Saul Bass - Crititcal Points Flashcards
Working methods
To develop and refine the final version of this poster design, Saul Bass used the working method of generating thumbnail sketches. This technique of creating small sketches to convey design ideas allowed Bass to work quickly and to consider the success of each of his ideas without having to go through more time consuming production.
The client for this design was Stanley Kubrick. Bass used the working method of communicating regularly with Kubrick (the director) when developing his ideas for the poster. This was important as Bass was living in L.A and Kubrick England, at a time before easy to generate images and access email. As such, Bass generated a selection of small thumbnail sketches using fine line pen and posted these to Kubrick within letters. Kubrick then annotated these by hand, giving his opinions as feedback on the success of the imagery and type ideas in the thumbnails. This allowed Bass to make the necessary refinements to deliver a final design that his client was entirely happy with.
Kubrick asked Bass to convey a sense of terror within the poster design. To achieve this Bass used the working method of sketching a selection of different imagery that evokes this. His first ideas included other imagery directly related to the story itself such as the maze. Through selection and choice Bass was able to refine his imagery to decide on the final symbolic image of the wide eyed face.
He used expression and tone through stippling to visually communicate the the face being lit or shining. He achieved this through the working method of using dots closer together to create shadows and wider apart to create noticeably lighter uplit areas around the eyes nose and mouth.
Function (needs one more)
- The primary function of this design is to advertise the film The Shining. The poster would have been displayed in movie theatres, billboards or transport meaning potential viewer may only see the poster for a short window of time. The simple bold dark typeface used which can be easily read against the contrasting bright background makes the poster highly noticeable. This is effective as it communicates quickly and clearly the name of the film to a potential audience of viewers and passers by.
The secondary function of this design is to visually communicate the genre of film as horror. This is achieved through the use of imagery of a sinister face spanning the negative space within the text. This simple yet effective creative choice lets any potential viewers understand the genre of the film as horror through the low lit manic image of the face.
Materials and technology (add more)
y- The materials and technology used to produce this poster were traditional graphic design skills as the original illustration of the face was hand drawn. Pointillism and stippling using fine line pens was used to illustrate the image of the face in the original thumbnail idea sent to Kubrick. Later this was scaled up and screen printed to allow the poster to be more widely mass produced. The poster was designed in 1978 before digital technology allowed for less time consuming methods to be used.
Bass used the materials/technology of screen printing to create his final design for the poster. The screen printing process gives the colours a vivid, flat and bold finish. This is particularly important for advertising through paper posters that would have been displayed in ad-caddies, theatres of perhaps on transport such as buses and trains. The bold vivid intense colour yellow is an advancing colour that would create visual impact by drawing viewers to it and in turn the film.
Use of techniques
Saul Bass used the technique of using specific imagery to visually communicating a scene from the film within his design. The image of the sinister face contained inside the lettering effectively communicates the genre of film as horror. Moreover it refers directly to a famous scene within the film. Bass said “I try to reach for a simple, visual phrase that tells you what the picture is all about and evokes the essence of the story”
Bass has used the technique of creating strong contrast by using stippling to delicately illustrate the ghostly face within the heavy solid black lettering. This allows the viewer to notice the face quickly through visual hierarchy and imagine that the face is being lit from below adding to the sinister mood and atmosphere captured in the simple design.
Consideration of aesthetics
Saul Bass has created a bold aesthetic when designing this film poster for the horror The Shining, though his use of colour. Colour has a huge impact on our emotions. The intensity of the hue of yellow used in the final version is slightly manic conveying a theme of chaos. This in turn creates high intensity contrast with the bold, heavy weighted, black typeface used for the title ensuring that the viewer eye is drawn directly to the title of the film. This is highly effective in advertising the movie to a target audience as yellow is also an advancing colour.
