Credits

Credits

noun | Production

The on-screen text that acknowledges the individuals and companies who contributed to the making of a film. Credits appear at the opening of the film (title sequence or main titles), at the close (end credits or closing credits), or both. Credit placement, order, and wording are not merely courtesies. They are contractually negotiated terms with professional, financial, and legal implications governed by guild agreements including the DGA, WGA, and SAG-AFTRA.

Quick Reference

The Explanation: How & Why

Credits serve two distinct functions. The first is acknowledgment: they record who made the film and in what capacity. The second is contractual: credit position, size, and wording are negotiated terms in talent agreements, and the specific credit a person receives can affect their career, their residual payments, and their legal rights.

The main titles (opening credits) typically include only the most prominent names: the production company, major cast members, and the director. In the American system, the director's credit ("A Film by" or "Directed by") almost always appears last before the film begins. This is the position of highest honor in the main title sequence. The DGA Basic Agreement mandates that the director's credit must appear on a single card, must be the last credit before the main credit sequence begins, and must be no smaller than the largest individual credit.

End credits list the full cast and crew in a defined order. The cast appears first, typically in order of billing (lead, then supporting, then minor roles). Crew follows, organized by department. Each department's hierarchy determines internal credit order: the Director of Photography is credited before the Camera Operator; the Gaffer before the Best Boy Electric.

Credit arbitration, the process of determining who receives what credit on a contested film, is a significant function of the WGA for writers. The WGA reads all drafts of a screenplay and assigns writing credits based on contribution. A writer who drafted the original script but was substantially rewritten may receive no screenplay credit, or only a "Story by" credit. The outcome of credit arbitration directly affects residual payments. The WGA's Screen Credits Manual defines the rules governing these determinations.

For calculating profit participation splits connected to credited roles, use the Split Sheet Calculator.

Historical Context & Origin

Early silent films had minimal credits, often just the production company name and the title. As the star system developed in the 1910s and the commercial value of recognizable names became apparent, actor credits expanded. The order of credits became a site of negotiation as studios discovered that above-the-title billing (a star's name appearing above the film's title) commanded premium ticket prices.

Guild credit rules developed through the 1930s and 1940s as labor agreements formalized minimum credit requirements and protected writers and other below-the-line workers from being omitted entirely. The DGA established that the director's credit is a protected term: "Directed by" is the only acceptable form, and no other individual may be accorded the word "Director" or any derivation of it.

The shift to end-credit rolls listing the full crew, now standard practice, was largely established in the 1970s. This was driven partly by union contract requirements and partly by a growing cultural recognition of the collaborative nature of filmmaking. Star Wars (1977) was one of the first major studio films to end with a full crew credit roll rather than just a few cards, and the practice became standard within a decade.

How It's Used in Practice

Scenario 1 - Pre-Production (Producer / Entertainment Lawyer): Negotiating the lead actor's deal, the producer agrees to "sole above-the-title billing." The actor's name appears above the film title in all paid advertising and on-screen credits, with no other name at the same size. This is a significant concession that the producer offers in exchange for a reduction in the actor's upfront fee from $5M to $3M. The credit term is documented in the deal memo and the long-form contract, with specific language governing size, placement, and duration.

Scenario 2 - Development (WGA Arbitration): Three writers have worked on a studio screenplay across 18 months. The studio submits all drafts to the WGA for credit arbitration before the film enters production. The arbitration committee reads all drafts blind (without knowing which writer wrote which draft) and determines that two writers contributed substantially enough to earn screenplay credit. The third writer, who did a significant polish but did not change the story's fundamental structure, receives no credit but retains residual rights under the WGA Minimum Basic Agreement. The NTWC (Notice of Tentative Writing Credits) was submitted within 12 business days of the determination.

Scenario 3 - Post-Production (Producer / Post Supervisor): With picture lock approaching, the producer assembles the full credits list for the end roll. The deliverable requires credits to be submitted to the distributor as a text file and as a separate title card sequence. The producer reviews the list for accuracy, confirms every crew member's name spelling, and verifies that every contractually required credit appears at the specified size and position. The DGA requires the final form of main and end title credits to be submitted to the Guild for compliance review before the credits are shot.

Usage Examples in Sentences

"Her contract specifies card credit in the main titles. Her name appears alone on screen before the film begins."

"The WGA arbitration awarded sole screenplay credit to the first writer. The rewrites by the second writer were not substantial enough to qualify for shared credit."

"The end credit roll runs four minutes. The full crew list for a 24-day shoot with 85 crew members across 12 departments."

"His above-the-title billing was the condition on which he accepted the role. Without it, he would have passed."

Common Confusions & Misuse

Credits vs. Billing: Billing refers specifically to the position and prominence of an actor's or key creative's name in credits and advertising. A credit is the acknowledgment itself. Billing is the hierarchy and scale of that acknowledgment. An actor may have a "credit" (they are listed somewhere in the end roll) without having "billing" (a negotiated position in the main titles or advertising). The distinction matters in contract negotiations: credit and billing are typically addressed as separate terms.

