Film Title Sequence
‘Symbolize and Summarize’ (Saul Bass)
Abstract
My intention is to explore film title sequence. After reviewing the film title sequence’s history I will focus on the use of symbolism and summarisation. Inspired by the above quote of Saul Bass, a dominant figure and pioneer in title design, I will attempt to investigate the functions fulfilled by these expression means and their contribution on the essential mission and success of the film title sequence. Title sequence shall be shown to evolve. Four different films will be examined, and summarisation and symbolism will be shown as key factors in their success. Consideration will be given to title sequences with no evidence of symbolism or summarisation. Finally conclusions will be drowned on the merit of these two means in title sequence.
Introduction
Saul Bass:
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 (Krasner, 2004, p. 38).
A film title sequence is the opening part of the film, presenting its title, key production and cast members. Sometimes it does something more than presenting the film’s credits. It plays a vital role in priming us, in setting our mood as viewers of the film that follows. ‘A great title sequence sets an expectation. […] you forget about everything else and you don’t want to be anywhere else but right here at this moment and it gets you excited’ (Kyle Cooper Interview, 2010, 00:55 min).
My first source of inspiration is Saul Bass, a great graphic designer who made a major contribution in title sequence’s development. My second source of inspiration was the title sequence of Se7en (1995), created by another great designer, Kyle Cooper, who innovatively ‘updated’ title sequence.
There seems to exist something else, apart from the graphic design competence, technical experience and high end finish in some of their title sequences. It is the famous quote by Saul Bass that synopsises it: ‘symbolize and summarize’ and it appears to be present in contemporary title sequences as well. Actually it appears to be one of the strongest ways to create a captivating title sequence. Moreover it is the most significant part of the great designers’ legacy as many current designers are influenced by it. Also it is a very challenging kind of title sequence, as it mostly implicates graphic design.
The main theme and research question of this essay is the existence and role of symbolism and summarisation as expression means in film title sequence. There will be a historical review of title sequencing with examples. I will then present the examination of four case studies selected from different chronological periods.
My investigation will focus on symbolism and summarisation’s evidence and their involvement in creating a strong emotional reaction and introducing to the audience the ambiance of the movie. What connects these case studies is the gradual evolution of the involvement of symbolism and summarisation in different levels through time and design development.
The area of my investigation will include and examine some title sequences without evidence of symbolism or summarisation.
Finally there will be a conclusion on the value and contribution of symbolism and summarisation when utilised in the title sequence.
For the purpose of the present essay, symbolism and summarisation have the following definitions.
Symbolism, has the meaning of using symbols to represent the movie’s characters and plot in the title sequence. The representation through symbolism can be indirect and may not target the film’s narration or film’s people but the depiction of the emotional effect they create.
The word symbol is used in a wide context and can be graphic, but it can also have the form of an image, human or animal figure, natural landscape or phenomenon, colour, or even sound and is used to convey the character, idea, fact or situation that it represents.
Summarisation is the expression of the film or part of the film’ story or characters in a condensed and concise way. Summarisation can be achieved by descriptive or metaphorical techniques and sometimes it reduces the film’s core in a few defining images.
Symbolism and summarisation can coexist in the same movie.
Historical View
Film title sequences have considerably changed over the last decades. They commenced as a presentation of the film’s factors and, following design, cultural and technical development, they have become more elaborate and sophisticated and often are among the most challenging parts of a movie. Through an interesting and creative historical process, film title sequence has grown and is elevated to an art form.
We could split the history of title sequences in three periods:
Early Development
The period between mid-1910s to 1954, when Saul Bass designed his first tile sequence for the movie Carmen Jones (1954), also known as ‘Studio Era’, was the time for the movie industry to expand (Alpha History). During the Studio years, the title sequence was a boring part of the movie and was called ‘popcorn time’ (Kirkham, 2011). In silent films titles were presented with a white type on a black background as title cards, including the main film credits (Braha & Byrne, 2011). Typography was the key issue, as the only means to reflect the film’s tone and genre. Some of the first title cards are the ones created by the film director D. W. Griffith. An example that stands out is Intolerance (1916), in which Griffith included for the first time his name on the cards as a signature.
