The night-watch scale
How grades work
A BarkMarks grade is a weather report for the living room: how packed the bark bait is, and how sharp it is — not whether the movie is any good.
The five grades
- Quiet
A calm night in.
Mostly peaceful. Maybe a tail twitch.
- Wiggle
Treats nearby, just in case.
A few triggers. Expect some pacing.
- Alert
Good night for a hallway patrol.
Regular bark bait. Plan a break.
- Howl
Walk first, then press play.
Dense triggers. The living room will notice.
- Full Bark
Or just put on a nature documentary instead.
A concert of chaos. Headphones for the dog, maybe.
How the score is built
Every mark has a weight based on how likely it is to set a dog off. We add those weights up, then divide by the title's runtime in hours — so a seven-minute Bluey isn't scored like a two-and-a-half-hour Dune. The result lands on Quiet through Full Bark.
Think density plus severity, not a lab exam. The cutoffs are a working scale we use in this demo, not a scientific guarantee that your particular hound will (or won't) lose it.
Trigger categories
Heavier categories — especially barking on the soundtrack and doorbells / knocks — pull the grade up faster than a generic startle.
Animals on screen
A solid nudge when these stack up.
Doorbell / knock
Heavier — pulls the grade up faster.
Barking audio
Heavier — pulls the grade up faster.
Sirens
A solid nudge when these stack up.
Kids in distress
Lighter — still counts toward density.
Other
Lighter — still counts toward density.
Grade vs timestamps
The grade is the overview: should you press play, walk first, or pick something quieter? Marks are the radar — the HH:MM:SS ranges that tell you when to mute, pause, or step into the hallway.
Use the grade to pick the night. Use the timestamps to get through it.
Help mark the accurate ones
On each mark you can tap Accurate or Not accurate. Votes stay on this device for now. Later they'll help surface timestamps the neighborhood trusts — we won't auto-hide anything until that's actually wired up.