# rolling credits **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 30, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313 "2010-05-30T20:22:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jponton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@jponton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jponton)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313/1 "2010-05-30T20:22:12Z")
At the conclusion of a TV show, what is the point of rolling credits when the scroll is too fast or compressed to read? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313/2 "2010-05-30T20:24:14Z")
WAG: they are contractually obligated to show credits, but not obligated to show them in a readable fashion which would eat into the running time of the show. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313/3 "2010-05-30T20:49:19Z")
i think credits are specified in contract for the size and duration visible and that will vary with the person(s) the contract is with; major stars, director and producer might be up for longer compared to others. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313/4 "2010-05-30T21:04:18Z")
You’ve got two forces at work here: the people who work in Hollywood to whom credits are a **big deal** , and 99+% of the viewing population who doesn’t give a shit about the credits. It’s for the latter group’s sake that they try to force them through quickly so they have more airtime to sell ads on. It’s for the former group’s sake that they show them at all. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313/5 "2010-05-30T21:47:09Z")
Bit of trivia: In the film industry it used to be **required** that the credits be shown _at the beginning of the film_, after the title but before the actual story began. George Lucas had to pay a multi-thousand dollar fine in order to not do this for Star Wars (i.e. because he insisted on just blasting STAR WARS onto the screen and then going right into the 3D storytelling crawl)… ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313/6 "2010-05-30T23:51:19Z")
Also after Lucas paid the fine he quit the Directors Guild who levied the fine. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313/7 "2010-05-30T23:53:55Z")
Sometimes I like to read the credits because I want to know something about the making of the movie. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313/8 "2010-05-31T00:40:45Z")
I imagine that you probably only see this on reruns. I’m pretty sure that they’re contractually required to be readable on first run. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313/9 "2010-05-31T00:58:50Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Bit of trivia: In the film industry it used to be **required** that the credits be shown _at the beginning of the film_, after the title but before the actual story began. No it wasn’t. First of all, it was allowed to have a pre-credit sequence (e.g., the James Bond films). The practice was used as far back as **Destry Rides Again** in 1939. (And **The Magnificent Ambersons** had no credits until the end, while **Citizen Kane** had only a single title card in the beginning). In addition, not all credits were required before the film’s opening. The Director’s Guild insisted that the director be listed just before the main film began. But you could get an exemption: the original **Star Wars** had no director or writer credit in the opening. But the DGA failed to give Lucas an exemption for **Empire** and he was fined. (Welles was working before the DGA set up that rule). Later, the DGA amended its rules so that the director could be listed as the first name after the film ended. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-credits/541313/10 "2010-05-31T11:06:00Z")
Going to Second or Third the lack of readable speed here. ION and TBS blaze, BLAZE through the credits, you aren’t going to get through a single line of credits without pausing the screen. I would go so far as to say they just have stills of credits, one full screen at a time.