What Information Is Included In An Opening

Sequence/Titles Of A Film?

This is the distribution company. It may be a studio or independent distribution company and it may or may not have financed the making of the movie. Sometimes it is listed in the same text as the rest of the credits. It could be a logo of a standalone clip, such as the MGM lion roaring.

Studio or Distribution Company

Films are usually produced under a business entity that finances motion pictures; this may be an independent company, studio or a subsidiary. The director or producer’s personal production may also have acquired the source material, such as a book or a play, upon which the movie is based, and could get a production company some credit here.

The Production Company

In the making of the movie there might be several production companies taking part. They are listed here, after the distributor and the primary production company, studio or studio subsidiary

In Association with So-And-So Company

Today, audiences are used to seeing the director’s name before the film title.

Some directors have developed such a well-known style and audiences will have specific expectations when seeing the director’s named in front of the title.

However, if the director is only hired to direct the film without developing it from their early vision there is no point for them to place their name before the title of the film.

A Director’s or Producer’s Name

Before the title, one to three actors are listed, this is like the position of the director’s name as people came to see the film due to the stars in it

True movie stars transcend their producers and directors as the public are more interested in who stared in the film than who directed or produced it

The Movie Stars

This is basically the feature film’s title that the public came to see and it is featured on the screen on its own

The Film Title

After the title of the film, sometimes the leading actors are presented on their own “title cards”

Or sometimes in twos or threes together on the screen if their characters have similar amounts of screen time or are have an equal status in the film

The Top Cast

Other actors get listed next, if they have significant parts or are recognisable names

Often several actors get featured on the same title card

Supporting Cast

An actor or actress of some renown may have a small part in the movie. He or she might get a “with” credit here

Often these credits go to actors who “used to be” somebody years ago, still have a recognizable name, but are no longer box office draws.

The “With” Actor

A step up from the “with” acting credit, the final title card for the cast is reserved for the actor who has a meaty part in the movie, but not a leading role.

It’s where the elder statesman is listed, the uber-star.

Many times the character’s name is listed here as well

The “And” Actor

The casting director is the person whom finds all the right actors for the film and puts the cast together, if not the lead actors, all the supporting cast

Casting Director

May be listed as Music Composed by, or Original Score by, or even just Music by

Movies which contain a vocal song, which is perhaps performed by a well-known artist or group, this is sometimes included as part of this title card

Music Composer

The production designer is responsible for the physical look and feel of the movie

He/she works to achieve the director’s vision of the sets, locations, costumes, hair, makeup, special effects, colours and tone

Production Designer

The art director oversees set design and construction, decorating or set dressing, props, signage and modifying locations

Sometimes the art director is pushed to the end credits

Art Director

The set designer may be listed in the opening credits if a movie makes use of a lot of sets, instead of on-location shooting.

However, this is sometimes another one of the credits that gets rolled at the end of the movie

Set Design

Someone designs the clothes for the whole cast, makes or buys them, or at least guides the actors if they are bringing their own modern-day wardrobe on low-budget productions

Their work is evident in sci-fi period movies, but even modern-day films need the skills of a talented costume designer to make the cast look good, and right for their parts

Costume Designer

Makeup is sometimes listed in the opening credits if the movie relies on makeup for special effects or advanced aging of a lead character.

Lots of stars have their own personal hair and makeup artists. When there are several of these, most of the time they are listed in the end credits and not in the opening

Hair/Make Up Artists

The sound recordist is hardly ever noted in the opening credits anymore, despite the fact that movies are a combination of picture and sound

Sound Recording

A movie may contain dozens of visual effects shots that the audience never notice, such as digitally changing license plates on cars or signs on walls, or making it look like the scene was shot in New York instead of on a street in Hollywood.

Visual effects can even digitally removing a pimple from an actor’s face that makeup couldn’t hide. These are all visual effects, along with the space ships, demons, monsters and fantasy worlds.

The Visual Effects Supervisor will work on-set with the director and director of photography to help set up shots that will be digitally manipulated in post-production.

During the post phase, the VFX Supervisor will oversee all the specialists who work on the digital shots, such as animators, compositors, rotoscopers and graphic artists.

Visual Effects Supervisor

The Editor takes the pieces of film or digital files and assembles them into the story that becomes the movie.

He or she makes the editorial decisions about which shots to use, often in conjunction with the director, producer and studio executives.

Editor

The DP heads up the camera crew. He or she will oversee the lighting, camera set ups, lens choices, filters, equipment and sometimes even the framing of all the shots, depending on the director. The DP is essentially 2nd in command on the set, beneath the director.

Sometimes the cinematographer is listed earlier in the credits. Typically he or she is listed just before the producers, writers and director.

Director of Photography

Producer titles have become extremely ambiguous. The Producers Guild of America has been trying to standardize the roles of the different types of producers, and even limit the number of producers eligible to be considered for Academy Awards.

Historically, the Executive Producer was the person who put the project in motion, either by acquiring the rights to a book or play or person’s life story, or by financing the production or bringing together the financing from investors or a studio.

The EP often does not participate in the day-to-day production of the movie, but may oversee Producers who do.

Executive Producer

The Producer runs the operation of the movie -- making hiring decisions, budget planning and expending, and supervising the cast and crew from pre-production to production and through post-production.

In addition to the Producer, there may also be Co-Producers, Line-Producers, Supervising Producers and Production Supervisors. These have defined roles (at least theoretically) by the Producers Guild, a trade organization.

Associate Producers are supposed to be sort of junior producers. Above an assistant, with some specific production responsibilities, but without full authority. However, in practice over the years, the Associate Producer credit has been handed out like candy as a perk to whoever the Producer wants or needs to give it. Girlfriends, mistresses, lazy nephews and entourage hangers-on have been named associate producers.

Producer(s)

If the movie is based on another artistic work. This credit is often listed underneath and in smaller font size than the screenwriter.

Based on the Novel by

Someone may have come up with the original story but didn’t write the screenplay, or wrote it with another writer. This credit acknowledges the contribution of the scenarist.

Story By

The Writers Guild of America, West, dictates that the screenwriting credit shall be Written By, instead of Screenplay By.

There can only be up to three writers credited for the screenplay. However, a writing team is considered “one” credit, so in practice there can be more than three names in the Written By credit.

In the case of multiple writers working on the screenplay (at different times, usually), the names are listed chronologically from top to bottom. The original writer would be credited first, and below him or her the subsequent writers.

When teams are involved, the WGAw helps identify them through the use of “and” versus an ampersand. For example, if John Smith and Jane Doe worked together as a team, and then Frank Fellow was hired later to polish up the script, their credits would be listed as follows:

Written byJohn Smith & Jane DoeandFrank Fellow

The amperes and indicates that John and Jane worked as a team, while Frank wrote alone and on a subsequent draft from John and Jane’s.

Written By

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) permits a movie to list only one director, even if two or more worked on it. A team is considered one directing credit, such as Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

Except in very rare cases, such as the death of a director during production, only one directing credit is listed.

The Wizard of Oz had five directors, including Richard Thorpe, the original who was fired after two weeks, George Cukor, who sort of babysat the production briefly until Victor Fleming was assigned. Fleming directed most of the movie, until he left to direct Gone With The Wind upon which King Vidor came aboard to finish, directing the Kansas scenes and Producer Mervyn LeRoy later directed some pick-up shots.

But only Victor Fleming got the directing credit. Because just like a ship can have only one captain and a kitchen one chef, a movie can (usually) have only one director.

And once the director’s name shows on screen, it’s time to start the movie.

Directed By