Who's Who in the Movie Credits

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Hi, John Hess from FilmmakerIQ.com. Have you ever watched the end credits and wondered what exactly do all those people do? Well today, we’ll break down the credits and explain who’s who on a major film production. First off, the jobs and titles we’re going to cover today may change from one movie to another - we’ll describe the jobs that are common but know that each movie is it’s own beast and each filmmaker may have a preferred organizational structure. To begin, jobs are divided into two rough categories based on the movie’s budget top sheet: Above the Line and Below the Line. The jobs above the line are the people that get paid a negotiated set rate or a percentage of gross regardless of how many shooting days or scenes are ultimately required for the film. Think of them as fixed costs. Below the Line are the jobs that contracted out depending on the needs of the production - variable costs depending on script changes. Above the Line jobs include but are not limited to the Producers, Director, Writers and Actors while below the line is everybody else. So let’s start with the top boss, the Producer. People will often think that the Director is the top dog on a production, but it is the Producer that hires the Director. So what does a producer do? That’s a big question. They can be involved with selecting the script or the material to be adapted, picking the director and the cast, raising the money, organizing the distribution - all of it or only some of it - the producer is basically the person that champions a film from the beginning to the end - and that’s the reason why the Producer is the one who accepts the Best Picture Oscar at the Academy Awards. There are variations of producing credits. For theatrical films, the Executive Producer is the person who secured at least 25% of the financing or played a significant role in shaping the story and script. In Television, the Executive Producer is more of the big upper boss, often the creator of a show. Associate Producer is a title given at the discretion of the Producer to anyone they feel has played a key role in any part of the production. A Screenwriter is the person that writes the script. But not all scripts are created from scratch by a solitary writer. There are essentially two kinds of writing credits - there is story credit and screenplay credit. The story is the plot, characters and themes whereas the screenplay is the execution of those ideas in an actual screenplay with scenes, dialogue and transitions. When you see a “written by” that means the person wrote both the story and the screenplay. When you see “story by” it means the person either wrote a treatment - that is a prose version of the story of the movie - or wrote an original screenplay that was completely rewritten only keeping the plot, characters and theme. When the story is from a previously published work you’ll see a “based on the novel” or “based on the play” credit. Sometimes you’ll see “based on the Characters by” in sequels or in a long standing character like James Bond or Sherlock Holmes. Writing teams are designated with an Ampersand whereas writers working separately use the spelled out “and”. There are lots of rules from the Writer’s Guild regarding rewrites for determining who gets credit for the screenplay and an arbitration process for disagreements. But getting a name on the credits isn’t just vanity, it is also a matter of the author’s moral rights and rights to residuals - that means money. Once you have a script or sometimes even if the script isn’t totally done, a producer will choose a director. The Director is responsible for all of the film's artistic and dramatic aspects visualizing the script and guiding the crew and actors toward fulfilling that vision. Now the director may also go back bring in new writers to alter the script and even rewrite the script themselves. Now DGA rules stipulate that there can only be one person serving as the director on a film at a time which is why you see Joel Coen credited as director on their older films even though he always directs with his brother Ethan Coen. Now they have an exemption as a directing team. Although we may give all the credit to the director thanks to auteur theory - the relationship between the director and the producer is probably the biggest influence over a movie as it can be where a lot of creativity really happens. When we think about the credits and billing, we generally think of the names of the Actors in the production. The rules for billing are not as clearly defined as they are for say the director or screenwriter so each film or television show can be negotiated in a different way depending on the star’s contracts. But there are a few trends. A major star will get an Above the Title billing - that means their name comes before the opening title of the film and above the title on the poster. Then the cast is listed usually by the importance of the character to the story with the leads first and the supporting roles following. In ensemble pieces, alphabetically or by order of appearance. Sometimes stars will negotiate to be the final listing and get a “with” credit or an “and-as” credit. These credits go to parts that aren’t exactly leads but maybe filled by an actor with some status or a character that has just become a fan favorite when we’re dealing with a television show. Now these lead