Director Stuart Blackton was among the first to create an animating title sequence in one of the first animation films, Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906). In the 1920s and 1930s some technological improvements such as synchronized sound and image and incorporating colours allowed further development (Braha & Byrne, 2011). A step forward in film titles is on the film The Women (1939), directed by George Cukor, where title cards became more detailed. In this case, we see a primary and a secondary title sequence. In the secondary the names of the actors are presented each one with a different title card along with a shot of an animal, which then transforms into a shot of the actual face of the actor. The animals, as symbols, are used to hint some of the characters of the main film’s characters. Some imaginative title sequences of this period are: City Lights (1931), King Kong (1933), The Wizard of Oz (1939), Spook Sport (1939) and The Third Man (1949) which I selected for a short analysis in the following chapter 4.1.
Saul Bass Era
This period is named as the Saul Bass Era, due to the revolutionary impact of Saul Bass’s fascinating titles. When commercial television appeared as a competitor to cinema, a few seminal directors, including Otto Preminger, Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) and Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard (1950) were searching for more interesting ways to open their films (Kirkham, 2011). At this time Saul Bass, the pioneer of film title sequence, appeared in the film industry.
He himself explains the concept of his work.
‘My position was that the film begins with the first frame and that the film should be doing a job at that point’ (Kirkham, 2011, p. 106).
Saul Bass, often with assistance from his second wife Elaine Makatura, designed more than fifty opening sequences, in a period of forty years with directors like Otto Preminger, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese in such films as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Vertigo (1958), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Goodfellas (1990) (Kirkham, 2011).
Martin Scorsese explains:
Bass was instrumental in redefining the visual language of title sequences His graphic compositions in movement, coupled with the musical score, function as a prologue to the movie; setting the tone, establishing the mood, and foreshadowing the action. His titles are not simply identification tags, but pieces that are integral to the work as a whole. When his work comes up on the screen, the movie truly begins (Meggs, 1997 cited in Braha & Byrne, 2011, pp. 49–50).
Each of Bass’s opening sequences prepares the viewer for what is coming in the following film, getting him into the film. His works often consist of powerful messages or symbolisms that can be totally understood through the movie. For example in the title sequence of the film Anatomy of a Murder (1959) a black separated body, like a puzzle, is moving on and off the screen over the background of Duke Ellington’s Jazz music, evoking mystery and passing the idea of a murder.
Another significant title is that of the film The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), in which, the title designer, Pablo Ferro introduced the multi-screen technique for the first time in title design.
There are many interesting sequences of this era. We could site, among others, Stephen Frankfurt’s for the film To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Friz Freleng’s opening cartoon for The Pink Panther (1963) and the Bond series. Maurice Binder, another key title designer, has designed 14 James Bond titles starting with the one of Dr. No (1962). The gun barrel sequence, originally designed in 1962, is the trademark displayed approximately in every James Bond films (Cork & Scivally, 2002). It features the silhouetted figure of 007 walking, turning around, and then shooting directly at the camera, leading to blood running down the screen. This sequence is totally giving to the audience an idea of what they are going to expect for the movie, it is a strong symbol.
From this period I selected as a case study the title sequence by Saul Bass The Man with the Golden Arm (1955).
Further Evolution
In trying to describe title sequence in the modern world, we have of course to take into consideration the change that has occurred in design, typography and music. However the main influencing factor in modern title sequence is the advent of computers. As media technology and visual design tools have developed, many new artistic approaches are used by designers within the area of title sequence, leading to more creative works. This ‘next generation’ starts from mid-1990s and title sequence evolves using new ideas. The digital era affects title sequencing so much, that it means sometimes that title designers are trying hard not to use computers, but hand made techniques in order to achieve a different and distinctive effect in their works.
What Saul Bass started is continuing. The use of live action, imagery elements, typography and music are still present, together with computer graphics animation, special effects and other digital tools. Traditional techniques coexist with modern media in new imaginative title sequences.
Se7en (1995) brought title sequencing to such a mature artistic integrity, that many critics have maintained that it has not been surpassed. Kyle Cooper is the designer of this revolutionary film title, carrying strong summarisation and symbols. Cooper created more than 150 film title sequences and is acclaimed as the most innovative and important designer of film titles since Saul Bass (Kodrington, 2003). Some of the most remarkable ones were The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Arlington Road (1999), Dawn of the Dead (2004), The Incredible Hulk (2008). A beautiful animated title sequence was designed by Danny Yount (creative director) and Kyle Cooper (executive producers) for the detective story Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005). Many other imaginative title sequences have been and are still designed. Some key designers are Susan Bradley [Toy Story (1995), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Ratatouille (2007)], Jay Johnson [Lost Highway (1997), Mulholland Dr. (2001)], Gaspar Noe [Irreversible (2002)], Daniel Kleinman [GoldenEye (1995), Casino Royale (2006), Skyfall (2012)], Michael Riley [Gattaca (1997), The Back-Up Plan (2010)].
