And the Oscar goes to.....

Actually, there isn't really an Academy Award for best opening credits, but don't you think there should be? Especially given these fabulous candidates! I mean Saul Bass--HELLO! He is truly the father of motion graphics, famously creating opening animations for The Man With The Golden Arm (1955), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Vertigo (1958), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and Advise & Consent (1962).


The Man With The Golden Arm
This is probably Bass' most famous and regarded opening sequence. Using simple shapes and forms, he still manages to capture the mood of the film.

The Seven Year Itch
This animation would be considered so primitive by today's standards, and yet at the time was totally innovative. I still think is is super adorable!






  

Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Today, after a brief hiatus of oh maybe twenty to thirty years, creative well-designed motion graphics and kinetic type pieces are making a comeback, especially in film. Many even directly reference the motion pieces of the 1950s and 60s, as with the amazingly clever opening credits for the 60s era Catch Me If You Can. The designers, Paris-based animators Olivier Kuntzel and Florence Deygas, meticulously recreated the period look.  Even Kuntzel notes, ''Spielberg wanted a sequence in the spirit of that '60s era, like Saul Bass." Well, they sure delivered.

 

You know the drill. Daily Drop Cap "A". Allelujah.