Writing on the Edge analyzes texts that surround movies - so-called
filmic paratexts. They include opening and closing credits, film
posters, and tie-in products such as novelizations. More accessory than
an actual part of the film they accompany, paratexts nevertheless serve
as an essential framing device that generates expectations and guides
audiences through their viewing experience. The book discusses the
exchange between the extradiegetic nature of paratexts and the diegesis
of the films proper - the space between the producers' attempts to
'advertise a product' and the filmmakers' attempts to 'tell a story'.
'Writing on the Edge' investigates cinema's manifold conventions
developed to link these realms. In doing so, the book analyzes a wide
range of credit sequences and promotional materials covering all periods
of film history.