Montage Sequence

A montage shot is basically a sequence of clips spaced together to emphasize the passage of time or the development of something or someone. Whether it be a classic Rocky montage or South Park and its sarcastic genius, many movies and television shows have used the montage sequence to wrap up loose ends or make a long, tedious task short and to-the-point.

One of the first montage sequences used in film was in the Odessa Steps scene in Battleship Potemkin. This silent film was created in 1925 by Sergei Eisenstein.

This is the famous Odessa steps scene from Battleship Potemkin submitted by 2go4art on YouTube.com

In this clip, the woman and her child find themselves at the top of a set of steps being marched towards by a military force. The woman is shot and killed and accidentally pushes the baby carriage holding a small child down the steps. The montage shot that follows centers around the baby carriage flying down the steps in the middle of this hectic battle scene. An on-looker spots the carriage and helplessly watches it fall down the stairs with the crying baby in tow. In between the shots of the carriage, we see the military firing, people crying for help and various scenes of disparity.

According to Wikipedia, Eisenstein, born in 1898, was a pioneer in the montage shot. Sergei believed that more emotions could be pulled from a montage shot by stacking scenes on top of one another, not by placing them next to each other. His "methods of montage" include metric, rhythmic, tonal, overtonal, and intellectual ideas. By using a "collision" of images and scenes, one could portray a greater feeling and more profound emotions rather than using one scene and one character. Sergei wrote many books about this topic and tried to expand on his beliefs about the montage effect.

This is basically a summation of what I just said thanks to Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Courtesy of YouTube.com and deacht for the video.

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