In Russian the word 'Montage' means to cut, which refers to the different editing techniques that are used in film making. A few years prior to the start of the Soviet Montage Russia was going through strong political changes which provoked two revolutions in 1917 and 1918. The films to follower were suppose to be agitating and create propaganda about current events and made without the helping hand of the government.
In 1919 Narkompros, a cultural organization founded in Soviet Russia in November 1917 shortly after the October Revolution, replacing the former Ministry of Culture, built a State Film School which allowed a man by the name of Kuleshov who created and theory of Montage.
The Theory of Montage
The main characteristic of Montage is the use of many characters in a scene but no specified 'star' but more simply single characters that represent a general type or class of people. This is to help the audience relate to the characters and put all their thoughts and emotions into the film. The different editing methods used are what really relay the meaning of the film and the response of the viewers. Eisenstein's view is that "montage is an idea that arises from the collision of independent shots" where in "each sequential element is perceived not next to the other, but on top of the other" has become most widely accepted among viewers and critiques.
5 Methods of Montage
Type of Montage
What is the meaning behind this editing style?
Metric Montage
Where the editing follows a specific number of frames (based purely on the physical nature of time), cutting to the next shot no matter what is happening within the image. This montage is used to elicit the most basal and emotional of reactions in the audience.
Rhythmic Montage
This is done through cutting based on continuity, producing visual continuity from edit to edit. This helps the film run more smoothly without sudden changes in scene.
Tonal Montage
This uses the emotional meaning of the shots, to emphasize a response from the audience in a more complicated manner than Metric or Rhythmic Montage.
Overtonal Montage
This is a collection of Metric, Rhythmic and Tonal Montage to create its effect on the audience for a more complex effect.
Intellectual Montage
This type of Montage is used as a bridge to connect and create meaning completely outside the depiction, unlike continuity editing, where images are created in a smooth space or time. In general, ‘intellectual montage’ is when the image is not represented by a particular idea. Basically, it uses shots which, combined, emphasize an intellectual meaning. The effect is shown through conflict such as juxtapose shots that have no direct relationship.
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein
These five types of Montage were developed by Sergei Einstein which he uses through out his work and can be identified in films from the Soviet Montage time period. Einstein was a Soviet film director and theorist. He is more greatly known for his first silent film, Strike (1925) which was also called the best Soviet Montage film where all the elements of Montage can be easily identified. This film was about a group of oppressed factory workers that go on strike in pre-revolutionary Russia.
Lev Kuleshov
Lev Kuleshov was a great film maker that also helped establish the Moscow Film School which flourished the filming community. His first film was called The Project of Engineer Prite in 1918 and was a popular film for that time period. Something called the Kuleshov effect was also invented during this time. The effect is a mental phenomenon by which viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation. By putting himself in the frame followed by a frame which included an image from his point of view it makes your brain and eyes put yourself in his shoes. This makes you have more emotion and empathy for the person in the film.
The film Strike by Eisenstein was released to the public in 1925 in the Soviet Union as a silent film. All the acting was preformed by the Prolecult Theatre.
The lighting used in this clip is bright but seems to appear from above the actors but not necessarily pointing to anyone specific. Everyone is wearing the same costume to represent the protesting factory workers. There are relatively no props used in this slip other than the fire hose. This clip is a great example of overtonal montage. The camera flips between the view from above the people, below them, and from behind the fire hoses. There are also different angles so that you can see the emotions of the factory workers and see the desperate cry for help as they hit a dead end. Without sound you can still see the panic of the people and this causes the audience to be either sad or possibly mad.
Analyzing this clip the film appeals to the audience because it is something that has already happened but is being re-enacted. The audience feels a sense of sadness for these people because of everything they have been put through and at the end of this clip it makes you want to see what happened to the people in the end and how the rest of the film played out. Obviously if you know the story about the strike you know how it plays out.
This film was the first full length film Eisenstein made, later that year he came out with Battleship Potemkin. This film was based on a strike that took place in 1903 by pre-revolutionary factory workers. This film inspired many other to recreate historical events and put them into film.