and supporting actors would be considered above the line although at this point the distinction may not be so clear. Below the line actors include Background Actors and Day Performers. Background Actors are what you imagine - there to fill the background of the scene. The most basic are General Background actors for filling crowd shots, for the most part they will go uncredited. Background actors that have to perform a special skill, stunts, or speak a line of dialogue will get upgraded to a day performer. The SAGAFTRA rules state that if the cast of the entire production is under 50 performers, then all performers must be credited. If there are more than 50, it is up to the discretion of the producer which 50 performers will get on screen credit. Stunt performers acting as doubles do not need to have the name of the role their doubling identified. From here on out we will be discussing jobs that are considered below the line - of course this distinction may change depending on the movie or production we’re talking about. The engine behind every film is the production office. The production office is in charge of making sure everything comes together. At the head of the production office is the Line Producer - the line producer is in charge of handling the budgetary needs - he or she is responsible for every line on the budget and is involved with the logistics of everything from production to post production including hiring crew members. One of the first hires is the UPM - Unit Production Manager and sometimes credited as just Production Manager on independent films. The UPM is charge of overseeing the day to day operations including time cards, reviewing the production reports and approving call sheets. The UPM can hire assistants as well as the Production Office Coordinators or POC. The POC handles the details of production staff. Some larger production studios have a permanent POC position who acts as a liaison between the individual production office and the big overall studio. Depending on the size of a production, the POC can have assistants called Assistant Production Office Coordinator. And of course in small productions all these separate roles may be combined into one person. Working in the production office can be a number of Office Production Assistants: Office PAs. who answer phones, make copies, do runs and basically keep the office running smoothly. A big part of the logistics of a film is transporting an entire company to and from different locations - here you’ll have an Transportation Office Supervisor and Coordinators who oversee Drivers who move both people and equipment around. Because there’s a lot of money and paperwork, you’ll see accountants and lawyers in the credits as they’re key to handling accounts payable and drafting contracts for crew. Although those services are still needed after the film is complete to handle sales and licensing deals as well as setting up royalties to those who have a profit sharing contract. Before the cameras can roll, the Producer, Director, and the Line Producer or UPM must plan out the production in preproduction. There are some specific roles to proproduction. Some directors like to Pre-visualize their script - get an idea of what it will look like before actually shooting it… This is the job of the Storyboard Artist. If these storyboards are animated they’re sometimes called Anamatics or Previz - and you can see credits for Previz artists and even Previz supervisors and editors depending on how complex those sequences are. For the casting, a production will rely on the work of a Casting Director. A Casting Director is responsible for finding the talent to fill the roles in a production and this can include holding auditions and working with talent agencies. Casting Directors can have assistants called Casting Associates. To find locations and sound stages for the production producers will use the services of a Location Manager which is sometimes called the Location Scout. Location Managers must understand the production’s needs and negotiate with the locations as well as making sure a film has all the proper permits. THE DIRECTING TEAM When a production is in operation, the person in charge of running the set is the 1st Assistant Director or 1st AD. This can be confused with Assistant to the Director - a job which is exactly like it sounds - an assistant to the director. But 1st AD like a management role - they start working during preproduction to figure out how to schedule a script. During production the 1st AD is in charge of day to day operations, running the floor keeping things on schedule and safe so that the director can focus on making creative decisions. The 1st AD is generally not everybody’s friend, the job requires authoritative personality that can deal with the stresses of a major production. Beneath the 1st AD is the 2nd AD - the 2nd AD is usually charge of handling the background actors and often directs background action. a 2nd 2nd AD may be needed for film with a lot of background people. Beneath the 2nd AD are the set Production Assistants - or Set PAs One of the key jobs of the Assistant Director team is to call the roll… that it, call out a series of specific cues before a take to bring the cast and crew together including calling for quiet on set, and roll sound and roll camera. Big productions may have multiple units - the director may designate certain scenes often special effects, aerial shots, or even