I just finished watching the always long, but super glamorous, Academy Awards. I tried to comment a bit via Twitter, but to be honest, these shows always lose my attention about half way through.
In the spirit of this evening’s award show, the New York Times posed a corresponding question in their opinion section: Why is there no Oscar for Best Title Sequence?
As the article convincingly states, “Titles have always played a significant part in motion pictures. They may have started out as simple black-and-white cards. But in the days before sound, they already did more than identify key players: they communicated dialogue and advanced plot. And as filmmaking evolved, so did title design. Titles have become wonderful bridges from reality into the cinematic world and back out again. At their very best, they are themselves innovative, emotional experiences, microcosms of their movies.”
Above is a video on Saul Bass, whom many site as revolutionizing film titles, speaking about his title sequence designs for Hitchcock’s Psycho, among others.
More recently, I’ve found MK12’s work in Stranger than Fiction, the visual interludes by Jeremy Blake for Punch Drunk Love, and the use of typography in Panic Room, very memorable. Other great examples are compiled and posted here courtesy of Smashing Magazine. As well, Submarine Channel is growing an online collection of motion graphics and animations in films here.
