Billing Credits Analysis
The credits, typically displayed throughout the film opening, inform the audience of the most important contributors during the production of the film. Although there is no one set order in which the names are presented, there are certain rules that most films follow, for example, it is well known that the director of the film comes last, as they are the most important person.
Earlier this year, our Sixth Form visited the BFI in London for a talk about the AS media studies course. The day was run by Tom Woodcock, with other talks and discussions with special guest Dexter Fletcher. One of the many things I had learned from this day, was the conventional structure of a billing sequence. The structure suggested by Woodcock was based upon films such as Donnie Brasco and Gattica, that listed their credits in the following order:
- production companies
- lead actors
- film title
- star credits
- supporting cast
- production credits
- director
When extending my research further, I found that the production credits section sometimes has a particular order too, however, this depends on the rules set by the production company. The majority of billing lists however have little variation, as the job roles have similar levels of importance no matter what film it is.
Despite this, some films are completely unconventional and do not contain billing credits in the opening at all. The Batman film 'The Dark Knight' is an example of this, as the film jumps straight into the action with no conventional introduction into the film. The reason for this is to create a greater impact on the audience by throwing them straight into the action and not obscuring it with having text appearing over the events taking place.
Earlier this year, our Sixth Form visited the BFI in London for a talk about the AS media studies course. The day was run by Tom Woodcock, with other talks and discussions with special guest Dexter Fletcher. One of the many things I had learned from this day, was the conventional structure of a billing sequence. The structure suggested by Woodcock was based upon films such as Donnie Brasco and Gattica, that listed their credits in the following order:
- production companies
- lead actors
- film title
- star credits
- supporting cast
- production credits
- director
When extending my research further, I found that the production credits section sometimes has a particular order too, however, this depends on the rules set by the production company. The majority of billing lists however have little variation, as the job roles have similar levels of importance no matter what film it is.
Despite this, some films are completely unconventional and do not contain billing credits in the opening at all. The Batman film 'The Dark Knight' is an example of this, as the film jumps straight into the action with no conventional introduction into the film. The reason for this is to create a greater impact on the audience by throwing them straight into the action and not obscuring it with having text appearing over the events taking place.
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