SAUL AND ELAINE BASS RESEARCH

Saul Bass and his wife, Elaine Bass, are Americas most prominent graphic designers and worked with the world's best film makers earning their trademark for their epic title sequences, film posters and corporate logos.

The couple worked alongside, co-designing some of the most iconic title sequences, however, Elaine remained uncredited for most of her career, she is more recently gaining coverage on the work she has done over the years. Elaine and Saul first co-designed Henry Kubick's, “Spartacus” released in 1960, after being Sauls assistant beforehand.

Saul Bass himself first became recognised for his unique style in Otto Preminger’s “The Man with the Golden Arm”, 1955. Soon after, Bass and his wife Elaine began working for the most prominent film makers of the time, from Hitchcock's ‘North by Northwest”, released in 1959:

“Vertigo”, 1958:

and “Psycho”, 1960:

Bass’s title sequences were described by him as, “try to reach for a simple, visual phrase that tells you what the picture is all about and evokes the essence of the story". [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Bass] 

Further down in their career together, the couple created the most iconic title sequences for Martin Scorsese, with their iconic style appearing in title sequences for “Goodfellas”1990, “The Age of Innocence” 1993 and arguably Scorsese’s most prominent “Casino” released in 1995.  

The Bass legacy were not only credited for their distinctive title sequences but also their graphic design for film posters that arguably changed the visuals for film advertisement forever; film posters beforehand usually contained some sort of image, whether that be a key moment or character from the film that would somehow summarise the films narrative. Bass took a very different approach, creating his distinctive trademark through his simplicity and symbolic designs that would brilliantly capture the essence of the films key conventions. Some examples of his work include; Ottos Preminger’s “Man with the Golden Arm”, “ Autonomy of a Murder” 

 

This title sequence in Hitchcock's 19659,“North by North West”, brilliantly embeds the films overall theme, exploring the use of the cross roads that progressively represent the characters and themes within the film through the design layout of this title sequence; This thriller is certainly established through the use of the not only the non-diegetic sound track, of the high intensity and wavering beats but also the titles themselves. Bass has chosen to include three distinct sections within this title sequence that establish key locations and moments within the film, beginning with the symbolic and graphic green and blue gridded background which displays fast transitions of the large titles swiping in and out almost as a vehicle would. And then slowing fading into a seemingly busy New York location, giving clues about where the action takes place. 

The fonts of these titles are also telling in the key concepts within the film; for example, the crossroad analogy is further communicated through the graphics within the title appearing at the beginning of the sequence. Which is further enhanced through the graphics of bold white lines appearing to float in and out as the titles appear, again giving off the effects of a cross road:

Overall, the simplicity of this sequence brilliantly communicates the key themes and mood of the film through the distinctive sections that display a certain place, tone, and theme, giving clues of the films narrative and sets expectations for the audience.