Development of a website to introduce Bollywood films to the public
Сreated the largest catalog of Indian films with a unique rating system
Entertainment
USA, India
2024
About the client
A businessman from the USA who loves Bollywood movies. He wanted to create a platform where fans of Indian cinema like himself and professional film critics could share detailed opinions about their favorite movies.
The client contacted us to develop a catalog of Indian films, the likes of which have not yet been seen either in the United States or in other countries.
There are many websites where films from all over the world are collected, but there is no website with the complete collection of Bollywood films only and with the possibility of flexible movies evaluation.
To develop a full-fledged catalog of films with different rating systems that will attract fans and film critics from all over the world.
In order to achieve this goal, we need to:
1. Make a modern and close to the Indian user and the moviegoer design.
2. Think over the catalog structure and each page, where all the project functionality would be appropriately placed.
3. Implement the functionality of evaluating and reviewing films.
4. Select and configure a web framework to ensure the project scalability so that it can grow and develop with an increase in the number of users and movies in the catalog.
The film evaluation and review system that the client came up with
Before the film release
The user can make Predisctions about the film success in box office and its quality.
After the release
The user can evaluate film quality in one of three or all the evaluation methods that are presented on the site at once.
Ways to rate movies for users:
1. Composite Rating. There is a list of 13 criteria for each film, according to which the user can give a score from 0 to 10 points. According to the same system, each actor, song, performer, author and composer can be evaluated.
This is the most detailed way to rate movies on the site. It may be interesting to viewers who are well versed in cinema, and film critics.
2. Rankings. The film evaluation according to the same 13 criteria and the musical component evaluation with a simplified scale. The user can set one of three reactions — Best, Ho-Hum, Worst.
When the scale is smaller, it is easier to choose a grade. Therefore, fans who share their opinion on all aspects of the movie, but do not want to think about it carefully, will rather use this method of assessment.
3. Flat Rating. The ability to give an overall rating to the film from 0 to 10. The simplest action that can still affect the film rating on the site, but does not require time and effort from the user.
Solution
To create a multifunctional catalog of films using the Laravel PHP framework, which will make it easy to scale the project, ensure the stability and security of the site.
We have created an intuitive film catalog structure, thanks to the division into categories and genres. Also on the site there is an opportunity to find a films list where one or another actor has acted.
The site’s design has been adapted to modern web standards and elements familiar to Indian users.
The project turned out to be really interesting and voluminous. It all started with the creation of one template for the film page and several more auxiliary pages, where basic information about the film would be posted, collected from Wikipedia and other specialized sites using parsers. But over time, each film has at least 8 page templates designed for detailed evaluation, adding predictions about the future film success and possible box office receipts, as well as for a simplified rating version and other purposes.
One of the main difficulties encountered is the lack of a clear understanding from the customer of what result he needs. Because of this, the plan for future work was repeatedly redrawn, and the release dates shifted. But, nevertheless, the site still saw its users and now continues to improve and change in order to become better and more interesting.
Another difficulty is the difference in cultures and user habits, which made some of the design solutions we proposed ineffective for an audience from India. But we were lucky that the client was familiar with another culture, so he directed us in the right direction.
Implemented features
Somindram catalog
Automatic movie catalog replenishment
To update and supplement the catalog, we have coded several parsers. They work in automatic mode and run as the background process with a certain frequency. At the same time, the site admin can also add and edit information about movies manually.
Parsers collect information about films, actors and musical compositions from movies on the site. Information is collected from Wikipedia, Bollywood Hungama and other relevant resources.
Thus, we have created the most comprehensive catalog of Indian cinema, starting with the movies of the 1930s.
The main blocks on the home page
Home page
The home page is the first thing users see when they get to the site, so it should immediately interest them.
On the first screen user can see the trailer of the most recent movie at the box office. Under the trailer all information about the movie (Movie Title Bar or MTB) is placed: a section with the movie title, actors, director, release date, film duration, a block in the video review and a block with ratings or user predictions, depending on the release date of the film.
Below are sections with other new films, movies that will be released soon, as well as top comedies, romantic dramas and action films. The admin can flexibly change the set of sections.
The film description on the page
Movie page
The page contains full information about the film: the creation history, box office estimates and budget, a list of locations where filming took place and other data that are of interest to real Bollywood fans.
The forecasts page
Forecasts for new films
This page is interesting for users who like to predict how successful a movie will be after release.
Here the user can guess how successful (in %) the film will be, and also try to predict the box office.
Movie rating page
Movie rating with a flexible and point-based rating system
Each movie has a minimum of 30 criteria that the user can evaluate. For example, the script, the work of the director, the work of the cameraman, the film creation story, musical accompaniment, battle scenes, choreography and much more.
This approach, according to the author of the idea, allows you to get the most objective and accurate film assessment, as well as to engage the user in the evaluation process.
Movie rating page
Movie rating with a simplified rating scale
This section is interesting for users who do not like to think about accurate estimates, but just want to share their opinion on how good or bad a particular film was.
A fan or critic can give one of three ratings: Best, Ho-hum and Worst for each criteria on the page. We can assume that this is a simplified version of the rating page for novice fans.
Actor / Musician’s page
Actor / Music artist’s page
Actors and musical performers in Bollywood films are key characters. We have provided separate pages for each artist.
On the actor/musician’s page, you can find biographical information, information about his awards and works — films where the actor starred, and tracks that were used in a particular film.
A comments page
User comments
Almost every page has a section where any registered user can leave a comment.
To make it convenient, we have collected all the comments on the comments page, which every movie has. There is also a tab on which all critics and fans reviews about the film are posted.
Users can rate comments and reviews, as well as join the discussion.
User’s page
The user personal page
The user’s personal page contains system information: password, username, nickname, as well as statistics on rated films.
The user can also get the “Contributor” role to suggest changes on the site.
There are also additional sections on the contributors and moderators personal pages with information about the offers (contributions) that these users have left.
Stages of work
Design
When developing the design, we focused on sketches/prototypes from the client and took into account his knowledge of Indian culture. This helped to create a design concept that matches the tastes and preferences of users from South Asia.
Layout
Backend
At the backend, the developers made several parsers, thought through a complex data storage structure and developed a system for making changes to the site content by users.
Anyone with the role of “Contributor” can suggest changing the image or text on the movie page, and other users can rate this offer. The most patched is then placed on the page.
Testing
Only manual testing was used on the project, but now we are in the processof creating autotests, which will help speed up and simplify the site features functionality verification.
Results
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Developed the most comprehensive catalog of Bollywood cinema
We have developed parsers that made it possible to fill the site with content automatically.
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The first users left feedback
The project was launched in a demo version and the client attracted acquaintances and friends to evaluate the product quality. Thus, we received the first feedback from real users, took into account the problematic issues, and were happy that everything else had been worked out.
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We are preparing the project for the influx of users
We continue to develop the site and prepare it for the official release. Such thoughtful evaluation functionality should appeal to real fans of Indian cinema and attract a large audience.
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