~ Montage Editing ~

All about, montage editing. 

        Montage editing, is an effect that is used to put together or combine different scenes that will contrast from one another, making the audience intrigued while giving them a lot of information in a short amount of time. Montage editing is used to compress time, showing a lot of information at a short period of time. Montage editing joins different scenes together at a fast pace, showing the audience lots of different scenes to give them different information at a fast pace. Cutting up the film, pictures or scenes and placing them in a screened order, that will make sense to the audience watching it. Montage editing in itself, can use a lot of shot techniques or angles such as close ups, fades, establishing shots, jump cuts and dissolves. This technique is like manipulation of time, but shows a montage of different scenes about something or give a full meaning about a character or object, instead of showing what is happening as years go by in a film. 

      The purpose of montage editing is to engage the viewer. It is to engage the viewer to watch the montage, to process all the information being given to them, and all the different shots being shown at a fast pace. Its to keep them more engaged by showing them different shots and scenes, instead of watching the same scene for a long period of time. Also it combines shots into sequences, combining various different footage or pictures into a montage that may last 5 minutes or less. Keeping the audience more entertained, showing them different shots and their meaning when connected in a montage. 

          Here is an example of one of the earliest films using the montage effect; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; released in 1969. The montage scene shows them travelling from New York City to Bolivia.  This montage is different from present one as this part of the film, the montage only uses pictures. The montage within the film shows different pictures of their trip at a considerably slow pace instead of a fast pace like some other montages in films. . Giving the audience a quick insight on what happened on their trip. It uses old orchestra music and doesn't use any dialogue to give audience more information whats going on in the pictures. The montage uses a sepia tone to the pictures, showing them in a brown yet gold colour, instead of just full of colour. Showing just what era the montage is set in, 

   

     

       Here is another example that is different from the first example in 1969, is Rules Of Attraction; which was released in 2002. Compared to the first example, this montage uses video footage instead of still images. It also uses dialogue over the video montage. This montage is very fast pace, showing the main characters trip from countries in Europe. While he narrates them quickly in the background, giving a sentence about each shot, that lasts about 5 seconds each. The montage is fast pace to give the audience as much as information as possible in a very short period of time. Keeping them also engaged of how fast its going, the audience having to concentrate on the montage to not miss anything of how fast it is going form one scene to another. Being fast pace, the film can also concerntratw more on the narrative in the film, but the film make sites the audience know about this part, but cutting down the time they show it by using a montage. So it doesn't take much room in the film so they can concentrate on building up the narrative, keeping the audience engaged to watch. 

  

  

  The first film maker to discover this technique in film; was Lev Kuleshov. A Soviet film maker in the 20th century. Kuleshov did experiment after experiment on certain techniques and editing when it came to filming. He was the first film maker to discover that depending on how scenes or shots are put together in a film, the audience will attach an emotion or different meaning to that shot or scene. 

   Knowing this, Lev Kuleshov did an experiment regarding this new technique; now known as the montage technique. He used a face of an actor with the same expression on his face, and cut it with three different subjects. First one was a girl in a coffin, second one was a hot bowl of soup. Then the third one was a beautiful women resting on a couch. The actor in all three shots, had the same expression on his face; he had no expression on his face. But when Lev Kuleshov showed this to the audience. They loved it and applauded him for this technique he had found out. The audience saying the first one made them feel sad, the second made them think of hunger, and the third  one made them think lust. This was firstly known as the Kuleshov effect. Helping the montage effect grow, starting with this.