This document provides information about film credits and their order and meaning. It explains that distribution companies are usually listed first and may have financed the film. Next are the production companies, followed by any additional production entities. The director and main actors are typically credited before the film title to attract audiences. Other credits include casting, music, production design, editing, cinematography, and various producer roles. The screenwriters and any source material adaptions are also noted. Directing is limited to one or two people maximum per guidelines.

2.  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.

3.  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.

4.  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

5.  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.

6.  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

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

8.  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

9.  Other actors get listed next, if they have
significant parts or are recognisable names
 Often several actors get featured on the same
title card

10.  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.

11.  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

12.  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

13.  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

14.  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

15.  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

16.  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

17.  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

18.  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

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

20.  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.

21.  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.

22.  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.

23.  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.

24.  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.

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

26.  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.

27.  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 by
John Smith & Jane Doe
and
Frank 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.

28.  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.