A Film By... How does it sit with you?

K

Kholi

Section Moderator
So, how does the "A Film By *soandso*" credit or tag on a trailer, poster sit with you guys?

Is it silly? Self-Centered? Is it justified in the sense that you'd be okay with blaming the director if the movie isn't good, but not okay with him claiming responsibility if it IS good?

How do you feel about it and do you use it yourself?
 
i think it's fine. i use "a Chris Light movie" for my stuff...sounds more casual, and i don't shoot on film anyway.

but again, i don't think it's pretentious at all. if i wrote a song, whether people liked it or not, i'd put my name on it. so "a film by..." seems normal, and almost expected i think. but i'm not a pro, so maybe im being naive.
 
from a marketing standpoint, i don't think that "a film by" serves much purpose if the filmmaker has no track record. it's most useful as a form of branding, imo. people who admire ridley scott, will be invested in a new movie when seeing it's "a film by ridley scott". but if you've got no track record, it's like designing a poster and putting the names of your no-star-power actors at the top of it. that space would be better used for festival laurels or a quote from a great review.

from a creative standpoint, it's not for me to claim authorship for the entire film. but that's a personal choice. i don't hold it against those that use it.
 
Chris Light said:
i think it's fine. i use "a Chris Light movie" for my stuff...sounds more casual, and i don't shoot on film anyway.

but again, i don't think it's pretentious at all. if i wrote a song, whether people liked it or not, i'd put my name on it. so "a film by..." seems normal, and almost expected i think. but i'm not a pro, so maybe im being naive.
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Haha! We have to change it.. "A Movie By..."
 
Zak Forsman said:
from a marketing standpoint, i don't think that "a film by" serves much purpose if the filmmaker has no track record. it's most useful as a form of branding, imo. people who admire ridley scott, will be invested in a new movie when seeing it's "a film by ridley scott". but if you've got no track record, it's like designing a poster and putting the names of your no-star-power actors at the top of it. that space would be better used for festival laurels or a quote from a great review.

from a creative standpoint, it's not for me to claim authorship for the entire film. but that's a personal choice. i don't hold it against those that use it.
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But it's a good start. Branding should start early in the career...unless the person just sucks.

-Nate
 
Zak Forsman said:
if you've got no track record, it's like designing a poster and putting the names of your no-star-power actors at the top of it. that space would be better used for festival laurels or a quote from a great review.
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Very good point, and honestly an angle I never considered.
 
Zak Forsman said:
from a marketing standpoint, i don't think that "a film by" serves much purpose if the filmmaker has no track record. it's most useful purpose is as a form of branding, imo. people who admire ridley scott, benefit from seeing its a film by ridley scott. but if you've got no track record, it's like designing a poster and putting the names of your no-star-power actors at the top of it. that space would be better used for festival laurels or a quote from a great review.

from a creative standpoint, it's not for me to claim authorship for the entire film. but that's a personal choice. i don't hold it against those that use it.
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Great thoughts. Is it beneficial to start doing that early on? Due to the way the market has mutated. Just wondering what you think.

And, what constitutes being able to claim authorship of the entire film? In your eyes, I mean. Having written and directed? Having Written, Directed and Produced?

It's an interesting credit, to me, seeing it plastered on most people's work. I really began to think about it after seeing WHITEOUT, which wasn't a very good movie to me.

So, the Director takes responsibility for that since it's a "So and so" film.
 
for me, and this is ONLY FOR ME as a writer/director, it wouldn't sit well with me to take sole credit for the entire movie when the actors, dp, composer, sound designer and especially the editor have a lot of stake in shaping it creatively.

and I DO use the credit as a form of branding, actually. we credit our films as "a film by SABI" to attribute authorship to the collective of artists that gathered to make the film.

also, not to be harsh, but if one hasn't established a loyal fanbase, and the filmmaking looks shoddy, I'd argue it gives the audience the appearance of a poser acting out a fantasy -- working against you. at least, that's the reaction i have to it. So, I suppose you need to earn it. if it's going to be slapped on a trailer or poster, you'd better be rocking it balls out. if you've got the chops to back it up, you're good, right?
 
I use it for short films since I do just about everything, minus the acting. Writing/Lighting/Shooting/Directing/Editing/Sound Design/etc...
I make sure to give the actors good credit time though.

I doubt I'll do that when I make a Feature one day but who knows?

I agree with Zak about using review quotes on the poster though. That would be a better use of space.

MAH
 
that's a good point. i'm all for condensing credits on shorts and taking "a film by" in place of listing half a dozen or more credits to the same person is a great use for it from a practical standpoint.
 
