About soviet montage theory

This post is about film theory, or to be more precise, about one particular film theory.
I try to keep it simple, so it'll be familiar to all those who've read even a bit of the subject in hand.
But soviet montage theory just fascinates me, again and again. I just want to write about it, and hopefully it will open some eyes. So yeah, lecture ahead :P!

So... About soviet montage theory. Let it be clear, it has very little to do with what we normally think of as montage. This kind of montage is a sequence about something happening in a long period of time. But the montage cuts most parts out, leaving only short segments, and as a result we see, for example, character growing or going through a change very rapidly. Like Rocky. He starts training, montage begins with a cool song playing in the background, and at the end of the montage, he's ready. The montage cut through months of training and condensed it into a short piece of film. This is montage as we think of it.

But that is not soviet montage, which is a different beast altogether.
Soviet montage is about collision and conflict. Two or more shots are merged together by editing and they create an emotional impact they never could individually, or they contain a meaning that wasn't there until the shots collided. It's almost philosophical.
The best example of the latter is the so called "Kuleshov effect". Lev Kuleshov was, of course, a soviet film theorist. He demonstrated that a picture can have multiple meanings depending on the context. Hitchcock explains it well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hCAE0t6KwJY

Theoretically, Soviet montage argues that 1 + 1 equals something more.

Einstein shared the same hair stylist with Eisenstein. 

Soviet montage was developed during 1920s in Soviet Union as a counter for a more traditional and predominant editing technique, that is still used today. Continuity editing tries to be seamless and undetected. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's the basis of all film editing. Not all cuts can be montages.
But montage strives to be something more. To create order and meaning where there was none. To electrify the empty space between narrative layers. To create more intense dialog between the film and the viewer. It invites to interpret.

Sergei Eisenstein was the most famous of the soviet montage theorists. His films like Strike, Battleship Potemkin and October are all classics in their own right, all of which use montage. In his films the editing calls for attention, instead of hiding. All films are about manipulation. Montage is the most blatant about it.
He argues of different levels of montage editing, higher forms being built on top of lower forms. Lower forms are about connecting with rhythm, emotion and tone. The highest form is the "intellectual montage", that connects with purpose and meaning. It's the purest and most complex form of montage.
For example, the ending of the Strike that cross cuts between violently putting down the strike and slaughtering of cattle.

Unfortunately montage has all but vanished nowadays.
A few great American filmmakers have utilized soviet montage theory. Francis Ford Coppola used it in the endings of the Godfather and Apocalypse Now. In the Godfather, Coppola crosscuts between baptism of a child and cold murders ordered by the baby's uncle, Michael. The result is chilling. I shall leave the interpretation to you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mziqF0IiJPg

I think that's it for today. It was but a brief overview on montage theory. Hope you learned something new.

J.

Today, no music will be involved. Instead you can actually watch Eisenstein's Strike, Battleship Potemkin and October from YouTube. The whole damn movies. And you should watch 'em. They're black and white and silent and the film score was performed afterwards but they are still important pieces of cinema history and great films. Unfortunately only October has English subtitles, but you can understand the story without the text.

Strike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74ke_-BnkvE
Battleship Potemkin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmUef84ybXk&feature=watch-now-button&wide=1
October:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyme-uwgrRw&feature=watch-now-button&wide=1

About days of hurry

Hey!

Like you might realize from the title, I've been in a kind of hurry. I touched the subject in my last post, but this time... it's personal. Our school started slow (like they usually do), but suddenly all the deadlines have gathered at the end of the year. My room mate said, that's the way it goes in the biz: plenty of time, and then suddenly, deadly hurry.

We're finishing our scripts. My partner and I have spent so much time with ours. Never have I spent about 10 hours of work into one A4-sized piece of paper. But it has been worth it. Deadline for the "first final" version is real soon. The deadline for the "final final" version is a week from that. Out of 11 different scripts, 3 will be filmed. The winners will be decided by voting. Democracy isn't the best way to determine the best script, but it's the most fair, I think. I hope our script is good and appealing enough.

Also I have an essay to write, about alternative screenwriting. According to feedback I received from my unfinished essay, I still have a lot of work to do. Too complicated sentences, and so forth. And I have only written 5 of 10 pages required. It's a slow work indeed. A week for writing and perfecting. Great...

Deadline for our silent film is also approaching. Not sure when it exactly is, though. But I sure am satisfied that I started editing it weeks ago. It's almost ready. It pays to be pro-active, or something.
Lots of tests also. Math and economics...! Oh boy. And our 30-40 minute presentation about the visual composition of Fisher King is not going anywhere.

I'm itching to start with our own projects, but it has to wait. And I'd like to have a life outside of school. To start fitness boxing. To upkeep my relationships. To improve my guitar techniques. To civilize myself by watching classic movies. To play video games (and I have a lot of 'em to play...).

Also outside of school, I have a camp to plan. I'm a part of group that has to plan and make seven day camp for about twenty people. It's kind of "camp 2.0" as all the attendees have already been in one or two. So... We have to make a better and fresher experience than those they've witnessed before. I volunteered for the job and I'm excited and intrigued by it and the challenges it poses, but still. I have a fine line to walk between focusing on my studies and focusing on the camp. I want to neglect neither.

Nevertheless, the stress is killing me.

J.

Catchy song from one of the best movies I've seen in the last few years. A whole hearted recommendation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DSVDcw6iW8