Internet Movie Firearms Database

The Internet Movie Firearms Database (IMFDb) is an online database of firearms used or featured in movies, television shows, video games, and anime. A wiki running the MediaWiki software, it is similar in function to the (unaffiliated) Internet Movie Database for the entertainment industry. It includes articles relating to actors, and even some famous characters, such as James Bond, listing the particular firearms they have been associated with in their movies. Integrated into the website is an image hosting section similar to Wikimedia Commons that includes firearm photos, manufacturer logos, screenshots and related art. The site has been cited in magazines such as the NRA's American Rifleman and True West Magazine and magazine format television shows such as Shooting USA on the Outdoor Channel.

History
Launched in May 2007 by "Bunni", The Internet Movie Firearm Database (IMFDb) was originally set up to help identify the use of firearms in Hollywood films. For the first few months of its existence, it listed only a dozen films including The Matrix, Platoon and Pulp Fiction. As the site grew, so did its content. In June 2007, the site began to list television shows as well as films. The site has since been expanded to include pages for video games and anime.

Today the data base has grown to list over 2,600 films, nearly 500 television shows, over 450 video games and close to 200 Anime series.

The site has been used as a reference source by the owners of several shooting ranges located in Las Vegas, Nevada. After hearing customers ask to rent certain types of firearms used in movies and video games, the owners of the range used IMFDb to research the weapons in question.

Structure and content
The database is set up to help curious moviegoers find out what firearms are used in various films. The site features many images of actual weapons used in films. IMFDb is able to get these images because many of its largest contributors are weapons masters working in Hollywood.

Movies
Movie articles on the site typically include a list of the firearms in chronological order of their appearance. As part of each entry there is a text description of the firearm. Text sections also describe its use and/or significance to the scene or movie if integral to the storyline and which characters used the firearm. The provenance of the firearm may also be described to include other movies that had similar firearms or this particular firearm. One example of this is the 1887 Winchester Lever Action Shotgun which was featured prominently in the 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day (as can be seen in the movie's poster) and then made an appearance in the 1999 movie Wild Wild West.

Following the text are one or more stills showing the firearm in action /and/or which characters used it. The photos will often show original forms of the firearm along with variant versions.

Television shows
Television show article are typically quite lengthy as the shows often had numerous episodes over several seasons such as Gunsmoke that ran for twenty years. These articles are generally organized in one of several ways. One is to list all of the firearms (alphabetically) used in the series and then credit in each description the episodes it appeared. Another is to list the firearms chronologically by episode or season if they appear in a consistent manner. Another is to group the firearms by type (i.e. pistols, rifles, sub-machine gun, etc.) then describe their story and character use and episode credits.

Video games
Video game articles are much like the ones for movies and television shows with regard to the information included. There is no consistent format as they appear to follow the conventions used in the movie as well as the television show articles. Firearm provenances provided are for other games in a single series such as the James bond themed 007 or Resident Evil game series.

Anime
Anime (Japanese animation) articles are formatted much like the other categories of articles, but present a unique circumstance in the identification of firearms used. Anime, unlike live action media, is drawn and as such may draw upon a variety of sources. Generally speaking any firearm, from any era, in any variant (actual or possible), with any accessory, capacity, or configuration is fair game for inclusion. This assumes that due sometimes to the crude or unrefined drawing style of the animators that identification of the firearms is possible.

Exclusions

 * One particular category of arms that is not intended to be a part of the database are fictional firearms. For example, weapons that are beyond current technology such as laser (as the projectile), plasma, and/or nuclear particle (i.e. photon, etc.) devices are typically not accepted by the contributors of the site. Often this category of fictional weapons is associated with video games and anime, but some movies (science fiction in particular) contain these as well. In these instances, the devices that represent actual firearms or hypothetical future evolution of current firearms are represented.


 * As the database primarily relates to small arms, categories of large destructive devices are excluded as well. One such example would be an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).


 * No homemade films are permitted.

Exceptions

 * Exceptions to the exclusions above are small arms that although they represent fictional arms are constructed using actual firearms (modified or original) even if the projectile is completely fictional. An example would be the blaster rifles from the Star Wars movies. These devices fire bolts of energy in the movie, but the firearm it is based on is the British made Sterling SMG sub-machine gun. Another example would be in the 1999 movie Wild Wild West where a powered (automatically revolving) Gatling gun is used, but this evolution was not realized until 1946. Gatling guns of the movie's time frame were exclusively operated with a hand crank.


 * One possible explanation is the customary practice by Hollywood weapon masters to ensure that the weapons can achieve the director's goals in terms of appearance and function and that they meet the continuity requirements for the production.