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Opening credits
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Not to be confused with title sequence.
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The opening credits of
A Farewell to Arms, based on the 1929 semi-autobiographical novel by
Ernest Hemingway.
In a motion picture, television program or video game, the opening credits or opening titles are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There may or may not be accompanying music. When opening credits are built into a separate sequence of their own, the correct term is title sequence (such as the familiar James Bond and Pink Panther title sequences).
Opening credits since the early 1980s, if present at all, identify the major actors and crew, while the closing credits list an extensive cast and production crew. Historically, however, opening credits have been the only source of crew credits and, largely, the cast, although over time the tendency to repeat the cast, and perhaps add a few players, with their roles identified (as was not always the case in the opening credits), evolved. The ascendancy of television movies after 1964 and the increasingly short "shelf-life" of films in theaters has largely contributed to the credits convention which came with television programs from the beginning, of holding the vast majority of cast and crew information for display at the end of the show.
In movies and television, the title and opening credits may be preceded by a "cold open," or teaser (in other words, a brief scene prior to the main acts), that helps to set the stage for the episode or film.
Contents
1 History
2 Trends of the 2000s
3 Credit only
4 Soap operas
5 Common opening credits order
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
History[edit]
Screenshot of a figure representing Carole Lombard from the opening credits of the film Nothing Sacred.
Up until the 1970s, closing credits for films usually listed only a reprise of the cast members with their roles identified, or even simply just said "The End," requiring opening credits to normally contain the details. For instance, the title sequence of the 1968 film Oliver! runs for about three-and-a-half minutes, and while not listing the complete cast, does list nearly all of its technical credits at the beginning of the film, all set against a background of what appear to be, but in fact are not, authentic 19th-century engravings of typical London life. The only credit at film's end is a listing of most of the cast, including cast members not listed at the beginning. These are set against a replay of some of the "'Consider Yourself" sequence.
Some opening credits are presented over the opening sequences of a film, rather than in a separate title sequence. The opening credits for the 1993 film The Fugitive continued intermittently over several opening scenes, and did not finish until fifteen minutes into the film. The opening credits for the 1968 film Once Upon a Time in the West lasted for fourteen minutes.
The first sound film to begin without any opening credits was Walt Disney's Fantasia, released in 1940. In the film's general release, a title card and the credit "Color by Technicolor" were spliced onto the beginning of the film, but otherwise there were no credits, although closing credits were added to the 1990 re-release and are on the videocassette. This general release version has been the one most often seen by audiences. In the roadshow version of the film, unseen by most audiences until its DVD release, the title card is seen only at the halfway point of the film, as a cue that the intermission is about to begin. The intermission was omitted in the general release version.
Orson Welles' Citizen Kane begins with only a title credit. This practice was extremely uncommon during that era.
West Side Story (1961) begins with a shot of an ink sketch of the New York City skyline as it was when the film was made. As the background of the shot changes color several times, we hear an overture medley (not in the original show) of some of the film's songs. As the overture ends, the camera pulls back and we see the title of the film the rest of the credits are shown as graffiti at the end of the film.
Most Disney films released between 1937 and 1981 had all the film-related information in the opening credits, while the closing consisted only of the credit "The End: A Walt Disney Production". However, Mary Poppins was the first Disney film to have longer closing credits, in which all the principal cast members (and the characters that they played) were listed.
Most Soviet films presented all film-related information in the opening credits, rather than at the closing which consist of only a "THE END" (Russian: КОНЕЦ ФИЛЬМА, Konyets Fily-ma) title. A typical Soviet opening credits sequence starts with a film company's logo (such as Mosfilm or Lenfilm), the film's title, followed by the scenarist (the Soviet Union considered the scriptwriter the principal "auteur" of its films[citation needed]), followed by the director, usually on separate screens, then continuing with screens showing other credits, of varying number, and finally, the film's chief administrator-in-charge, the production director (Russian: Директор картины, Direktor kartiny). Following this came the cast, usually in actor-and-role format for all principal and major featured players, and perhaps then a screen only naming, in an alphabetical cluster, some additional character players. The final credit screen identified the studio corresponding to the logo at the beginning, and the year of the film's production. It could also contain the frame with the technical information about the cinematographic film manufacturer (e.g., Svema).
