FilmRoar

I have mixed feelings about an article that appeared in The Seattle Times complaining about the increasingly long credits that accompany new movies. According to the article the classic Nosferatu (1922) listed 11 names in the credits, while Star Wars (1977) listed 143 people, The Matrix (1999) lists 551, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, (2002) lists 559, Finding Nemo (2003) lists 642 and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) had 701. One the one hand it is hard to argue that the nearly ten minute long credit creep (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) was clocked at 9 minutes and 33 seconds) seems a bit excessive and goes beyond identifying the people who made a film what it is, on the other hand screen credit is often the only compensation an individual may receive for contributing to a production.

The main argument that I can see against the extra long credit sequences (and one alluded to but not really explored in the article) is that it goes against Auteur Theory. Auteur theory is an often-debated concept in film theory that states that even though dozens or thousands of people may contribute to the production of a movie the final result is really the realization of the vision of the director and therefore the director should be given the principal credit. Auteur theory has been a source of controversy for decades and is not something I wish to debate here but I can say from personal experience that although I have contributed to the production of at least two TV shows (The PJs (1999), Gary & Mike (2001) as Systems Administrator), one full length movie (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (2003) doing voice work) a number of short movies and countless commercials in none (except for some of the shorts where I directed) can it be said that I had any real influence on the artistic value of the final piece. Oh sure, I did my part but honesly it could have been any person setting up the servers or maintaining the render farm, even doing the narration and the final product would not have been significantly altered. Why then should I claim or expect any attention or dispensation? Would it not be fair to simply credit the One Hour Photo (2002) and in my review called out the director, cinematographer, production designer and set decorator for their sense of style. I do not know how much of the movie’s look can be attributed to each individual (though I can take some educated guesses) yet it makes more sense to call these people and other leads out in the credit sequence than it does to give credit to the electrician or lamp operator.

The counter argument is to me equally convincing. In the case of the TV shows I did not expect on-screen credit. I asked if my name could be included in the end titles but was perfectly fine to accept an answer of no given that the work I had done was an execution of my day-job. Sure I cancelled a vacation trip to New Zealand, spent a year sitting in a poorly ventilated office in a warehouse out in the middle of nowhere and often worked 10 to 12 hour days to get Gary & Mike up and running, but to me that was included under the contract I had signed when I was hired and I expected no further compensation (though I am still sore that I had to cancel my plans to visit New Zealand while Lord of the Rings was in production). The many hours I have spent making short movies or helping other people with their productions however did not pay and could only offer as compensation the fun of making a film, the learning experience and the on-screen credit. I will not deny the delight I felt when I first heard someone say they recognized my name from having narrated a short movie a friend produced or when I first found my name listed in The Internet Movie Database. I can only imagine that any carpenter, IT support, stuntman or set runner must feel an even greater satisfaction but more importantly some sense of compensation when they see their names at the end of a major epic and know that even though they busted ass for close to minimal wage for months or years they can at the end say ‘I helped make this movie’ and prove it by cheering when 5 minutes and 40 seconds into the end credits their name rolls by.

There is a third argument that makes whether or not a helicopter pilot deserves screen time becomes a bit of a mute point: The audience can leave the theater at any time. I am one of those people who will stay in the theater until the last name has scrolled by. I do this in part because I love seeing those odd titles (assistant roach wrangler?), in part because I like some time to finish digesting the work before heading out into the bright light but mostly because I want to be able to clap when the credits for Systems Administrators go by. If this is not interesting enough to you to stay the extra minute or ten, then leave as soon as the movie ends.