Saul Bass research post

Saul Bass

Saul Bass who was born on May 8 1920 In New York and he sadly passed away on April 25 1996 California. He was an American filmmaker as well as a graphic designer. however, what he was best known for in the industry was for the design of his famous title sequences and posters. His career lasted a length of 40 years. 

Saul Bass worked with a wide range of the greatest filmmakers in Hollywood

examples of these famous filmmakers that Saul Bass worked with:

1. Otto Preminger
2. Billy Wilder
3. Martin Scorsese
4. Stanley Kubrick
5. Alfred Hitchcock
6. work he is best known for:

Saul Bass created the opening sequence for the movie "the man with the golden arm". This movie was released in 1955 and was made by Otto Preminger. It is a Crime, Drama, Romance. It stared Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak and Eleanor Parker.

Saul Bass was in charge of and the man behind making very memorable and effective title sequences. Saul Bass was the inventor of a new type of Kinetic typography. This was used for the title sequence for some of Alfred Hitchcock movies;

• North by North west

1. it is a adventure, thriller, mystery
2. the stars are Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason
3. it was released in 1959

• Psycho

1. it is a horror, mystery, thriller
2. the stars are Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles and Janet Leigh
3. it was released in 1960

• Vertigo

1. it is a mystery, romance, thriller
2. the stars are James Stewart, Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes
3. it was released in 1958

Saul Bass is known for making some of the most iconic corporate Logos (in North America). One of the corporate logos that he created was the jet stream logo for the company continental airlines. This was made in 1968. The other logo that he created was the tulip logo for United airlines. This was made in 1974. Another logos were made for the same company, AT&T. One of the logos he made was the bell logo made in 1969. The other logo was the globe logo made in 1983.

Elaine bass

Elaine Bass was Saul Bass' Wife. The relationship started when they started working together on films. in 1955 she created the opening sequence for Spartacus. she also co-directed and produces it

In 1955 Saul Bass and Elaine Bass got married. At this time they worked together on lots of title sequences and film work. Saul and Elaine had two children. The first born was Jennifer Bass born in 1964. Their second born was Jeffrey Bass born in 1967. After the two were born Saul and Elaine stop doing their normal work and concentrated on short films as well as making title sequences. This allowed them to spend more time with their family so making it so they could better look after their family.

Saul Bass and Elaine Bass' first short films were short films, that were for promotional purposes, that were films make for the pavilions at the 1964 World's fair. The name of one of them was "From Here to There". This short promotional film was made for United Airlines. The other short promotional film that they made was "The Searching Eye" which was made for Eastman Kodak.

Saul and Elaine created a short film in 1968 called "why Man creates". This short film ended up winning an Oscar

towards when Saul's career was ending he ended up getting discovered again (rediscovered). The people who "rediscovered" him were Martin Scorsese and James L. Brooks. They both thought that Saul Bass should go back to making title sequences as he had a massive talent for making them. Saul and Elaine ended up making title sequences for 4 of Martin Scorsese's movies;

• Goodfellas

1. it is a biography, crime, dram
2. the stars are Robert Di Nero, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci
3. it was released in 1990

• Cape Fear

1. it is a crime, thriller
2. the stars are Robert Di Nero, Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange
3. it was released in 1991

• The age of Innocence

1. it is a drama, romance 
2. the stars are Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfieffer and Winona Ryder
3. it was released in 1993

• casino

1. it is a crime, dram
2. the stars are Robert Di Nero, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci
3. it was released in 1995

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North by north west 

The films was released in 1995 and got a rating of an A. The movie was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and released by the studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The genre of the film is an Adventure, Mystery, Thriller. The stars of the movie are Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The storyline of the movie is about a man on the run from spies as he has been mistaken as a different person. On his journeys he meets a woman and falls in love.