In this poster design Bass has created a minimalist aesthetic. He has utilized two simple sets of sans-serif fonts, all in capital to convey vital information about the film. This includes a blurb about the film that reads,’A masterpiece in modern horror’ Visual hierarchy has been used to ensure this is read shortly after the title by the viewer by making the text the second largest font on the poster. This is effective as the positive statement describing the film as a masterpiece, compels viewers to see the film.
Consideration of style
Saul Bass creates a unique style through his use of layout with the poster. It has a minimalist style this is evidenced through the amount of negative space used in the poster. It’s simplistic style is created through the use of one dominant colour in the yellow background accompanied with simple black text. The use of image and colour combined with negative space stops the poster from becoming too busy and creates a simplistic yet effective poster.
The film poster for The Shining has strong links to the German Expressionist style used in early film posters. This can be seen in the highly stylised feel of the type used for the hand drawn title. Bass also uses the technique of adding imagery to his letters to convey a narrative of the film describing the theme in the movie as horror. This is commonly seen in the German Expressionist style for films such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.
Bass’ style was considered modernist. As such, his designs such as the film poster for The Shining have stood the test of time, still having a modern aesthetic to them even now. Saul Bass’s style is unique due to the rough unpolished often cut out aesthetic. This is partially created through the working method of illustrating the image of the sinister face by hand using stippling/pointillism.
Target market/ audience
The target audience for this design is cinema going adults who enjoy horror. The poster was designed in 1978 before social media, at a time when cinema was still hugely popular and relevant to the lives of many. To appeal to this target audience Bass has used colour. Colour has a huge impact on our emotions. The intensity of the hue of yellow used in the final version is slightly manic conveying a theme of chaos. This in turn creates high intensity contrast with the bold, heavy weighted, black typeface used for the title ensuring that the viewers eye is drawn directly to the title of the film. This is highly effective in advertising the movie as yellow is also an advancing colour.
Bass considered how to make his film poster for The Shining appeal to a wide audience of cinema goers by designing a poster that was noticeably different from the other designs of the time. This design has a minimalist look, evidenced through the amount of negative space used in the poster. It’s simplistic style is created through the use of one dominant colour in the yellow background accompanied with simple black contrasting text. The use of one strong image visually communicating a shining face, gives the viewer just enough information to understand the genre of the ,movies is horror. This accompanied with clear simple lettering describing the movie as a masterpiece is intriguing without giving too much away. Therefore Bass has created a poster that leaves the target audience wanting to find out more and go and see the film.
Line (visual element)
Line is extremely important in this graphic design. Invisible line is used to create alignment making the design successful. The text used within the poster is largely center aligned, creating balance and order making the poster easy to read. By using this alignment and two simple typefaces for the additional information, Bass has created flow and visual hierarchy within the design as the viewer is led through all of the information included in the poster in an ordered manner.
Bass has deliberately created the title on a contrasting line to the rest of the information included. The largest hand drawn text is used to advertise the name The Shining. This much heavier typeface is displayed on a horizontal left leaning line creating strong contrast with the rest of the text which is center aligned on a straight line. The use of this left leaning line creates a focal point within the layout and visually communicates a sense of chaos and slipping away.
Bass has created an additional line within the title The Shining by using lower case lettering for the i’s in The Shining. In doing so he creates visual interest as the rest of the text is upper case. Breaking the regular line of uppercase letters creates more emphasis on the tile. Kubrick asked Bass in his brief to,’Evoke terror and the supernatural’ By creating these imaginary lines within the title lettering Bass successfully conveys this.
Line is used to depict the huge hand drawn letter T which provides enough negative space to include the image of a terrifying face emerging from the darkness. This heavy weight is balanced by the use of fine delicate line used to depict other key information. The second thing we notice on the poster is the blurb describing the film. In contrast this italic stylish fine lettering is right leaning balancing the leading lines within the layout.
Alignment
The text in this poster is largely centralised, however it is shown on a a left leaning horizontal slant. This, accompanied with the weight and scale of the typeface used creates a focal point in the layout of this design.