From this period I chose two title sequences, Se7en (1995) by Kyle Cooper and Catch Me If You Can (2002) by Kuntzel and Deygas.
Case Studies of Title Sequencing
I chose to explore as case studies the following title sequences because each of them I think represents an interesting species of its era. The Third Man (1949) was picked because it has amazingly exploited music to fulfill the title sequence’s role of introducing the film. The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) was chosen for the groundbreaking and seminal design of Saul Bass. Se7en (1995) is considered as a landmark of the contemporary title sequence design. Catch Me If You Can (2002) was selected for its artistic elegance, combining sixties’ appeal with a refreshingly modern animation. All these case studies were chosen as they seem to have symbolisms and / or summarisation and they also showcase the escalation in symbolism and summarisation through time.
The Third Man (1949)
In what is considered among the best film-noirs of all times, we have a truly remarkable title sequence. We may not have the setup of today’s title sequence, but we have the basic outline that defines modern title sequencing. The stage in which the film takes place is postwar Vienna. This is not Vienna, as we know it now, civilized, affluent, thriving with people, one of the best cities to live in, nor the prewar capital, the centre of the Austroungarian Empire. It is a city destroyed by the war, divided in 4 sectors by the winners who appear to rule the city. But we do not know all that yet, the film has not started. Then the title sequence begins with a simple typography in a lined background that appears to be strings of a musical instrument perhaps, a lot of strings. Whatever doubts we may have on the nature of the lined background, they disappear when they start producing music.
Carol Reed, the director of the movie, discovered in a wine bar in Vienna, Anton Karas, a zither player, the man who wrote the score of the title sequence and the music that characterizes the whole film (All Music). The zither, a multi string guitar like instrument with no neck (Encyclopedia Britannica) is the only background that we see in the title sequence. Carol Reed was fascinated by Karas, took him to England where Karas composed the music, that became the equivalent of a nr. 1 hit of the era, selling more than 500.000 records upon its release in 1949, a staggering amount for this era (Wellesnet, 2007). It is impressive that a film with so heavy credits (Carol Reed, Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard and Screenwriter Graham Greene) owes a great part of its success to the humble musician Anton Karas (Art of the Title).
This title sequence’ s typography and titles fading in and out are typical of the era. There is no imagery, except the zither’s strings.
So actually there remains one ingredient to make the title sequence interesting. Music. The zither music, functions as a single, but multiple-tasks symbol for the whole film. The first symbolism is the stage, the city in which the film takes place. One would expect for Vienna a waltz being performed by a symphonic orchestra in the city’ s renowned concert halls. But the city is in poverty and crisis and what better way to depict that, than with single instrument, played by a street musician. The second symbolism refers to the adventurers that are the main characters of the film: people in crisis, trying to survive after the war, willing to take risks, with week morals. Gypsy or eastern-European folk music always addresses ones’ lower instincts or so we are told. Despite the music being happy, airy and playful, there is an undertone of imminent danger. This creates the third symbolism, the mood for the film and its genre.
The music captures that mixture of old world romance, naked opportunism, and quiet desperation that characterized the then-divided city. Like Vienna, the tune is immediately alluring and attractive, but despite that initial appeal, it hints that something very untoward, very wrong might be happening just out of sight (Art of the Title).
The Man With The Golden Arm (1955)
The second film has one thing in common with my first pick, a list of heavy weights as major contributors i.e. Otto Preminger, Frank Sinatra and Elmer Bernstein. This time however there is an addition, Saul Bass.
The film has a controversial subject, even by today’s standards. It was based on the novel of Nelson Algren. The hero, Frankie Machine, a former card’s dealer, returns to the slums of Chicago after a sentence at a federal narcotics’ detox hospital and strives for a better life. At the hospital he was given a set of drums and he dreams to work as a jazz drummer, while he struggles to overcome his heroin and gambling addictions. A film where the main character is a drug addict poses several issues for the director of the movie on how he is going to handle this controversial issue. There are technical, aesthetical and moral issues. These are some of the problems that Saul Bass faced. Saul Bass had already 2 film sequences behind him, both very impressive, Carmen Jones (1954) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). His approach was pioneering and unique.
