Yesterday we launched an Indiegogo campaign for something we're calling IMVDb Production. It's a free web app integrated with IMVDb's database that is designed specifically for people making music videos, allowing anyone from a director to a produer to a DP to find people and resources. From our collection of videos (which is nearing our 20k milestone), credits (close to 60k), to our system of linking users to database entries via a verification process, we believe IMVDb is the place where an application like this can be developed and thrive.

Instead of charging for it, we're crowd-funding the first version with a 45 day Indiegogo campaign. Check it out for a message from Doug, as well as an overview of what we want this application to be able to do.

Over the course of the campaign, I'm going to be taking a look at some features that we have planned for IMVDb, checking them out in-depth and talking a little bit about why we think they'll be useful. To start us off, we're going to take a look at a feature that will be at the core of IMVDb Production, professional profiles.

There are a lot of production sites on the web right now that offer you the chance to create a profile with information about the services you offer as a music video crew member. So, the fact that we want to create another place where you add information about yourself might seem redundant at first.

However, IMVDb Production is designed to tap into the IMVDb database, which contains a large amount of data that can make it easy to set up a professional music video profile (and a lot easier to maintain it). For instance, you'll be able to post a demo reel and then add a list of videos that are in the reel. Using IMVDb data, we can display a list of videos and credits adjacent to the video so that viewers have some more information on who you've worked with and what the videos in your reel are.

Your entire IMVDb credit history will be available on your professional profile, of course, but we can also pull in your frequent collaborators, most popular projects, view stats, and more. The database has information on what projects you've worked on and with who, so you'll able to pull together a detailed profile very fast.

What you display is also up to you and what you want to tell other members about your work. If you are a DP you might want to put your technical bio and reel up front, as well as a list of directors you frequently work with. If you are a director, you may want to highlight a particular music video that you think is best representative of your work, with some director notes to go along with it. And as the database grows, your crew credits will continue to grow as well.

In addition, you'll have the option of displaying some practical information as well. Where do you live and where do you regularly travel to? Where are you now? How can someone on IMVDb Production contact you?

Of course a great profile won't be worth anything unless someone looks at it, which is why IMVDb Production will feature fine-grain advanced searching that is not available on the public site. More about that next week.

In the mean time, check out our Indiegogo campaign, and if it feels like a worthy project to you, help us fund development with a contribution. We've added some perks in there (including my favorite, the IMVDb-branded hand sanitizer), so besides the web app, you won't go empty handed!

Adam Fairholm is the co-founder and lead developer of IMVDb. You can find him on twitter at @adamfairholm.