Professional name credited under which a filmmaker or performer works — often for marketing, privacy, or industry reasons. Clark Gable's legal name differed from his screen identity.
On set or in the credits—names are brands. Working under a pseudonym is a conscious decision about one's public identity. This can be for pure strategy, sometimes out of necessity. A director who previously made music under another name can restart their visual craft with a new name—the audience then won't associate any other work with it. Conversely, an actor with a difficult surname switches to a catchy, film-friendly name. This isn't a lie, but professional practice.
The classic scenario was European or Jewish names in Hollywood—studios demanded name changes as an industry standard. Marion Michael Morrison became John Wayne, who then became an icon. No one in editing or marketing asks for a birth certificate; the name on the poster is the person. In editing, it doesn't matter to the editor what the actor's real name is—but the distributor knows exactly that this name attracts audiences.
Technicians use pseudonyms less often, but it happens: a cinematographer working for two competing production companies might appear under a different name for one. A composer writing music for multiple directors sometimes signs differently—to suggest exclusivity or to obscure intersections between genres. The name here is a protective measure against contractual and brand conflicts.
Modern practice has intensified: a Director of Photography known by their own name might prefer to work anonymously for a certain type of film (commercials, indies, genre). Or, conversely, sign under a pseudonym for major productions to maintain mystique. In the credits, the name becomes a signature, and everyone knows that this signature is a deliberate choice. Digital transparency has weakened administrative protection, but brand positioning remains valid: a name is a positioning, not an ID card. This applies from stars to anonymous VFX pipelines.