Personally, this writer isn't too excited about the upcoming Oscars this weekend, partially because awards shows just don't do it for him and partially because all of the stuff he'd be interested in seeing talked about is the stuff they cut short, don't show at all, or don't even include, like best Best Boy. But this feeling isn't in any way unique and, heck, it's responsible for Yolanda Zappaterra over at Design Week coming up with her picks for the best title designs of the year, giving a bunch of info on who made them and talking to the design firms about their construction. Now if this isn't more interesting than watching handsome people delivering jokes poorly, we don't know what is. Here's a bit on the creation of Juno's opening:

Juno
Titles by Gareth Smith at Shadowplay Studio (US)
A title sequence will often tell the story of a film in miniature, but Shadowplay's arresting and innovative opener for Juno - illustrated by Jenny Lee - focuses entirely on the main character of the film, giving us a rare insight into its world. The hand-drawn sequence draws its influences from a broad range, spanning several decades: from the drawings crammed into the creators' high school notebooks, to 'street artwork and photocopied concert flyers at our local record stores, and 1970s punk rock posters, which had an unpolished, lo-fi look to them that we loved,' enthuses Shadowplay cofounder Gareth Smith.
Another Shadowplay hit: Thank You for Smoking