Motion picture credits

Two types of credits are traditionally used in films, television programs, and video games; all of which provide attribution to the staff involved in their productions. While opening credits will usually display only the major positions in a production's cast and crew (such as creators, producers, and lead actors), closing credits will typically acknowledge all staff members that were involved in the production.

Opening credits, in a television program, motion picture, or video game, are shown at the beginning of a show/movie after the production logos, and list the most important members of the production. They are usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. Some opening credits are built around animation or production numbers of some sort (such as the James Bond films). Opening credits mention the major actors, the lead actor would be prominent, and the supporting actors would follow. Others that would be listed are guest stars, producers and director, as opposed to closing credits which lists the entire production crew.

Closing credits, in a television program, motion picture, or video game come at the end of a show and list all the cast and crew involved in the production. Almost all television and film productions, however, omit the names of orchestra members from the closing credits, instead citing the name of the orchestra and sometimes not even that. Also most often omitted are the names of translators involved in subtitling, as well as any technicians involved in the process, even in productions that are made with a view to the international market and therefore premier with subtitles.

Closing credits are usually shown on the screen in small characters, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or scroll from bottom to top of the screen. Credits which scroll either left-to-right or up-and-down are also known as staff rolls, which comes from pre digital days when the names were literally on a roll of paper and would pass in front of the camera. Standard film credits move from bottom to top, and are often called "credit crawls." Industry traditions, guild rules, and union rules generally dictate the order and placement of specific names and job titles. Increasingly, post-credits scenes are being added to the end of films. Still, short or full logos appear at the end of films (with the exception of Universal Pictures).

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