Saul and Elaine Bass are two highly influential Filmmakers who vastly changed the way titles are presented in films. Saul Bass born in 1920 who was awarded the Oscar for the best short film for his documentary ‘Why Man Creates’ in 1968. Born in the Bronx as the son of eastern European Jewish immigrants Bass attended Brooklyn Collage. Like many influenceial visionaries of the film Industry he started out doing advertisement, designed logos and a lot of different freelancer work. His career in Hollywood began when he moved to Los Angeles in 1946. Eight years later director Otto Preminger recognized his talent after Bass had designed a poster for Preminger’s 1954 musical romance Carmen Jones. Preminger asked Bass to create the opening title sequence for his movie. Bass´s goal was to not only present the titles but demonstrate the atmosphere of the movie to the audience. He aimed to turn the previously unobtrusively opening credits into an event themselves. His opening sequences are often beautiful short films themselves. Him and his wife Elaine Bass, who often is overlooked partly due to the stigma surrounding female filmmakers especially during the 20th
century, joined in marriage in 1961. Together they collaborated with legendary directors like Alfred Hickock and Martin Scorsese. Saul Bass died in 1996, Elaine Bass who is now 95 years old and seems to be retired after she worked one last time on the remake opening title sequence of Psycho in 1998. But their legacy lasts, nearly all modern title sequences take inspiration from their work as they demonstrated how meaning can be conveyed within the opening credits how these previously bland titles can be a creative outlet creating mood and highlighting themes of the movie.
From the start the Basses opening title sequence for the 1960 movie opening highlighted the movies setting in the Las Vegas. This is not only due to the music but especially because of the typography which looks like the dots on a screen the sequence is also fast pasted, contently changing the layout and thereby hinting the vibrancy of the casinos which is supported by the different colours pooing up on the screen.
The movies comedic nature is displayed e.g. when a character on the a slot machine breaks the 4th wall when he gets flustered as he notices the audience watching him as he is about to kiss a woman, this is. completely unexcepted, surprises the audience resulting in comedy. When a man floats across the slot machine because of what seems to be a flying olive the Basses tie the films setting to its situational style of comedy.
Elaine and Saul Bass highlight the movies class with symbols of wealth like the Eagle. But also with elegant shapes, these simulate ornaments often found in interior architecture of historical upper class establishments.
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