feel neat and classy scrolling through the titles on an iPad...!

[James]

A year and a half after our move to Orlando, I've finally opened all my movie collection boxes, bought new shelves, and started putting them up! But it got me thinking, what's the best way to put them on the shelves?

Once again, I thought of Ben and Randall. My collection is big compared to most people's, but drawfed by theirs!

So my non-Disney movies are basically just shelved together alphabetically. My Disney collection is sorted into many categories, for example: Classics VHS, Masterpiece VHS, Gold Classic DVDs, Marvel, Disneynature, live-action-movies-based-on-animated-movies, movies-based-on-park-attractions, etc...

So how do you guys decide how to store/sort/display your collections?

(BTW saw this old thread and decided to just edit the title a bit rather than starting a new thread since the topics are kinda related!)

[Ben]

Top to bottom…

I go format first. So all the LDs, all the CDs, the DVDs, tapes, vinyl, etc…

When it comes to BDs and 4Ks, they all go together, since they’re the same size and many have crossover discs in each set.

My shelves are set up to accommodate the size of each format. The only BD/4Ks that don’t get shelved with the regular singles are box sets, which get their own section due to width size on the shelf. Anything over two thick Amaray cases and a slipcase gets put on the "deluxe/boxes" shelves.

Then everything is split into categories: Disney Animation (all WDP, WDFA, WDAS, Pixar and related titles); Feature Animation (everyone else); Feature Films (the biggest section); Silents (to take some discs from filling all the first chunk of the Features!); Music/TV/Documentary (essentially my TV section); and a couple of miscellaneous sections for other things.

Within all those, it's all stored by chronological release date (which takes AGES to do when you’re first starting out!). Titles with sequels or series are anchored to a main title but grouped together (so all Star Wars tied to the 1977 first film), and I have several "collections" within the larger collection, such as for a certain series, star or director.

Everything is then catalogued in my Disc List, under several different categories, in release date order. If two films came out the same date, the one I got on disc first takes the priority.

I find release date order is the best route. I find it pointless putting things by label, which might look nice, but several series are split between distributors, and Criterion may have a bunch of Gilliam films, for example, but not all of them. And I prefer my Hitchcocks all together as opposed to some being with Criterion, some with Universal, some on Warner Archive, etc. Many times the packaging is different between the same labels anyway, so better to have an overarching structure of some kind (for instance, like with the Limited Issues, I prefer to have my three copies of One Hundred And One Dalmatians together rather than one random one elsewhere just because it has a Limited Issue badge).

Release date also trumps alphabetical, since you’ll forever be moving them to add something new in. That’s kind of the same for chronological, but at least newer things can just be added on the ends! And you’ll bump into whether Star Wars goes next to Rogue One or not! I also like the progression of chronological, starting with the earliest titles and ending at the newest, making quicker finding based on roughly when something was made.

Think that’s about it! All the above applies to format, category and titles within sub-cats. I used to do a massive update once a year during the Christmas break, but it got to being two or three times as I got more stuff. Recently, I re-sorted everything into better sections, breaking up the BD/4Ks — now really the only active formats, though I do still pick up the occasional older disc — into decades, so there’s less to shift when a new catalog title comes in, so I’m moving a lot less a lot less times!

Luckily I have the room not to have to crate things up — yet! — although there’s a lot of ingenious use of space. I have a huge library of VHS still, but they’re all "hidden" behind the discs! Meticulous cataloging makes sure I know where everything is. As I get older, I do wonder why I do it all, as no-one else is interested or will be that bothered about a load of perceived "junk". But I love my collection, and I love my organisation of it!

Have fun!

[Randall]

1. Getting back to the original post, I now am using the MyMovies app to catalog my discs. It's not perfect, but it's fun to have a visual representation of what I've got, organized in alphabetical order (with a few blips along the way). It's great to be able to scroll through about 4000 images and remind myself of what I've got.

2. "Drawfed" should totally be a word.

3. As for how I organize my collection... I'd love to tell ya! But it's very complicated. And maybe somewhat messy. It would drive Ben bananas.

I don't have a dedicated Collections room like Ben, so my Collection is somewhat spread out in my basement. It likely seems haphazard, but there is method to my madness.

Like Ben, I organize by format first. Well, generally. Mostly. All LaserDiscs are in, well, actually two spots, as one unit wasn't quite enough. One vertical case has the Disney films first (feature films chronologically, then shorts collections), followed by other animation by studio (Looney Tunes is the next-biggest LD collection). Sci-Fi and other LDs are in another unit.

