Giving credit where credit is due

'Next week in Austin, Tex., the South by Southwest festival will honor the winners of a film and television titles competition, a rare move to recognize those miniature stories and graphics displays that surround the opening credits before the real story unfolds. “We think no one has done it before,” said Janet Pierson, the producer of the film portion of South by Southwest, which begins on Friday and is scheduled to present awards on Tuesday. Among Hollywood’s more titles-friendly directors is Mr. Reitman, who has used a bold opening sequence, each time set to song, not only in “Up in the Air” but also in “Juno” and “Thank You for Smoking.” Mr. Smith, who created the designs for “Up in the Air” with his wife, Jenny Lee, said they worked with aerial photography compiled by Mr. Reitman. Noting a vintage quality to many of the images, Mr. Smith said, “We pushed this look further with the postcard-inspired typography and simple split screens with white borders.' — NYT

An excellent idea. Some of my recent favorites: WALL-E's panoramas of distant galaxies set to 'Sunday Clothes' ("There's a world outside of Yonkers" ) from Hello Dolly!, the ominous drive-by of suburban lawns in Zodiac (Fincher's always good for opening credits), and those stunningly empty, soundtrack-free shots of desert at the beginning of No Country For Old Men.

More at artofthetitle.com and watchthetitle.com.