meet the credits for a student motion picture or a small independent moving-picture show can be a jolly easy task : shed a few figure onto the screen and you ’re done . But up to 300 the great unwashed could be part of the crew on a big - budget movie , some of whom might have monolithic self to go with their massive paychecks . The process of set up together a credit chronological sequence can be a frail ( not to mention time - consume ) job . The photographic film ’s producers – the ones who oversee the whole undertaking and control the purse strings – are in commission of resolve whose names go where in the credit .
As a principle , the most important cast and crew members are featured in the possibility credits , and every exclusive person who cultivate on the picture show is list in the shutting - course credit creep . Much of the producer ' work in assembling the deferred payment is done for them byunionagreements and endowment contracts – the major photographic film unions ( Screen Actors Guild , Directors Guild of America , Writers Guild of America ) have a lot of say , and actors anddirectorshave stipulations in their declaration about exactly where they should be placed . It ’s basically a fill - in - the - blank job for the bulk of the crew credits , but there can be a portion of self - stroke involved in place the major players into the sequence .
The opening credits always start with the name of the studio or distribution caller ( the entity that sells the moving picture to theaters ) , followed by the production party ( which financed the film ) , " associated with " any other caller that had a script in the finances and production . Next come the theatre director – bigger name calling often get the " a ( director ’s name ) film " treatment .
The cast is next , with peradventure one to three lead doer gettingabove - the - titlebilling . These are the major stars who guide masses into theaters . Then comes the title of respect and thebelow - the - titlecredits . These include the rest of the main player , either alone or in diminished group ( which , of course , is an integral part of their contracts ) . Supporting cast follows , and thenspecial billing , which can be for new role player get their first appearance in a fully grown part ( " introducing … " ) or famous actors in modest part , whose epithet are preceded by " with " or " and . "
The casting theatre director ’s name appear next , and after that the order is more broadly speaking defined . The production interior designer , art film director , costume designer , film editor program , director of photography , producers , and writers all are guaranteed a spot in the opening title episode . Depending on what variety of movie it is , the optical effects supervisor and composition designer might be included , too . And the Directors Guild requires that the film director ’s name appear again directly before the action startle .
The closing cite are almost in inverse order , with the director and producers first , then the cast , and every exclusive fellow member of the crowd , from camera operators to caterers . It can be a seemingly endless listing , which is why crew members with any clout at all often demand to be billed in the hatchway episode . Does it count as credit if no one actually sees the credits ?