Saul Bass

7-11-11: Saul Bass Case Study: Saul Bass
D.O.B-Death: 1920-1996

Bass studied in NYC Art Students League. Worked as a freelance graphic designer/commercial artist. 1946 he moved to LA to get away from creative constraights. 1954 Otto preminger invited him to design the poster for his movie he was so impressed he asked him to do the title sequence.

Saul Bass is best known for his use of simple geometric shapes and their symbolism. Often a single dominant image stands alone to deliver a powerful message.

Bass's posters and titles had an uncanny ability to capture the mood of a film with simple shapes and images.

Bass was heavily influenced by bauhaus and russian constructivism- 1923.

Between 1970 & 1986 Bass only worked for a handful of films.

Narrative.

Aim: To understand what narrative is, the role it plays with in moving image texts and how narratives are structured.

What is Narrative?

• Structure of the story
• Plot
• The way the story is told
• Linear and Non-Linear

Key to understanding. Narrative is knowing the difference between story and plot.
Narrative is a casual transformation.
Equilibrium > Disequilibrium > resolution/New Equilibrium

Story Board. Title Sequence. Struck By Rain.

Struck by Rain Pitch. 
These are just the first six story boards for our title sequence for 'Struck By Rain'. Basically these first six slides. Choosing stop motion has proved to be a lot of work. We have done a test using a bottle, and move in slightly in every shot. The video was only six seconds long and we took over 40 photos. 


*put video of 'stop motion test' up*

• Starts with Sarah Bailey in bed
• The quilt moves down the bed
• Whilst the quilt is moving her arms come up to rub her eyes (close up)
• Then arms come down (long shot) and she turns over.
• Once she has fully turned over. Her bed moves from underneath her and pillows come together to form stairs to look like she is walking downtairs.
• Clothes then changed from pajamas to everyday wear clothes.
• Shops then start to appear.
• Then a newspaper article flys past her and you then see her chasing it.
• She then grabs the newspaper article and takes off. 
• Once shes looking at the newspaper article then a load of leaflets fly past with all other musicals on them. 
• She looks at the newspaper article looking all amazed settles back down to the ground. She carries on walking in people. One person in perticular that she walks into martin the director of the show she is auditioning for. 
• It then starts to rain and she then runs to the audition. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Mise en Scene.

Mise En Scene- Everything in the frame.

C- ostume
L- ighting
A- cting/ body language
M- ake-up
P- rops
S- etting/ location

Settings & Props
These are stereotypical settings and props for a variety of genres.

• Sci- fi

Space - rocket
            moon
            aliens

• Rom Com 

Bedroom- rose petals
                 coffee shop

• Horror  

psychiatric ward
cemetery
morgue
hospital
castle
abandoned houses/ buildings
country side

Costume Hair and Make- up
Costume hair and make-up act as and instant indicator of a character's personality, status & job.


Facial Expressions
Facial expressions provide a clear indicator of how someone is feeling. A close up camera shot would make the facial expression the most important aspect of the scene, it highlights the mood for the moment.

Using a wider shot would not give a clear view of the characters emotions, however in a group shot you should still be able to get the mood from the variety of facial expressions. It is important to take into consideration the positioning of the characters & objects within a frame.


Lighting
Lighting & colour can be used to achieve a variety of effects.

Low Key Lighting

• Created by using only the key & back lights. 

High Key Lighting

• Movie filler lights are used. 
• Lighting is natural and realistic to our eyes. 

Mise en scene.

Five Elements Of Mise en Scene 

• Setting & Props
• Costume, hair & make up 
• Body Language 
• Lighting & Colour 
• Positioning of Characters 

Representation.

    - The Thing it's self

    - The Opinions of the people doing the representation 

    - The reaction of the individual to the representation

    - The context of the society in which the representation is taking place. 

• The representation is constructed with a set of ideas and values. 
• The context of representation is part of the representation. 
• The audience reacts to this representation and this depends on their own personal interpretational context. 

Camera Shots

Pan- means to pivot. Leave on tripod and move the camera round.

Crab- moves side ways (also know as a dolly)

Track- moving in and out.

Zoom out- Make the lens move further away from the object it is focusing on so you get more in the picture.

Pedestal (ped) Up- Moving the position of the camera to sit vertically about the subject.

Low Angle- looking up at a character or object, often used to install fear into the viewer.

Dolly- The camera is mounted on to a train which then travels along rails which gives off a very smooth movement.

• Straight Angle Shot
• High Angle Shot
• Canted (Slightly Slanted)
• Extreme Close Up 
• Mid Shot
• 3/4 Knee Up 
• Over the Shoulder 

* add photos of each shot later *