UPDATED: Saul Bass Inspires YouTubers, Designers and More.

above: Designer Saul Bass (1920-1996) and some of his famous work

For those of you who are unfamiliar with designer Saul Bass (and shame on you!), let me start by introducing you to some of his most famous title sequences:

Anatomy of A Murder:

Ocean's 11:

Bunny Lake IS Missing:


The site Not Coming To A Theater Near You has a wonderful feature on all of Saul Bass' title design sequences.



Saul Bass has always been heralded as an amazing designer. He worked with directors like Otto Preminger and Alfred Hitchcock repeatedly and was and is highly regarded as one of the best graphic designers of all time. Now, some very clever and creative folks have been making their own versions of Saul Bass' famous graphics and sharing them on youtube.

"If Star Wars was filmed two decades earlier and Saul Bass did the opening title sequence, it "might" look like this...

This was part of a school project. The song is "Machine" by the Buddy Rich Band off the album Big Swing Face (1967). Note: I'm aware of the errors in the video (spelling, Max Rebo), but I chose to leave them because the video is still enjoyable. This was just for fun and NOT a serious artistic endeavor! Oh, and you MUST watch the video response by brooksy362436. Brilliant!"

--YouTuber Bhilmers, age 36, USA

So, of course, I then had to see the video response by You Tuber Brooksy362436 (Daniel, age 33, UK):

"The original video is utterly fantastic, but since it has been made there have been huge technical advancements. Now the video can be remade exactly how the author intended it all those weeks ago. "

And here are some other wonderful youtube homages to Saul Bass' style:

Titanic Vs. Saul Bass


Dark Knight Vs. Saul Bass:


Jurassic Park Title Saul Bass Style:


So, now that I got the Saul Bass bug, I did a little more surfing and found some fun posts and items. The blog, Focus Pull, has a great post on 10 contemporary movie posters that were inspired by Saul Bass. See them here.


Above: Before The Devil Knows You're Dead movie poster clearly influenced by Saul Bass' movie posters for Anatomy Of A Murder and Man With The Golden Arm

There are many wonderful contemporary illustratos who have been inspired by Saul Bass.
Two of my favorites are:
Olly Moss
Hexagonall

Feeling inspired? Try creating some Saul bass work of your own, especially now that you can download the "Hitchcock" font in Mac postscript or Windows designed by Matt Terich and available from Typographica here.



Learn more and see more about Saul Bass:
Saul Bass tv 
Saul Bass on Wikipedia Saul Bass bio at Design Museum Saul Bass Logos and trademarks Saul Bass on the web

Olympic Logo Causes Seizures

....And not just because it is UGLY!

Olympic logo launch beset with problems
Associated Press
June 6, 2007

LONDON -- An animated display of London's jigsaw-style 2012 Olympics logo, which has drawn an unfavorable public response, was removed from an official Web site Tuesday following concern it could trigger epileptic seizures.
Epilepsy Action, a British health charity, said 10 people had complained about the animation and some had suffered seizures from watching images depicting a diver plunging into a pool.
The Olympic group said it has taken steps to remove the animation from the Web site and will now re-edit the film.
The design is made up of four jagged pieces that form the numbers 2012 in a variety of colors. It cost $796,000 and was targeted at young people. The logo was unveiled Monday and within hours an online petition was established asking for a new design.
London's Design Museum founder Stephen Bayley said the logo was "a puerile mess, an artistic flop and a commercial scandal."

BELOW IS THE ACTUAL SPOT- DO NOT WATCH IF YOU HAVE EPILEPSY!

I am not responsible for any reaction to the post.

The Movie Sucked But The Titles Were Great.

At least, that's how I felt about David Fincher's Panic Room. Most of Fincher's movies have outstanding title design (think "Fight Club" and"Seven"). Yes, there are some terrific movies which also have terrific title design, but certainly, the two are not mutually inclusive.



above titles for Panic Room by Picture Mill, produced in conjunction with Café FX.

On Submarine Channel, they love a good main title. That's why they've started an online collection of the most stunning and original ones. Some are engaging or wildly entertaining, funny, exhilarating or deadly beautiful. Some are oozing with visual treats while others hit you hard with their bold and audacious style.




Submarine Channel is a non-profit production and online distribution platform for designers, interactive artists and the people who like them. You may notice what seems like some obvious omissions, but that's because they are presently working on getting clearance rights to many of the main title sequences long revered as some of the best; like those by renowned designer, Saul Bass':


See some of the movies for which he's designed the titles here: title sequences by Saul Bass.

Forget The Film, Watch The Titles