'Bass' on titles...

This is a video of Saul bass speaking to us about some of his work.

(click below to see the 'Bass on titles' video clip)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9UU132IUU_o

Saul Bass was an American graphic desinger who was well known for his title opening sequences in films such as Alfred Hitchcocks 'North by Northewest' and 'Psycho'.

He started off by working in Hollywood doing print work for film ads and posters but thought that he should take a step higher and make a chnage in the way we see title sequences. He was the first to realise creative potential of the opening and closings of films. He said that 'the titles are the first interaction with films and this must draw the audiences attention in to the film making them want to carry on and watch the rest of the film which often mirros the film.

His first title seqeunce which was designed for Otto Premingers film 'the man with a golden arm'. This was publicised with a picture of a arm which mirrored part of the film. The storyline was about a Jazz musician who was addicted to herion, showing his struggles. When music is added to this it just makes it laot more dramatic to watch. The titles for this film were very simple. A plain black background was shown with thin white stips sliding in and out of the screen on to the black background and the small white font names which appeared around these stripes. It ends with the image of the white cutout of the arm which again is dramatised with the music. The title is very simple and does its jobs of drawing the audience in, making them want to watch more by not giving away too much information.

Another title sequence that I looked at was North by Northwest by Alfred Hitchcok.