Creative Tail Credits: Black Adder III

Tail credits are so often a text roll: white text on black. To spice things up, sometimes the font is tweaked. Sometimes images or outtakes are included for the earlier part of the roll. In the case of TV, it’s text on cards that flash by. Name & role. We’ve seen it before. We expect it.

Black Adder (Third Season) is different. The tail credits are creatively in keeping with the style of the season: Regency England… and you can’t help but want to watch the entire credit roll. The final shot of the episode dissolves into a drawing of the same image and the roll begins… like the pages of an historical book of its era, the tail credit roll goes like this:

For the
BENEFIT of SERVERAL VIEWERS
MR CURTIS & MR ELTON’S
Much admir’d Comedy
BLACK ADDER The THIRD
or
[EPISODE NAME]
was performed with appropriate Scenery Dresses etc.
by
EDMUND BLACKADDER
butler to the Prince,
Mr. ROWAN ATKINSON
Baldrick, a dogsbody, Mr. TONY ROBINSON
The Prince Regent, their master, Mr. HUGH LAURIE
Mrs. Miggins, a coffee shoppekeeper,
Mifs. HELEN ATKINSON-WOOD

[etc..]

MUSIC, (never perform’d before), Mr. HOWARD GOODALL

designer of graphics, Mr. GRAHAM McCALLUM
buyer of properties, Mifs. JUDY FARR
designer of costumes, Mifs. ANNE HARDINGE
designer of make-up, Mifs. VICKY POCOCK
mixer of vision, Mifs. SUE COLLINS

[etc.]

the producer, Mr. LLOYD

To conclude with Rule Britannia in full chorus
NO MONEY RETURN’D
(C) BBC [logo] MCMLXXXVII

Such creative use of overall visual style, font style & size, uppercase & lowercase and even camera zooming to highlight where needed! The tail credits are so very much in keeping both with the comedy of the program and the historical era portrayed. You’ll have to see an episode for the full effect. Would that we could be inpsired to make more tail credits as creative and inclusive to the film as a whole!

Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb