Video fanworks include fannish videos of all types: fiction, nonfiction, and everything in between. The Add New Video form will lead you through getting your video posted to the SWG archive.
Much of the Add New Video form will include optional fields. The only required fields are the title, summary, rating, and the video itself. Optional fields include Character, Genre, and Relationship. We recommend filling in all of the fields as accurately as possible, as this will help readers to find your video when they search for specific fanworks.
The directions below will lead you through each field on the form and how to fill it out. You'll notice that most fields also have help text on the form itself.
Creating a New Fanwork
Title. Type in or paste the title of your video here.
Beyond the Silmarillion Fanwork. If you meet the membership criteria for our Beyond the Silmarillion section, you will see a checkbox here to mark if you video is a Beyond the Silmarillion fanwork.
Source Text(s). Checking the Beyond the Silmarillion Fanwork checkbox above will allow you to choose the Tolkien text(s) or adaptation(s) that your video is based on. If you used an adaptation (film, game, etc) that is missing from the list, use the Moderator Request field below to request to have it added. Hold down CTRL (PC) or Command (Mac) to select more than one source. This field is not available for videos intended for the main SWG archive.
Co-Creator. If another creator contributed to this video, you can add them here. Note that only co-creators who are also SWG members can be added. Begin typing their SWG username and choose it from the dropdown.
If you have multiple co-creators on this fanwork, you can click the Add Another Item button to add additional co-creators.
Important Note: Adding a co-creator does not automatically give them edit access to your fanwork. If you want to grant edit access, you'll do that after saving your video, on the Access Control tab on the next screen. See the access control FAQ for more information.
Language. This field will default to English, so unless you are posting a video in a language other than English, you can skip this field. To change the language, begin typing the name of the language (in the language itself, not in English) and choose it from the dropdown. If the language has not been added yet, you can type it in now to add it.
Please note that only real world languages should be added to this field, not imaginary languages like Quenya and Sindarin.
Summary. The summary is a required field. Provide a brief summary of what the video is about. Information unrelated to the summary--challenge prompts, credit for art or sound effects used in the video, et cetera--can go in one of the notes fields below.
Major Characters. Major characters are those who are a focus of your video or, in the case of a narrative, drive the storyline forward. Characters whom you select here will appear in listings of fanworks, in the fanwork information section at the top of the video itself, and in search results for the character.
If you want to select more than one character in this field, hold down CTRL (PC) or Command (Mac) on your keyboard as you select characters. If you need a character who is not included on the list, you can use the Moderator Request field, discussed below. Please note that there are several broader labels to apply to non-Tolkien characters or characters who are unnamed in the texts:
- Agender Unnamed Canon Character
- Unnamed Canon Character
- Female Unnamed Canon Character
- Historical Character(s)
- Legendary/Mythical Character(s)
- Male Unnamed Canon Character
- Nonbinary Unnamed Canon Character
- Original Agender Character(s)
- Original Character(s)
- Original Female Character(s)
- Original Male Character(s)
- Original Nonbinary Character(s)
- Other Fictional Character(s)
- Real Person(s)
Minor Characters. Videos might include characters in a background or supporting role who, while they do not drive the story forward or form the focus of the video, creators wish to list. These characters should go in the Minor Character field. They will not be included in listings of fanworks but will appear in the fanwork information section at the top of the video itself. They will show up in search results for that character.
Try not to belabor who "counts" as major and who counts as minor. There are no hard rules around the use of these fields, and you should trust your judgment as the creator as to which characters are central to your fanwork and which occupy a supporting role.
If you want to select more than one character in this field, hold down CTRL (PC) or Command (Mac) on your keyboard as you select characters. If you need a character who is not included on the list, you can use the Moderator Request field, discussed below.
Major Relationship. Similar to major characters, a major relationship is the focus of your video. Relationships included in this field may be romantic/sexual or platonic. We follow the wider fandom convention of using a slash (/) to denote romantic/sexual relationships, an ampersand (&) to denote friendships, and a plus sign (+) to denote queer platonic and other relationships, where the line between friendship and romance may be blurred. If a relationship in your video includes both romantic and another relationship between two characters, please use the slash designation. For example, if your video focuses on how the friendship between Fëanor and Nerdanel evolved into a romance, label this video "Fëanor/Nerdanel."
To add a Major Relationship, begin typing the name of one of the characters in the relationship and select the relationship you want from the dropdown. Note that, within a relationship, characters are listed alphabetically. For example, if your video explores the four-way friendship between Celegorm, Curufin, Angrod, and Aegnor, the relationship is listed on the site as "Aegnor & Angrod & Celegorm & Curufin."
Information entered in the Major Relationship field will appear in listings of fanworks, in the fanwork information section at the top of the video itself, and in search results for the relationship.
If you want to add more than one Major Relationship, use the Add Another Item button. If you need a relationship that is not included on the list, you can use the Moderator Request field, discussed below.
