How to Order Movie Credits: Guide to Opening and End Credits

Guild or union contracts often dictate the billing order of a film’s opening credits. The standard opening credits order starts with the distributing production company, followed by the production company, the filmmaker, the title, and the cast. After that, the rest of the opening credits list participants in order of increasing importance to the film’s production, starting with the casting director and ending with the director’s credit.

While non-union productions may order their opening movie credit sequence as they see fit, there is a typical order for most guild and union film productions:

1. 1. The distributor: The studio that markets your film into theaters. They may be responsible for financing the film as well.
2. 2. The production company: The production company that produces your film can be a studio (or its subsidiary) or an independent production company. The production company provides the necessities for developing and filming your movie.
3. 3. The filmmaker: For a big Hollywood movie, you might see a credit like “A Martin Scorcese Picture” or “A Spike Lee Joint” come up right before the title of the film, setting the audience up to expect that filmmaker’s signature style.
4. 4. Film title: The name of the movie.
5. 5. Cast: The major stars of the film will get top billing, followed by the supporting cast of the film, who may share title cards depending on the size of their roles.
6. 6. Casting director: The person or company who gathered the talent and auditioned them for the roles.
7. 7. Music composer: The person in charge of scoring and creating the music for the film.
8. 8. Costume designer: The person who designed the wardrobe for all the actors and extras on set.
9. 9. Associate producers: Junior-level producers who often serve as the producer’s second hand.
10. 10. Editor: The editor cuts all the scenes of the movie together.
11. 11. Production designer: The production or set designer is in charge of designing a setting that most closely fits the director’s vision.
12. 12. Director of photography: The cinematographer is the person responsible for creating the look of a film. A cinematographer works with the camera and lighting crew to make sure that the camera is capturing the action the way the director intends.
13. 13. Executive producers: An executive producer can mean a number of things on a film set. An executive producer oversees the producers on behalf of the studio or financiers. They can also be the person who initially set the project in motion.
14. 14. Producers: Producers deal with the budget, expenses, and hiring decisions regarding the cast and crew, and they supervise the day-to-day operations of a set.
15. 15. Writers: The scriptwriter (or screenwriting team) who wrote the screenplay.
16. 16. Director: The director of the film gets the last title card of the opening credits.

The guidelines for a film’s end credits sequence aren’t as rigid as they are for the opening credits. The names of above-the-line people are usually displayed on cards again before the scrolling credits, in somewhat of a reverse order of the opening—the director’s name appears first, followed by the writer, producer, executive producers, and director of photography. The credits for the below-the-line crewmembers start after the major star credits.

The film credits order hierarchy for ending credits isn’t as strict as it is in the opening credit roll. While the number of people and departments involved in a film (as well as the level of their contribution) can affect the order they appear in the credits, the sequence is generally as follows:

1. 1. Director
2. 2. Writers
3. 3. Producer
4. 4. Executive producer
5. 5. Director of photography
6. 6. Production designer
7. 7. Editor
8. 8. Composer (sometimes followed by the music supervisor)
9. 9. Costume designer
10. 10. Visual effects supervisor (sometimes followed by or shared with the visual effects producer)
11. 11. Casting director
12. 12. Co-producers
13. 13. Major lead cast members, depending on the film (sometimes big stars are listed again in a separate or stylized sequence)
14. 14. Unit production manager
15. 15. First assistant director
16. 16. Second assistant director
17. 17. Full cast list
18. 18. Stunt department including all performers and choreographers
19. 19. Production departments including grips, electric, sound, wardrobe, art, hair and makeup, and any others
20. 20. Postproduction departments including assistant editors, foley artists, colorists, and visual effects editors
21. 21. Music credits for those in charge of preparing, orchestrating, and editing the music
22. 22. Caterer and craft services
23. 23. Second unit (the crew in charge of shooting additional or supplemental footage for the film)
24. 24. Title design
25. 25. Special thanks
26. 26. Logos for any guilds involved in the production, like the Writers Guild of America (WGA) or Director’s Guild of America (DGA), as well as the equipment makers or rental houses
27. 27. Shooting locations
28. 28. Final sound mix recording studio
29. 29. Copyright
30. 30. Disclaimers affirming the fictional nature of the film and adherence to animal welfare laws, if applicable

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