Opening credits, in a television program, motion picture or videogame, are shown at the beginning of a show and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. Where opening credits are built into a separate sequence of their own, the correct term is title sequence (such as the familiar James Bond title sequences). Title sequence generally refers to the method by which cinematic films or television shows present their title key cast and/or production members utilizing conceptual visuals James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story Opening credits since the early 1980s, if present at all, will identify the major actors and crew, while the closing credits list an extensive cast and production crew. Closing credits, inside a Motion picture or Television program come at the end of a movie or show and list all the cast and crew involved in the production Historically, however, opening credits have been the only source of crew credits and, largely, the cast, although over time the tendency to repeat the cast, and perhaps add a few players, with their roles identified (as was not always the case in the opening credits), evolved. The ascendancy of television movies after 1964 and the increasingly short "shelf-life" of films in theaters has largely contributed to the credits convention which came with television programs from the beginning, of holding the vast majority of cast and crew information for display at the end of the show.
In movies and television, the title and opening credits may be preceded by a "cold open", or brief scene, that helps to set the stage for the episode. A cold open (also referred to as a teaser) in a Television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning
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History
Up until the 1970s, closing credits for films usually listed only a reprise of the cast members with their roles identified, or even simply just said "The End", requiring opening credits to normally contain the details. For instance, the title sequence of the 1968 film Oliver! runs for about three-and-a-half minutes, and while not listing the complete cast, does list all of its technical credits at the beginning of the film, all set against a background of what appear to be, but in fact are not, authentic nineteenth century engravings of typical London life. Title sequence generally refers to the method by which cinematic films or television shows present their title key cast and/or production members utilizing conceptual visuals Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Oliver! is a 1968 Musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the Stage musical Oliver!, with The only credit at film's end is a listing of most of the cast.
Some opening credits are designed to run concurrently with a film's first sequence; in fact, this is one practice even more commonly followed today. The opening credits for the 1993 film The Fugitive continued for fifteen minutes into the film. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) The opening credits for the 1968 film Once Upon a Time in the West lasted for fourteen minutes. Once Upon a Time in the West ( Italian title C'Era una Volta il West) is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western This was because they were not presented in title sequences. Instead they are intermittently superimposed over the entire opening sequences of the two films.
The films of Satyajit Ray often show creative opening credits. Satyajit Ray (সত্যজিত রায় or সত্যজিৎ রায়) (2 May 1921–23 April 1992 was a Bengali Indian Filmmaker. His first film, Pather Panchali features completely hand-written opening credits. Further movies of his frequently show credits in some way thematically related to the film, for example, the credits of Kanchenjunga are written in a mock-Tibetan font. Kangchenjunga ( Nepali:कञ्चनजङ्घा Kanchanjaŋghā) SewaLungma ( Limbu language) is the third highest The Tibetan people are indigenous to Tibet and surrounding areas stretching from Central Asia in the North and West to Myanmar and China Proper
The first sound film to begin without any opening credits was Walt Disney's Fantasia, released in 1940. A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image as opposed to a Silent film. Walter Elias Disney (December 5 1901 – December 15 1966 was a multiple Academy Award -winning American Film producer, director, Screenwriter Fantasia is a 1940 Animated film produced by Walt Disney, and is the third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In the film's general release, a title card and the credit "Color by Technicolor" were spliced onto the beginning of the film, but otherwise there were no credits. This general release version has been the one most often seen by audiences, and the one issued on videocassette. Videotape is a means of recording images and sound onto Magnetic tape as opposed to movie film. In the roadshow version of the film, unseen by most audiences until its DVD release, the title card is seen only at the halfway point of the film, as a cue that the intermission is about to begin. An intermission or interval is a break between two parts of performances or sessions in events such as a theatrical play, Opera or musical concert
Orson Welles' Citizen Kane begins with only a title credit. George Orson Welles (May 6 1915 – October 10 1985 was an Academy Award -winning director, writer actor and producer for film stage radio and television Citizen Kane ( 1941) is an American Dramatic film, and the first Feature film directed by Orson Welles, who also co-authored This practice was extremely uncommon during that era.