The title sequence starts with a white slim bar against a black background, a single bar in the beginning, which become two, three, four, six, vertical or horizontal, but always at slight angles, at different moments of the sequence. The bars function as a frame for the film’s credits that appear from the top or the bottom of the screen in a simple Sans Serif typography in motion. Leading names are in upper-case type and secondary are in lower-case, forming text blocks, harmonically synchronized with the jazz beats by Elmer Bernstein. At the end of the sequence there is again one single bar that gets thicker and vertical and finally transforms into an arm that freezes when the Director’s name appears across the centre of the screen, implying the Director’s main creative role. This jagged cutout paper arm is a strong visual symbol of the distortions that heroin brings to human bodies and lives.
As Saul Bass explained:
The intent of this opening was to create a mood — spare, gaunt, with a driving intensity…[conveying] the distortion and jaggedness, the disconnectedness and disjointedness of the addict’s life — the subject of the film (Kirkham, 2011, p. 116).
This distorted arm also symbolises the hero’s controversial and addicted personality. It could as well represent the drummer’s and the gambler’s significant part of the arm, which is the forearm. The title sequence’s appearing and disappearing white rectangular bars in a black background, before finally transforming into the film’s symbol, condenses the film’s central theme and overall atmosphere. In perfect economy the designer summarises the central character into a graphic image, serving both as a symbol and the summary for his drug addiction. The film’s entire story and the hero’s character are synopsized and reflected in a plain, powerful and innovative metaphorical imagery.
Se7en (1995)
Se7en (1995) belongs to a special genre of movies called serial killer movies and it is one of the best of its kind. Its title sequence by Kyle Cooper contributed to the success of the movie and was named by ‘The New York Times Magazine’ as ‘one of the most important innovations of the 1990s’ (Watch the Titles, 2009).
The film starts with the introduction of the two detectives. The viewer who knows (by reviews, friends, publicity) that he will witness a series of awful murders is then introduced to evil. There is one main line of activity that we are going to watch in the title sequence. The protagonist initially (we never see him) removes the skin from his fingertips with a razor blade and has bandages on his hands. We see close-up shots of creating a handmade book, diary or log (as we watch the title sequence it becomes clear that there are plenty of books at play).
The method that this unknown person uses is collage. There is dense writing in capital letters, clipping from books, cutting the word GOD from a note, erasing words, processing analog films and placing the negatives in the log, clipping photographs and erasing eyes out of a face of a boy, adding new notes correcting old ones. The pictures that we see in this weird collage all point out to death. The title sequence scene is dark, mysterious, fast and upsetting. At first we think that the title sequence is filmed in black and white, but actually the film takes a brownish burnt colour and we see at some point the injection of a red fluid (blood?). Whoever is aware of the disturbing art of Joel-Peter Witkin can see the resemblances, if there is such a thing as Witkin colour and ambient feeling, then this is it. Things seem to decay, rot, have the colour of death (Witkin, 1998).
It seems that early in the film, one of the designers, John Sable, spent $15,000 on old journals, ripped them up and sewed them back together by hand, then baked them to release that delicious tattered journal flavour. Sable found as many pictures of ‘mutilated limbs, decapitated people, people whose fingers had been sawn off’ as he could, and then he started writing like a maniac. So when production money run out, it took the genius of Cooper to use them (Sargent, 2011). It was the decision of the director not to show us who the murderer is until late in the film. So it was Kyle Cooper’s work, to show us John Doe through symbolism and summarisation in the title sequence. The symbols are abundant and leave us with a clenched stomach; it is in fact a representation that is better and more disturbing than seeing Kevin Spacey from the start. The first thing we know is that the serial killer is educated and clever, the handmade books point to that. The distorted hands point to a distorted soul. Removing tissue from ones’ fingerprints points to a guilty person trying to eliminate evidence. The razor and the needle point to violence. The red fluid points to blood. Pictures of children with their eyes erased portray them as victims. I believe Kevin Spacey has one of the most interesting faces in the film industry, yet Kyle Cooper through all these powerful symbols manages something unconceivable. An extremely dark short film (mention of NIN industrial music must not be forgotten), unsettling and unnerving that the viewer will not mind not being introduced to Kevin Spacey from the beginning, in fact he is so apprehensive of the murderers distorted soul, that he would rather postpone it.
