#picture-editing

Titles and Credits

Credit Policies

At FSUFILM, we adhere to a professional standard for the presentation of credits and titles in all student films. Film credits serve the sole purpose of recognizing those who contributed directly to the production and are not a space for personal messages, jokes, or informal content. All credits must be accurate, appropriately formatted, and aligned with industry standards to maintain the integrity of the work and the professionalism of our filmmakers.

It is the responsibility of the director to make the credits for the film they directed. These credits must be delivered and cut into the Media Composer project by picture lock.

Every show must adhere to the following rules. No exceptions.

  1. There can be no visual changes made to the FSUFILM leader.  
  2. There can be no possessive credits (“A Film by Me”) or production company credits. Only FSU makes these films. 
  3. Students must use their real names and are not permitted to take their name off a film.
  4. Whenever possible, students who do more than one job should have their name listed once with all jobs in one place. 
  5. Only ATL crew, actors, and the title may have single cards. Everyone else should be in groups, listed efficiently to be legible but not lengthy. 
  6. There can be no dedicating the film to someone.
  7. A “Special Thanks” section may be added to thank individuals or businesses that helped support the production, but aren’t credited elsewhere. A few rules:
    • The list should include only formal names and/or business names. No other language is permitted.
    • Use real names—not nicknames or terms like Mom & Dad.
    • If you wish to thank faculty or staff members, rather than singling out individuals, use the more inclusive: “College of Motion Picture Arts Faculty and Staff.”
    • For production cycles that ran a Spark fundraising campaign, include a general thank you to “Spark Donors” in every film. You may additionally thank individual donors, if you have a special relationship with them and would like for them to be able to see their name on screen.
    • Thanking a deity of any sort is not permitted. The State does not hold a religious affiliation, so FSU cannot thank any God or Gods.

CONTENT vs. CREDITS

For FSUFILM productions, title and credits are limited to a maximum of 60 seconds. This can be divided between Lead Titles and End Credits but combined together their length is not to exceed 60 seconds. This allotted time includes the Logo card and the Copyright card at the end of the credits, each of which must run for two seconds each.

Titles and credits that run over picture or audio that is not “advancing the narrative” will count toward your 60 seconds for titles and credits. Titles and credits that run over picture or audio that is “advancing the narrative” will count toward your Content time.

Remember that the primary purpose of credits is to credit that people which contributed to the creation of the film. Content time is for story, credit time is for credit. Any questions will be left to the discretion of the directing and editing faculty.

DELIVERY SPECS

All Credits and Titles should be made in After Effects and delivered as either a DPX sequence or a PNG sequence. A DPX sequence should be used if the titles are going over black and a PNG sequence should be used if the titles need to go over picture since it holds an alpha channel. Either image sequence should be exported for 1920×1080 at 24fps. Make sure to name the image sequence appropriately (Example: 01M2_Credits_v1).

Location to Deliver Credits and Titles
Naming convention for Titles
Naming convention for Credits

SEQUENCING OF CREDITS

While every production’s titles and credits are slightly different, the general order goes:

  1. FSUFILM Leader
  2. Lead Titles
  3. Content (Story)
  4. End Credits
  5. Logos
  6. Copyright

A production can choose whether or not to include any Lead Titles at the start of the film. That decision will impact the order of the end credits, as outlined below.

ORDER FOR LEAD TITLES

If lead titles appear at the head of the film, they must appear in this order:

  • FSUFILM Leader
  • Above-Title Cast
  • Title
  • Supporting Cast
  • Original Score by
  • Production Designer
  • Sound Designer
  • Editor
  • Director of Photography
  • Producer
  • Writer
  • Director

Order for End Credits

The order for end credits, if not shown in the lead titles, are:

  • Director
  • Writer
  • Producer
  • Director of Photography
  • Editor
  • Sound Designer
  • Production Designer
  • Original Score by

The remaining end credits appear in the following order:

