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📽️ Featured Media Candidates

Featured media candidates are files that the community reviews and votes on to determine whether they represent the finest on Wikimedia Commons. This page lists the files nominated to become featured media. The media of the day is selected from among the featured media.

Old candidates for featured media are archived here.

Guidelines for nominators

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All files are eligible except for static two-dimensional images (such as jpeg, png, tiff, non-animated svg), which should be nominated at Commons:Featured picture candidates.
All other non-static or interactive files are welcome here, such as video (ogv, gif, webm, svg), audio (oga, ogg, flac, wav) files and pdfs of books or journals if presented in their entirety and readable/browsable on Commons, example.


Rules for videos
The following characteristics should be considered for nominating video:
  • File format: Video is compressed using Theora or Webm, for digital videos is at least 1280x720 pixels or equivalent, for older videos is at least 640x480 pixels.
  • Stable image: Video is not excessively shaky and appears to have been shot using a tripod or other stabilizing device.
  • Composition and camera movement: The style of these videos are intended to be simple and clean. No quick zooms or handheld walk-throughs. Any movement within the frame (panning, tilting, or zooming) should be done slowly so that the viewer is able to focus on the detail of the images.
  • Visual clarity of subject: Main subject of the video, as well as specific shots, should be in focus and well lit (not over or underexposed). Compression quality should also be considered, with the video appearing to be clear and free of pixelated video that may be the result of choosing a low compression quality.
  • Highly illustrative: The video should have a focus and clearly represent a characteristic of the subject.
  • Free of distractions: Video does not contain noise or images that distract the viewer from the primary subject.
  • Color: Should not be over or under saturated.
  • Audio: If there is narration or relevant ambient noise, it should be at a consistent level throughout the duration of the video. Captions in the video's original language are recommended, but not required.
Rules for sounds
A sound selected as featured media is a recording of a musical performance, an environmental field recording, a voice recording, or similar that exemplifies our very best work. In addition to the requirements for all sound files, it has the following attributes.
  1. Public domain / free license. The recording and its subject are available in the public domain or under a free license. For recordings of music, remember that just because the underlying composition is out of copyright does not necessarily mean the recording is as well.
  2. Recording quality.
    • The recording is of a reasonable technical quality for the period when it was performed. For modern videos, a minimum resolution of 640 x 480 is suggested. For modern digital recordings of music, a minimum bitrate of 128 kbps is suggested because with a slower bit rate, naturally, less data is transferred. Thus, sound and image quality are reduced.
    • If applicable, the performance is of high quality. It is neither amateurish nor otherwise problematic unless the historical merit makes up for these. If the recording is of a natural subject, it should be a good representation of the topic.
    • The recording should be reasonably complete. For example, a recording of bird song should be long enough to give an idea of how it varies, and a recording of a piece of music shouldn't cut out suddenly half-way through a piece. Exception: A recording of a single movement or extract from a longer work is acceptable, so long as it can stand by itself, although the full work is still preferred.
  3. Caption. The description provided on the candidate page should be sufficient to clearly identify the subject of the recording, so that it may be used in the featured media portal for that purpose. For music, this generally means at least the title of the piece, the composer, and the performer. If opus numbers or other schemes are in use for this piece, please include them. Unfortunately, unlike featured pictures, we can't rely on thumbnails to identify the file. Any language may be used (some sort of method for switching between languages will be sorted out later).
  4. Sound description page. The page contains an extended description of the file, including (as far as is possible):
    • (i) a brief description of the subject;
    • (ii) the date and venue of the recording, where known;
    • (iii) Background information, such as the company which released it, or the person who arranged for it to be recorded, in sufficient detail to put the recording in context
    • (iv) where known, a list of any editing that has been applied to the excerpt that was not in the original, such as noise reduction or click removal. Be aware that in some countries a restoration can gain a new copyright.
    • (vi) for a musical performance, the name and years of the composer (and the arranger, where relevant), the year of composition (and the arrangement, where relevant), the name(s) of the performer(s) or, for an ensemble, the name of the group and, where relevant, the conductor and soloist (where information is unavailable, such as for some historical recordings, provide as much as is known).
Rules for 3D files
Discussion text to be put into box.
Rules for animated files (incl. animated videos but not 3d files)
Discussion text to be put into box.

