Design Me Likey

So, today I have the thrill of discussing media design that catches my eye, makes me say "wow". revs my engines, etc. I suppose, when one discusses design in film, the immediate example that comes to mind, from tip to tail (or stem to stern, if you prefer) is the work of the design genius, Saul Bass. Bass designed many film posters and credit sequences , most notably for Hitchcock (Vertigo) and Otto Preminger (Anatomy for a Murder), although he did collaborate with Scorsese during the '90s. I will focus on the opening credit sequence for Vertigo.

Over Bernard Herrman's haunting score, the titles sequence for Vertigo begins with a close up image of Kim Novak's mouth, and the James Stewart credit appears. The camera then raises on the eyes of Novak, then her credit appears. The camera tracks left, centering on Novak's left eye, and tightens as the Hitchcock credit appears; then the title card slowly emerges out of Novak's eye, as the camera zooms into Novak's eye, a red filter is placed over the camera, and the trademark "spiral" graphic appears as the credits run, ending with the camera pulling out to Novak's eye again, at which time the director credit appears. To view it for yourself, take a gander at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz46qS38OgM

Now, what's so special about that? Well, everything. To begin, the credits encapsulate all the central theme of the film: Obsession- as shown by focusing on various parts of Novak's face. The spiral graphics and the red filter tell the audience that the film they are about to watch will have a certain surreal quality to it, that the film is not a typical thriller. The theme over the credits is (as previous mentioned) haunting, which implies that the film will have a maudlin quality, or a sense of tragedy will be pervasive. Of course, the spiral graphics (which are spinning through the credits) also evoke a sense of, well, Vertigo- immediately establishing an image with a word which may not be overly familiar with audiences.

In closing, the credits sequence is visually striking- beautiful beyond repair.