TITLE SEQUENCE
OCEAN’S ELEVEN

he title sequence of Ocean’s Eleven uses various design elements to give the film ambiance. First, the use of images relates to the film’s plot. For instance, the formation of numbers relates to the members of heist crew and the icons used in the slot machine and the dice are telling of the casino setting. Additionally, the use of typography creates contrast and hierarchy to the title sequence. For example, the leading actors, the title of the film, and the director are all featured in the pixelated, retro styled typeface. This emphasizes the text since it is more eye-catching and unique. On the other hand, the names of supporting actors and other crew members are written in an easy-to-read, sans-serif font. This allows audiences to easily understand the text since it is a more mundane and practical. Finally, the use of sound plays a major role in the title sequence. Not only does the music create ambiance by connecting to the jazz style of the 1960’s, but also demonstrates movement. The music is synched to the movement of the different visual elements which gives them a livelier nature to them. Overall, the title sequence of Ocean’s Eleven is very successful in giving audiences a preview of the film.

aul Bass, (born May 8, 1920, Bronx, New York, U.S.—died April 25, 1996, Los Angeles, California), American graphic designer and filmmaker who introduced a new art form with his imaginative film title sequences that conveyed the essence of a movie and prepared audiences for what they were about to see.

Bass was a creative child who enjoyed drawing. After completing high school, he studied at the Art Students League in New York City and later attended Brooklyn College, where he was taught by the notable designer Gyorgy Kepes. He worked as an advertising designer before moving to Los Angeles in 1946.

He continued to do graphic design for advertising and by 1952 was able to set up his own practice. He began his association with Hollywood by designing advertising posters for movies.

His poster for Carmen Jones (1954) so impressed its director, Otto Preminger, that he asked Bass to also create the movie’s opening credits. It was the animated opening sequence that he created for Preminger’s The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) that made Bass’s reputation. His other well-known title sequences included those for Around the World in 80 Days (1956); Preminger’s Bonjour Tristesse (1958), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and Exodus (1960); the Alfred Hitchcock films Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960); Spartacus (1960); West Side Story (1961); and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), and Casino (1995).

Bass also created iconic logos for the American Bell Telephone Company, AT&T, Continental Airlines, Girl Scouts of America, and Quaker Oats, among others. In addition to his design work, Bass directed the sci-fi thriller feature film Phase IV (1974) and wrote, produced, and directed several short films. His Why Man Creates (1968) won the Academy Award for best short-subject documentary.

rank Sinatra hired Saul Bass to do the titles for the Frank Sinatra Show (1957) and then hired him again in 1960 for Ocean’s Eleven. By then, the film already had a long production history. As early as April 1956, Matador Productions announced that it would produce Ocean’s Eleven with director Gilbert L. Kay and producer Earl Colbert. The project either remained dormant or could not get financing, because actors Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra bought the rights to the screenplay in December 1957. Sinatra’s Dorchester Productions and Lawford’s Kenlaw Productions were still planning to make the film nine months later, but production had to be postponed due to Sinatra’s commitments elsewhere ; meanwhile, Richard Breen was working on the script. When Lewis Milestone was brought in as producer and director sometime in 1959, he discarded much of the film’s plot but kept the basic premise of a group of ex-army buddies robbing five Las Vegas casinos. With a distribution deal from Warner Brothers, the film was shot in Las Vegas at the Sands (partially owned by Sinatra), the Sahara, and the Riviera casinos and on the Warner lot in Burbank between January and March 1960. The exceedingly complex animation needed for the titles was done by Art Goodman, Dirk Barlow, Bill Hurtz, and Jim Hiltz. Executive producer Sinatra apparently allotted $65,000 for Bass’s titles, although, according to a Hollywood Reporter article, titles usually cost only $2,500 to $5,000. But, as the article noted, “Frank’s gasser-type titles are animated slot machines, roulette wheels and crap tables, and that’s The Hard Way.” Since the end credits are conventional images of the Rat Pack, except for the final “The End” in white dot matrix, it is possible that the money ran out. Again, the cost of Bass’s titles had become an issue in the press.

Ocean’s Eleven premiered on 3 August 1960 in Las Vegas, but when the film opened in New York and Los Angeles a week later, it received mixed to poor reviews. Variety was charitable, as usual, pointing out that although the film had major weaknesses, including a doubtful premise, a contrived script, uncertain direction, and a group of actors essentially playing themselves, it would be a moneymaker. Bass got another rave review: “Main titles by Saul Bass are as clever as anything that follows.” In fact, Ocean’s Eleven became the highest-grossing film of Frank Sinatra’s career, taking in more than $5.5 million and reaching eighth place for the year.