Adding a new nomination

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If you believe that you have found or created a media that could be considered valuable, with appropriate media description and licensing, then do the following.

Step 1: copy the file name into this box, after the text already present in the box, for example, Commons:Featured media candidates/File:filename.ogg. Then click on the "create new nomination" button.

Single files:

For renominations, simply add /2 after the filename. For example, Commons:Featured media candidates/File:Foo.webm/2

Step 2: Follow the instructions on the page that you are taken to, and save that page.

Step 3: manually insert a link to the created page at the top of Commons:Featured media candidates/candidate list: Click here, and add the following line to the TOP of the nominations list:

{{Commons:Featured media candidates/File:Your media filename.webm}}

Strongly recommended: Please add a categories from the list at Category:Featured media.

Voting

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  1. Editors whose accounts have at least 10 days and 50 edits can vote. Everybody (except anonymous IPs) can vote for their own nominations.
  2. The voting period is 28 complete days (4 weeks) counted from the nomination.
  3. A candidate will become a featured media if it receives at least five  Support votes at the end of the voting period, and if the ratio of supporting/opposing votes is at least 2/1 (a two-thirds majority).
  4. Only two active nominations by the same user (that is, nominations under review and not yet closed) are allowed.
  5. Nominators and authors can withdraw their nominated files at any time. This is done by adding the following template: {{Withdraw}} ~~~~.
  6. Anonymous (IP) votes are not allowed, but they may nominate files.

You may use the following templates:

  • {{Support}} ( Support)
  • {{Oppose}} ( Oppose)
  • {{Neutral}} ( Neutral)
  • {{Comment}} ( Comment)
  • {{Info}} ( Info)
  • {{Question}} ( Question)
  • {{Request}} ( Request)

You may indicate that the media has no chance of success with the template {{FMX|reason - ~~~~}}, where reason explains why the media is clearly unacceptable as an FM. The template can only be used when there are no support votes other than the one from the nominator.

A well-written review helps participants (creators, nominators and reviewers) improve their skills by providing insight into the strengths and weaknesses of a media. Explain your reasoning, especially when opposing a candidate (which has been carefully selected by the author/nominator). English is the most widely understood language on Commons, but any language may be used in your review. A helpful review will often reference one or more of the criteria listed above.

Unhelpful reasons for opposing include:

  • No reason
  • "I don't like it" and other empty assessments
  • "You can do better" and other criticisms of the author/nominator rather than the media

Remember also to add your signature (--~~~~).

Above all, be polite

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Please don't forget that the media you are judging is somebody's work. Avoid using phrases like "it looks terrible" and "I hate it". If you must oppose, please do so with consideration. Also remember that your command of English might not be the same as someone else's. Choose your words with care.

Happy judging… and remember... all rules can be broken.

Useful tools

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Shortcut

1. Video2Commons, is a tool to upload videos from url/your computer to Wikimedia Commons, it automatically converts the video to a Commons compatible format. It includes functions such as removing audio, subtitles, video.


2. VideoCutTool, a video editing tool that aims to provide various different types of editing processes on videos that are currently in Wikimedia Commons.

See also

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Table of contents

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 Watch to get notifications of new candidates! 
 Purge this page! 

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File:202 Svartifoss long exposure timelapse Video by Giles Laurent.webm

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Voting period ends on 7 Feb 2026 at 20:47:36
To visit the nomination page click here.

File Location File location
 Support Neutral Oppose


File:Call of Brown boobook (Ninox scutulata) from South Bengal.wav

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Voting period ends on 5 Feb 2026 at 13:59:21
To visit the nomination page click here.

File Location File location
 Support Neutral Oppose


File:All Quiet on the Western Front (1930, sound version).webm

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Voting period ends on 1 Feb 2026 at 15:46:20
To visit the nomination page click here.

File Location File location
 Support Neutral Oppose


File:We Are Charlie Kirk - SPALEXMA.wav

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Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes.Voting period ends on 12 Jan 2026 at 02:14:31
To visit the nomination page click here.

