No closing credits at the end of a TV show?

[MattinSTL]

I did sound on a reality-based docudrama here in STL for the past 6 months. Locally it's been hyped pretty much... runs for six weeks up to prime time on Saturdays on our biggest affiliate... I thought it would give a boost in bookings to be attached to the show, but at the end of the show there's a quick single logo of the production company that put it together and that's it.

*shrug*

Weird... that got me thinking... are closing credits normally required for a televised production or is it always optional?

 

[Alex H.]

I think some of it may depend on union requirements, but if you're in a right-to-work state or other non-union shop/market, that won't apply. I could be wrong on that, but I seem to remember that being the case, and even then there are only minimal requirements.

Closing credits are getting to be less and less common. You'll still see them on (broadcast) network sit-coms, dramas, mini-series, and made-for-TV movies, but for most cable networks with reality and lifestyle programming, credits are minimal if at all.

I worked on several series for a couple of national cable networks, and never was in the closing credits. Production sound was never credited (nor gaffer, grip, etc.); only the EP, Producer, AP, Director, Editor, and Audio Post were credited. The sad thing is, on a couple of those, I actually took the audio post because the regular Sound Designer was out sick or on vacation, and the credit had someone else's name. They had two or three regulars, and just cycled their names in the credits without really worrying about who actually worked the episode. Frustrating.

The reasoning I was given in the company for credits being downsized (all but eliminated) was that market research showed viewers tend to be lost in a credit scroll, so by extending the programming up to the last possible frame for a nearly-gapless transition to the next program, viewer retention was increased.

 

[CharlesPapert]

There are apparently no limits to what "creative" techniques are being introduced to get through the credits these days--squeezed, sped up, pushed into a tiny rectangle while one show ends and the next begins. Certain of the guilds do have time requirements for credits (SAG) and otherwise getting "single card" status is a negotiable item but these days, less likely to be granted. The only good news is that IMDB is where most people go to find out who worked on what, if that is the intention.

 

[Jawa Ex Machina]

In a world where IMDb exists and everybody has internet access on their phones, credits after a show is less and less necessary anyway.