Saul Bass

Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and Academy Award-winning filmmaker, but he was best known for his work in film title sequences. Bass has worked with many of the world’s greatest directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, who also is a famous director known for his work in title sequences. Bass is also a graphic designer, is well known for designing logos, such as the Quaker Oats and the 6th AT&T Bell System logo, in America. Bass studied at the Art Student's League in Manhattan and during his work there, he realized how important film title sequences can be.

Bass was a very well experienced film maker by 1959, where he created a title sequence for one of Hitchcock’s best films, “North by Northwest” which is suspense film about identity. Hitchcock was well known for keeping the audience well in their seats with his choice of music and camera shots. The title sequence in this film shows a grid of lines that are laid out to give the effect of a building which appears after it. There are many clues in the theme of this film by the opening titles, such as the mirror reflection on the glass of the building as a theme of identity.

Bass was also responsible for one of the most well remembered murder scenes, which includes a silhouette of a person being killed in a bathroom through the curtains. You only get shots of locations in the room, such as the plug with the red water running down it, giving you a clue as to what has happened.