This basic method was also followed in most American films from the 1930s through the late 1980s, though, obviously, in American films there was no censoring of the director's name, except in cases of blacklisting. American films also tended to list the names of the actors before the names of the directors, screenwriters, and other principal crew members. Exceptions were made in the films of director Frank Capra, whose name was usually billed before the film's title. Director Victor Fleming's name was also billed before those of the actors in films such as The Wizard of Oz, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Joan of Arc. Capra, Fleming, and James Whale were three of the few directors who received the credit "A [director's name] Production" even though they did not produce their films.
François Truffaut's 1966 film Fahrenheit 451 uses spoken opening credits instead of written ones, in keeping with the film's story of a world without reading matter.
Trends of the 2000s[edit]
Many major American motion pictures have done away with opening credits, with many films, such as Van Helsing in 2004 and Batman Begins in 2005, not even displaying the film title until the closing credits begin.
George Lucas is credited with popularizing this with his Star Wars films which display only the film's title at the start.[1] His decision to omit opening credits in his films Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980) led him to resign from the Directors Guild of America after being fined $250,000 for not crediting the director during the opening title sequence. However, Hollywood had been releasing films without opening credits for many years before Lucas came along, most notably Citizen Kane, West Side Story, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Godfather.
Nevertheless, "title-only" billing became an established form for summer blockbusters in 1989, with Ghostbusters II, Lethal Weapon 2 and The Abyss following the practice. Clint Eastwood has omitted opening credits (except for the title) in every film that he has directed since approximately 1982.
Credit only[edit]
With regard to television series, it is now an accepted practice to credit regular cast members for every episode of a season, even if they did not appear in each episode. One example is the American television series Nip/Tuck, in which the appearance of all credited characters is rare. Another television series that credited all regulars for a season in every episode (regardless of whether or not they appeared) was Lost, most notably from season two onward, in which the complete credited cast appeared in only two episodes out of 23. During Lost's fourth season, Harold Perrineau was credited for all thirteen episodes, despite only having appeared in five of them (fewer than some guest stars, such as Jeff Fahey).
The series Charmed also began by crediting every regular cast member even if they did not appear in the episode. The season two episode "Morality Bites" is the only episode in which only the three leading actresses were credited, and later the male cast members were only credited in the episodes in which they appeared. If a regular actor was not featured in that particular episode, the opening credits were edited with their images omitted and the actors not being credited.
The television series Police Squad!, in keeping with its parodic nature, featured a character who only appeared in the credits ("...and Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln").
Soap operas[edit]
Traditionally, actors in daytime soap operas are not credited in the episode opening sequences; this has been the case because of the escapist tone of the soap opera genre and as such, producers of soaps did not want cast members credited in the opening sequence in order to keep this intact. The drawback to this is that cast members are often identified by fans as their soap opera personas and not as themselves, as opposed to actors on other television programs who, in many cases, were identifiable by their own name.
In the 2000s, some soap operas began using an opening sequence where the actors are credited. The Young and the Restless was the first such show to credit, at least, most of the actors on contract with the series. The Bold and the Beautiful, which is produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions (a subsidiary of Y&R producer Bell Dramatic Serial Company), began crediting all contract cast members in its opening titles in 2005, four years after The Young and the Restless implemented it (however, unlike Y&R, The Bold and the Beautiful cycles between different title sequences depending on the episode's running time: two that feature credits – including one shorter sequence – and one that does not feature any credits or cast member visuals). ABC Daytime soaps began implementing the process in October 2002 with the debut of the All My Children 'Scrapbook" opening used until May 2004. One Life to Live began featuring character credits within the title sequence during the same time period with its "Blue and White" opening. The most recent soap to include credits for all contract actors in its opening titles was General Hospital after a February 2010 revamp of its opening credits (a credit-less introduction resumed in 2012 with the introduction of a shorter title sequence), though during the final years of its "Faces of the Heart" sequence from April 2003 to September 2004, the names of the main characters were shown alongside video headshots of the cast members in the opening title sequence.