small scenes to a second unit. Depending on what the needs are, a second unit can have the same director team structure with a second unit director and second unit AD. The head of the camera department is the Director of Photography or DP. The DP is in charge of crafting the look of the film in collaboration with the Director using lenses, lighting and camera movement. A DP may or may not actually operate the camera so you may see a Camera Operator title as the person who actually works the camera. The first Assistant Camera or 1st AC pulls focus and assists the operator and DP. The 2nd AC assists the 1st AC but also does the film clapper, calls out the scene number and fills out the camera reports. Now productions will shoot from more than one camera. In this case you can have Operators, 1st and 2nd AC for “A” camera, “B” camera and even “C” camera. If a celluloid film camera is being used you will see the name of the film loader who has to make sure the exposed film is safely taken and raw negative is loaded correctly in the camera. Digital productions are starting to use a digital version of that - a Digital Imaging Technician that makes sure all the footage is downloaded from the camera’s memory and safely backed up usually in triplicate. You will see some special camera credits including Steadicam Operator who as you can imagine - operates a Steadicam or similar device, Motion Control Tech for motion controlled dolly systems. On Set Photographers can be listed in the credits as well, from photographers who are shooting behind the scenes imagery to Continuity Photographers taking photos to ensure a set or costume looks the same over a period of days. And in the same vein you have the Set Videographer documenting the behind the scenes. For the Sound department, the Production Sound Mixer serves as the department head and is responsible for recording all the location sound in the production. Under the Sound Mixer are the boom operators who are in charge of operating the microphone boom and Utility Sound Technicians who run the cables and make sure everything is operating correctly The head of the Lighting department is the Gaffer. This position works closely with the Director of Photography to plan out the lighting of a film and in some productions is called the Lighting Designer. Working under the Gaffer is the Best Boy Electric - a non gendered term, even when a woman fills the spot she can be called a “Best Boy”. The Best Boy handles the day to day of the management including the hiring, scheduling, and management of lighting crew; the renting, ordering, inventory, and returning of lighting equipment. Under the Best Boy Electric are Lighting Technicians who set up and operate the lights. The Grip Department, which is the department for non-electrical components of lighting set-ups such as stands, flags, rigging, and bounces as well as camera moving equipment, is structured similarly to the Lighting department. The head of is the Key Grip and below that is the Best Boy Grip who manages the day to day operation and oversees the rest of the Grips. If the grips are operating the camera dolly they will be credited as Dolly Grips. The origin of the term Best Boy may come from the studio days where the line between Lighting and Grip was not so rigid. When one department needed a temporary worker, the department head of one would go to the other and ask for their “Best Boy” - essentially the second in command. Best Boy may also have roots in early sailing and whaling crews, as sailors often worked on rigging in theatres. With actors, cameras, sound and lights in place, now we just have to figure out what to put in front of the camera - and that is the job of the art department. The Art department is headed by the Production Designer who works with the Director and the Director of Photography to figure out the look of the production from sets to costumes to props. Under the General Art Department - is a sub department called the Art Department headed by the Art Director. The Art Director oversees artists and craftspeople, such as the set designers, graphic artists, and illustrators who work on the look of the film and it’s marketing. Once the art department designs the set it is the role of the Construction department, headed by the Construction coordinator who manages all the construction needed to build sets. Reporting to the Construction coordinator is the Head Carpenter who leads a gang of carpenters and laborers. This may also include crafting custom props. Construction is also responsible for breaking down the set after the production is over. Once the set is created, it needs to be filled in. This is the job of the Sets Department headed by the Set Decorator. Working under the set decorator are Buyers who purchase or rent pieces for the set, Leadman or Leadperson who oversees a set dressing crew, often referred to as the swing gang. This swing gang is made up of Set dressors who fill in all the stuff you would normally see on a set. If a set needs plants - you’ll see a “greensman” who handles all the plant material, sometimes real and sometimes artificial. If a film has a significant amount of greens, this may be it’s own subdepartment with it’s own organizational hierarchy. Items that the actors interact with that are not part of the scenery are called properties or Props - and are under the jurisdiction of the Property master who may have assistants below him or her.. Some projects