I watched the opening sequence to the movie and reviewed it on some aspects:

• how does it link to genre, theme and mood of the film 

The title sequence linked to the genre of adventure/ mystery/ thriller with the use of its non-diegetic soundtrack which gives off a mysterious/ adventure tone/ theme to the title sequence. Non-diegetic sound can help emphasise a point and in this example it helps to adds to the mysterious tone while also bringing a slight vibe of an adventure movie theme.

The fact that we don't know who is the main character in the title sequence can add to the mystery tone/ mood of the film. Not seeing/ knowing the main character in the opening sequence can add a mystery to the character as well as the movie as a whole. The audience to try and guess if any of the characters they see are the main character.

• what narrative clues are we given 

The showing of the building and the busy street can suggest/ connote that the film will be based in that city and focus around the building/ The building is an important part of the movie (is significant). Showing/ focusing on an object or a person connotes them/ it having significance to the narrative of the movie or just the scene. Having it in the opening sequence add more significance to the building which suggest that the building will have a big significance to the movie.

The showing of the man and woman at the end of the title sequence after all the titles can suggest to us that they will be the main characters in the narrative. Putting something at the end of an opening sequence makes it more impactful as it is the freshest thing in the audiences mind. Doing this makes the couple seem significant. This can connote the movie following this couple/ one of the people.

The use of the non-diegetic sound track being mysterious suggest that the movie will have senses of mystery it in and will follow a mysterious storyline. The non-diegetic sound track also has a slight sense of an adventure movie theme. This can imply that the movie will be following the adventure that the main character(s) is/ are taking. 

• why do you think it works so well

The title sequence is a simplistic title sequence. Having a simplistic title sequence make the sequence more impactful. A detailed opening sequence can end up being too detailed and the audience can sometimes get confused by all the information that is given to them. Also if the title sequence is too detailed it can end up spoiling the narrative to the movie. Making the sequence simplistic has allowed the audience watching the sequence to not be confused by whats going on. It has also given them enough information to keep them interested/ engaged.

The use of the non-diegetic sound track being composed so well helps the sequence stay engaging and entertaining. The soundtrack is a very interesting soundtrack which keeps the audience engaged to the sequence and can raise emotions for the rest of the movie. After all first impressions are very important. The opening sequence is the first impressions of the movie to audiences.

• any films that may have been influenced by this style 

What any films influenced from this title sequence would have taken away is the very effective simplistic nature of the opening title sequence. The film you would need to find is films that have simplistic opening title sequence with some other feature is will talk about. The title shown on the opening title sequence followed the simplistic vibe of the rest of the sequence. Filmmakers would have taken the simplistic titles as influence for their movie. A good example of movies that i think were influenced were the James Bond movie. These movie were released after "north by north west" was released which means they definitely had the chance of being influenced by the title sequence

I focused on the titles in the opening sequence and focused on these points 

• font 

The font of the titles used in the opening sequence are simplistic which helps add to the simplistic theme and tone that the opening sequence is trying to get across. The simplistic titles help to keep the opening sequence from not being too confusing. This cause end up putting some of the audience from the movie if they think it's too confusing.

• colour 

The colour of all the titles was white. white is a colour which can connote goodness, purity and peace. This can be used to suggest/ connote that the main character(s) will be good people who have pure hearts and are innocent. This innocence suggestions can add to the the mysterious theme of the movie. The audience can be thinking is he innocent to the crimes that he might get caught for. The goodness suggestions can hint that the movie will be a lighthearted film which will have little to no violence and be a positive movie.

• size 

The size of the titles is either big or small, the size of the font is always changing. The size of the titles are used depending on what is happening in that part of the scene. In part of the film where there is action going on the titles are smaller compared to when the action is not going on in parts of the scene. The size of the titles are still big enough to have significance in the scene.

• transitions 

The transitions in the opening sequence are very simplistic which helps to add to the simplistic tone/ theme that I think the Bass' were going for. The simplistic transitions are cuts. The simplicity can help audiences not be distracted away from what is going on in the scene.