As you are deciding what to film and how to edit your films, please consider the idea of Montage. A montage is simply, "the assembly of shots or clips to form a whole." A movie is made up of sections or bites of clips formed into a whole. Each of these compilations of clips contains meaning. There are some that argue that each montage, and hence the movie, is made up of clips built, "link by link" or "brick by brick." Others argue that each clip is a "collision" with the one next to it and not simply a compilation of clips. Because every good story is made of some sort of conflict, the second argument seems to support the idea that conflict is necessary even on the smaller level.
Please think before answering this question. Make sure that you think of the movies you have seen. You might even want to play a couple of scenes of a favorite movie or two and pay attention to Conflict and how each clip fits with others to form a Montage. How does the editors theory of fitting clips together influence a film? How do different theories of editing, particularly the "line by line" building, and the "collision" theories influence the final look of the film? How could this apply to your writing of a short story or poem? How important is conflict in all of our lives? Please be sure to answer all of the questions for full credit and include detailed examples from movies. Due Monday the 23rd.
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Third Response April 19, 2007
A movie that I think would be a good example of a conflict situation would be the Lion King. I think that the editors of most films including the Lion Kingfit clips together very well by making them short and choppy. I think that work better than long boring clips where you lose interest quickly. It influences a film greatly because it makes the movie go by quicker and smoother and it looks very real. All of the theories including line by line, building, and collision are very much an influence on movies today. If you use line by line and cut after each monologue it will look more professional and it will also catch the eye of the viewer because there are so many different cameria angles and types of views. This would apply to my writing because in short stories I use quite a bit of monlogue and that can be like line by line theory. Because you have to go to a new paragraph each time you change speakers and that is like changing camera angles as you use the line by line theory. Conflict is very important in all of our lives. Life would be so boring without it and we wouldnt learn anything really. You wouldnt have anything to fight for and no obstacles to overcome. There just wouldnt be any spice in life. The Lion King is a good movie for conflict because Uncle scar will do anything to be King even if it means killng his own brother. Although its animated it still used montage to prove a point.
Question Response 3
The montage in films can change, depending on what kind of the story you’re watching, or how the changes in the movie occur and how those changes are portrayed. If the montage is smooth, clip by clip, then the movie has a steady, smooth flow to it, like in emotional and climactic scenes. A collision montage can be used to show abrupt changes or action sequences, like in The Italian Job, and to end the climax, like in the Illusionist. In The Italian Job, Mr. Rowley showed us how the clips in the chase scene were short and abrupt to give the scene a seemingly fast action pace. In the Illusionist, most of the movie had smooth transitions between scenes, but at the end when the detective finally realized the grand illusion, it used a collision of scenes to show the answer to the riddle in a final climactic way. The final look is determined by how the montages are put together, a smooth montage for a calm and quiet scene, a collision for intense, quick or abrupt scenes. This could apply to stories or poems because you can use quick and abrupt wording to give a hurried or intense feel to the story or poem, but be more descriptive in the more emotional or calmer points of the story or poem.
amanda spang
third response
oh my goodness, this is just about to happen!! i am caught up on my blog responses! yay.
anywho...
personally, i think that movies are put together link by link, not collision, plus, collision is just an awful sounding word anyways. throughout my years of watching many movies, some with meaning and some without, i have never felt that i have watched a movie that is a collision. with each editing cut, i think that from the beginning of that scene to the end, something was being built on and contained a meaning.
the line by line editing makes a movie seem more whole, not only that but it also feels like the editor took more time to make sure that this feeling was accomplished. collision seems sloppy and carefree, and that the thought of one clip simply colliding with another is just a lazy way of making sure a movie gets done. where's the meaning?
in relation to writing, collision sounds like a long, boring run-on sentence. line by line seems to fit the general idea of writing, a compilation, as mr. rowley might say, or words, sentences and paragraphs to make a story.
conflict is very important in stories and films, just as it is our life. without it, everything would be dull. for some, conflict can be a bad thing, while for others, it can be something to build on. the horrible version of conflict could include death (irreversible), bankruptcy, repo, whatever, and although those are all things we could learn from, no one deserves it, and well, death is inevitable. other types of conflict may include fights with friends, family, teachers, peers, etc. whatever it may be, conflict gives spice to life.
a great movie is the lake house. it is about a woman who moves into this lake house after the guy moves out. they become involved in a long distance relationship over time, where they write letters to each other and put them in the mail box. it is really a good movie, even though it's hard to understand at first. i think that it is a good example of a line by line movie. each shot between the two main characters that are two years apart is very important. it shows their bonding, and their ability to be there for each other in spirit/writing, even though they aren't physically. it also has a great conflict, where she's trying to catch up with him in current times, and he's also trying to find her in the past. i don't want to give too much away, but i will say this, it's a real thinker.
woohoo, i'm all caught up!
third response
sara averbeck
as i was reading through the post, an image formed in my head. it was like a cartoon, where there is a someone/something bouncing back and forth. those that are watching are watching so intently that their heads are bouncing back and forth with the ball. for some reason, the idea of montage brings this to mind. there is a scene in our (cody's, travis', mikey's and mine) brilliantly filmed video that i beleive would apply in this case. it is a collection, collision, of very short clips compiled into a scene that is intense and very critical to the story. in the scene there are two characters placing a bet. bet, yeah big deal right? well the way it was filmed, it would certainly seem so. you've got the proposition *bam* next frame. hand out *bam* character's eyes *bam* other character's eyes *bam* hand shake *bam* end scene. it is awesome. that filming technique made the situation seem so much more intense. and it is captivating. your not just watching two people sit there and have a conversation, the camera keys you in on only the really important parts of the scene. the hand shake, and the eyes.
as stated in the post, montage isn't just in film. with out realizing it, montage has been a practice for me for years..in my poetry. it is very effective in heightening emotional reaction to a poem, especially when you've got a good combination of diction.
screaming.
help.
choking.
losing all.
losing mind.
losing control.
losing sanity.
pain.
tears.
frusteration.
swelling fire.
taking over.
killing.
dying.
screaming.
words! a combination of scary words and a "collision of clips" makes for a frightening and overwhelming yet effective result.
Theresa Stangel
Third Response
I think that in movies, montages are one of the things that make or break a movie. The story line, acting and whether the movie was edited well plays a big part in the movie. Most of the time i don’t even notice when movies switch around from angle to angle because of the editing and appropriate placement of the transition. But it is completely irritating to watch a movie when the clips do not go together and are choppy.
The movie that i think is a good Montage is A Knights Tale. When the jousting is going on there are different clips put together to show the action of the tournament and the mood of the tournament. Through out the time that William is winning the clips show is fights and him knocking a bunch of guys of their horses. But as the mood changes the clips are used to create drama and suspense. Another scene from this movie that i think is a good example for a Montage is when William and Joscelyn are in the church and they get into a fight. It goes from showing both of them in the picture to the faces of each person creating the effect of more drama and it also creates a more personal feel.
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