Database of scene-by-scene actors appearances?

July 25, 2016 10:44 AM

Is there a database that could tell me which actors are currently on-screen for a specific movie at a specific timecode? Ideally one that allows public access or is crowd-sourced?
posted by soundslikeobiwan to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

This only partly meets your criteria, but Amazon has creating something similar to what you're looking for called X-Ray. While watching a movie, you can see what actors are in the current scene, and you can also go from an actor page to the scenes the actor is in.

I don't know what your end game is, so this may be totally useless, but it's in the same ballpark as what you're looking for, so I thought I'd mention it.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 1:54 PM on July 25, 2016

X-Ray is also available on the Fire Phone, with Firefly. It will make an audio ID of the content you're watching, and show you the currently on-screen actors.

Of course, you have to find a Fire Phone.
posted by bowbeacon at 2:12 PM on July 25, 2016

Response by poster: X-Ray sounds like exactly the application I was hoping to invent. I just wasn't aware it even existed. I was hoping to get Netflix or Tivo to implement it. Does Amazon have a patent on the idea or something? Why don't all smart TVs implement this?
posted by soundslikeobiwan at 9:00 PM on July 25, 2016

Why don't all smart TVs implement this?

Because it is annoying as heck to have it pop up every time I move my foot on the ottoman, which is where the mouse happens to be. If you decide to go forward with your idea, please put in the ability for the end user to disable it. Just like we can disable Subtitle tracks if we choose not to see them, we should be able to disable any feature that gets in the way of the movie.
posted by CathyG at 12:12 PM on July 26, 2016