will have a weapons master which will work specifically with guns, swords and other weapons both in procuring for the set and in training people on the safety, Not technically part of the Art Department but related are Costume and Hair and Makeup. The Head of the Costume Department is the Costume Designer. Under that position is the Costumer Supervisor works on the day to day management of the costumes as well as overseeing the costumers, buyers and renters that work in the department. The head of the Hair and Makeup Departments are the Key Makeup Artist and Key Hair - both positions will work on the hair and makeup for the leads and oversee assistant makeup artists who work on other actors. Special effects makeup artists may be brought in as necessary. An off shoot of the Art Department is the Special Effects Department. Special Effects are effects that happen in the camera - the practical effects team. A special effects team can have a similar hierarchical structure the art department in that it’s headed by a Special Effects Supervisor, with a Gang Boss or Construction Foreman under him or her overseeing all kind of Technicians from Pyrotechnicians to Sculptors to Model and Miniatures Technicians. Backing up the art department and actually all the other departments as well is the Continuity Supervisor sometimes called the Script Supervisor. The role of the Continuity Supervisor is to make sure that things that need to look the same, look the same from day to day - that the sets, costumes, hair and and makeup stay consistent over a long shoot. Before we wrap up the production crew - let’s not forget the craft services and catering positions. Napolean said an army marches on it’s stomach and a film crew is no different. Craft Services or Crafty is small snacks, drinks or coffee that is delivered to the different departments to have while they’re working to keep them happy. Catering is a more formal meal where the cast and crew take a break - union films are contractually obligated to have a meal every so many hours, even on a the smallest budget non-union films, it’s best not to skip the meal because this is where cast and crew members bond creating a better working environment. Once the production is done and all the shots captured, the post production team comes in and a film is overseen by the Post Production Supervisor. The editorial department is headed by the Editor who will be assisted by several assistant editors who do a lot of the logging and organizing the footage with the help of the camera reports generated by the 2nd AC. The Sound Department is headed by the Supervising Sound Designer - under the sound designer are their is a dialogue editor who works on cleaning up the dialogue tracks, an ADR editor who works on replacing dialogue that was recorded on set with dialogue recorded in a studio, Foley Artists who create sound effects for the film, Music Supervisors work with Composers who score the film, Orchestra Contractors who bring in the Musicians who perform the score, Recording Engineers who record the soundtrack and Sound mixers who bring everything all together. In Post Production we also have the Visual Effects Department which can be a beast of it’s own. Visual Effects are effects not in camera - think Greenscreen compositing and CGI. Now the organizational chart of a VFX department can look a lot like a production crew with a Visual Effects Producer at the top working with the Film’s Director and DP in deciding how shots will be done. Under the VFX Producer is the Creative Director who controls the creative decisions - beneath that is the Visual Effects Supervisor who organizes and coordinates a team of digital artists, painters, animators, programmers, riggers, rotoscope artists (that’s a job that cuts out working plates frame by frame) and compositors (the person who brings different visual elements together). Now a film will often use several different visual effects companies for different shots so you’ll see many different positions listed. Once the picture is edited and visual effects added, the last touch is to color correct and color grade everything. This is done by the colorist working in collaboration with the director and sometimes the director of photography. So you can see why a big budget movie can costs millions and millions of dollars. So hopefully now you have a better understanding of who does what on a film. Some of the positions will be different from picture to picture, but the next time you’re at the theater stick around and watch the credits. And then assemble your own team and go make something great. I’m John Hess and I’ll see you at FilmmakerIQ.com
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Channel: Filmmaker IQ
Views: 149,739
Rating: 4.9578857 out of 5
Keywords: Set, Jobs, Movie Jobs, Who's Who, Movie Positions, John P. Hess, Filmmaker IQ, Organizational chart, Filmmaking, Producer, Unit Production Manager, Director of Photography, Gaffer, Best Boy, Director, Screenwriter
Id: CutWL8Al61E
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Length: 25min 50sec (1550 seconds)
Published: Sun Jun 25 2017
Reddit Comments

Nice. Very informative. Thank you.

👍︎︎ 7 👤︎︎ u/rowin-owen 📅︎︎ Sep 22 2018 🗫︎ replies

I apparently knew nothing about credits

👍︎︎ 3 👤︎︎ u/SBSmyth_68 📅︎︎ Sep 23 2018 🗫︎ replies

This was cool and useful. Thanks!

👍︎︎ 2 👤︎︎ u/FezPaladin 📅︎︎ Sep 23 2018 🗫︎ replies
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