Editing Notes : Soviet Montage and Realism

3. Soviet Montage and Formalism

A. What was Pudovkin's concept of constructive editing and how did it manifest itself on film?

Podovkin's concept of constructive editing focused on the idea that each shot should in itself introduce a new valid point. By placing two shots, that are seemingly irrelevant, through their juxtaposition a meaning could be formed. However it's not the shots themselves that bring out the meaning, but it is the conflicting images that are being brought out.He felt that he could utilize this technique better than any other, and thus created a montage of juxtaposing shots. In the film Mother (1926) the use of close ups add to the emotional impact of the film itself. With images that seem to be not related except the fact they are happening parallel to each other, the audience finds a symbol of hope and freedom despite the sad war going on. There were a lot of close ups of people's faces, and the cutting was so fast paced with an average ASL of maybe 2-3 seconds, this left the audience stunned by the symbols and faced with many questions.

B. What was the Kuleshov effect and give me an example of how is it used in today's film's?

The Kuleshov Efffect is defined by the idea that emotion is produced not by the acts' performance, but by the juxtaposition themselves. It is the viewer's perspective and idea of the what he/she is seeing, which gives the film meaning. An example of this being used in everyday film is when a character is faced with a decision. Take for example a man is looking straight into the camera and it's an extreme close up. The scene that flashes between a shot of bowl of soup and a dead child. It is up to the audience to decide what the man is feeling, wether it be feelings of remorse or hunger. The film does not necessarily point to a correct answer, since it all based on opinion.

C. What was Eisensteinian Montage and how does it work in the "Odessa Step" sequence?

Eisenstein's was a montage of sharply contrasting shots, reveling a war between two conflicting oppositions. This is revealed as a unified army comes marching down to massacre the innocent civilians. It looks like a full out civil war due to the amount of people on both sides and the actions taking place. However Eisenstein incorporates mini scenarios within this war having to deal a lot with children. When a child is trampled on, the mother comes to his aid and defies the marching army. The shots were cut quickly, and quickly transitioned between surprised faces of bruised individuals. It then revealed suddenly the woman and child pinned to the ground. Seeing that they must've been shot. Another scene is a baby carriage rolling down the steps, and the audience wants the baby to be saved but all you see is the bloodied surprised face of an old woman.

4. Andre Bazin and Realism

A. What were Andre Bazin's frustrations with Classical and Formalistic film making?

Andre Bazin felt that what drew in the audience the most was the direct relationship to realism or a realistic setting of the film. That too much editing, quick shots of unorganized footage, could result in losing it's effectiveness in a scene. He believed montages were used too much when there were other simplistic ways of approaching film. He felt that filmmakers must be modest, a patient observer, and keep an eye for reality instead of boasting egocentric and manipulative agendas. He was not a fan of classical cutting either, since the shots were edited so that the audience sees only what the editor desires. A film with long shots, and deep focus gives room for an individuals' imagination to form their own ideas about a film and entice them into the action.

B. What do Realist filmmakers strive for in their work?

The realist filmmaker strives to create a simplicit scene that does not indulge in a manipulative idea formed by the director, instead relies on the audience gathering enough information from what is already exists in the film to agree on an opinion. There is no direct definition to an answer, instead based on the vague ambiguity of the situation the audience forms an opinion on their own.

C. What techniques to realists use in their filmmaking?

Realists will not heavily edit a film, in order to preserve the realism in accordance to our own lines. This can be achieved by using long shots, wide screen, lengthy takes, deep focus, panning, and tracking instead of past faced juxtaposing cuts.