In the film Battleship Potemkin that was released in 1925 shows a demonstration in the streets of Russia after great naval mutiny. This act created a great devastation and many were injured on account of the police.
In this clip you will notice that their are no backdrops but real life settings. The costumes used are very average in order to convey that these are everyday people revolting. In the beginning of the slip you see a woman with an umbrella running up to the camera and that is what they use to change to the next seen smoothly. There are dozens of new angles used in this clip and from many points of view in order to show the distress and chaos of the town at this point. This lighting is usually placed behind the characters and this is because of the time of day. Newly in this film they move the camera along with the actors in order to follow them. When the little boy is shot on the steps of Odessa the Kuleshov effect is used which is also tonal and intellectual montage. When the camera flashes from the mother to the boy over and over again you get her emotions of sadness but also see the tragedy which makes us feel sad.
This film makes us sad and empathetic with the characters but also leaves us with a negative emotion towards the government. This appeals to us through the ability to connect because of the actuality of the film. It connects to real life events and occurrences in this time period. Films like this turned people against the government which was the goal at this time and was.
Battleship Potemkin was directed by Serge Eisenstein in 1925 and targeted to slander the government because of the way they treated their army and their people. This film is greatly known for the scenes where everyone is running down the stairs of Odessa away from the police. It is also known because it is one of the early films that had the use of colour (the red flag from the battleship). This film didn't sit well from the views of the government. This was also known as the first most influential propaganda film and the film was restored in 2004 to make a newer film with colour and sound.
Eisenstein's October ( Ten days that shook the world) was later released in 1928. This film was a re-enactment of the October Revolution in 1917 and was sponsored by the Soviet government as a propaganda film.
It is difficult to tell the lighting in this film but I believe that the lighting is different within each scene but attempts to highlight the main character in the shot. The costumes are very simple but show that the people in the film are of a higher class because of the tedious work on them. The acting is very dramatic because of the fact that it is a silent film so things have to be over exaggerated. This clip is a great example of metric montage. Each frame changes at specific time no matter what is going on in the scene in order to show many different things happening at once so you get the view of many people.
October was one of the two films commissioned by the Soviet government in order to celebrate the anniversary of the October Revolution in 1917. This film was made with the greatest accuracy possible and based off a novel written about the revolution.
What is Soviet Montage?
In Russian the word 'Montage' means to cut, which refers to the different editing techniques that are used in film making. A few years prior to the start of the Soviet Montage Russia was going through strong political changes which provoked two revolutions in 1917 and 1918. The films to follower were suppose to be agitating and create propaganda about current events and made without the helping hand of the government.
In 1919 Narkompros, a cultural organization founded in Soviet Russia in November 1917 shortly after the October Revolution, replacing the former Ministry of Culture, built a State Film School which allowed a man by the name of Kuleshov who created and theory of Montage.
The Theory of Montage
The main characteristic of Montage is the use of many characters in a scene but no specified 'star' but more simply single characters that represent a general type or class of people. This is to help the audience relate to the characters and put all their thoughts and emotions into the film. The different editing methods used are what really relay the meaning of the film and the response of the viewers. Eisenstein's view is that "montage is an idea that arises from the collision of independent shots" where in "each sequential element is perceived not next to the other, but on top of the other" has become most widely accepted among viewers and critiques.
5 Methods of Montage
Type of Montage
What is the meaning behind this editing style?
Metric Montage
Rhythmic Montage
Tonal Montage
Overtonal Montage
Intellectual Montage
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein
These five types of Montage were developed by Sergei Einstein which he uses through out his work and can be identified in films from the Soviet Montage time period. Einstein was a Soviet film director and theorist. He is more greatly known for his first silent film, Strike (1925) which was also called the best Soviet Montage film where all the elements of Montage can be easily identified. This film was about a group of oppressed factory workers that go on strike in pre-revolutionary Russia.