Many of my DVDs are on built-in shelves in one wall, in two columns. Disney gets two shelves on the left, with the first holding the Treasures sets, and then a shelf of mostly Disney features, though I have sold off most of the animated feature DVDs by now. I do have many classic Disney live action films on that second shelf, though. That second shelf morphs into having other animation on DVD, and continues onto a third shelf - Looney Tunes, Rankin-Bass, Walter Lantz, Chuck Jones, etc., by studio. A taller set of these shelves is to the right, and holds my "heroes of the pulps and comics" DVD collection - movie serials, TV shows, and films starring newspaper strip, comic book, and pulp heroes. Those are organized chronologically by character. The next few shelves have sci-fi, miscellaneous, and then independent animation sets from Thunderbean and Ray Pointer.

But I have way more DVDs than all those, so I have smaller shelving units spread out in the home theatre area. Each of these may have a mix of DVDs and Blu-rays, though, as they are subject-oriented. One holds Hanna-Barbera DVDs (with H-B Blu-rays stacked on top), another has Muppets and Gerry Anderson shows, another has classic sci-fi TV (including all Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, and more - a mix of DVD and Blu-ray), another has Doctor Who and other British shows (plus Babylon 5 and Battlestar Galactica), another unit has anime, and another Godzilla films (chronological) and other Japanese films (with Vincent Price films also getting a shelf or so of their own).

My home theatre unit has towers on either side, with one holding components and books, and the other books and yet more DVDs - some TV shows, some box sets of musicals and the like. A horizontal section above the towers holds all my Ultimate Collector's Edition-type deluxe sets - Oz, Gone With the Wind, Iron Giant, Dark Knight Trilogy, and many more.

My favourite Blu-rays and 4Ks (BDs and 4Ks go together) in many ways are ones for Disney, DreamWorks, DC, Marvel, and other comic book adaptations, so those all go into a spinner rack that I have near the built-in DVD shelves. Animated films are organized chronologically by studio. Superhero films are by character and then chronologically. I also have a shelf under a window in the HT that has George Pal, Ray Harryhausen, Star Trek, Star Wars, Terminator, and Tolkien films all together. More DVD and Blu-ray sets have found their way onto other shelves or tucked away in various spots. Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd are all in one place.

That still leaves tons of discs left over, and a while ago I succumbed to crating them in handy plastic crates that hold about 100 Blu-rays each. I have 21 of these stacked in my home office/library area, and another six in the HT area. Most crates are organized by label - Warner Archive, KL Studio Classics, Arrow, Eureka, Twilight Time, etc. I just like seeing the uniformity of the spines, as most companies have stayed relatively consistent over the years. This way, each crate carries its own aesthetic. Within each crate, most are organized alphabetically, but not all. With WA, I organize by genre. I have a crate of American animated films, so those discs are chronological by studio, though perhaps keeping films in a series together. I also have crates for Filmation and other Saturday morning cartoons, and one for primetime cartoon shows, and another for various other TV shows. One crate holds "great directors," so that has Spielberg, Kubrick, Hitchcock, Lean, Scorsese, and Coppola films all together. In those cases, I obviously ignored boutique labels and got them all in there (except of course where some of those directors' films came in larger box sets). Another crate contains documentary and music discs.

Oh, and I have three other boxes, with DC superheroes on them. Superman has various dramas, disaster films, and Blaxploitation; Batman has Scream Factory/monsters/horror; and Wonder Woman has comedies and musicals (many are Shout Factory discs, plus Warner Bros and others). Discs in these boxes are mostly ones from the major studios (not boutique labels), plus Shout/Scream Factory.

Ben would find my system an awful mess, I'm sure. But it works for me. I know where everything is, and the crates are individually labeled on the outside.

[Ben]

1) I looked at various apps to catalog my stuff, but wanted something that was customisable (to take into account any additions to a title) and would handle various other formats (books!) and trinkets (literally every item, be it a disc or figurine, is listed as it enters the library room). In the end, without building something from scratch — which was probably doable when I first thought about it in the late 90s! — would be way too time consuming now. So I use Pages on the iPad and keep it simple, noting the edition and any specialties specific to that version or my copy particularly. Works for me and I currently don’t need a screen visualisation because I luckily have a library to peruse and see them in!

2) Yes. Yes, it really should.
Can’t believe I missed that, but such was the enthusiasm for jumping into a reply…!

