Research on Title sequence designer: Saul Bass.

Saul Bass

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This is our presentation on the well-known title sequence designer Saul Bass. We included a variety of clips of some of the title sequences he made. We have researched a lot about Saul Bass and some of his famous pieces of work and then we analysed some of his title sequence.


 We had a slide that talks about basic information about Saul Bass like where he was born etc.We included a few clips of some of his greatest work like Psycho(1960), West side story (1961), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955).


Psycho.  (1960).
The titles for psycho were created by Saul Bass, he used a lot of different lines - vertical and horizontal. This, I think, keeps the viewer intrigued and it is a clever way to incorporate the casts names and all the information included at the start. Also, you can see that Bass has thought about the sequence a lot as the lines moving across the screen  are in sync with the tone of music.


West side story. (1961).
Bass uses his trademark of lines in this opening sequence which is uncovered as the outline of Manhattan which is revealed at the end of the title sequence. Throughout the title sequence the screen is filled with an aray of bright colours and the colours change to set the mood and changes with the tone of music. The image fades into a birds eye view of the coastline of Manhattan.
The simplicity of the title sequence highlights the greater meaning which is what Saul Bass does so well.


The Man with the Golden Arm. ( 1955).
Bass' titles have a reoccurring theme with his lines theme. The man with the golden arm has a great use of vertical and horizontal lines, also the white lines on the black background are a great contrast and have a great impact to keep the audience interested. The titles are very interesting as the lines enter the screen at awkward angles and with a sharp motion.


Vertigo (1958).
Vertigo is a slightly different title sequence to Bass' usual 'lined' theme. It is quite a mysterious title sequence because the music is very tense and gives a sense of foreshadowing for what is to come in the movie and all the shots within the titles are close-ups or extreme close-ups so it doesn't give away a lot for what is going to happen in the movie but, once again, gives a sense of foreshadowing - this is why the music works well with the cinematography. Also, the shots of the woman show her looking quite weary and anxious which work well and fit in well with the rest of the sequence. The actual titles are big and bold over the top of the film and towards the end there is a spiralling shape which may suggest confusion in the movie.