Giving and Incorporating Credits
The last thing I need to do, before creating my storyboard, is my research on credit sequences. My current plan is to have my credits be shown subtly throughout the opening, that way the audience is more focused on the piece itself rather than the titles. For a little bit of background, my opening will take place in the characters home, therefore, I'd like to have my credits be displayed on objects within the narrative world. For instance, the characters notebook, fridge, pieces of art, tables, windows, etc. By doing research on credit sequences, I hope to figure out ways to do this, or get new ideas for my credit sequence.
Credit sequences are meant to give the creators the recognition and praise that they deserve for producing their film. Credits will often include the directors name, the producers, writers cinematographer, editor, and the major actors of the film. There are multiple different ways to incorporate credits into your film and it all depends on the style you're going for, or what you want to highlight. Some films want to highlight their creators or famous people who've worked on the piece, possibly to draw more peoples interest, while other films choose to not draw too much attention to the credits in hopes of keeping the attention on the actual piece itself.
FILMS
10 Things I Hate About You, a 1999 film by
Gil Junger, is a coming-of-age romance about the unexpected romance between Kat Stratford and Patrick Verona. This film chooses to make the credits the focal point of their opening, as whenever they appear, they're at the center of the screen. This means that the opening doesn't focus much on what's going on in the narrative world, and when they do focus on it, the credits stop appearing and they only reappear when the focus doesn't need to be on the characters anymore. Furthermore, the font that the creators chose to use is bold, messy, and raw, which is meant to represent the characters, who are designed to be different than other kids their age. Not only is the font itself eye-catching, but the text also changes colors throughout the credit sequence, and any side text that needs to be added, such as "and," "production," etc. is shown to be significantly smaller than the main text, and it has a different font that makes it less noticeable.
Billy Elliot, released in 2000 and created by
Stephen Daldry, is a coming-of-age story that follows Billy Elliot in his journey to becoming a dancer. This film, unlike the first one I analyzed, uses a more sleek and clean font in their credit sequence, this is so that the viewer is more focused on the character. However, the film still brings emphasis to the credits by having them be shown once the character is off screen. In other words, the character is jumping on the bed and since we only see the character when he's up in the air, the credits appear when Billy is preparing for another jump. The only credit that is larger and has a different color than the rest, is the movie's title. This credit is also the only one thats shown alongside the character. Also in contrast to
10 Things I Hate About You, the movie title is the last credit shown during the opening.
The Man in the Moon is a 1991 film directed by Robert Mulligan that tells the story of two sisters and their shared love for Court Foster, a local boy. This credit sequence is shorter than both of the previous films I analyzed. It starts off with black screen, and the credits are shown in the center of it. The font is similar to the one used in Billy Elliot however, it has more details. The black screen transforms into a dark night as the camera pans over to the moon, in which the movie title appears. After the movie title is shown, the rest of the credits appear on the left corner of the screen, rather than the middle of it. All of the credits fade in and out, much like the ones in Billy Elliot did.
WHAT'S NEXT?
After researching credit sequences, I've learnt about the different ways to incorporate credits into my opening and how to make them the focus or make them appear more natural. Personally, I believe that I'm still going to go with my original idea to add the credits throughout my opening subtly so they're not the main focus. However, now that I'm done with my initial research, I can begin creating my characters, storyboard, and script.
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