Saul Bass - Presentation Hand out!!A film title sequence to a movie plays a big roll on the success of any movie. A sloppy Introduction will strongly demotivate the audience. Today I’m going to discuss a pioneer in the film title sequence evolution, a man named Saul Bass.!!What does a title Sequence/Introduction to a movie do?!The primary purpose of a title sequence is to show the name of the film, then introduce the Directors, actors amongst other main rolls. In todays standards an opening credit sets up an expectation for the film you’re about to witness. Their purpose now is to draw you in and make you excited about the movie that is going to unfold in front of your eyes. However it can be treated as a throw away thing, with the audience having the mentality of ‘I don’t want to watch this’, this was certainly the case before the appearance of Saul Bass. !!What did they used to be?!!When you compare the older generation film sequences you began to notice how they are illustrative, they became portraits that where formulaic. They conformed to the other standards with no real element of excitement. !!But to Saul Bass throwing that away was just silly. He knew he had to make a difference and make that portion of the film stop conforming to what was going on. Below you can see a few title Sequences before the appearance of Saul Bass. First one we see is Rebecca, 1940. Fantasia, 1940, the Great Dictator, 1940 and finally Sunset Boulevard which was released in early 1950’s. You can see that they consisted of very basic typography and mostly static imagery. At the time they considered the beginning of the film ‘pop corn time’ and curtains where drawn occasionally with the projector projecting the image across the fabric.

So what do they look like today?!We’ve certainly moved away from the mid 1900’s. Today we’ve moved away from the most basic typography into a new era of complex animations and amazing visualisations. They now often tell a backstory of what is going on and the general themes of the film. A violent film with murder will show the backstory straight away. An action film will be fast paced and the music to go along with it. This goes across the board with all the genres. They are now creative, original and they pull you into the reality of the film. They create excitement for what you’re about to see. And now days we can judge a film by the effort put into the introduction.!

!!!!!!!!!!When did it all change?!With Saul Bass’s Modernist sensibility with a more innovative kinetic typography approach things started to shift. He showed people that a title sequence could really stir you emotionally and get you excited about the film.!!I think the Man With The Golden Arm (1955) He did something that was very simple and very graphic, inspired from the modern art movement at the time. He did this and produced this masterpiece with very economical means.!

What was happening right before Saul Bass showed up was very elaborate paintings that where drawn onto glass. Consisting of thick typography and layers on top of layers. A very slow and expensive process. It was not modern and cost a fortune as well as consumed a large amount of time.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!A bit of biography!He was born on May the 8th, 1920 and brought up in new york. He was fascinated with art at a very young age and studied it to a great degree from the beginning. His career took a major shift in 1954 with his recognition in the Man with the golden arm. Bringing Modernism and creating a breathtaking title sequence.!!He was a Graphics Designer, as well as a typographer and he worked on various logos we still see today.!!!

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He drew inspiration from Modern art that was used consistently throughout new york in advertisement and various other forms of media. He was also a brilliant typographer, which becomes apparent in any of the sequences his worked on. At the time there was a typography revolution occurring around him which was based around letter form design, space placement and colour. This movement was influenced by book design and Modern Paintings at the time.!!!

Saul bass once wrote that a title sequence is just like a poster. Where the graphic designer tries to find a metaphor or symbol and executing it in an interesting way. He did the same thing for his film titles.!!He was amazed by the culture around him growing up. You can see elements of 1920’s and 1930’s advertisement styles in his work, and he took an interest in European art also. Which was considered a taboo due to political reasons at the time. He witnessed New Yorks first exhibition of European Modernism at the Metropolitan Art Museum, the then later added elements of this art style into his work.!!!!!!Being a typographer, he took an interest in a niche area of typography, that is ‘International Typography’. Which is a form of very clean writing with rounded edges and an emphasis on a certain flair consisting of a ‘flow’ in the text. This was used in propaganda campaigns so what Saul Bass did was add elements in his work without making it obvious.!!!!!!!!!!!!

What set him apart?!As I mentioned earlier in this writing, he treated a title sequence like a poster. Where he finds a metaphor and a symbol relating to the film and visually executing it in an effective way showing flair and originality. He also added elements of Modernism in all his work. He was a true pioneer, and he innovated title sequences to what we see today.