A little on Bass

Saul Bass has no doubt experimented with all that is the title sequence. He has worked on infamous films such as Alien and Walk on the Wild Side and yet I find myself not really enjoying his work. This could be down to me watching so many Hollywood blockbusters etc, that I have simply forgotten that everything has to start somewhere and that without Bass’ knowledge and understanding of film these movies that I enjoy so much would be completely dry and boring.

Bass was no doubt one of the first people of the industry to realize and harness the power of the opening sequence to its full potential. For example in Big Country he used the simplistic idea of a long sequence which followed the progression of a stagecoach through the arid wilderness until it eventually arrives at small slice of civilization. This gives the impression that the town is far from anywhere and that the arrival of the stagecoach is big, big news.



One thing that really made Bass’ work noticeable was his use of straight lines. This probably came from his roots of graphic design where lines are often used. A sequence that immediately springs to mind that uses the trademark of Bass is that of North by Northwest. Immediately at the beginning of the scene you are confronted by the lines which created a slightly odd grid. It isn’t till later in the sequence that you realize this is in-fact a office block; and the animated typography which has been moving around the screen is imitating that of the cars reflected in the glass walls of the buildings and the possible ideas of the lifts crawling there way up and down the structure.



One thing that appears to be very similar in the work of Saul Bass is the music used. Now this cold be down to the time at which these films were made as around the 1950/60’s a lot of films were still using orchestral theme-tunes. But maybe Bass being the connoisseur of film could also have produced something more related to the film than the usual generic music.

Despite what I have said about the work of Saul Bass I do believe he was still very important in the evolution of the opening sequence of film. No doubt somebody else would have eventually done this but not in a way that has inspired so many other people, including myself I must admit.