Titles & Credits Convention Research

Emma Marshall

Difference between titles & credits?

TITLESThese are usually shown at the beginning of a trailer. They only have brief information such as the name of the film or the name of the production company for example.

CREDITSThese come at the end of a trailer and have the more important information, for example, the cast names and social media sites.

What do they say?

• CreditsSome trailers will give credit to the actors or to the rest of the cast.

• QuotesThere will often be quotes that you will hear in the film or you would have read in the book.

Example: Paper Towns

Example: Another Me

• ReviewsSome trailers will include reviews from other directors, newspapers/magazines or other respected people within the industry to attract a wider audience.

• Release dateThis is important to let the audience know when the film is out to watch.

• Social MediaThis is shown to let the audience know how to interact with the institution. On social media they would promote the film, have extra information and maybe even run competitions.

• Introduction to the storyTitles can be used to briefly introduce the characters or themes in the story to the audience.

Example: The Fault In Our Stars

Example: Pulp Fiction

Example: Fantastic 4

Who/what are they about? And why?• Actors: This is to both, acknowledge and publicize the film. Big names from the acting industry will attract larger audiences.

• Name of the production/distribution company: It would have been these companies who funded the film. Some people may be more likely to see a film depending on a if a particular company produced it.

• Cast: The cast who helped to film the movie are important to mention as some people might prefer the way a particular director works for example.

Example: Django Unchained

Example: 12 Years A Slave

Example: Allegiant

What is their purpose?TITLESThe purpose of titles is to give a brief introduction/back story, as well as mentioning actors/ directors names. They are there to inform the audience and let them know what is happening.

CREDITSThe purpose of credits is to acknowledge and thank everyone who helped in some way with the film. They can also allow the audience to find out who played a particular part.

When…?• Titles normally last about three seconds. They

appear at the beginning/ during the trailer about four or five times, and at the end about two or three times.

• The ones at the beginning tend to be about 5 seconds apart from each other. The ones more towards the end are around 3 seconds apart and appear about 10 seconds before the end of the trailer.

Where…?• At the very beginning, usually it’s the name of the

production or distribution companies as they funded the project, putting most of the money in.

• Then it’s normally the names of the main actors as they can attract a wider audience and are generally paid the most.

• Lastly is the credits and that includes all the other actors and cast who participated in the film as they must be acknowledged. There are always a large amount of names in the credits.

How do they fit in with the narrative structure and narrative enigmas?

Titles can fit in with the narrative as they can add to the mystery and help raise questions through the text used.

For example; Who? What? When? Where? Why?

They are also able to change the way a story is told. They can give the audience hints as to what is happening in the trailer (and what will happen in the full movie) to help the audience understand the story if they were confused.

How do they fit in with the genre/ subgenre?

Different genres will use different ways with their titles to suit the mood and effect they want to create.For example, the horror genre wants audiences to feel scared and uneasy, so therefore, they tend to have their titles quite dark or on a scary looking background.

Example: MamaThe background for this title is very disturbing.

Example: PoltergeistThis title is very dark, yet plain, not giving too much away.

How…? (fonts, colours, animation etc)

The horror genre tends to use mainly black and red colours, as these are often associated with scariness and blood. They sometimes have moving or flashing backgrounds to create more tension.The comedy genre tends to be a bit brighter, often having a white background, and the fonts are generally more colourful.

Comedy example: Ted Horror example: Mama Horror/Comedy example: Shaun Of The Dead