Moderator Request. If a character or relationship in your video is not on the list, you can use this field to request that the moderators add them. Note that we only add canon characters from Tolkien's works, and we use the names listed in the "Index of Names" in The Silmarillion. If you do not need a character or relationship, leave this field blank. If you would like us to add the character or relationship as a minor character or minor relationship, indicate this in your request; otherwise, all characters and relationships will be added in the major character and relationship fields.
Genre. Select one or more genres that describe your video. If you want to select more than one genre in this field, hold down CTRL (PC) or Command (Mac) on your keyboard as you select genres.
Topic. If you select "Nonfiction/Meta" in the Genre field, you will have the option of choosing one or more topics as well. Hold down CTRL (PC) or Command (Mac) on your keyboard to select more than one.
Rating. This is a required field. Note that "Creator Chooses Not to Rate" is an option if you prefer not to rate your video. More on ratings can be found on our Ratings and Warnings policy.
Important: Due to our webhost's Terms of Service, the SWG archive cannot accept videos that includes graphic depictions of nudity, sexualized nudity, or any depiction of a minor engaged in sexual activity. See our FAQ on adult content for more on how these terms are defined and contact a moderator if you're not sure if your video is eligible for our site.
Warnings. This field lets you choose warnings to apply to your video. This helps visitors who wish to avoid certain types of content to do so (and can also serve as an endorsement for those who enjoy certain content!) If you rated your video Teens or Adult, you must choose at least one warning. Note that the option "Creator Chooses Not to Warn" is an option if you would prefer not to use warnings. You can also choose "Check Notes for Warnings" if the warning you need is not on the list or if you want to provide additional detail or clarification in the notes. Our Ratings and Warnings document provides more information, including definitions of the warnings on the list.
Challenge. If you created your video as a response to one of our site challenges, you can include it here. Doing so will list your video among the responses to the challenge. If you are completing a challenge to receive a stamp, you must label your video correctly here in order for the moderators to give you the stamp you've earned. If you want to select more than one challenge in this field, hold down CTRL (PC) or Command (Mac) on your keyboard as you select challenges. This field is not available for Beyond the Silmarillion fanworks.
Fanwork Notes. Use the Fanwork Notes field to hold notes that apply to the entirety of your fanwork, which may include multiple videos. This field is a good place to include information that you want to be sure your audience sees before proceeding with your fanwork, such as additional warnings, translations, or challenge prompts.
Video. Now that you've added information about your video, you will add one or more videos. The Video section of the form includes several fields as well that you will fill out for each individual video, if you are including more than one.
- Video Title. This is a required field. Input a title for your video here. If your fanwork is a single video, many people choose to simply retype the title of the video here.
- Video Notes. Use the Video Notes field for any notes that you want to appear at the top of an individual video. This field is useful for including information about an individual video that you want your reader to see before proceeding. For example, if a warning applies only to a single video in a multiple-video fanwork, this can be a useful place to include this information.
- Video. You will add your video here. Videos must be hosted on YouTube or Vimeo; we do not host video files on the SWG. Click the Media Add Page link; it will open in a new tab. Paste in the URL for your video on either YouTube or Vimeo. Don't forget to click the blue "Save" button at the bottom of the page once you're finished.
Once you've saved your video, you can close the Media Add Page tab and return to the Video submission form. In the field titled "Use existing media," begin typing the name of the video you just linked. Once you see it on the dropdown list, select it.
If you need to add more than one video, use the Add Video button to add another set of chapter fields. To reorder the videos, drag and drop them in the order you wish to see them presented.
Complete. If your video is finished, check this box.
Authoring Information. If you want to backdate your video, you can do so here. This will prevent a video from showing up at the top of the All Fanworks page and New & Updated Fanworks block in the sidebar and can be useful if you are archiving multiple older videos. Note that dating a video in the future does not schedule it to post; please use this field only for backdating.
Exclude from Most Recent. If you do not want your video to show up on the Most Recent blocks on the front page and sidebar or included in that week's email newsletter, check this box. For example, you might use this field if you are archiving a lot of older fanworks at one time, or if the edit/change you are making to your video is minor.
Multimedia Only. The SWG archive includes a fanwork type called Multimedia that allows creators to combine multiple types of fanworks (e.g., a video with a written transcript) into a single fanwork. If you are adding components to add to a multimedia fanwork and you do not want those components listed on the archive as independent fanworks, check this box. See the multimedia fanwork FAQ for more information on this fanwork type.
Publish. This box is checked by default. If you want to save your video as a draft, you can uncheck this box.
Editing a Video
Once you've saved your video, if you want to make changes to the content you've already entered or add additional videos, you will need to edit the fanwork. To edit a fanwork, you can use the My Fanworks page and click the pencil icon next to the fanwork you want to edit, or you can view the fanwork and use the Edit tab at the top of the fanwork.