3) I totally get, of course, how and why Rand has to break everything up, but it would indeed drive me bananas. I’d have to come up with a much less-fragmented way to group things…but! I actually do have some dedicated sections like he does, though mine are for several sections where having them within the main Features shelving would swamp those areas. So I have a separate "run" for silent BDs, and then as far as DVD goes, separate shelves for Laurel & Hardy; Charlie Chan; Superman; The Muppets (generally all Henson); Monty Python; The Lord Of The Rings; and my infamous but slightly faded now appreciation for Mariah Carey… ("Carey Corner" has its own tall shelf stacked with CDs, DVDs and BDs).

As said above, within my Features, on DVD and BD/4K, I do have mini-runs for series, stars or directors I group together, so within the Features run, I have stop-offs for the likes of Buster Keaton (and the Silent Clowns), the early Universal Monsters, Marx Bros, Orson Welles, George Pal, Harryhausen, Hammer box sets, Marilyn Monroe, Hitchcock, the Pink Panther movies, Kubrick, Mel Brooks, Woody, Star Wars, Star Trek, Spielberg, Zemeckis, Steve Martin, Tim Burton, View Askew, Marvel, etc… I'm sure I’m forgetting a couple! Within the Features, these are "anchored" to a specific title (Welles to Kane, natch, Monroe to Some Like It Hot, Hitch to Psycho, Kubrick to 2001, Zemeckis to BTTF, etc), so those sections end up feeling like un-boxed box sets. Obviously there are also series sets within those, like the Bonds or Potters, but those are literal boxsets, so usually go in from when the first movie debuted, or on their own bigger boxset shelves.

Naturally you could add more to these, but mostly those parts are for where I have a whole bunch with that specific theme. Even here, there’s inevitable crossover: is Roger Rabbit a Disney or Zemeckis movie? So some precedence has to take effect! Every now and then I rethink the "system" but usually end up resorting back to how I had it, because it just works! Elsewhere, in animation, the chronological method also largely works to keep things like Thunderbeans and Looney Tunes together, since a lot of that material came out around the same time respectively, so they mostly all end up together anyway.

Everyone has a different way and, as long as there is method to their madness, if it works it works! I do like the relative "order" to mine, which only works because I’m lucky to have a dedicated room, but either ordered and structured or ostensibly randomly grouped, you’re going to end up with crossovers and those few titles that just don’t really want to fit in one or other place, or anywhere! Then that’s what the Miscellaneous section is for…!!


EDIT:
James' head is now hurting and he’s wondering why he even asked us in the first place!

[James]

James' head is now hurting and he’s wondering why he even asked us in the first place!

C'mon man, you and I and Randall secretly love deciding how to sort and display our collections!

As I've said before, a few years ago (jeez, maybe a decade or so by now!) I culled my collection and decided to (for the most part!) only keep titles I actually like and not be such a completist for every little thing. So my non-animation collection plummeted to about two waist-high book shelves. While it's up to five waist-high book shelves, it's still small enough that alphabetical order is best for me. However, I was happy to read that Ben does something I long ago started doing too: "Titles with sequels or series are anchored to a main title but grouped together". I was on the fence about that the first time I did it but now agree it's the best way to go.

A few years after down-sizing, I got the idea to attempt to collect every Disney "canon" film (don't love that term in this case) in every version ever released! So that is what takes up the bulk of my collection space now. (I forgot how big VHS tapes are!) When I first started, I grouped them by the film's release date and had all formats and all "lines" mixed together: the Classics VHS of Cinderella next to the Masterpiece Collection VHS of Cinderella next to the Platinum VHS of Cinderella next to the Platinum DVD of Cinderella... and so on. Eventually though I decided that part of the enjoyment of collecting the VHS tapes was the visual of them. I'm not ever going to actually pull one of these off the shelf to watch, they're just a collection I enjoy having and looking at! So after that epiphany, I pulled the major VHS lines out (Classics, Masterpiece, Gold) and displayed them separately. The matching spines look great together lined up on the shelf, making it look like a cohesive collection.

I enjoyed the collection aspect so much, I eventually expanded it to include more Disney things like Pixar, The Muppets, Schoolhouse Rock, "hybrid" movies (like Pete's Dragon, Roger Rabbit, and So Dear to My Heart), and "movies based on park attractions" where I attempt to collect every version. (I actually had Star Wars on that list originally, but apparently they released so many different VHS tapes that it just became too much and I decided I didn't love Star Wars enough to keep spending the money or taking up the shelf space!) For these collections, I display in the film's release date order.

I also started collecting MCU titles and Disneynature, but don't attempt to get every version... though I kinda regret not doing that for Disneynature since those DVDs were available for free on DMI! I accidentally forgot to decline some offers from DMC and got a few of the "live action but based on an animated canon film" discs, so ended up collecting those too even though I don't like most of them!