Summarisation in this title sequence focuses on John Doe’s character. Unnerving industrial music by Trent Reznor, close ups by the director, use of handwritten fonts, muddy colour tones, aggressive editing, all give us with such economy of means the portrait of a murderer that in my opinion it remains unsurpassed.
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
My fourth choice is the title sequence for Catch Me if You Can (2002) by Kuntzel and Deygas (Art of the Title). In this Stephen Spielberg film we follow the career of artist-con man Frank Abagnale Jr. from 1963, when he is 16, to 1969, when he is arrested by F.B.I. and beyond. We follow Leonardo Di Caprio in a series of world-class cons, when he transforms himself into an airline pilot, an F.B.I. agent, a Harvard Medical School educated doctor and a qualified lawyer. In his 6-year international career Frank Jr. never forgets his first love for forging checks (IMDb).
As the title sequence opens we see a figure approaching an airport. We see planes taking off and the man catches a glimpse of a new world to him, the world of pilots, airplanes, stewardesses and airports. The vertical barrier (fonts transformed into walls) that separates him from this world is crossed and he is transformed into a proud pilot (body language changes). At the same time the figure of a man (detective?) in civilian clothes emerges and starts to follow him. In this utterly stylish 60s representation we watch the hunt of Frank Jr. by Carl Hanratty in a series of animated transformations, as a doctor, a lawyer and ever escaping fugitive around the globe. Summarisation is the key in this animation. Practically in this 2:44 minute title sequence we have the essence of the whole film. In the first part we watch the adventures of the pilot — escape artist in an airport world. Luxury and indulgence are evident in the second part; the movie hero is successful in his cons and leads the life of a doctor. The strain of the hunt increases in the third part, the lawyer days of Frank Jr. The fourth part in an ever-escalating hunt narrates his life in France. The sequence ends with the hunter closing in at the fugitive.
The symbols are abundant. The fonts form barriers, walls and escaping ropes. There are revolving doors. Everything moves and changes constantly, evoking the idea of pursuit and running away. Kuntzel and Deygas had in their hands a film that takes place in the 1960’s. They chose a low technology approach using handmade stamps with figures animated in the traditional way. Everything points to 60s simplicity and design. The jazz like score by John Williams creates the right atmosphere. The figures are lean, the women wear A-shaped dresses with long boots, the FBI agent wears a hat, the trousers are tight, the haircuts all have the 60s appeal, so do the furniture and the lighting.
But the designers achieved something beyond this. The lines that work and create objects and streamline the story, the colours that were used have another hidden symbolism. They pay homage, without copying, to the man that gave title sequences the place they deserve in films, Saul Bass.
Other Approaches
There is plenty of examples of film title sequences, within the film industry without any symbolism and/or summarisation that are really interesting and noteworthy.
Woody Allen is usually presenting the titles in a really simple way. An example is the title sequence of the film To Rome with Love (2012), where EF Windsor white typography is used on a black background, along with a great song by Paolo Conte. They are enough to connect the viewers to the film’s atmosphere. The Windsor fonts are used in most Woody Allen’s films, being a part of his brand and visual identity.
Alien (1979) by Ridley Scott has a remarkably minimalistic opening sequence by the significant title designer Richard Greenberg. The sequence starts with the title letters appearing from the dark, as they form slowly from the outer to their centre, accompanied by the weird and frightening music composed by Jerry Goldsmith and performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. This effectively evokes suspense and horror to the audience.
Both these title sequences do not employ symbolism or summarisation, but both have artistic merit and commercial success. One bears signature fonts by the Director and the other by a very distinctive font creation that captivates the viewer.
The Shining (1980) is rated as one of the best horror films of all times and many mention its title sequence for its impact on the genre. On what is the dominating scenery of Saint Mary Lake in Montana, we see a small yellow Beetle heading into the heart of the mountain. It is a lonesome journey on empty roads. There is no human presence and the very few cars that we see are either descending the mountain or stopped. The music, Dies Irae, a 13th century Latin hymn used in the Funeral Mass, recomposed by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind, is haunting. Strict Helvetica fonts are used. There is a sense that the small yellow Beetle is heading for trouble.
