Montage technique in Film studies

Presentation about Montage technique in Film studies
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1. Montage tequnique in Film studies Prepared by :-Sneha Agravat Sem-3 Roll no.:-16 Department of English MkBU

2. What is Film studies? Film studies is an institutionalized academic discipline that focuses on the serious study of films, cinematic history and film culture and is majorly informed by film theory. Unlike what some people may believe, film studies is not concerned with filmmaking or the technicalities of film production itself but is rather focused on studying cinema the way one would with art or literature. It involves not just analysing the content of a film, but also looking into its form, the narrative, technique, stylistic elements and the historical, socio-political, economic, and cultural aspects and context surrounding it. This article aims to provide an introduction to what the field entails by delving into its history and further looking into some of the major concepts involved.

3. One of the most fundamental aspects of the medium of film is the ability to edit and rearrange images and shots to create a story. The difficulty in editing and film in general is to be both effective and efficient at the same time. This enables the audience to understand the story while also being completely engaged. One of the most useful tools that filmmakers have to execute this is the montage.These days, nearly every Hollywood film includes a montage. But a montage is more than just a highlight reel set to music: it’s a technique that can help the director and editor of a movie advance the story quickly and effectively. Introduction

4. Montage is a technique of film editing that combines a series of short shots or clips into one sequence, often set to music. The word montage is French for “assembly” or “editing. Montage sequences often imply the passage of time or multiple simultaneous events, and are a vehicle to present the audience with a lot of information at once. What is montage?

5. They can be used to evoke a range of emotions—for example: In a romantic comedy , a montage can show a sense of growing love or attraction between two love interests getting to know one another. In a sports movie, a montage can show an athlete training for a big game, and heighten suspense or tension about the outcome. In a drama , a montage can underscore grief and sadness by showing a widow struggling with the loss of her husband. In a horror movie , a montage can show the main characters preparing to defend their home against a killer or supernatural force.

6. In the silent era, the film could make the audiences laughing through the exaggerated movements and expressions. But now, with the science and technology’s development and progress, the simple audience ’ s psychological needs, the gorgeous colors wonderful music compact rhythm and the perfect plot, all of these have become the measure scale that a film is good-looking or not. The Montage is one of the important factors to decide the film’s success or failure. Not only in the aspects of structure story plots, creation figure characters, rich expressive force of the film, “Montage” has an important role which can not be replaced by other art means, but also in the aspects of attracting the viewers desire, mobilizing the viewers emotion, “Montage”even has played a key and decisive role. THE ROLE OF THE MONTAGE

7. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MONTAGE Montage exists in people’s daily life. Everyone has this feeling, when you watching a theater or a film, you will pay attention to someone or some special part on the stage accompanied by the plots or personal preference, instead of your eyes unmoved to keep a close watch on some place. This is actually explains that as the audiences, we make a “ Montage editing ” for the watching contents in there unconsciousness. In the film and television works, the charm of montage is that it can not only bring the visual enjoyment to the audiences, meanwhile it can let the audience in the same time experience.

8. Why Use Montage?

9. Speed up time:- Whether it’s a day, a week, a month, a year, or a decade, a montage can accelerate time in a way that makes sense to the audience and stays true to the story. It can be like a highlight reel for the action passing. Convey a lot of information at once:- Sometimes, a story has crucial details to communicate, but a director doesn’t want to devote a great deal of time to explaining them. A montage can speed up that process and catch the audience up in a matter of seconds. Heighten tension:- You may have noticed that many montages happen about two-thirds of the way through a movie, often right after the climax of the story. A montage can renew and reinvigorate an audience’s interest in a character or a storyline as the film builds to a conclusion.

10. Compare and contrast:- Alternatively, sometimes montages happen at the very beginning of a movie. A montage that compares and contrasts the daily lives or routines of two characters can establish their statuses, and thus their levels of power, in relation to one another. Reveal character:- A montage can be a vehicle to reveal the ways a character is changing. From quick cuts of a drug hallucination one night to the effects of illness over the course of six months, a montage can help the audience quickly understand a dramatic shift in a character’s physical and/or mental state.Combine multiple storylines. There isn’t always time to feature every single storyline from start to finish. A montage is an effective way to combine storylines and ensure every character gets their due. Combine multiple storylines:- There isn’t always time to feature every single storyline from start to finish. A montage is an effective way to combine storylines and ensure every character gets their due.

