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Tag: screen credits

Tail Credits for VE Day: Blackadder Goes Forth

World War anniversaries have me thinking about Blackadder screen credit.

It’s impressive when tail credits stretch beyond the fast-flashing cards or speedy roll to take on the thematic tone of the movie – even for a portion of list. Blackadder Season IV, however, really goes to town (or to war, in this case) with matching theme of the screen credits to the content of the show. Season IV is the WW1 season, and the tail credits are in cards over scratchy “newsreel” footage:

BLACKADDER GOES FORTH
Captain Edmund Blackadder
ROWAN ATKINSON
Private S. Baldrick
TONY ROBINSON
General Sir Anthony Cecil
Hogmany Melchett
STEPHEN FRY
Lieutenant The Honourable
George Colthurst St. Barleigh
HUGH LAURIE
Captain Kevin Darling
TIM McINNERNY
Title Music
Composed and Arranged by
HOWARD GOODALL
Played by
The Band of the 3rd Battalion
The Royal Anglian Regiment
(The Pompadours)
Bandmaster
WOI TIM PARKINSON
P/Br. 647989 Libotte, J
Vis/E. 110143 Turner, R
Tech/Co. 289346 Massen, D
V/M 420372 Abbott, C
VTE. 614981 Wadsworth, C
Cm/S. 841842 Hoare, J
S/Svr. 733731 Deane, M
Dep/Svr. 713429 Way, N
L/Dr. 991243 Bristow, R
P/Mgr. 323476 Cooper, D
P.Att. 114209 Sharples, V
AFM 529614 Kennedy, J
C/Dgr. 368807 Hardinge, A
M/U Dgr. 862641 Noble, C
Dgr. 404371 Hull, C
Dir. 232418 Boden, R
Prd. 597602 Lloyd, J
(c) BBC tv MCMLXXXIX

Often with contracts specifying exactly how one’s name should be spelled in on screen, it’s doubly-impressive to see these particular credits. They become an integral part of the show and you want to watch and puzzle-out the whole list. Who decides what everyone’s number is?

So… are you inspired? What can you do to really integrate the screen credits to your film?

Cheers & creative credits to you,
P/Mgr. 970210 Patz, D

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

Weddings, Name Changes & Screen Credits

The Royal Wedding has me thinking about that pre-wedding dilemma some of us go through… to change the last name after the marriage ceremony or not. The choice is, of course, personal, but in this industry there are some extra factors to consider.

If you change your last name…

… and you work freelance… How are you going to inform your network? As a freelancer, it takes up precious job-searching time for your network to learn you’ve moved from one job position to another, and think of you in the new role. How long will it also take them and to reconcile you are the same person now that your last name is different? Plan to spread the news of your new last name for multiple times, using multiple channels and over an extended period of time to ensure people know who you are.

… and you have a website using your birth name… What are you going to do with your domain name? You could have two, with one automatically forwarding to the new one for a few years as people get to know you with the new name.

… and you choose to use your birth last name for work, but your new last name for home… How are you going to deal with social networks that overlap work and home life? If you use your Birth Last Name on LinkedIn whereas your New Last Name on Facebook, you’ll be able to keep your home social network more separate from your work network, but you’ll still deal with confusion about what label to use for yourself and when as work and home networks overlap.

… and you hyphenate your last names… Will you use a hyphen or a space between the ames? You’re bound to run across mis-spellings and mis-filings that will make it that bit harder to find your name, but depending on the two last names could make your new name more distinctive and easier to find.

And – though no one wants to consider the possibility at time of a wedding – if you get divorced, are you ready to go through what’s necessary to change your name back again to your birth name?

Considerations, considerations. Whichever choice you make, ensure it’s the right one for you.

Cheers & enjoy the coverage of the Royal Wedding,
Deb

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