If one tries to characterise this beautiful title sequence, it is like a prologue to the film with no obvious summarisation or symbols. However the title sequence in this film narrates the trip of the yellow Beetle to the hotel, whereas the film narrates the path of Jack Nicholson to madness. Is this a summarisation of the film? Are the snow-caped mountains symbols of solitude? Is the curvy road a symbol of troubles lying ahead? Not in the exact sense. So in another type of title sequence summarisation and symbolism are not evident but they exist hidden to captivate the viewer’s mind.
There are alternative routes to the title sequence’s success. Summarisation and symbolism can exist hidden or may not exist at all. Different directors use different ways to present their titles, depending on the genre, the rhythm, the style, and the tone of the film. They can use whatever means necessary to achieve the end result. There is no unique way to success. In the above three examples a title sequencer or director, apart from purely directing work, can influence fonts, music and the way that the title sequence is incorporated in the movie. Nobody can challenge that this approach can be a very successful one. These examples succeed to effectively introduce the audience to the film’s tone and genre.
In comparison, in the examples of the case studies examined, symbolism and / or summarisation were more or less implicated. The full impact is seen in Se7en and Catch Me If You Can’s title sequences. The amount, the quality and the detailed work that has gone in these two title sequences are amazing. The title sequencer chose to work with symbols (either animated or graphic) and also narrates a part of the film’s story or a character. The use however of summarisation and symbols in such a short time that is allocated to title sequences poses a different level of difficulty. The work of the title designer becomes very challenging. Symbolism and summarisation as means of expression elevate title sequencing on a different level. Their implementation is demanding and when this is successful we can talk for work of art. Title designers of this kind are influenced by great works like Se7en and influence others.
Contemporary Trends
A lot of time has passed since Saul Bass designed The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) and Kyle Cooper took the concept several steps ahead by embodying the principles of Saul Bass’s work and adding pioneering work of his own. The role of the title sequence is enhanced in contemporary film industry. Due to the competing mediums and overabundant motion pictures, these first minutes of the film are often decisive to captivate the audience that often has to choose among a series of choices. Many contemporary directors seem to recognise that a successful title sequence is a key factor in their artistic effort and sometimes it contributes to its commercial success. It should be noted that there now exist special awards for title sequences, the most prestigious one being the ‘Ecellence in Title Design Award’ by SWSW (South by Southwest Festival’s Film Design awards).
Symbolism and summarisation continue to be present in contemporary title sequences. Skyfall‘ s (2012) title sequence by Daniel Kleinman is a remarkable example as it has a huge presence of transforming symbols: daggers that turn into gravestones, water into blood, gun battles between Bond and shadows of himself. Besides, the whole title sequence is a summarisation of Bond character, his memories from the past and fears for the future, his current feelings and subconscious.
Conclusion
This essay focused on title sequencing in films. There was a historical review of title sequencing with examples, trends and important creators in each one. The four title sequences that I selected to analyse followed this historical order. They were also very important examples in their era. Although my point of view was not historical but focused on answering the research question: The role and significance of symbolism and summarisation. The choice of the 4 title sequences was made on their pioneering and increasing use of summarisation and symbolism. In the Third Man we saw the role of the music that functions as a symbol in the movie. Saul Bass creates a graphic symbol that summarises the key character in The Man with the Golden Arm. Se7en is a landmark title sequence, that fully uses these two means of expression and Catch Me If You Can brings an air of artistic refinement with its animated symbols and plot synopsis. The importance and influence of these two means of expression was highlighted. Are symbolism and summarisation the only approach to title sequencing? Of course not, as was shown with the examination of the 3 films in chapter 4. Masterpieces are created through use of music, fonts and imaginative presentation of contributing factors.
However if we attempt to consider the film title sequence as a wholesome entity, as a demanding part of the film, in the contemporary competing film industry, the title sequences that are most challenging artistically, technically and commercially are those mastering summarisation and symbols. The graphic designers wholesome approach is necessary for a successful outcome in this kind of title sequence. When such a title sequence succeeds, it contributes to the audience enjoyment of an entire film watching experience.
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<http://annyas.com/screenshots/saul-bass-title-sequences/> [Accessed 02 January 2014].
<http://www.watchthetitles.com/> [Accessed 10 January 2014].
<http://www.artofthetitle.com/designer/saul-bass/titles/> [Accessed 20 January 2014].
Audio-visual sources
Kyle Cooper Interview. (2009) Directed by Femke Wolting and Remco Vlaanderen. Los Angeles: SubmarineChannel.com
Bass on Titles. (1977) Directed by Herbert Yager. USA: Pyramid Films