11. Common Montage Film Techniques A montage may use a variety of film techniques, including but not limited to: Quick cuts:- Typically, movie montages feature numerous shots cut together in quick succession. This allows time to pass and the story to advance, but without leaving the audience behind. No dialogue :-This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but many montages adopt the “show, don’t tell” philosophy. Characters talking about how they feel in a scene is generally not something that works, so showing it in a montage instead can be highly effective. Less is often more, especially in film.

12. Voiceover narration:- A skillful voiceover can clearly and artfully convey important information to the audience. A disembodied voice may narrate what’s happening during a montage, providing more context. Music :- Montages use music to underscore the action that is unfolding quickly and the emotions the characters are experiencing. Supers:- Sometimes, montages superimpose text on the screen to quickly relay information and updates about characters and the story. This often happens at the end as an epilogue to the film. Continue …….

13. Soviet Montage Theory Soviet Montage Theory is a film movement that took place in Soviet Russia during the 1910’s, 20’s and into the early 30’s. It was founded by Lev Kuleshov while he was teaching at the Moscow Film School .

14. After the 1917 Russian Revolution, filmmakers began experimenting with different creative editing techniques. Eisenstein, who started making films in the early 1920s, demonstrated the significance of individual frames in his trademark montage editing. Rather than simply cutting together a series of independent shots, he took a more layered approach to the art form. Eisenstein didn’t invent the film montage, but he did elevate and change the way directors use the technique. Eisenstein played with shot length, movement, and cuts to emotionally affect audience.

15. Metric – Where the editing follows a specific number of frames, this is based purely on the physical nature of time, cutting to the next shot no matter what is happening within the image. The reason for this is to get an emotional reaction from the audience. Rhythmic – The cutting happens for the sake of continuity. This creates visual continuity but it may also be used in order to keep with the pace of the film. Sergei Eisenstein talks about five different methods of montage through out his work. These varieties of montage build one upon the other so the “higher” forms also include the approaches of the “simpler” varieties. These are the five: Five types

16. Tonal – A tonal montage uses the emotional meaning of the shots. Not just manipulating the temporal length of the cuts or its rhythmical characteristics. The point of this is to elicit a reaction that is more complex than Rhythmic and Metric. Overtonal – An accumulation of metric, rhythmic, and tonal montage to synthesise its effect on the audience for an even more abstract and complicated effect. Intellectual – Uses a combination of shots from outside the film in order to create a meaning.

17. Example of Soviet Montage Theory:- When the audience was shown the footage of the man looking at the dead women they described that they could feel his “sadness.” In the middle row the same image of the man had been used however he is depicted reacting to the bowl of soup. The audience seeing this described empathising with his “hunger”.And when paired with the image of the reclining woman, audiences assumed the man experienced lust. though the shot of the model is the same in each scene. This mental phenomenon is known as the Kuleshov effect.

18. Conclusion:- A good works of film and television cannot do without the the editing art, the excellent editing cannot do without the support of montage theory and practice, in the film editing, montage theory is in the continuous development and improvement. Keeping the montage thought, making the montage to play its biggest role in the films, showing the important role of montage in the film, making both the editing and montage realize the perfect combination, which will make the montage theory becoming better and approaching perfection day by day.

19. Refrences:- Annette , Kuhn FBA. “What Is Film Studies?” The British Academy, https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/what-is-film-studies/ . Bejoy, Nambiar. “Tere Bin.” Youtube, uploaded by Vidhu Vinod Chopra Films, 6 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyyI7ZcuW0k . Heckmann, Chris, et al. “Soviet Montage - Where Film Editing Was Born.” StudioBinder, 9 Mar. 2020, https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/soviet-montage-theory/ . Li, Xiaoshu. “Research on the Montage Technique in the Film and Television.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Education, Language, Art and Intercultural Communication, 2014, https://doi.org/10.2991/icelaic-14.2014.150 . MasterClass. “Learn about Montage in Filmmaking: How to Create a Memorable Movie Montage - 2021.” MasterClass, MasterClass, 15 Oct. 2021, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-montage-in-filmmaking-how-to-create-a-memorable-montage#quiz-0 .