When the movie begins, we see something like this: Bob Steinson presents…
With Filmways…A Gizmo production…Jimmy John films… And then you see short (maybe 5 seconds) scenes of different logos: Orion films…Focus…20th Century movies presents… etc. etc. I believe that these are attempts to credit the company that produces the movie and the company that distributes it. But what are all these other layers of credits? Sometimes it seems as if there are 5 or more groups that are given credit for the movie, and as a typical movie goer, I surely don’t know what these groups are. I certainly don’t think that the logos and information are for my benefit, but rather for the sophisticated “film” goers who may be ultimately studying film or voting on an academy award. But I’d like to understand what they stand for. Any help, dopers? xo, C.
Excerpt from Move Credits 101 at Salon (registration may be required).
" The film “Quiz Show” listed 11 producers in the opening credits, although in fact there were 14, but three had asked to have their names removed. Variety’s story reported that “it required several weeks to work out a viable device for listing all the credits – which would be co-producers, executive producers, ‘also produced by’ producers and so forth. When one refused to go along with the settlement, the entire ‘grid’ had to be painstakingly reconstructed.” Since no film requires 11 producers, much less 14, we can be pretty sure that we’re seeing ego at work. Who are these people? Often they’re friends, relatives, personal trainers or other hangers-on of the star whose names are added on as a part of the star’s contract, a kind of big perk for the “little people.” When the film has two or even three big stars, they all may want to do this. Thus the multiplicity of producer credits."
It might have been of more help if I’d excerpted the first paragraph, which is more relevant to your question.
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You’ve stayed through the movie’s final credits – a seemingly endless scrolling of mysterious job titles like best boy, grip and Foley artist – and if you’re like many people, you have no idea what all these individuals do, or whether they’re just involved in some sadomasochistic cult headquartered at the studio. We’ll get to them, along with gaffers, wranglers and second second assistant assistants, but first let’s talk about ego. Credits aren’t really there for the audience. They’re there so the industry will know who did what on the film. They help with future jobs, with better contracts, with more deals and obviously with getting more money next time. Credits are where the agent earns his or her money, because it’s the agent who negotiates the credits.
First, draw a horizontal line. That line is an accountant’s way of describing the costs of making a movie. Above the line go the names of all the creative people involved (along with the pay or compensation they’re going to get). Who are the creative people? They’re the ones with agents. They are the director, the producers, the writers, the stars and featured actors and (these days) the production designers, composers, casting directors and cinematographers. Below the line go all the production people – the crew members – and the out-of-pocket costs of making the movie, like allocations for location rentals, building sets, purchasing or renting equipment, getting props, recording and editing the sound track, buying film stock and processing it in the laboratory, generating the optical and special effects (now often up to half the total production cost) and the like. The line is not a figure of speech. Every production is described as consisting of “above-the-line” and “below-the-line” costs.
Now the fun begins. Who should be listed first? With a few exceptions, there’s a predetermined order. The very first credit you see on the screen, just after the lights go down and the theater informs you that this is the feature presentation and you are fortunate enough to hear it in one or another version of Dolby sound, is the name of the studio (Buena Vista, Columbia, Universal, etc.), followed by the name of the production company that actually made the film (for example, Amblin), followed by the name of the investment group that hopes to make a fortune by backing the film (for example, a group of dentists in Minneapolis might call themselves “Whitecaps IV”), usually credited as “in association with.”
Helpful link. It also helps explain why all the posters for movies seem to have the same name format, and why coming attractions credits (usually just one scene) have the same format - probably a result of contracts that require equal billing, etc. I think that most of these before the movie credits must be the investment groups, because there can only be one studio and one distributor and one production company. I think. Good start. Thanks. xo, C.
According to something I read from Kevin Smith, the first thing you do when you start making a movie is to form a production company specifically for the purpose of making that movie. That way if you get sued into oblivion, only this company goes out of business, not your original company. Thus Kevin Smith has View Askew Productions as his permanent company but in all his movies there is another company that is working with View Askew to make the movie. That company is only set up for the purpose of making that one movie.