rhythmic montage:

This type of montage is used within the film green book. An example being the opening scene where the camera changes shots as Tony punches a man as well as cutting to the different instruments as a band is playing.

tonal editing:

The opening of dune uses tonal editing to show the planet as barren and dangerous. Starting with a shot of the dessert, then a menacing ship lights hidden in a sandstorm and finally a group of people wearing ragged, tactical clothing.

intellectual montage:

in the show breaking bad, intellectual montage is used in the scene where they clean up a dead body. It starts of with a broom mopping up blood which then cuts to another character dipping a chip in ketchup making a dark comedic effect which wouldn’t be possible without the first clip.

Non Diegetic: An example of this is the film is whenever western themed music plays during action scenes such as banjos.

Diegetic: An example of this is gunfire and bullets bouncing off off surfaces.

Sound Mixing

The sound of gunfire was added in post production due to the danger of using live rounds on set.

Dialogue

Clyde’s dialogue in the scene where he is talking to the farmers says the quote ” We rob banks” in a casual meaner showing his personality of being careless.

Underscoring

The scene where Bonnie wishes to return to her mother has an emotional underscoring. There is a lack of underscoring in Bonnie and Clyde’s death scene.

1. Intellectual Montage – Creed (2015) Directed by Ryan Coogler – In this montage, after Adonis has been knocked down by Ricky Conlan, there are constant cuts between his unresponsive self, Rocky shouting from his corner, his mum watching from home, and eventually archive footage of Apollo Creed, which prompts him to get up from the floor. This is effective as it shows how Adonis is motivated by not only the people around him, but also the idea of living up to his dad’s legacy and reputation.

2. Metric Montage – Punch-Drunk Love (2002) Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson – In this scene, Barry confronts the men that have just crashed into his car in order to threaten him. Each shot cuts to the action of the scene, such as Barry buttoning up his suit or smashing the window of the vehicle. The intention here may to be highlight the fact that Barry’s character has been established as extremely anxious, although with a temper, and so as he is fighting back, everything is moving very quickly and unexpectedly.

3. Rhythmic Montage – La La Land (2016) Directed by Damien Chazelle – Similarly to Chazelle’s previous film Whiplash, this scene cuts between vocals, drums, keyboards and even the cheering of fans as the audience hear those specific sounds emphasised.

rhythmic montage: First Girlfriend tydus music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auDZa5YAq-Y

metric editing: Whiplash (2014)

tonal editing: UP (2009) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yjAFMNkCDo

the opening of up uses tonal editing to show an emotional journey the main character goes through

Rhythmic Montage: A good example of a rhythmic montage scene is in the film Scarface (1983) with the montage that shows the characters making money. It uses the song Push it to the Limit and there is cuts that happen on the beat.

Tonal Editing Method: Rocky IV’s montage scene features the style of Metric Editing and creates the tempo of the scene. There is a large contrast between Rocky and Ivan’s training and we see this through the lighting and colour scheme of the areas they train in.

metric montage : The opening scene to hot fuzz (2007) creates the tempo of the film.

Name at least 3 other films identified by critics as classic Constructivist films

Strike (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)

Kino-Eye (Dziga Vertov, 1924)

The Tailor from Torzhok (Yakov Protazanov, 1925)

Metric editing- this has metric editing because the clips are all the same length, it is a conversation but all of the clips last 4 seconds and they all stay that length through the whole conversation.

rhythmic montage- this is a rhythmic montage because they robbed a bank then the next clip was them eating lunch at a diner.

tonal editing method- this has tonal editing because the red mood lighting was because he was doing injections then it cuts to a dull drained out light to show he’s having a come down from his hit.

1. Metric edititng – edits together different shots by following to an exact measurement or number of frames.

2. Rhythmic montage – cut the clips based on the action or image (eg. matching images or actions) https://youtu.be/Prbgt6l-2BY

3. Tonal editing method – It’s defined by how it edits based on the emotional meanings—or tone—of each shot. Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, 2014)

The term, montage, was coined for cinema in the 1920s by Sergei Eisenstein. He explained 5 methods of montage:

• Metric – cutting shots together based on exact measure or length of time, disregarding the length and content of the shot.
• Rhythmic (aka Continuity Editing) – cutting based on the content of the shots. Therefore edits differ in length depending on what happens within the sequence. https://youtu.be/VG78fq6KAPA

• Tonal – cutting based on tones within the shots. The highlighting of emotional themes or meanings in the shots themselves. Shots are linked based on aural or visual similarities.

• Overtonal – cutting according to overtones and themes within different shots, while incorporating wider themes of the film and creating an emotional response from the audience.

• Intellectual – very different shots cut together as a visual metaphor. The shots are linked through a similar intellectual meaning. https://youtu.be/mkYNhZvlHv0

These methods of montage are still in use today. Though, as we will see below, the lines between them are not always clear and they are often used in combination.

Dura Lex (1926) – Lev Kuleshov

Zvenigora (1928) – Alexander Dovzhenko

a man with a movie camera (1929) – Dziga Vertov

Dura Lex

Zvenigora