Often, only the Friday episode of a daytime serial would run closing credits listing the actors. All performers from the preceding five episodes would be listed. Starting in the 2000s, complete end credits began running more frequently. Days of Our Lives in particular currently credits all actors, those on contract, on recurring status and with guest starring roles on the show that week, alternating every other episode with a closing credit sequence showing the program's crew members; in either instance, either version is shown after the producer, director and writing credits (General Hospital, The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful credit all performers during their closing credits, although the latter two only credit recurring and guest cast members are credited for their appearance that week only and General Hospital mainly credits only main and recurring cast members).
British soaps have never credited cast members or crew members in their opening titles nor do they show video or images of the cast members. However, in recent years these programmes have listed the writers, producers and directors over the first scene of the episode and episode titles if they apply. The opening titles of Hollyoaks feature regular characters in short (less than one second) scenes intended to capture their character.
Common opening credits order[edit]
Further information: Billing (filmmaking) and WGA screenwriting credit system
While there are numerous variations most opening credits use some variation of the basic order.[2] In the absence of opening credits, these roles will often be credited in reverse order at the beginning of the closing credits.
(NAME OF THE STUDIO) or (NAME OF THE STUDIO) PRESENTS
Name of the studio that is distributing the film and may or may not have produced it (Walt Disney Pictures, Columbia, Lions Gate, Universal, Marvel Entertainment, Dimension, Miramax, Palmetto Moon Studios etc.).
(NAME OF THE PRODUCTION COMPANY)
Name of the production company that actually made the film or name of the investment groups or companies that financed a substantial part of the film (usually credited as "in association with" or "A [production company name] production.").
POSSESSORY CREDIT/S
The primary artistic credit for the film. Generally the film director, but sometimes the producer or writer. Normally stylized "A film by [name]" or "A [name] film". Sometimes placed before a title. (E.g. "Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho").
STARRING
Principal actors (sometimes the stars' and director's credits will be reversed, depending on the star's deal with the studio; in other cases, as in the Rodgers and Hammerstein films, or as in all three film versions of Show Boat, or, as in many Disney films, the title of the film will be shown before the names of its actors; sometimes, as in many of Cannon's films, the name(s) of the principal actor(s) will be shown before the name(s) of the producer(s), i.e. "The Cannon Group presents X in a Golan-Globus production of a Y film").
(FILM'S TITLE)
Name of the film.
FEATURING or WITH or ALSO STARRING
Featured actors.

As a variation some of the below may be noted:
GOWNS (older movies)
SOUND RECORDING (older movies)

CASTING or CASTING BY
Casting director.
MUSIC or MUSIC COMPOSED BY or ORIGINAL SCORE BY
Composer of music.
VISUAL EFFECTS PRODUCER or VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR
VFX Studio
COSTUME DESIGN or COSTUME DESIGNER
Costume designer.
EDITOR or EDITED BY
Film Editor.
PRODUCTION DESIGN or PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Production designer.
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of photography.

PRODUCER or PRODUCED BY, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Producers, co-producers, executive producers, 'also produced by' (credited for various reasons according to contracts and personal scrutiny of the principal producer). Often, though, the name of the producer will be the second-to-last opening credit, just before the writer's name(s) are shown (Pursuant to WGA rules, writer credits are immediately adjacent to the Director.).
BASED ON THE BOOK (PLAY, GRAPHIC NOVEL etc.) BY or FROM A PLAY/BOOK BY (older movies)
If based on a book or other literary work.
BASED ON THE CHARACTERS BY or BASED ON THE CHARACTERS CREATED BY
If based on characters from a book or other media.
(SCREEN) STORY or STORY BY
Person who wrote the story on which the script is based, gets "story by" credit, and the first screenplay credit, unless the script made substantial changes to the story.