I find it an interesting choice that you sort of HAVE to make at this point. If you consider marketing (and, if you don't, you're probably in trouble) of a brand hinges on some sort of familiarity, I think you would want to start immediately placing an identifier on the product.

However, I actually wouldn't decide to use a name versus a company or organization's name. Like Zak points out... "A film by SABI".

It's a choice that needs to be made earlier on, even if there is NO Film By brand that too is a choice, because it's a small part of how you sell to an audience.

A BRUCKHEIMER Film or whatever.

That said, I also have nothing against using an actual name and a face. It takes guts to own a product by your birth title. If it's good, then great, but if it's bad... well, your name becomes a disservice and an immediate red flag.

M. Night?
 
John Carpenter started putting his name above the title before anyone knew who he was. I don't have a problem with it.
 
HorseFilms said:
John Carpenter started putting his name above the title before anyone knew who he was. I don't have a problem with it.
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Yeah, but he IS John Carpenter. I have seen $1000.00, at most, Brain Damage Films (for example) released "Epics" that have something like, "Whatshisname Soandso's: Cheesy Movie", as the title. I'm sorry, but that is pretentious. It is also pretty pretentious to use variations of "A Spike Lee Joint" below the tile, like "A Whatshisname Soandso Ride"(or Event, or Sojourn, or Happening, ect). I don't have any issues with "A film by" or "A Movie by".
 
A J.R. Hudson Reel

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh; that's t i g h t

I find most of the time if they're throwing a directors name out, it's usually worth looking at or at least considering.
 
J.R. Hudson said:
A J.R. Hudson Reel

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh; that's t i g h t

I find most of the time if they're throwing a directors name out, it's usually worth looking at or at least considering.
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Then ya, IMDB the name and it comes back with three choices, some art director from the '30s, a TV horse opera writer from the '50s and some sound guy from Canada, but no directors.... hmmmmmm.

I get your point though, at least somebody is trying.... maybe.


EDIT: Not that there is anything wrong with sound guys from Canada! Just sayin'.
 
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Zak Forsman said:
from a marketing standpoint, i don't think that "a film by" serves much purpose if the filmmaker has no track record[...]
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This is a good point. One item to consider, however, is that some or perhaps many of the observers will think they should know who he is.
 
David G. Smith said:
Then ya, IMDB the name and it comes back with three choices, some art director from the '30s, a TV horse opera writer from the '50s and some sound guy from Canada, but no directors.... hmmmmmm.

I get your point though, at least somebody is trying.... maybe.
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I can't take any credit for the Canadian credit I admit.
 
Zak Forsman said:
from a marketing standpoint, i don't think that "a film by" serves much purpose if the filmmaker has no track record. it's most useful as a form of branding, imo. people who admire ridley scott, will be invested in a new movie when seeing it's "a film by ridley scott". but if you've got no track record, it's like designing a poster and putting the names of your no-star-power actors at the top of it. that space would be better used for festival laurels or a quote from a great review.

from a creative standpoint, it's not for me to claim authorship for the entire film. but that's a personal choice. i don't hold it against those that use it.
Click to expand...

i feel the same way. but i've seen it done both ways.

in Eraserhead's opening credits, it just says 'David Lynch presents'. but keep in mind that Lynch did almost everything on that film (if i recall correctly). i think in another of his films, it says 'A David Lynch Film'.

i saw Raging Bull for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and in the opening credits there was: 'A Martin Scorsese Picture'. i thought that was pretty cool. very old-fashioned, east coast, and italian. however, at that point, Scorsese already had a few very highly regarded films.

personally, i don't think it matters how you go about it if you have a kick-ass 'picture'.
 
Fahad said:
i feel the same way. but i've seen it done both ways.

in Eraserhead's opening credits, it just says 'David Lynch presents'. but keep in mind that Lynch did almost everything on that film (if i recall correctly). i think in another of his films, it says 'A David Lynch Film'.

i saw Raging Bull for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and in the opening credits there was: 'A Martin Scorsese Picture'. i thought that was pretty cool. very old-fashioned, east coast, and italian. however, at that point, Scorsese already had a few very highly regarded films.

personally, i don't think it matters how you go about it if you have a kick-ass 'picture'.
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GAME, SET, MATCH.... To Fahad!!!! :nads:
 
I did it on my first movie, and now I cringe every time I see it. It seems so egotistical. And that was a 40 minute film that I wrote, directed, edited, scored, lit, cast, and cooked.

But I still had lots of help. So putting "a film by Jim Brennan" seems inaccurate now.

I am editing a feature which I helped produce. The writer/director just had me switch the credits to say "a film by". Bugged me.
 
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