Here's where we might differ some, though based on his emails I know Randall does this too. I really enjoy "the hunt". For VHS and DVDs, I don't order these online. I want to find them in person! My daughter and I used to take full days where we would hit as many thrift stores as possible searching for them. Buying online feels like cheating! But now that I have so many, it's the rarer stuff that is left so eventually I'll have to go that route to get anywhere near complete.

Now that I'm finally getting these out of their boxes and up on shelves, I've been rethinking how I sort them, thus this thread! I have a lot less room here than I did in Tennessee, so I've bought taller shelves since I can't spread out as much, so I think I'll have room for everything. (Well, eventually... I've only bought half the shelves I need but at least I can start!) But other than having the canon VHS section separated more from the canon DVD section (necessitated more by the physical layout of the room) I think I'll end up having them more or less the same as they were in Tennessee. My only real decision to make, which I was interested to read what you guys said above about, was whether I should mix DVDs with BDs.

Thanks for sharing! While the rest of the forum may look at us like we're crazy for getting so deep in a discussion about how to organize shelves, it's nice to be around others who get that kind of crazy!

BTW, Ben, I keep saying it but it keeps being true! It's uncanny how much we agree sometimes. I also had an "infamous but slightly faded now appreciation for Mariah Carey"! In the early 1990s I was a huge fan and had all the tapes, videos, and CDs! She was kind of "the girl next door" back then. As she got more "diva-ish" my devotion started to wane until now I just occasionally enjoy hearing old songs on the radio but that's it. I wish I had known this earlier. When we were downsizing our possessions when preparing to move to Florida, I think I decided to donate most of my Mariah VHS tapes to a thrift store! Though "Carey Corner" probably already had them anyway!

[Randall]

Another Mariah nut, eh? Uncanny is right. I was always amused with Ben's past fascination with her. I always fancied her, but never have really been into music too much, so never collected her.

Personally - and this is no secret - I LOVE sorting my Collection (and I love my Collection enough to capitalize it!) and talking about it. I do love looking at it, too, and appreciate seeing spines match up, hence sorting often by boutique labels.

I freely mix BD and 4K, but mostly keep DVDs separate due to the height difference.

I could never seek out every release of a title, as my Collection is already too vast. I almost always sell when I upgrade. I do, however, keep all my Disney and other animation laserdiscs, and I have Snow White on DVD, BD, and 4K, too. The only VHS I have left are some Henson, Marvel, DC, and animation titles - maybe 40 altogether.

However, when it comes to Disney records, I collect everything, so I have multiple versions of titles, though one may find the recordings are actually different anyway. Regardless, I love having different jacket art.

I agree that buying stuff online, at least vintage stuff, absolutely feels like cheating. I love buying stuff at cons, record shops, flea markets, etc. You just never know what may turn up during the hunt.

[Ben]

Oh, yeah, DVDs are separate from BD/4Ks. Like, fer shure!

When it comes to your tapes, I totally get that, because they’re a limited run. You’re not going to be adding much if anything to those. In terms of CDs, I do keep my Legacy Collection, er, collection together, as opposed to having, say, the B&TB set next to the CDs I have fir the original soundtrack and the special edition soundtrack. And although technically I should place Toy Story and the 3D Toy Story together, I’ve done those by the original trilogy, so TS, TS2, TS3 and then the three 3D versions and the follow-on titles from there, simply because they look nicer.

A lot of boxset collections have all the sequels in them, so placing standalone sequels next to an original isn’t so different. They’re kind of just missing a slipcase!

Carey Corner is ridiculously stuffed! Audio tapes, CDs, magazines, books, not to say anything about the posters, etc. Had it real bad. I have a couple but didn’t have many VHS…because I had all those titles on LD! I even have the Blu for Glitter! Yeah…don’t judge. I’m still fascinated by her, but the 90s into the mid-2Ks were the highpoints.

I just can’t go with capitalizing the C on Collection, though. Sure, maybe when talking about it as a singular Thing, but just in conversation it sounds hilariously…pretentious, maybe? I mean, as impressive as some of these can be, it’s not like we're the Smithsonian or British Museum…! Now those are Collections!:lol:

And I *LOVE* the hunt! Since I import so much it’s not as easy not to buy online, especially since many of the smaller independent stores even in London have folded and gone during Covid. But whenever I’m out I’m always in the lookout and still do often catch the occasional find; most recently I saw a US copy of a title I was curious about, but they wanted more for it second hand than it would be to buy new, so no sale there, but I’m always looking…and hunting!