Montage

Montage

By definition, a montage is "a single pictorial composition made by juxtaposing or superimposing many pictures or designs." In filmmaking, a montage is an editing technique in which shots are juxtaposed in an often fast-paced fashion that compresses time and conveys a lot of information in a relatively short period of time. Russian film director, Sergei Eisenstein, is known for being the father of this technique. Eisenstein believed that film montage could create ideas or have an impact beyond the individual images. Two or more images edited together create a "third thing" that makes the whole greater than the sum of it's individual parts. Eisenstein's best example of the power of montage comes in the "Odessa Steps" sequence of his film Battleship Potemkin. Montage allows Eisenstein to manipulate the audience's perception of time by stretching out the crowd's flight down the steps. He uses the rapid progression and alternation of images to arouse emotion in the film's viewers.

In our montage we use many of the same techniques patented by Eisenstein. Only instead of a stampede of people moving down a staircase, our video features a group of friends laughing and sharing stories. Our video is an intro to a series of shorts we plan to create. To incapsulate the feel of the show and to make the audience feel the same emotions, we used a lot of shots of characters smiling and laughing. We also included props that will be essential to the storyline.

Watch our montage here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtFPaWQAsGY#t=12