adam@hurtwood - teaching: November 2021

Saul and Elain Bass

Blog Post 1: write a short biography describing the life and work of Saul and Elaine Bass. Provide images and videos of some key examples of their work that catch your eye.

Blog Post 2: Choose an opening title sequence done by them and analyse how effective the titles themselves are and how they link with the themes/mood of the whole film. You may need to research this a bit if you haven’t seen the film yourself.

Blog Post 3: Choose another and repeat the same process as for Blog Post 2 above

Blog Post 4: Write a post which compares some of Saul Bass’ work with some modern examples that you can directly link to his work (‘Mad Men’, ‘Catch Me if You Can’, ‘Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang’ etc  

https://austinkleon.com/

Popularized by creative Austin Kleon in his book of the same name, to “steal like an artist” is to acknowledge that all stories — and, by extension, all works of art — are a product of tributary influences.

When nothing is truly original, everything becomes a fair source of influence and inspiration. By actively seeking inspiration in the stories we consume, as well as in our life experiences and in other sources of interest, we can cultivate creative influences to inspire our work.

To steal like an artist, consider what you do and don’t love about the stories you consume. What aspects of a good story would you love to explore in your own? What negative aspects would you like to avoid?

You may also wish to cultivate influences from other interests in your life, such as history, sports, or people-watching. What concepts and ideas can you take from these interests that may make for an interesting story idea?

https://www.well-storied.com/blog/three-powerful-ways-to-brainstorm-new-story-ideas