WRITER(S) or WRITTEN BY or SCREENPLAY or SCREENPLAY BY
Screenplay writers. The Writers Guild of America allows only three writing credits on a feature film, although teams of two are credited as one, separated on the credits by an ampersand ("X & Y"). If each works independently on the script (the most common system), they are separated by an "and". If more than two persons worked on the screenplay, the credits may read something like "screenplay by X & Y and Z and W," meaning that X and Y worked as a team, but Z and W worked separately.[3]
DIRECTOR or DIRECTED BY
Director. The Directors Guild of America usually permits a film to list only one director, even when it is known that two or more worked on it. Exceptions are made in rare cases such as a death, and subsequent replacement of the director mid-production,[4] and for established directing teams such as the Coen brothers.[5]
See also[edit]
Acknowledgment (creative arts)
Broadcast designer
Character generator
Closing credits
Credit (creative arts)
Digital on-screen graphic (BUG)
Lower third
Production logo
Title sequence
Cinema Research Corporation
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "At 5:40". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
Jump up ^ "Glatzer (October 1998). "Movie credits 101"". Archived from the original on December 20, 2010.
Jump up ^ "Glatzer (October 1998) "Movie credits 101"".
Jump up ^ [1] Archived March 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ [2]
External links[edit]
"Art of the Title". Art of the Title. - A compendium and leading web resource of film and television title design from around the world, including interviews and behind-the-scenes materials.
"Forget the Film, Watch the Titles". Watch the Titles. - A collection of title sequences and interviews with designers.
Hitfix Staff (March 6, 2014). "Greatest TV opening credits of all time". Hitfix. CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
"Making a Fuss Over Opening Credits". The New York Times.
"Screening the Past Novelty Title Sequences in Classical Hollywood Cinema". Latrobe.edu.au. Archived from the original on 2007-01-17.
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Emperor of India
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This article is about the official title "Emperor/Empress of India". For the list of Indian emperors, see list of Indian monarchs. For the British battleship, see HMS Emperor of India. For the British medal, see Kaisar-i-Hind Medal.
"Empress of India" redirects here. For other uses, see Empress of India (disambiguation).
Emperor of India
Imperial
The badge of the Order of the Star of India, used as an emblem of British India
Last in office
George VI
11 December 1936 – 15 August 1947
Details
Style
Her Imperial Majesty
1876–1901
His Imperial Majesty
1901–48
First monarch
Victoria
Last monarch
George VI
Formation
1 May 1876
Abolition
22 June 1948
Residence
United Kingdom
Buckingham Palace
India
Viceroy's House
Appointer
Hereditary
Emperor (or Empress) of India[Note 1] was a title used by the British monarchs during the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent from 1876 (see Royal Titles Act 1876) until 1948,[a][1][2] after India had gained independence from the United Kingdom, when for a transitional period the British monarch was also king of the independent dominions of India and Pakistan.
The term "Emperor of India" is also used retrospectively to refer to pre-British Indian rulers from various dynasties. (see List of Indian monarchs).
Contents
1 British monarchs
2 List of British Emperors and Empresses of India
3 Notes
4 References
British monarchs[edit]
See also: Style of the British sovereign
New Crowns for Old depicts Prime Minister Disraeli offering Queen Victoria an imperial crown in exchange for an earl's coronet. She made him Earl of Beaconsfield at this time.[3]
After the British East India Company (EIC) deposed the nominal Mughal Emperor, and after the British government dissolved the EIC in 1874, Queen Victoria was given the title "Empress of India" (or Kaisar-i-Hind) from 1 May 1876. The new title was proclaimed at the Delhi Durbar of 1877. The title came into use nineteen years after British India and the British protected states ('princely states') on the Indian subcontinent came under the control of the British Crown, following the dissolution of the British East India Company.
The title had been eagerly assumed by Victoria in 1876, after she had been pressuring Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Benjamin Disraeli to agree to her assuming the title for some years.[4] The idea of having Victoria proclaimed Empress of India was not particularly new as Lord Ellenborough had already suggested it in 1843 on becoming Governor-General of India. By 1874, Major-General Sir Henry Ponsonby, the Queen's Private Secretary, had investigations well in hand and English charters had been scrutinized for imperial titles, with Edgar and Stephen mentioned as sound precedents. The Queen, possibly irritated by the sallies of the republicans, the tendency to democracy, and the realization that her influence was manifestly on the decline, was urging the move.[5] By January 1876, the Queen's insistence was such that the Prime Minister felt he could procrastinate no more.[5] Initially, Victoria had actually considered the style "Empress of Great Britain, Ireland and India" but the cautious Disraeli, in his desire to avoid controversy, persuaded the Queen to limit the title to India.[6]
However, many in Britain regarded the assumption of the title as a fairly obvious development from the 1858 Government of India Act when the Crown replaced the East India Company, as the title 'Queen' was no longer considered adequate for the head of what had become known as the Indian Empire. The new styling would underline the fact that the native states were no longer a mere agglomeration but a collective entity.[7]
Coins of the British Empire and its dominions routinely included the title Ind. Imp., such as this Canadian five-cent piece.
