IXD102 – Deliverable 03 –  Design History Essay Webpage

IXD102 – Deliverable 03 –  Design History Essay Webpage

How did Saul Bass change the face of the movie title sequence?

Introduction to Saul Bass

Saul Bass was an acclaimed graphic designer best known for his work on designing title sequences for many films. Equally, he also constructed many iconic posters and business logos, for films like Vertigo, Rear window and even The Shining. Saul Bass’s most influential work was generated in the 1950’s, his modernist approach to title sequences coincided well with the mid- 50’s Hollywood that was going through great changes at the time (Saladino, 2016). On a lesser note, his sequences were just very creative and visually interesting to watch, and were surely even more of a spectacle while appearing on the big screen of a movie theatre. A likely person of influence for Bass was György Kepes, who he studied under while attending the Art Students League. Kepes was known for being a master of the Bauhaus aesthetic. Bass first worked in advertising and then eventually broke into the film industry by designing the poster for the 1954 film ‘Carmen Jones’. Due to the dynamic nature of his work, the filmmakers were so impressed, that they tasked him to also construct the film’s title sequence. From that point on Saul Bass’s impact on filmmaking would have a momentous ripple effect.

Carmen Jones’s Title Sequence

When given the task to create the title sequence for Carmen Jones, Bass saw this as an opportunity to help establish the mood, tone, and atmosphere of the film within the first frames. He wanted to intensify the film experience for the audience by adding visual cues and  call-backs to certain themes and events that will play throughout the movie. It must be remembered that most title sequences up until that point were very simple. Studio artists would only mainly experiment with different types of typography, but very little else. Title sequences were mainly utilised to allow any late comers to settle into their seats when entering the movie theatre. So therefore, there wasn’t many creative endeavours taken while constructing a title sequence, while in the confines of the studio system. Bass himself mentioned that when working with director Otto Preminger, on the posters for Carmen Jones, and ‘The Man with the Golden Arm’, they had the idea of why not make the poster design move (Singer, 2018). It causes one to also suspect that this might have been a clever way to also keep continuity with the film itself and its marketing, as both film posters feature iconography that appears in their title sequences. It was as if Bass made a conscious effort to keep all media associated with the film, the same in tone and aesthetic. Saul Bass was also a master at bringing film to a single symbol, in Carmen Jones the imagery of a burning rose against a red flame, perfectly compacts the film’s narrative of ‘burning passion’. The colour combination of red and black clearly attests to this, as red has always been associated with romance, passion, and danger. While black is synonymous with death, misery and depression. However, it would be the next collaboration between Bass and Preminger, which would prove to cement Bass’s place in the film industry and would help establish him as the master of the title sequence.

The Man with the Golden Arm’s Title Sequence.

‘The Man with the Golden Arm’ tells the story of a jazz musician who spends the film battling with his volatile addiction to heroin. The film’s title sequence depicts an arm outstretched, in a rather distorted and exaggerated manner, highlighting the effects that drugs have on a person. The sequence perhaps could have been influenced by German expressionism, who’s defining characteristics are distortion and exaggeration. German expressionism would use internal conflicts and emotions a person was feeling, and make their outer environment reflect their state of mind. This was to convey to the viewer to feel how the subject within the piece felt, whether that be paintings, film, or sound. One defining characteristic of German expressionist film, is the use of asymmetry and nonparallel lines, to showcase the inner turmoil of a character and how reality for them has become warped. The silent film ‘The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari’ (1920), directed by Robert Weiner, is regarded as the quintessential German expressionist film. Since its visual style is so stretched and twisted, telling the audience that there is no order or structure in the world this story takes place in.

Much like the mind of the protagonist in The Man with the Golden Arm, The title sequence, itself makes great use of nonparallel lines, to showcase how the drugs can manipulate the mind. Bass presents sets of lines throughout, to likely represent several scenarios and themes played throughout the movie. The lines are used to structure and frame the credits that appear on screen, though the fact that they’re at a slight angle, leaves the audience dissatisfied with the composition. It’s been scientifically proven that the human eye likes to see symmetry and even spacing. In the analytical novel, ‘The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew’ by Alan Lightman, he writes about how we as humans, find comfort in finding symmetry and even spacing in the world. “The search for symmetry, and the emotional pleasure we derive when we find it, must help us make sense of the world around us, just as we find satisfaction in the repetition of the seasons.” (Lightman, 2014) This is perhaps the angle Bass went for, when constructing The Man with the Golden Arm’s title sequence. Which was to leave the audience with a feeling of instability and caution while viewing the opening credits. Which is further evidence of Bass’s desire to have the film viewing experience start right as the opening credits play. The lines depicted in the title sequence could also be a visual reference to prison bars, as the protagonist, Frankie, was previously in prison for his addiction before the film begins. Also, throughout the film, Frankie is guilt tripped into staying with his falsely wheel chair bound wife, Zosh, as he was the cause of her injury. Thus, also trapping him in a loveless marriage and unable to move on with his life. The use of black and white as the only two colours, could simply be seen as a product of the whole film being in black and white. But it could also be interpreted to represent the literal highs and lows of a drug addict’s lived experience. The stark contrast of the high, intense feeling of drugs, represented by white, and the bad comedown from those drugs, being represented with black. (Bass and Kirkham, 2011)

