Credits roll
I’ve been away… but I’m back now. I was made an offer I really couldn’t refuse… not in a mafia kind of way, well, a little bit in a mafia kind of way.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about film credits. It used to be the case that when the film was over the screen would turn to black and tiny white text, moving far faster than you could possibly read, would scroll up the screen letting you know just how many people had been involved in the filming process.
Casting, gaffers, editing…
Everyone used to stand up and make their way outside as soon as they started… but that doesn’t happen any more.
I don’t think Pixar started it, but they certainly use the technique – adding a little Easter egg at the end of the credits in order to make the audience sit there whilst the names scroll on. Sometimes it will be a little animation, maybe some out-takes, or even animated out-takes.
Loads of other films do it too, but now it has become a problem – it’s a bit like Pavlov’s dog… now when the credits roll I expect something. I’m not the only one. The last time I visited the cinema the whole audience patiently sat waiting for something that never came. The film was good, but everyone left with a sense of disappointment.
So, I’ve been thinking… most people get annoyed at the trailers and such at the start of a film. How about we change convention and start putting them at the end? It kills two cinema-visiting birds with one stone… No hold up at the beginning and something for those who wait, patiently, for the credits to finish.
Ben on 
Ty on
Wait, I LOVE trailers. I hate commercials for crap, but mainly because they take up valuable trailer time!
And nah, all kinds of movies did the after credits bits before Pixar was in metaphorical diapers. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is an excellent example. Wait till the credits are over and Ferris comes up to you and tells you to go home.
I think it’s a little rude to get up before the credits are over. Those people did work on the movie and they deserve your time DAMNIT. Nowadays I always stay behind…unless I’m trying to catch a bus or something. They’ll understand, they’re working folk.
*Adam joined the conversation rather late*
Despite what I say in the post, I do agree with you… I like to stay until the end anyway…
But I think that other people would be more inclined to do the same if they didn’t have to wade through up to half an hour of trailers before the film starts.
It’s like some DVDs that refuse to let you fast-forward through the trailers and adverts… enforced advertising as opposed to supported advertising.
Actually, trailers used to be at the end of movies. That’s why they’re called trailers. They “trailed” the movie. Only, they discovered that people had a habit of walking out at the end of the movie, before the trailers rolled, so they put them at the beginning.
Also, I love ‘em a lot of the times.
Y’see, if I had done some thinking or some research, I would have known that.
I didn’t, so you get points for telling me something new.
If people walked out before watching them, then it is because they weren’t good enough in the first place… I’ve gone to see films that I wasn’t really interested in because I knew they were trailing a film I really was….
I actually really like trailers. In general. Sometimes they’re way better than the actual movie. Of course, sometimes they’re terrible. Then again, I like pretty much *all* forms of good advertising. The junk they play at the beginnings of movies usually isn’t very good, though.
I also really like illustrated “The End” type things. My copy of Vanity Fair ends with a lovely picture of two children with “Finis” inscribed on their toybox. I haven’t actually finished Vanity Fair yet, but I’m hoping that actually relates to the ending in some fashion.
“Sometimes they’re way better than the actual movie”
I hate it when they create a trailer out of the only good bits of a film… then, when you see the film, you realise you could have saved yourself the other 85 minutes.
This is mostly a problem for comedies…
What’s really upsetting is when they CUT the funny bits from the trailer from the actual movie. You keep waiting for them and then they’re just never there.
That is a pretty dirty trick, sometimes those are the funniest bits of the movie and then when they are cut out I always feel a bit cheated.
Pre-movie credits are an entirely different phenomenon. I read about the guy that started that and thought it was pretty interesting, but can’t remember who the guy was. I think I was reading his obituary at the time.
I thought pretty much all movies had their credits up front before 1970 or so… You know, back when you only had to credit 50 or so people.
Yeah that’s what I thought too… is that not true?
Chris needs to tell us about this article, but if the guy doesn’t pre-date the 50s then it’s bunk. Peter Pan (54?) for instance has front credits .
I’ve seen some old-ass movies (back into the silent era) and as far as I’ve seen all movies up to a certain point had the credits first (though sometimes they’d show the cast credit again at the end).
As for the “easter eggs” why not just stay through the credits anyway? Listen to some nice music, talk about the film with your friends, catch some awesome/funny names (learn who your favorite gaffer is, they pop up more than you realize), people-watch as the theater clears out, and annoy the weirdos who are there to sweep up, but can’t until you leave.
Neh? I personally don’t consider the film over until the “BSOD” comes up, and you see the end of the tape roll away with the edge markers and print date.
(Also if they didn’t play the commercials/trailers up front those of us who are perpetually late would miss th first 5 minutes of the movie.)
Seems I was a bit off the market, the guy I was thinking of didn’t actually come up with the idea of pre-movie credits, rather he just stylized them and made them look cool. You can check read about Saul Bass here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Bass
Ah yes, he did Vertigo.
The Man with the Golden Arm! What a good movie… now I know. I’ll have to look out for this Bass character. Arrrr.
Ahh, Mr Bass…
It’s no secret that he’s one of the main influences on my animations, especially the ‘Fingerprints’ one. Most people have said that it feels like the opening credits of a film, and that was entirely intentional… but I think that comes from adopting some of his style.
fonts too… the man had a real eye for nice fonts… Look at the first cell of this comic and compare it to the Vertigo poster…
Aahh… now I understand the de ja vu I get from watching that Fingerprints video!
He was quite prolific, so you can find lots of his work out there. Unfortunately he’s also quite dead so you aren’t likely to find any of his work after 1996.
Attempting artists sceance… nope, no joy… wait… no, really, nothing.
Lucky he was prolific whilst he was with us.
I really hate it if the make a trailer of a film, picking all the good moments out. So if you watch the trailer, and then you watch the movie in cinema, you will be really dissapointed, and you will still think about that you’ve given out that much money for nothing. Movie trailers should be made in another way, that people would go more often to the cinema. They shouldn’t put all off the good scenes in it, that destroys the will to watch the movie in cinema.