Research Piece on the Work of Saul Bass

Assignment 2

Haram Tahir

20u00018

Who was Saul Bass?

Saul Bass may be the absolute most practiced visual design specialist ever. Working during the twentieth
century, when the significance of visual communication was simply on the rise, Bass marked an amazing
cluster of significant companies with his famous, insignificant plans. Bass was conceived in 1920 in the
city of New York, to Jewish outsiders. As an inventive kid, he drew quite frequently. For school, he went
to night classes at the Art Students League where he had the fortune of studying under György Kepes.
Afterwards, during the 1940s, Bass left New York for California.

What makes his work significant to the history of film design?

He worked generally for publicizing until his first significant break: a banner for the 1954 film, Carmen
Jones. The producers were so intrigued by his banner work, they welcomed him to plan the title credits
also. This ended up being a game changer. Bass ventured up the complexity of film banners with his
unmistakable and extraordinary style and he totally altered the part of title credits in films. Generally,
credits were static and dreary. They were considered so irrelevant; they would really be extended onto
the shut drapes which would just open for the primary authority scene of the film. Bass, be that as it
may, was focused on infusing life into these illustrations, making them as much an aspect of the realistic
experience as whatever else. Presenting a dynamic sort of display, Bass’ letters ran and moved over the
screen and often joined pictures other than text. Bass’ celebrated title credits for North by Northwest
(1959) Bass proceeded to make many famous film banners and title credits. His last activities before his
demise in 1996 were credits for four Martin Scorsese films: The Age of Innocence, Casino. Goodfellas
and Cape Fear. Strizver (2018) expresses that the way in which Saul Bass made title sequences and logos
rememberable is something that made him stand out from the majority of other producers/experts.
 • What made his work unique and identifiable as his work?

The normal life or the average life of his logos as seen from previous movies is a minimum of over 30
years. This proves that his work was definitely ingenious. A portion of his work still can’t seem to be
supplanted, similar to the totally splendid plans for Kosé Cosmetics (1959), Kibun (1964) and Girl Scouts
(1978, with a slight adjustment made in Geffen Records (1980). With plans as strong, insightful and
immortal as these, Saul Bass’s work has been extremely unique and appealing. Bigman (2012) believes
that Saul Bass’s work on title sequences is not all that he is commonly known for, though. His logo
designs such as the one formed for Kleenex are also well-known by a vast number of people across the
globe. His work has caught the eyes of a massive audience and also led to him winning an Oscar.

• What are the main features of his work in title sequences?

The Main features of Saul Bass’s work was that it represented the story of the movie and was related to
the story. Saul bass innovated title sequences in a way that before his work they were static and
projected on the curtains as if they were separate from the movie itself but he made it look like a part of
the movie and he also invented kinetic typography (Moving Texts) this made the title sequence much
more interesting. The title arrangement and banner for Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo are very surprising
from one another, however, they are works of art. The dreadful grouping highlights Kim Novak’s
frightened eye that fills the screen, and afterward mixes into a spiral form of symbolism – all joined by a
vile score. His work on Vertigo (1954) has been deemed as some of his best work. With the immense
imagery and metaphors, Bass made title sequences worth watching and had the audience on the edge
of their seats.

• What are the various techniques that he employed?

The techniques mostly employed by Saul Bass were extremely simple in nature.The Main techniques
that he used are kinetic typography in which the text would be moving as if it’s animated rather than
being static piece of text written in blocks. He also used cut-out and cut-in scenes to make the title
sequences more interesting. He would also use a smooth yet major transition between scene that it
would peek the viewer’s interest. There also other styles of known as the Bunraku-style, Live action
sequences, and Time-lapse photography Fandor (2018) in a viral video stated that Saul Bass was a
legend in terms of title sequences and quite often used metaphors and other objects to symbolize what
was to come and what someone could expect from a movie he worked on. Moreover, his title sequences
contributed a ton to the actual process of storytelling.

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References

Fandor. (2018, March 29). Saul Bass: The Name Behind the Titles [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPBWvfMKV10

Alex Bigman. (2012). Saul Bass: The man who changed graphic design. Retrieved from
https://99designs.com/blog/famous-design/saul-bass-graphic-designer-of-a-century/

The Academy. (2015). Saul Bass on His Approach to Designing Movie Title Sequences. Retrieved from
https://medium.com/art-science/saul-bass-on-his-approach-to-designing-movie-title-sequences-
47fd537c457b

Ilene Strizver. (2018). Saul Bass, Master of the Movie Title Sequence. Retrieved from
https://creativepro.com/saul-bass-master-of-the-movie-title-sequence/