Soviet Montage/Tradition

I. Soviet Techniques (PUDOVKIN, KULESHOV, AND EISENSTEIN)

 Constructive Editing

1) Pudovkin believed that the combination of individual shots had the power to propose a new idea to the audience. He was against Griffith's close-up techniques, as he thought them to be distracting from the meaning of the juxtaposition. Pudovkin also saw longer clips as too realistic, meaning filmmakers should only use closeups, symbolism, and details in their film to display the meaning of their juxtaposition of shots.Through the use of solely these aspects of film making, Pudovkin believed that editors could effectively explain the message of the scene.

The Kuleshov Effect
 
2) Lev Kuleshov had a different opinion on the most effective methods of demonstrating the message of a scene in his movies. Kuleshov believed that fragmented details could be joined by the audience to reach the understanding of a movie. The Kuleshov effect that was developed entitled shots to be cut and placed near other cut shots to draw emotional responses. The significance of each scene was created by the audience in response of the combination of shots. This effect is used today in order to emphasize the emotion of a scene and ultimately allow the movie or scene to benefit from a strong emotional response from the audience.

Eisensteinian Montage

3) Eisenstein saw life as constantly being altered, and believed film making should reflect this. Therefore, shots should help convey a message, but should not be able to stand alone. This theory compares shots in movies to  dependent clauses when writing a sentence. Eisenstein also saw film as the combination of all art forms. A fast transition with a intense conflict of shots was more impressive than a controlled transition. The scene that introduces the Eisensteinian Montage is the "Odessa Step" Sequence. The changing of perspectives during this scene creates the emotion without simply demonstrating it in one single long shot. Emotional responses are exemplified when the technique of changing repetitiously is used.

II. Andre Bazin / REALISM 

Problems with Classical Film Making

1) Bazin contradicted the methods of classical filmmaking, as he believed the director's personal opinions should be obvious to the audience through the assembly of the scenes. This view on filmmaking became the Auteur Theory, and most of the videos Bazin critiqued were realistic or incorporated realism into their plots. Bazin saw patterns in filmmaking that allowed film makers to expand their range of techniques further than simply a montage of shots. Bazin believed that by altering the footage in edits, the intent of films differed from the messages filmmakers wanted to express.


2) Realist filmmakers believe that a movie or sequence of shots must depict the filmmaker's opinion on the action of the shot. For example, messages can be better communicated through long, wide shots, than by short, edited ones. Long shots allow for the audience to reflect on the meaning, instead of having the intent of the piece lost in the editing process. The audience must react to a scene to understand a plot in realist filmmaking, eliminating any possibility that audience members become uninterested in a plot that displays itself to anyone through the creation of a montage.

3) In order to achieve what they believe is the most comprehensible method of filmmaking, realist filmmakers employ various filmic techniques. These techniques include the lack of closeups, as they are too obvious in the purpose they bring to the movie or scene. Sound and color were other major aspects of nearing filmmaking to more realistic standards. No intrusive titles could be used, as well as little dialogue so that the audience concentrate on the plot rather than on the lines. Film should reflect life as we see it every day.