Who's responsible for assembling the credits for a major motion picture?

November 4, 2015 12:08 AM

For some movies, this seems like it would be a huge task. Credits in the industry are sacrosanct and they have to be extra sure not to miss anyone, no matter how small their role in the production.

Films with a lot of post-work and multiple vendors can have a massive amount of people on them. Even knowing what to call some of the credit roles seems like it would be a potentially difficult decision. Final say has to be given to someone. There's also a huge amount of drama and rules regarding credits for the producers, director, writer, etc. because of the views of the different guilds (DGA/WGA/etc.)

I've always wondered about the process.

posted by basehead to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

Final say usually goes to the producers.

I'm not sure who specifically is responsible for the process, but it is most likely someone closely involved with the film, probably from the studio or production company. (I've worked in film production for a decade and, while I've dealt with paperwork related to credits, I've never actually talked to the person who is formally responsible for them.)

Re the process, yes, there is a lot of paperwork involved. For crew, your payroll/starting paperwork usually includes a form or a section of a form which states how your name should be spelled in the credits (or what you should be credited as if your legal name is different from the name you use professionally), as well as the crew member's input as to what their title should be. In the latter case, it is usually specified on these forms that the producers have final say.

Most crew members know what their title is because, well, it's their job title. You're correct that there's a lot of rules related to credits, and you better believe that crew members are intimately aware of what their title is and where they stand in the pecking order. A film set is a very hierarchical place.

In terms of cast, this sort of thing is negotiated as part of their contract, and it's much more complicated than the credits for the crew.

Writers are the craziest credit, especially in feature films where dozens of writers may have been part of the process at one point or another, but only one writer can retain credit as far as the WGA is concerned.

Directors are a bit more simple, but you better believe there are rules, and that you will run afoul of the DGA if you violate them.
posted by Sara C. at 12:20 AM on November 4, 2015 [6 favorites]

It varies somewhat on a studio/indie basis and with the size of the crew/budget. I managed credits as part of my job as Post-Production Coordinator on a $1 million film, then as Producer on a $200k film.
posted by judith at 3:04 AM on November 4, 2015 [4 favorites]

As Sara says, it's a production department thing, which is why the Producer's Guild is much, much more concerned with the specifics of credits than, say, SAG, WGA or DGA, though the Writers Guild sure has some byzantine rules*. Still, those others care more about billing, really, which is a different kettle of fish than overall accuracy/completeness. That's for producers.

(The few times that my career intersected with the film industry, it was always a staffer from the producer's office who called to clarify a part of my name that is almost always misspelled** so that it would at least be right in the credits. They got it right each time, presumably because production assistants are detail freaks.)

Note, too, that most credits include a credit for 'Credits'.

* You can literally hear Tarantino's dialogue all over Crimson Tide, for example, but you won't find his name in the credits.
** yes, friends, that one.
posted by rokusan at 6:09 AM on November 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Producers, as everybody is saying. I worked in features for a good long while, and on the films I associate produced, I was the one tearing my hair out to make sure credits were correct.
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:17 AM on November 4, 2015

Many credits, like music, are in the language spelled out by the contracts. Each department coordinator keeps track of these and then the master list is complied by the producer's office.
Most productions use some type of software to create the actual crawl--Endcrawl is one.
posted by Ideefixe at 6:21 AM on November 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Sara C's answer is on point.

One thing I have read is that typically (though not infallibly) the use of "and" as opposed to "&" is also telling in the writer's credit.

"Written by John Smith & Jane Doe" means the pair are a writing team.
"Written by John Smith and Jane Doe" means Jane Doe did a WGA-credited rewrite on John Smith's script
"Written by John Smith & Jane Doe and Terry Fu" means the Smith/Doe team wrote the script and Fu did a credited rewrite.

As Sara C. pointed out though, many, many, if not most rewrites are uncredited.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:25 AM on November 4, 2015