Panic Room Opening Sequence

Panic Room: 

Opening Credits

Every film inevitably has an opening sequence with conventions, regardless of genre (Yes, even Pornography). Panic Room, a 2002 film by David Fincher starring Jodie Foster is no exception. Despite the conventions of film opening credits, however, each opening scene is unique to the aesthetic style of the particular film and serves to establish the tone of the piece through music choices, visuals, and pacing (the James Bond openings are a prime example). In this analysis of Panic Room's opening credits, I consider the order of names listed and what that might mean.  

1) Production company
2) Lead actors
3) Film title
4) Supporting actors
5) Costume design
6) Music design
7) Editors
8) Production design
9) Producers
10) Director

Boy, when you look at it, that's a helluva lot of people...

The reasoning behind this order is due to the importance of each film member. Ironically, David Fincher, the film's director is placed at the end after David Koepp, the writer. Both of these people critical to the success of the film, yet why they are mentioned at the very end? If you'll indulge me, I believe this is a convention for opening sequences to capture the audience's attention. You see, when one dedicates their focus to something for an extended period, their attention span slowly fades away into oblivion whilst steadily transforming into brainless oxygen-inhaling, mouth-breathing clods... 

My point is that when looking at a sequence like this, you often only remember what came first and what came last, without recollecting the middle. Therefore by putting Jodie Foster's name (Lead Protagonist) first and Fincher's name last, the audience are more likely to remember those elements, with minor player such as screenwriters and supporting actors falling helplessly into the forgotten annals of film history. In other words, it's a nice way of conveying the message; "Sorry, you're not important", to the rest of the team. Let's be honest, actors and directors are the only ones remembered and it's like everyone else is invisible. It's the sad truth of the film industry that the vast majority of people who work in it are tragically underappreciated, as the screenwriter's guild strike of a few years ago makes clear.