Not such an airy-fairy idea

I went to see the movie Up In The Air on Sunday. It stars Mr George Clooney; perhaps you've heard of him? I thought it was very good: a few interesting observations, a bundle of laughs, a mean little twist, even a sassy haircut courtesy of Vera Farmiga. Perhaps one of the things I liked best, however, was the opening sequence.


Film credits are very important to setting a scene and style; they shouldn't be underestimated. Miss the start of a film and sometimes you miss the very essence of what it's all about and where the director is coming from. You usually get good opener action with indie flicks. The titles for Up In The Air were shot for director Jason Reitman by Shadowplay, some short film-maker mates of his, who "came up with this idea of vintage moving postcards". They've created a clever montage of lots of bird's-eye views of the good ole US of A; a theme repeated throughout the feature as the characters dart about the continent's major conurbations via American Airlines.


You can check the moving images out here, or, indeed, by going to the cinema and watching the film while it's still on. I found these stills for illustration purpose at a nice little blog called Blueberry English; go visit for more design-related delights.