Credits and Branding
Credits are important to programme-makers but of limited interest to audiences. AFTT's credit policy balances the desire to reflect significant creative contributions with the reality that lengthy credits make viewers switch off.
Copyright
You as the Filmmaker retain copyright to your films. However, you must also acknolwledge the school by adding the adjacent copyright card at the end of your film.
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The Copyright Line
Credit Durations
Opening credit durations
Opening credit sequences must not exceed 10 seconds. This should be taken into account when commissioning any music or graphic intended to accompany them.
End credit durations
End credit sequences must not exceed 30 seconds, which should be taken into account when commissioning any accompanying music or graphic.
These guidelines do not apply to children's, sport and live entertainment shows.
If end credits run over visually interesting graphics or live action these should not be editorially critical to the integrity of the programme or include speech (including production-made trails or helpline information) as they may be re-formatted to accommodate promotional messages.
Programme trails, solicits or helplines edited by production into their end credits are no longer allowed and should wherever possible be accommodated within the programme.
End credits should be delivered justified to the centre and be no wider than the 4:3 caption safe area. They must not be justified left, justified right or be horizontal scrollers. They may be either cards or a vertical scroller.
Credit Positioning
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If end credits run over visually interesting graphics or live action these should not be editorially critical to the integrity of the programme or include speech.
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End credits should be delivered justified to the centre and be no wider than the 4:3 caption safe area. They must not be justified left, justified right or be horizontal scrollers. They may be either cards or a vertical scroller.
Positioning the copyright line
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All end credit copyright lines should sit in the lower third of the screen and be within the 4:3 action safe area
Copyright for AFTT films
The copyright line must appear in the following style:
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© [producer name] [year]
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The entire copyright line must be in the Helvetica font
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[Producer name] represents the name of the independent company or person producing the programme and should be in upper and lower case
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[Year] represents the year of completion
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There must be no use of bold, underlined or italicised text.
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The copyright line must:
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Be static
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Be placed at the foot of the final card.
Opening Credits Order
The typical order for most guild and union film productions:
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The distributor: The studio that markets your film into theaters. They may be responsible for financing the film as well.
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The production company: The production company that produces your film can be a studio (or its subsidiary) or an independent production company. The production company provides the necessities for developing and filming your movie.
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The filmmaker: For a big Hollywood movie, you might see a credit like “A Martin Scorcese Picture” or “A Spike Lee Joint” come up right before the title of the film, setting the audience up to expect that filmmaker’s signature style.
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Film title: The name of the movie.
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Cast: The major stars of the film will get top billing, followed by the supporting cast of the film, who may share title cards depending on the size of their roles.
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Casting director: The person or company who gathered the talent and auditioned them for the roles.
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Music composer: The person in charge of scoring and creating the music for the film.
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Costume designer: The person who designed the wardrobe for all the actors and extras on set.
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Associate producers: Junior-level producers who often serve as the producer’s second hand.
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Editor: The editor cuts all the scenes of the movie together.
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Production designer: The production or set designer is in charge of designing a setting that most closely fits the director’s vision.
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Director of photography: The cinematographer is the person responsible for creating the look of a film. A cinematographer works with the camera and lighting crew to make sure that the camera is capturing the action the way the director intends.
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Executive producers: An executive producer can mean a number of things on a film set. An executive producer oversees the producers on behalf of the studio or financiers. They can also be the person who initially set the project in motion.
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Producers: Producers deal with the budget, expenses, and hiring decisions regarding the cast and crew, and they supervise the day-to-day operations of a set.
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Writers: The scriptwriter (or screenwriting team) who wrote the screenplay.
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Director: The director of the film gets the last title card of the opening credits.
Basic Closing Credits Order
The film credits order hierarchy for ending credits isn’t as strict as it is in the opening credit roll. While the number of people and departments involved in a film (as well as the level of their contribution) can affect the order they appear in the credits, the sequence is generally as follows:
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Director
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Writers
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Producer
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Executive producer
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Director of photography
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Production designer
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Editor
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Composer (sometimes followed by the music supervisor)
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Costume designer
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Visual effects supervisor (sometimes followed by or shared with the visual effects producer)
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Casting director
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Co-producers
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Major lead cast members, depending on the film (sometimes big stars are listed again in a separate or stylized sequence)
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Unit production manager
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First assistant director
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Second assistant director
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Full cast list
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Stunt department including all performers and choreographers
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Production departments including grips, electric, sound, wardrobe, art, hair and makeup, and any others
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Postproduction departments including assistant editors, foley artists, colorists, and visual effects editors
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Music credits for those in charge of preparing, orchestrating, and editing the music
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Caterer and craft services
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Second unit (the crew in charge of shooting additional or supplemental footage for the film)
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Title design
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Special thanks
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Logos for any guilds involved in the production, like the Writers Guild of America (WGA) or Director’s Guild of America (DGA), as well as the equipment makers or rental houses
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Shooting locations
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Final sound mix recording studio
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Copyright
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Disclaimers affirming the fictional nature of the film and adherence to animal welfare laws, if applicable