Credit

For the first bunch of years I worked at One Life to Live, I got an on-screen credit just once a year.  The special Christmas show, which included a minute and a half of credits rather than the normal 15-30 seconds, included the names of virtually everyone who worked on the show, from carpenters to set painters to security guards.  When I was a PA, one of my jobs was going to each department, getting lists of names, so that on this one day of the year, everyone made it into the credits.

When I became an AD, things changed.  Having entered the group of people with union contracts that guaranteed them placement in the show credits, I saw my name on the screen multiple times each week.  My grandmother, who never watched soaps, turned One Life on for the last few minutes each day to see my name.  I have to say, it was exciting.  And when I began to direct, and a handful of times was the director of record on an episode, I got a front end credit, which made me excited all over again.

All this time, there were several hundred people who worked there, as hard as or harder than I did, yet never got more than that yearly credit.  But it was a job, and I think, for most of the people, a satisfying one.

Now that I am in the freelance world, credit has taken on a different meaning.  These days, I don't think too much about whether I'll see my name on the screen--the credits I want to see are the ones on my resume, the ones that remind me and the world that there is life beyond soaps.

And what about credit for a job well done?  Over my career, I have worked with people who have taken credit and shared credit, people who were more eager to dish out blame than give credit to people who made them look good.  For me, there were certainly days when knowing I could take credit for helping something like One Life's "Live Week" or our bullying story go well was far more important than seeing my 
name on the screen.  So maybe it's not surprising that these days, I gravitate not just toward projects I think can make me a living, but toward projects where I think I can make a difference.  Because while seeing my name on the screen was a childhood dream come true, being able to take credit for my part in a worthwhile project will stay with me long after the screen credit goes off the air.