Most Soviet films presented all film-related information in the opening credits, rather than at the closing which consist of just a "THE END" (Russian: КОНЕЦ ФИЛЬМА) title, nothing else. The cinema of the Soviet Union, not to be confused with " Russian Cinema " despite Russian language films being predominant in both genres includes Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages A typical Soviet opening credits sequence starts with a film company's logo (Mosfilm, Lenfilm, etc. Mosfilm ( Russian: Мосфильм məs'fʲɨlʲm is a Film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Kinostudiya "Lenfilm" (in Russian, Киностудия Ленфи́льм is a production unit of the Russian film industry with its own Film ), the film's title, followed by the scenarist (the Soviet Union considered the scriptwriter the principal "auteur" of its films), followed by the director, usually on separate screens, then continuing with screens showing other credits, of varying number, and finally, the film's chief administrator-in-charge, the production director (Russian: Директор картины). Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Following this came the cast, usually in actor-and-role format for all principal and major featured players, and perhaps then a screen just naming, in an alphabetical cluster, some additional character players. The final credit screen identified the studio corresponding to the logo at the beginning, and the year of the film's production.
This basic method was also followed in most American films from the 1930s through the late 1980s, though, obviously, in American films there was no censoring of the director's name, except in cases of blacklisting.
Francois Truffaut's 1966 film Fahrenheit 451' uses spoken opening credits instead of written ones to provide a taste of what life is like in a non-literate culture. François Roland Truffaut ( February 6 1932 – October 21 1984) was one of the founders of the French New Wave in filmmaking Fahrenheit 451 is a 1966 Film of a Dystopian future based on the novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury. traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write or the ability to use Language to read, write, listen,
Recent trends
Many major American motion pictures have done away with opening credits, with many films, such as Van Helsing, Batman Begins, Hostel (film), The Mummy Returns and Teacher's Pet not even displaying the film title until the closing credits begin. Van Helsing is a 2004 American action / Horror film about Vampire hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, written and Batman Begins is a 2005 American Superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Hostel is a 2005 Horror film written and directed by Eli Roth, starring Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Jennifer The Mummy Returns is a 2001 American Adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Teacher's Pet is a 2004 musical Animated film based on the television series of the same name. George Lucas is credited (or blamed) with popularizing this with his Star Wars films which display only the film's title at the start. George Walton Lucas Jr (born May 14, 1944) is an Academy Award -winning American Film director, producer, Screenwriter Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded His decision to omit opening credits in his films Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back led him to resign from the Directors Guild of America after paying a fine that the Guild imposed on him. Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope (originally released as Star Wars) is a 1977 Space opera Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 Space opera Film directed by Irvin Kershner. Directors Guild of America ( DGA) is the labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States However, Hollywood had been releasing films without opening credits for many years before Lucas came along, most notably Citizen Kane, West Side Story, and The Godfather. West Side Story is a 1961 film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The Godfather is a 1972 Crime drama film based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed However, it was with the release of Lethal Weapon 2 in 1989 that the "title only" opening became an established form for summer blockbusters. Lethal Weapon 2 is a 1989 Action film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci Clint Eastwood has done away with opening credits (except for the title) in every film that he has directed since approximately 1982. Clinton "Clint" Eastwood Jr (born May 31 1930 is a four-time Academy Award winning American Actor and Filmmaker. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar)
Credit only
With regard to television series, it is now an accepted practice to credit regular cast members for every episode of a season, even if they did not appear in each episode. This was not the case during the second season of Lost; the complete credited cast appeared in only two episodes out of twenty-three. Lost is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American serial drama television series.
See also
External links
- Article: The Art of Retro Title Sequences
- Novelty Title Sequences in Classical Hollywood Cinema
- Original Doctor Who opening credits
- A collection of title sequences and interviews with designers
- Making a Fuss Over Opening Credits
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