File Location File location
 Support Neutral Oppose


 Comment Beautiful song and audio quality is good too. But I wonder if AI-generated content acceptable in FM ? There is no mention in the guideline though. Paramanu Sarkar (talk) 15:56, 17 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

  •  Support It's rare that we have modern songs in the public domain and fairly rare that AI songs go viral. -- JayCubby (talk) 01:43, 19 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  •  Oppose FMC is in a tricky position, which is a nontrivial part of why I'm not terribly active here. One of the things that makes FPC interesting is we have many contributors here capable of producing professional-level photographs to consider. But the state of video on Commons is so impoverished, and we have so few contributors capable to producing high-quality content, that it seems like any work by a notable creator/artist defaults to promotion, and anything with professional skills behind it defaults to promotion. So we get random music videos from YouTube B-listers in some cases and now viral slop. Yes, it's a notable track, and if Wikipedia had an FMC equivalent I could see folks supporting it there, where encyclopedic value is paramount. Here, educational value counts, but it's more about featuring excellent media on its own terms, and I just can't see supporting the promotion of something like this as among the best work on Commons. — Rhododendrites talk |  20:44, 20 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

File:053 Pod of Spinner dolphins swimming in the Indian ocean Video by Giles Laurent.webm

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Voting period is over. Please don't add any new votes.Voting period ends on 11 Jan 2026 at 23:28:47
To visit the nomination page click here.

File Location File location
 Support Neutral Oppose



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The Bot

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Unfortunately, the Bot doesn't work any more and the used who installed it has been blocked indefinitely for fraudulent behavior. All nominations must be processed manually. There are currently no plans to fix the Bot or install a new one.

Manual procedure

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Any experienced user may close requests.

  1. In Commons:Featured media candidates/candidate list click on the title/link of the candidate media, then [edit].
    Add the result of the voting at the bottom (on a new line with a space first)
    {{FMC-results-reviewed|support=x|oppose=x|neutral=x|featured=("yes" or "no")|gallery=xxx (leave blank if "featured=no")|sig=~~~~}}
     (for example see Commons:Featured media candidates/File:Tverskaya Street in Moscow, Russia (May 1896).webm). See also {{FMC-results-reviewed}}.
  2. Also edit the title of the candidate media template and add after the media tag
    featured or not featured
    For example:
    === [[:File:example.ext]] ===
    becomes
    === [[:File:example.ext]], featured ===
  3. Save your edit.
  4. If it is featured:
    • Add the media to the list of the four most recently featured media of an appropriate category of Commons:Featured media, list as the first one and delete the last one, so that the number is four again.
    • Also add the media to one of the Featured media galleries corresponding to the list you just added it to. Place the new FM at the top of a section, unless the sections are sorted by year or some other obvious order.
    • Add the template {{FM_promoted|featured=1}} to the media description page.
      • If it was an alternative media, use the subpage/com-nom parameter: For example, if File:Foo.webm was promoted at Commons:Featured media candidates/File:Bar.webm, use {{FM_promoted|featured=1|com-nom=Bar.webm}}
      • If the media is already featured on another wikipedia, just ignore that and add the template.
    • Add == FM promotion ==
      {{FMpromotion|File:example.ext}} to the Talk Page of the nominator AND {{FMpromotedUploader|File:example.ext}} to the talk page of uploader.
  5. As the last step (whether the media is featured or not; including {{FMX}}ed, {{FMD}}ed and withdrawn nominations), open Commons:Featured media candidates/candidate list, click on [edit], and find the transclusion of the nomination you've just finished closing. It will be of the form:
    {{Commons:Featured media candidates/File:example.ext}}
    Copy it to the bottom of Commons:Featured media candidates/Log/January 2026), save that page, and remove it from the candidate list.

Archiving a withdrawn nomination

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  1. In Commons:Featured media candidates/candidate list click on the title/link of the candidate media , then [edit].
    In the purpose that the FMCBot will not mark withdrawn nominations with a "to be reviewed" template and put them in Category:Featured media candidates awaiting closure review just like if they were on the usual list, put the following "no" template:
    {{FMC-results-reviewed|support=X|oppose=X|neutral=X|featured=no|gallery=|sig=--~~~~}}
  2. Also edit the title of the candidate media template and add after the media tag
    not featured
    For example:
    === [[:File:example.ext]] ===
    becomes
    === [[:File:example.ext]], not featured ===
  3. Save your edit.
  4. Open Commons:Featured media candidates/candidate list, click on [edit], and find the transclusion of the nomination. It will be of the form:
    {{Commons:Featured media candidates/File:example.ext}}
    Copy it to the bottom of Commons:Featured media candidates/Log/January 2026), save that page, and remove it from the candidate list.
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