"A Film by" vs. "Directed by": "A Film by [Director]" (the possessory credit) implies the director is the primary author of the film, a convention rooted in auteur theory. "Directed by" is the straightforward technical credit. The DGA allows possessory credits but restricts them: a director may not receive a possessory credit on their first feature unless they brought the literary property to the employer and performed substantial development services. The WGA has objected to possessory credits for writer-directors in cases where the writing and directing contributions are inseparable. Both credits appear at the same position in the title sequence. The choice is typically negotiated.

WGA Ampersand vs. "And": In WGA-determined writing credits, "&" (ampersand) between two names indicates a writing team who worked together. "and" between two names indicates writers who worked separately. "Written by Alice & Bob and Carol" means Alice and Bob were a team, and Carol worked separately after them. This distinction affects how credit is apportioned and how residuals are calculated.

Variations by Context

Key People & Films

The WGA credit arbitration system gained public notoriety in the late 1980s when Art Buchwald successfully sued Paramount over Coming to America (1988), with the court ruling that the film had generated net profits under standard accounting but that Paramount's definition of net profit had reduced those profits to zero. The Buchwald v. Paramount case remains the landmark case for credit and profit disputes. Winston Groom's experience with Forrest Gump (1994), where he held net points but the studio claimed the film lost money despite a $677M gross, became another widely cited example. The Lord of the Rings trilogy generated multiple credit and profit lawsuits from the Tolkien Estate and Peter Jackson, despite combined grosses exceeding $2.9 billion. Star Wars (1977) established the modern full end-credit roll as standard practice.

Equipment / Tools Reference

Credits are assembled using dedicated title design software. Adobe After Effects is the industry standard for motion graphics and title sequences. Endcrawl is a specialized web-based tool for generating end credit rolls, used on hundreds of features and streaming series. End Credits Pro offers guild-compliant credit templates and verification against DGA, WGA, and SAG-AFTRA requirements. Movie Magic Scheduling integrates crew lists from the schedule into the credits list. Title design studios like Imaginary Forces and Prologue Films create custom main title sequences for major studio releases.

Standards & Specifications

The DGA Basic Agreement mandates that the director's credit must appear on a single card, must be the last credit before the main credit sequence begins, and must be no smaller than the largest individual credit. The WGA Screen Credits Manual defines allowable writing credits ("Written by," "Screenplay by," "Story by," "Screen Story by," "Adaptation by") and limits screenplay credit to no more than two writers (or three in unusual cases via arbitration). The SAG-AFTRA Codex governs performer billing, including "Starring," "Also Starring," "with," and "and" billing positions. The NTWC (Notice of Tentative Writing Credits) must be submitted to the WGA and all participating writers as soon as practicable following completion of principal photography. Credits generally become final 12 business days from the date the NTWC is sent, unless a protest triggers arbitration.

Common Questions / FAQ

Q: Who decides the order of credits in a film?

A: For guild-covered productions, the DGA, WGA, and SAG-AFTRA each set minimum requirements for their members' credits. The director's credit position is mandated by the DGA. Writing credits are determined by WGA arbitration. Cast billing is individually negotiated but must comply with SAG-AFTRA minimums. Below-the-line crew credits follow departmental hierarchy and are managed by the production. The producer has flexibility within the guild requirements but cannot override them.

Q: What is a possessory credit and why is it controversial?

A: "A Film by [Director]" is a possessory credit that implies the director is the sole author of a collaborative work. The DGA permits it (with restrictions on first features), but the WGA has historically objected because it diminishes the writer's contribution. The controversy is about authorship: film is a collaborative medium, and the possessory credit attributes sole authorship to one person. Despite the controversy, it remains common in American cinema.

Q: How are writing credits determined when multiple writers work on a script?

A: The WGA conducts credit arbitration. All participating writers submit their drafts. An arbitration committee reads them blind and determines who contributed substantially to the final screenplay. The WGA's Screen Credits Manual defines the rules: screenplay credit is limited to two writers (or three in unusual cases), story credit is limited to two writers, and the ampersand vs. "and" distinction indicates whether writers worked as a team or separately.

Related Terms

• Producer - The producer's credit position, wording, and placement are among the most frequently negotiated terms in producing agreements
• Director - The director's credit is among the most prominent in main titles; the DGA governs minimum credit requirements
• Cast - Cast credits are ordered by billing, a negotiated hierarchy that reflects commercial value and contractual terms
• Crew - Crew credits appear in end rolls, organized by department hierarchy; union minimum basic agreements define minimum credit requirements
• Above the Line - The above-the-line talent (director, lead cast, writer, producer) typically receives the most prominent credit placement
• Billing - The negotiated position and prominence of a name in credits and advertising, distinct from the credit itself

See Also / Tools

For understanding the financial implications of credit position, particularly how producer and writer credits affect residual payments, see the blog for articles on film contracts and business structures. The Split Sheet Calculator is relevant to productions managing profit participation agreements connected to credited roles.