  • Cast
  • Stunt Performers
  • UPM
  • First Assistant Director
  • Second Assistant Director
  • 2nd Second Assistant Director
  • Second Unit Director
  • Set Decorator
  • Art Director
  • Art PA
  • Camera Operator
  • First Assistant Camera
  • Second Assistant Camera
  • Loaders
  • Still Photographer
  • Sound Mixer
  • Boom Operator
  • Cableman
  • Gaffer
  • Best Boy Electric
  • Third Electric
  • Key Grip
  • Best Boy Grip
  • Grips
  • Dolly Grip
  • Script Supervisor
  • Production Coordinator
  • Location Managers
  • Local Casting
  • Casting Associates
  • Assistants to Actors/Producers/Directors
  • Production Assistants
  • Publicist
  • Make-up Artist
  • Hair Stylist
  • Costume Designer
  • Property Master
  • Assistant Property
  • Set Design
  • Leadmen
  • Special Effects Supervisor
  • Special Effects Assistants
  • Construction Coordinator
  • Construction Foreman
  • Painters
  • Craft Service
  • First Aid
  • Transportation Coordinators
  • Transportation Captains
  • Drivers
  • Assistant Editors
  • Sound Editors
  • ADR Editor
  • Music Editor
  • Re-Recording mixer
  • Visual Effects Producer
  • Visual Effects Supervisor
  • Visual Effects Coordinators
  • Modeling Artists
  • Rigging Artists
  • Texturing Artists
  • Animators
  • Layout Artists
  • Lighting Artists
  • Simulation Artists
  • Matchmove Artists
  • Compositors
  • Rotoscope Artists
  • Technical Support
  • Virtual Production Supervisor
  • Virtual Production VAD
  • Virtual Production Operators
  • Title Design
  • Color Timer
  • Music Rights
  • Special Thanks
  • Cameras By
  • Color By
  • Dolby
  • Disclaimer
  • FSU Copyright

Lab Policies

Computer labs and Post Hall editing suites are work spaces. They are not spaces for hanging out and socializing, as this can be distracting to other students who are trying to work. They are also spaces with a lot of technology that needs to remain well-maintained and correctly configured. Each student is expected to leave a workstation in the same condition they found it, so that the next user doesn’t run into problems. For these reasons, we have the following lab policies, and violations of these policies may result in disciplinary action.

Lab access

The labs and the Post Hall are for student-use only. This is to keep our facilities secure and to minimize potential distractions that guests may cause for other students who are trying to focus on their work. If you wish to bring a guest to a lab or the Post Hall, you must seek prior approval from FSU faculty.

Food and drink

Food is never permitted in the computer labs or editing suites. Beverages are only permitted if in a BOTTLE WITH A SPORTS CAP. Beverages must be kept in your backpack or bag when you’re not drinking. The container must never be left on the desk or on the floor near the workstations. If you cause damage to any equipment, you will be held responsible for the full replacement costs.

Noise and cell phones

Keep your voice volume down so as not to disrupt or disturb others working in the space. Keep phones on silent/vibrate mode at all times. If you need to take/make a call, step out of the lab.

Workstations

Keep your work area reasonably clean and neat at all times. Always restore your work area to a pristine condition when you leave. Unless rendering, log out of your workstation if you plan to step away from your computer for more than 15 minutes.

Accessories

All students are responsible for proper care of the equipment. If you lose or break any equipment, you will be held responsible for the full replacement costs. Tablets, mice, and external monitors must not be removed from a workstation under any circumstances. Chairs must also not be removed from the lab.

Storyboard panels and walls

You may hang project-based materials on the “storyboard” panels if you wish. Do not post inappropriate or potentially offensive materials to the storyboard panels. Keep it professional. Do not tape or pin anything to bare walls or computer monitors.

Clean up

Please assist with the general upkeep of the labs. It’s a team effort. If you notice that a lab is getting messy, assist by cleaning up some of the mess, even if you weren’t responsible for it.

Rendering

Assume all projects will be rendered locally on your assigned workstation. Contact faculty if you feel you cannot complete your show’s rendering on your local workstation. If you set-up renders overnight or over lunch, leave a piece of paper on the desk to indicate that the workstation is busy rendering.

Internet

The downloading of illegal or potentially harmful files on the lab computers is absolutely forbidden. In particular, the FSU network or computers must never be used to download or store pirated movies, music, software, plug-ins, or any other material.