Is there an industry standard? Should I have one name appear on the screen at a time, or is it to the pros you wanna pitch it to, if you I have more names on the screen at once? Thanks.
How long should the credits be in a short film?
- Thread starter harmonica44
- Start date
Experiment with rolling credits and see what seems to long or too short to you. You need to have an instinct for these things, just like you would editing a scene. There is no industry standard, but a short film isn't going to have 180 people involved, so don't look at feature credits for guidance on run time.
Yup, as long as you need. If you want to give some people single titles that's fine, but unless you negotiated up front it's up to you.
Have some people that really gave it all? Give them a single title credit.
Only have 5 people working the entire project? Then 1-2 per page is fine.
Some people with shorts list the same name in several roles if tha person did a lot, or some people only list one name one time and title it to their most involved role. I try not to show the same name more than twice, 3 times if they did a lot. That's my preference though.
Have some people that really gave it all? Give them a single title credit.
Only have 5 people working the entire project? Then 1-2 per page is fine.
Some people with shorts list the same name in several roles if tha person did a lot, or some people only list one name one time and title it to their most involved role. I try not to show the same name more than twice, 3 times if they did a lot. That's my preference though.
Okay thanks. The reason why I ask is a lot of music artists are looking to advertise a song in shorts and features. I would be happy to allow one of them to put a song over the credits, but of course it would have to be extremely cut to fit the short length.
Usually, it is timed with one, two, or three songs, music scores, or a combination with your end credits.
If they're creating with loops, ask for a :30 and a :45, which is somewhere in the middle for a short film with a limited cast and crew. You can hold your logo at the end to fill 10 seconds if you need to.
With a short, keep all the credits on the tail end. Open the film with the title, and get right to the film within 5 seconds of the start of your film.
I disagree with my colleagues here. For a short film, ALL your credits should be on one slate at the end of your film, maybe 5 seconds followed by one slate with your website url in clear block letters. Then fade. Your website should be the last thing viewers see so it burns in their mind should they wish to buy your film.
If you draw your film's credits out, most viewers will tune out and not stick around for the website address at the end. Furthermore, film festivals may shorten it for you. They may not wish to torture viewers with long drawn out credits at the end of all the shorts in their program. This will also cause viewers to miss your film's url.
Remember, its sell, sell, sell, not bore, bore, bore!
Good luck.
I disagree with my colleagues here. For a short film, ALL your credits should be on one slate at the end of your film, maybe 5 seconds followed by one slate with your website url in clear block letters. Then fade. Your website should be the last thing viewers see so it burns in their mind should they wish to buy your film.
If you draw your film's credits out, most viewers will tune out and not stick around for the website address at the end. Furthermore, film festivals may shorten it for you. They may not wish to torture viewers with long drawn out credits at the end of all the shorts in their program. This will also cause viewers to miss your film's url.
Remember, its sell, sell, sell, not bore, bore, bore!
Good luck.
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I was pretty good at maths back in school, but even I'm struggling with this...
as short as humanly possible. nobody cares that Joe Doe was production assistant, because nobody knows him outside of your circle of friends.
end titles for beginner filmmakers are nothing but ego stokers. Nobody cares about them, except for the name owner.
oh, and i ll second.. do NOT do opening credits.
end titles for beginner filmmakers are nothing but ego stokers. Nobody cares about them, except for the name owner.
oh, and i ll second.. do NOT do opening credits.
I include all that participated. Leaving no one out. Viewers may not care (they can walk out of the theater or turn-off the movie when on TV any time they choose) but those that participated DO care -- they want to see their name on the screen (so do their relatives, friends and co-workers). I NEVER ignore those that I have been lucky enough to work with in a production. Many are gold. They give what they can (sometimes a lot -- sometimes a little) so reward them ALL in return. You may need them again.
My two cents and I am not rich or famous.
My two cents and I am not rich or famous.
This a thousand times! Doubly so for those who aren't getting paid...the credit IS their paycheck. GuerrillaAngel's idea about the URL is a good one too. Maybe open the scroll with the URL, and then put it again at the end. That way you catch the eye of someone who shuts off the credits, and also reinforce it for those who watch the whole thing (probably not a lot of people, other than those involved). A good song can make people stick around longer than they would have otherwise, though certainly not for an entire song's worth.
As a musician, don't feel bad about using only a clip from a song for the credits. It's credits, not a music video. Depending on the band, they might be able to get you a short edited clip (30 seconds or so), but the part of the song the BAND thinks is awesome might not be the part you want.
(related anticdote and a bit of venting) I recently saw the final edit of a feature I scored (and wrote two songs for). They opted for long opening credits, with one of my songs...trimmed down to instrumental breaks and choruses. All well and good except the chorus is really just the name of the song repeated over and over. And they spelled my name wrong. Opted not to use the song for the scene it was written for (as incidental music during a photo shoot), which is all well and good, and they did use the other song I wrote where I was expecting. Everything will be fine by the end credits, right? A SECOND clumsy edit of the first song, and they didn't repeat the credits from the beginning. I was left feeling very disappointed...not BAD per se, just a little sad with how it turned out. For those who are curious, the two songs from the film are here: www.reverbnation.com/puzzleofflesh
thats my worst fear haha
Thats one of the reasons i switched my name from "Dmitriy" to "Dima".
what if the opening credits appear during the beginning of the movie, as in on the actual footage?
I agree, no opening credits. Even a title should happen after a scene or so, or on top of the footage.
Opening credits on top of footage, ehh. Unless you have a name that will encourage people to stay for the rest, I wouldn't. Shorts don' have a captive audience. Features do, you paid for a theater ticket or bought the DVD or whatever. You need to hook people as fast as possible in a short, especially if it's longer than 4 minutes.
Opening credits on top of footage, ehh. Unless you have a name that will encourage people to stay for the rest, I wouldn't. Shorts don' have a captive audience. Features do, you paid for a theater ticket or bought the DVD or whatever. You need to hook people as fast as possible in a short, especially if it's longer than 4 minutes.
yea, i dont understand why to use credits in beginning for shorts..
You want to jump right into the conflict. It would be a bit distracting to watch a movie, end of act 1, tension rises.. and name appears "Editor: Michael Johnson".. lol
You want to jump right into the conflict. It would be a bit distracting to watch a movie, end of act 1, tension rises.. and name appears "Editor: Michael Johnson".. lol
The other option, which I used with Very Special Agents is I had a Rap group make a custom song for my end credits and I timed the credit roll to the length of the music. The music was made custom. So, I needed to sell the song with the production because it was about the characters on the video.
Also, the best resource for these questions is a studio film editor. I lost contact with one. But, still have another I can contact for important stuff.
A studio editor will recommend opening and closing credits, plus an animated title in the beginning of the production.
Since my market is to sell to television, I consult TV editors about stuff like titles, credits, and presentation. When I complete my rough cut next year with backgrounds, 3D animation, more cgi, and music, I will present what I have to a TV studio editor for tips to sell it at NATPE. Then, I will have it sound mixed.
A studio editor will recommend opening and closing credits, plus an animated title in the beginning of the production.
Since my market is to sell to television, I consult TV editors about stuff like titles, credits, and presentation. When I complete my rough cut next year with backgrounds, 3D animation, more cgi, and music, I will present what I have to a TV studio editor for tips to sell it at NATPE. Then, I will have it sound mixed.
I already guessed that opening credits would be bad, so I would put them in the end. The way the short I'm doing now, is, is that the title comes after the first two scene opening, and that's it.
I guess if I should keep them short I have not much room for a short edited song then.
I guess if I should keep them short I have not much room for a short edited song then.