Saul Bass’s innovative work  

Before ‘The Man with the Golden Arm’ and other early works of Saul Bass, most opening credits were very static and repetitious. With The Man with the Golden Arm, it was alive and engaging, having the imagery come in and out of frame was exciting, while also being a sure-fire way to grab the audience’s immediate attention. Funnily enough, when The Man with the Golden Arm premiered, the director, Otto Preminger, made sure there was a note on the film’s canister, which read ‘Projectionist: Pull curtain before titles’, which proved just how much Preminger had faith in Bass’s abilities to create an immersive opening credit experience. (Arms, 2020). Based on other work I’ve seen from him most of Bass’s work seems to take visual elements found in the New Swiss style, using simple geometric shapes and symbolism. As well as flat primary and secondary colours, instilling this sense of wonderment and otherworldliness to the film, helping the audience to get a better sense of the type of world this film will be set in. As Bass stated himself in the documentary ‘Bass on Titles’ (2006), he approached each film title with the same three-point approach he would use with any other design project; He saturated himself with knowledge of the company, he made sure he understood the vision of the company and he didn’t try to symbolize a point of view. These types of creative approaches followed Bass throughout his long career from 1954 all the way to 1995. Even in the later parts of his career, when working on film’s with Martin Scorsese on films like ‘Cape Fear’, ‘Age of Innocence’ and ‘Casino’ he was still able to adapt and change with times. Alternatively, instead of using his, by that point, signature style – silhouettes and hand drawn animations – he used modern technology to create a sequence that fit perfectly with the film’s themes of greed and corruption.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the legacy of Saul Bass in Hollywood can’t be denied, even though people rarely mention him when discussing innovative filmmakers. His impact and care for the title sequence has led to a far more heighten film experience and has influence many of his predecessors to do the same, as there are too many to count examples of where his work has clearly been used as inspiration. The title sequence for the 2002 film ‘Catch Me If You Can’, very clearly had taken the same simplistic shapes and designs to help encapsulate the core of the film, much like Bass’s work in ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ title sequence. Even children’s media like ‘Monster’s Inc’, has been influenced by the work of Saul Bass. Monster’s Inc opening credits bears a striking visual resemblance to the title sequence to ‘The Seven Year Itch’ utilising a black background behind a colour collage of brightly coloured rectangles to the display the actual credits. Saul Bass overall made possible for filmmakers to easily establish the tone and atmosphere of a film within its first few minutes. I think the reason why Saul Bass’s work was so ground-breaking was due to his view on the title sequence being like a moving poster for the film. Compacting the ideas and themes of the film into a short montage. In this regard, I would conclude that Bass has had an enormous impact on film making and leaves an enduring legacy.

 

Reference list

Arms, S., 2020. Saul Bass: The Evolution of an Artist | The Jotform Blog. [online] The Jotform Blog. Available at: https://www.jotform.com/blog/saul-bass-the-evolution-artist/ [Accessed 3 December 2021].

Bass, J. and Kirkham, P., 2011. Saul Bass. London: Laurence King.

Lightman, A., 2014. The Accidental Universe. Random House Inc. 

Saladino, A., 2016. Saul Bass – Style is Substance. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frWLpyI3lXY   [Accessed 19 November 2021].

Singer, L., 2018. Saul Bass: The Name Behind the Titles. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPBWvfMKV10&t=4s [Accessed 2 December 2021].

Bibliography

http://commons.marymount.edu/studiowong/wp-content/uploads/sites/1919/2014  /09/Saul-Bass-Essay-Final.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Bass

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cabinet_of_Dr._Caligari

https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-man-with-the-golden-arm/

https://www.jotform.com/blog/saul-bass-the-evolution-artist/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPBWvfMKV10&t=4s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frWLpyI3lXY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdMgtHXwZ_U&t=684s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvoISnLFeDo&t=249s

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