When Victoria's successor Edward VII ascended the throne in 1901, he continued to use the title "Emperor of India", as did subsequent British monarchs. The title continued after India became independent on 15 August 1947 until it was formally abandoned on 22 June 1948[2] during the reign of King George VI. George VI continued as King of India until 26 January 1950, when the country's new constitution made it a sovereign democratic republic, although still within the Commonwealth of Nations following the 1949 London Declaration.
When signing off Indian business, the reigning British King-Emperors or queen-empress used the initials R I (Rex/Regina Imperator/Imperatrix) or the abbreviation Ind. Imp. (Indiae Imperator/Imperatrix) after their name (while the one reigning queen-empress, Victoria, used the initials R I, the wives of king-emperors simply used R). When a male monarch held the title his wife, the queen consort, used the style queen-empress, though she was not herself a reigning monarch.
British coins and those of the Empire and Commonwealth routinely included the abbreviated title Ind. Imp., although in India itself the coins said "Empress", and later "King Emperor". When in 1947 India became independent all coining dies had to be changed, which took up to a year and created some problems. Canadian coins, for example, were minted well into 1948 stamped "1947", the new year's issue indicated by a small maple leaf in one corner. In Great Britain itself the title appeared on coinage through 1948.
List of British Emperors and Empresses of India[edit]
Portrait
Name
Birth
Death
Emperor from
Emperor until
Accession to the office
Consort
Victoria 24 May 1819 22 January 1901 1 May 1876[b] 22 January 1901 Given title after dissolution of the East India Company
Edward VII 9 November 1841 6 May 1910 22 January 1901 6 May 1910 Son of Victoria Alexandra of Denmark
George V 3 June 1865 20 January 1936 6 May 1910 20 January 1936 Son of Edward VII Mary of Teck
Edward VIII 23 June 1894 28 May 1972 20 January 1936 11 December 1936
(abdicated) Son of George V
George VI 14 December 1895 6 February 1952 11 December 1936 22 June 1948 Brother of Edward VIII Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ The Indian form of the title was Kaisar-i-Hind .
Jump up ^ British rule in India ended on 15 August 1947, but George VI retained the title of King-Emperor until 22 June 1948, and thereafter remained monarch of India until India became a republic on 26 January 1950. He continued as King of Pakistan until his death.
Jump up ^ Proclaimed Empress of India on 28 April 1876 in the United Kingdom and on 1 January 1877 in India.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "No. 38330". The London Gazette. 22 June 1948. p. 3647. Royal Proclamation of 22 June 1948, made in accordance with the Indian Independence Act 1947, 10 & 11 GEO. 6. CH. 30.('Section 7: ...(2)The assent of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is hereby given to the omission from the Royal Style and Titles of the words " Indiae Imperator " and the words " Emperor of India " and to the issue by His Majesty for that purpose of His Royal Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Realm.'). According to this Royal Proclamation, the King retained the Style and Titles 'George VI by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith', and he thus remained King of the various Dominions, including India and Pakistan, though these two (and others) eventually chose to abandon their monarchies and became republics.
^ Jump up to: a b Indian Independence Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 30)
Jump up ^ Harold E. Raugh (2004). The Victorians at War, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 122. ISBN 9781576079256.
Jump up ^ L. A. Knight, "The Royal Titles Act and India", The Historical Journal, Cambridge University Press, Vol. 11, No. 3 (1968), pp. 488-489.
^ Jump up to: a b L. A. Knight, p. 489.
Jump up ^ L. A. Knight, p. 488.
Jump up ^ L. A. Knight, pp. 491, 496
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Emperors of India
Victoria
Edward VII
George V
Edward VIII
George VI
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