Theory Of Montage

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Recommended: Importance of editing in film

In this essay I will discussing how the theory of montage is used to construct meaning which results in a response from the audience to watching this specific sequence in Battleship Potemkin directed by Sergei Eisenstein in 1925. The theory of montage has 5 parts to it which I will discuss in detail further on with reference to the Odessa steps sequence. History also plays an important part as to how Pudovkin, Lev Kuleshov and D. W Griffiths influenced Eisenstein to look deeper into editing. Eisenstein gained the knowledge on how editing film could change the emotional impact on the audience through shot size, shot variation, tempos and lengths of a shot and more. All of this elements where studied, used by Eisenstein to produce new ideas and meaning to film but was it unnecessary in film as a whole?

Sergei Eisenstein as a young film student, studying in the Soviet Union who was inspired by D.W Griffiths use of editing techniques in Birth Of A Nation. It was the beginning point in the theory on montage he developed on from Pudovkin and Lev Kuleshov. Eisenstein began to develop his theory of montage which consists of 5 theories, Metric, Rhythmic, Tonal, Over-Tonal and Intellectual Montage that can be seen in the Odessa Steps sequence of Battleship Potemkin. Sergei Eisenstein believed editing should be dialectical, consisting of an idea (thesis), opposing or conflicting idea(antithesis) and solution which is the synthesis in a more cinematic film term “…the conflict between shot A and shot B is not AB (Kuleshov and Pudovkin) , but a qualitatively new factor – C (Eisenstein) –Understanding Movies, Louis Giannetti ,tenth edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 1993 pg167) My own understanding from the prescribed readings to be an editing te...

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...rified and outraged that the heartless Cossacks for killing innocent mother and son. There is a disconnection within this scene, as the mother runs up toward her son in the direction toward the soldiers the shot cut and she changes direction now walking down to pick up her son.

The second example of this montage is the sequence of the baby carridge is the close up shot of the Cossacks guns being fired, to the close up of the mothers face showing the viewers she has been shot which are juxtaposed against the close up of the wheels of the pram. The juxtapostion of these 3 scenes increases the suspense by the short duration o the shots. The resulting impact is the fact that the mother has been wounded and watching the wheels of the pram on the edge of the step creates a feeling of suspense and intense emotion because we do not know what will happen to the child.

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