Anyone know Movie Credits?

[J. Cody Lucido]

Can anybody point me in the right direction to find out the standard order of film credits?

I would like to know who is generally in opening credits and who is at the end.

Also I would like to know the order they generally flow.

I realize that there are always unusual circumstances in ordering of names (i.e. previous agreements, star billing) , but I would like a general outline.

Thanks in advance.

[Keith Loh]

I've been looking for the past 10 minutes (nice challenge) but all I've been able to dig up is this Salon article.

http://archive.salon.com/ent/feature/1998/10/09feature.html

I'll keep on looking.

[Keith Loh]

BBC TV guidelines:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/credits/closingcreds.shtml

Huh. The writer is credited last. Yuck.

[Dylan Couper]

If in doubt, go in this order :)

Opening credits
The people who put up the money to have the movie made (usualy the studio/producres, sometimes your parents).
The actors, in order of ego, that starred in the movie.

Closing credits:
The actors, in order of ego again, so they can see their name twice.
Cameo appearances by actors that had one hit in the 70's and are now broke so you could pay them with a case of beer and some lottery tickets.
Then people that get paid the most or are related to a Coppola.
Then people that do stuff on computers. You don't want to pish them off, what with them being able to destroy your credit over the internet and all.

From this point on it doesn't matter, since the audience has left except for that one nerd who wanted to know who the 2nd camera's focus puller was. But for the sake of your underpaid illegal alien crew being able to go "Look mom, there I am!" you could arange the rest in order of who showed up clean and sober the most. Then the people you didn't pay at all, but still helped in some way, like a "Thanks to (INSERT WASHED UP 80'S CHILD ACTOR HERE)'s dealer for keeping him on his feet when we needed him."

The director gets a hand in editing and thus gets to put his name wherever he wants, based soley on his ego, but never before the producers/studio if he ever wants to make another movie again!

Don't take this post too seriously. ;)

[J. Cody Lucido]

Thanks Keith - I found opening and closing at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/credits/

I wonder if this varies much from Hollywood standards?

The salon article was good too. I think this will help.

It is kind of odd that such a thing we are all used to (especially us in the biz) doesn't have a more solid listing.


Dylan - LOL and yet sadly true ;)

[Martin Munthe]

Keith,

"Huh. The writer is credited last. Yuck."

The European/BBC television tradition is to credit the writer last. Being the last in a TV credit in Europe means being number one. Much like opening titles in the US. Often the end credits stop rolling on the last person which means you get a few secs of freeze frame all to yourself if your the writer. Typical of TV. Does not apply to European motion pictures.

[Charles Papert]

The various guilds have mandates about credits. The Director's guild, for instance (DGA), has specific requirements for the director being the last credit at the head of the opening titles, and 1st and 2nd assistant director (AD's) getting their own title card at the end. If a film intends to deviate from this by not having any titles at the beginning, they have to petition the appropriate guilds.