Vsevolod Pudovkin - On Editing:
From this section, I learnt that a writer needs to be able to write in the script exactly what the audience will be able to see on the screen as this not only shows the contents of the scene but also shows its place in the narrative of the story. This is important for the editor as they will then cut together the individual shots making up the narrative, allowing the film to be turned into a story.
The editor, like the director, is also able to signal to the audience where their attention should be by cutting in different types of shots obtained from the coverage of the film shoot. For example, when an editor decides to use a close-up, they are telling the audience that what they are looking at is vital to the narrative of the film and must be payed attention to at that moment.
However, these cuts between shots should not be jumpy, but should instead seem as if the audience is watching the film from the point of view of an imaginary observer who is inside the world of the film to make it more natural and therefore, less confusing.
Editing can also have a rhythm. When two places are combined, each with varying action, then the editor can cut between the two places in order to create an effect of suspense and wonder for the audience. For example, if in one place there is a fire, and in the other, the audience can see the fire engines rushing down the road, then by cutting between the two effectively the editor can make the audience wonder what will happen next, while also taking them back and forward to where they want to go at each moment.
Some editing methods are also detailed in this section of the chapter such as contrast, which is when two different, and sometimes even opposing stories, are shown next to each other so the audience compare them. Parallelism is similar to this but is when unrelated incidences that are similar in style are shown next to each other to create a metaphor or symbolism. Symbolism is when an object in a film represents something unspoken, such as a theme. Simultaneity is when situations depending on each other are shown at the same time, which is most commonly used at the climatic point of films.
Sergei Eisenstein - Beyond the Shot:
This section details the meaning of montage, which is when several contrasting shots are shown next to each other to create a new meaning that the shots on their own do not have. For these shots to create this meaning they must collide to create conflict as this creates montage. This conflict can be between any of the elements within the shot such as the sound, lighting, tempo, or space.
Eisenstein states in this section, that 'art is always conflict' due to the fact that it raises issues about life, its nature is that it is a battle between the artist's creativity and their being. Also, because montage and shot are the components of every film where the shot is one component of a montage and a montage is these components put together.
The cinematic principle is that the montage is created because of the collision between unrelated shots which are layered over the top of one another to create a sense of movement to the audience.
All of these elements of montage can be seen in Eisenstein's work Battleship Potempkin (1925) in the Odessa steps scene:
Andre Bazin - The Evolution of the Language of Cinema:
Here, the difference between directors who dealt in image compared to those who dealt in realism is explored.
Image is what being on the screen contributes to the presentation of the object on it, and can be broken down to what affects the aesthetics of the image and what affects the montage or the components of the montage (shots).
Sometimes the use of montage can be made to go unnoticed by the audience. For example, scenes are split up to allow for the analysis of a piece by the audience which they do not notice because the point of dramatic interest constantly changes.
Other types of montage also include parallel montage, when two different but related actions are shown side by side, and 'montage by traction' which was created by Sergei Eisenstein, and is when shots that are put together strengthen each other's meaning because of their association even though they are otherwise unrelated. What makes them similar is that they create an idea through metaphor and their association. The images meaning is the meaning created by the montage they are a part of.
The silent film montage was 'expressionist' and 'symbolic' because it could convey only images to it's audience. However, now, montage is more 'analytic' and 'dramatic' because of the addition of sound. Therefore, the montage is more real, and therefore directors of these deal more in realism than those of silent films who deal primarily in image.
Depth of field was introduced by Orson Welles and William Wyler in Citizen Kane (1941), which enables whole scenes to be shot in a single take as well as meaning the camera can remain stationary. This changed the way films were edited and somewhat replaced montage as directors could film panning and tilting shots therefore covering the entire setting of a scene.
This also affected how audiences saw scenes on screen as it creates an image closer to what the viewer sees in reality, causing them to think more about what they are seeing as they can now choose where to look because more of the setting is visible to them. Therefore, this also allows them to have a wider interpretation of a scene that could differ from how other viewers interpret it.
References:
Braudy, L. and Cohen, M. (2016). Film theory and criticism. New York: Oxford University Press, pp.1-57.
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