Lev Kuleshov
Lev Kuleshov was a great film maker that also helped establish the Moscow Film School which flourished the filming community. His first film was called The Project of Engineer Prite in 1918 and was a popular film for that time period. Something called the Kuleshov effect was also invented during this time. The effect is a mental phenomenon by which viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation. By putting himself in the frame followed by a frame which included an image from his point of view it makes your brain and eyes put yourself in his shoes. This makes you have more emotion and empathy for the person in the film.
Key Films :
Clip Analysis
Stachka (Strike) 1925
The film Strike by Eisenstein was released to the public in 1925 in the Soviet Union as a silent film. All the acting was preformed by the Prolecult Theatre.
The lighting used in this clip is bright but seems to appear from above the actors but not necessarily pointing to anyone specific. Everyone is wearing the same costume to represent the protesting factory workers. There are relatively no props used in this slip other than the fire hose. This clip is a great example of overtonal montage. The camera flips between the view from above the people, below them, and from behind the fire hoses. There are also different angles so that you can see the emotions of the factory workers and see the desperate cry for help as they hit a dead end. Without sound you can still see the panic of the people and this causes the audience to be either sad or possibly mad.
Analyzing this clip the film appeals to the audience because it is something that has already happened but is being re-enacted. The audience feels a sense of sadness for these people because of everything they have been put through and at the end of this clip it makes you want to see what happened to the people in the end and how the rest of the film played out. Obviously if you know the story about the strike you know how it plays out.
This film was the first full length film Eisenstein made, later that year he came out with Battleship Potemkin. This film was based on a strike that took place in 1903 by pre-revolutionary factory workers. This film inspired many other to recreate historical events and put them into film.
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Watch from 3:40 to 6:00
In the film Battleship Potemkin that was released in 1925 shows a demonstration in the streets of Russia after great naval mutiny. This act created a great devastation and many were injured on account of the police.
In this clip you will notice that their are no backdrops but real life settings. The costumes used are very average in order to convey that these are everyday people revolting. In the beginning of the slip you see a woman with an umbrella running up to the camera and that is what they use to change to the next seen smoothly. There are dozens of new angles used in this clip and from many points of view in order to show the distress and chaos of the town at this point. This lighting is usually placed behind the characters and this is because of the time of day. Newly in this film they move the camera along with the actors in order to follow them. When the little boy is shot on the steps of Odessa the Kuleshov effect is used which is also tonal and intellectual montage. When the camera flashes from the mother to the boy over and over again you get her emotions of sadness but also see the tragedy which makes us feel sad.
This film makes us sad and empathetic with the characters but also leaves us with a negative emotion towards the government. This appeals to us through the ability to connect because of the actuality of the film. It connects to real life events and occurrences in this time period. Films like this turned people against the government which was the goal at this time and was.
Battleship Potemkin was directed by Serge Eisenstein in 1925 and targeted to slander the government because of the way they treated their army and their people. This film is greatly known for the scenes where everyone is running down the stairs of Odessa away from the police. It is also known because it is one of the early films that had the use of colour (the red flag from the battleship). This film didn't sit well from the views of the government. This was also known as the first most influential propaganda film and the film was restored in 2004 to make a newer film with colour and sound.
October (Ten Days that Shook the World) (1928)
Eisenstein's October ( Ten days that shook the world) was later released in 1928. This film was a re-enactment of the October Revolution in 1917 and was sponsored by the Soviet government as a propaganda film.
It is difficult to tell the lighting in this film but I believe that the lighting is different within each scene but attempts to highlight the main character in the shot. The costumes are very simple but show that the people in the film are of a higher class because of the tedious work on them. The acting is very dramatic because of the fact that it is a silent film so things have to be over exaggerated. This clip is a great example of metric montage. Each frame changes at specific time no matter what is going on in the scene in order to show many different things happening at once so you get the view of many people.
October was one of the two films commissioned by the Soviet government in order to celebrate the anniversary of the October Revolution in 1917. This film was made with the greatest accuracy possible and based off a novel written about the revolution.