Saul Bass was an American graphics designer he was not only one of the greatest graphic designers of the mid-20th century but the undisputed master of film title design.
soil bass quoits him self about title sequence's:
"My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it."
He's made title sequence for alot of films, some of the films that he has done are:
Carmen Jones (1954)
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
Vertigo (1958)
Anatomy of a Murder (1958)
The Big Country (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)
Spartacus (1960)
Exodus (1960)
Advise and Consent (1960)
Ocean's Eleven (1960)
West Side Story (1961)
Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
The Victors (1963)
Nine Hours to Rama (1963)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
The Cardinal (1963)
In Harm's Way (1965)
Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
Grand Prix (1966)
Seconds (1966)
Broadcast News (1987)
Big (1988)
The War of the Roses (1989)
Good fellas (1990)
Cape Fear (1991)
Doc Hollywood (1991)
Age of Innocence (1993)
Casino (1995)
soil bass quoits him self about title sequence's:
"My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it."
He's made title sequence for alot of films, some of the films that he has done are:
Carmen Jones (1954)
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
Vertigo (1958)
Anatomy of a Murder (1958)
The Big Country (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)
Spartacus (1960)
Exodus (1960)
Advise and Consent (1960)
Ocean's Eleven (1960)
West Side Story (1961)
Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
The Victors (1963)
Nine Hours to Rama (1963)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
The Cardinal (1963)
In Harm's Way (1965)
Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
Grand Prix (1966)
Seconds (1966)
Broadcast News (1987)
Big (1988)
The War of the Roses (1989)
Good fellas (1990)
Cape Fear (1991)
Doc Hollywood (1991)
Age of Innocence (1993)
Casino (1995)
the two I've decided to look at are ocean 11 and Break on Through.
starting with ocean 11
i really like the opening sequence to this, i like the way it starts of as small little dots which are forming different shapes and patterns at first. then the dots begging to convert in to numbers and the names of the producers of the film. the numbers start from one and work there way up to 11 and counts up to the begging of the movie.as soon as one number disappears another number appears, it runs smoothly and theres no stopping between each. once the numbers have reached 11 the music becomes more up beat and faster as it is working its way further in to the movie. theres not much use of colour in this sequence, the colours are mainly blues, reds and purples. once the numbers have reached 11 they start turning in to different designs and shapes, i think they've been made to look like showbiz billboards with lights. the sequence moves on from shapes and starts show the king and queen of heart playing cards, show that the movie maybe be about a casino, it then moves on to slot machines also could show an incite of the movie,to show that its about gambling. two dice get thrown in to the scene and get pulled back out again and the movie begins to start.
the music through out the whole title sequence is sort of like a jazz tune which turns in to a serious tone in some places.
in all i really like this opening title sequence, its clever the way the whole opening evolves in to another scene.
the second title sequence is Break on through
I didn't really like this one much. he doesn't really use any bright colours through out the sequence (dark blue, white, red, black and gray).
this title sequence is all lines which turn in to different things. the first thing the lines turn in to is a piano, then which two hands come in to the shot and start playing it. the piano then splits apart and the hands pulls them of the screen . i think this could be one of the first title sequences that Saul Bass made because he has used really basic colours and images. the music to me sounds jazzy, and i don't really think it goes well with the sequence itself. this title sequence doesn't really give you any information about the film and i think that it wouldn't get you in the mood to watch the film before it starts.
over all i relay like Saul Basses work, i think that most of the title sequences that he has done are really interesting and are different to all the others and get you hooked in to the movie before it even starts.
starting with ocean 11
i really like the opening sequence to this, i like the way it starts of as small little dots which are forming different shapes and patterns at first. then the dots begging to convert in to numbers and the names of the producers of the film. the numbers start from one and work there way up to 11 and counts up to the begging of the movie.as soon as one number disappears another number appears, it runs smoothly and theres no stopping between each. once the numbers have reached 11 the music becomes more up beat and faster as it is working its way further in to the movie. theres not much use of colour in this sequence, the colours are mainly blues, reds and purples. once the numbers have reached 11 they start turning in to different designs and shapes, i think they've been made to look like showbiz billboards with lights. the sequence moves on from shapes and starts show the king and queen of heart playing cards, show that the movie maybe be about a casino, it then moves on to slot machines also could show an incite of the movie,to show that its about gambling. two dice get thrown in to the scene and get pulled back out again and the movie begins to start.
the music through out the whole title sequence is sort of like a jazz tune which turns in to a serious tone in some places.
in all i really like this opening title sequence, its clever the way the whole opening evolves in to another scene.
the second title sequence is Break on through
I didn't really like this one much. he doesn't really use any bright colours through out the sequence (dark blue, white, red, black and gray).
this title sequence is all lines which turn in to different things. the first thing the lines turn in to is a piano, then which two hands come in to the shot and start playing it. the piano then splits apart and the hands pulls them of the screen . i think this could be one of the first title sequences that Saul Bass made because he has used really basic colours and images. the music to me sounds jazzy, and i don't really think it goes well with the sequence itself. this title sequence doesn't really give you any information about the film and i think that it wouldn't get you in the mood to watch the film before it starts.
over all i relay like Saul Basses work, i think that most of the title sequences that he has done are really interesting and are different to all the others and get you hooked in to the movie before it even starts.
