Kuleshov, Eisenstein, and Soviet Montage Theory

Film & Media Studies
31 Jan 202119:09
EducationalLearning
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TLDRThe video explains Soviet montage theory, an influential film editing philosophy pioneered in the 1920s. It emerged from the Constructivist art movement's focus on assembling discrete pieces to create new meanings. Montage theorists like Kuleshov studied American films to understand editing's impact on meaning. Kuleshov did 'creative geography' editing to suggest false contiguities between shots. His 'Kuleshov effect' showed that juxtaposing shots changes their emotional meaning. Eisenstein wanted montage to work like language, combining concrete images into conceptual ideas. Unlike other theorists, he saw language's combinatory power as a model for cinema, not a constraint.

Takeaways
  • 😀 Soviet montage theory emerged from the Moscow Film School in the 1920s, pioneered by filmmakers like Sergei Eisenstein and Lev Kuleshov
  • 👀 Constructivism - an artistic focus on assembling discrete pieces to form a whole - influenced Soviet montage theory's view of editing
  • 🎥 Creative geography shows how editing can suggest contiguity between shots filmed in different locations
  • 😮 The Kuleshov effect demonstrates how juxtaposing shots can imbue new meanings not present in the individual shots
  • 🤔 Soviet theorists saw editing as a way to construct new ideas, akin to how language combines words into concepts
  • ❓ There is disagreement between theorists on whether cinema should emulate or resist language
  • 🎞 Eisenstein admired how language creates new meanings through combing concrete things - just as shots do
  • 🔀 The emphasis shifted from realistic editing to explore how organizing shots creates new meanings
  • 📐 Soviet montage theory was more interested in constructing ideas than realistic depictions of space/time
  • ⬅️ Cinema language metaphors suggest a linguistic model - combining shots like words in a sentence
Q & A

  • What is the main goal of the video?

    -To provide an overview of some basic context, concepts, and ways to think about Soviet montage theory in relation to other film theories covered in class.

  • How does Eisenstein's theory of montage differ from continuity editing?

    -Whereas continuity editing tries to match reality and create an immersive experience, Eisenstein was interested in constructing new meanings by juxtaposing shots in jarring or unexpected ways.

  • What is constructivism and how does it relate to Soviet montage theory?

    -Constructivism is a modernist art movement focused on industrial assemblage of discrete materials to create new constructions. This aligns with the Soviet montage emphasis on breaking down and reassembling film pieces to create new meanings.

  • What is Kuleshov's idea of 'creative geography'?

    -Creative geography refers to joining unrelated shots through editing to imply spatial or situational continuity between them, even if the people/places were never truly contiguous.

  • How did Kuleshov's experiments challenge prevailing ideas about film acting and emotions?

    -The Kuleshov effect showed that juxtaposing the same shot of an actor with different contextual shots changed viewers' perception of the actor's emotions and performance.

  • Why does Kuleshov compare film editing to language?

    -Just as language combines words into sentences to form complex new meanings, Kuleshov saw creative editing as a way to combine concrete images into more abstract ideas.

  • How does Eisenstein build on Kuleshov's ideas about montage and language?

    -Eisenstein expanded on the language metaphor, proposing that combinations of two concrete film images can create wholly new conceptual meanings, just as words combine to form ideas in language.

  • How do Balázs and Epstein differ from Eisenstein in their view of language?

    -Whereas Eisenstein saw film's power being similar to language, Balázs and Epstein saw film as liberating human perception from the constraints of verbal/written language.

  • What techniques did early Soviet filmmakers use to compensate for the lack of raw film stock?

    -Rather than shooting films, they intensely studied montage by breaking down and re-editing imported films to analyze the emotional and ideological impacts of rearranging the order of shots and sequences.

  • How might the Soviet film theorists' views tie into the values and goals of the Bolshevik revolution?

    -The emphasis on breaking down and reassembling footage to construct new meanings seems to metaphorically reflect the revolutionary spirit of dismantling and rebuilding society.

Outlines
00:00
😊 Overview and context of soviet montage theory

The instructor introduces soviet montage theory, clarifying that the term montage in film studies refers specifically to sequences compressed in space and time, unlike montage as used by Soviet theorists which focuses on editing and constructing meaning. Background is provided on the post-revolution Soviet film industry's lack of resources leading them to edit and theorize using imported films to study editing's impact on meaning. The idea of constructivism as an influence on Soviet montage theory is introduced.

05:05
🎥 Constructivism's influence on analyzing and reassembling films

The distinct Constructivist view of art as industrially assembled materials rather than painterly composition aligned with Soviet montage theorists' analytical approach to editing. Kuleshov studied American editing techniques and determined meaning derived not just from content but the organization of shots, aspiring to "remake the material" through editing. Creative geography is discussed as an early example of creating meaning by implying spatial continuity between disparate shots.

10:07
💬 Cinema considered as a language for constructing meaning

Kuleshov conceived of editing as language, with shots as an "alphabet" that could be reorganized to construct new concepts, rather than merely showing content. His kuleshov effect experiment added emotional meaning to a face by editing context. This emergent meaning from montage is compared to combining words in language to form original ideas. Eisenstein felt this generative capacity connected cinema's ability to represent concrete objects with language's ability to denote abstract concepts.

15:09
😕 Contrasting attitudes toward language in Soviet vs. impressionist film theory

Unlike Epstein and Balázs who saw film as liberating viewers from the constraints of language, Eisenstein admires language's capacity for creating new meaning by combining concrete words. The contrast invites analysis of how these theorists differently conceive of language and its relationship to the uniqueness of cinema.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡montage
Montage refers to the editing and juxtaposition of shots in film. The video discusses the theory and practice of montage editing developed by Soviet filmmakers. It focuses on how creative editing can construct new meanings and concepts.
💡constructivism
Constructivism is an artistic movement that focuses on the assembled construction and arrangement of discrete elements. The video relates this to the Soviet montage theorists' view of editing and film construction from discrete shots.
💡language
The metaphor of film as a language, with an "alphabet" of shots that can be combined into conceptual meanings, is central to Soviet montage theory. This contrasts with other views of film as expressive and magical.
💡concreteness
Eisenstein argues cinema is constrained to concrete representations, but by juxtaposing two concrete elements, it can create more abstract conceptual meanings.
💡shots
Shots are the basic unit of film construction for Soviet montage theory. The possibilities come from creatively editing and ordering shots.
💡Kuleshov effect
Named after Kuleshov, this is a cinematic phenomenon where context provided by editing changes viewers' interpretation of a shot (e.g. a neutral face combined with sad images is read as a sad face).
💡ideology
The Soviet montage theorists were greatly influenced by communist ideology and ideas of revolution, construction and language are used metaphorically to convey political ideas.
💡juxtaposition
Placing two shots or elements next to each other is central to Soviet theories of creative, ideological editing for emotional and conceptual impact.
💡meaning
Unlike continuity editing, Soviet montage theory is concerned with using editing techniques to actively construct new meanings, rather than smoothly match realistic space.
💡creative geography
A term for editing two shots together to create an illusion of contiguity across spaces, pioneered before Soviet montage theory but theorized as part of montage's creative potential.
Highlights

Soviet filmmakers focused on making short films for propaganda and agitation called agitprop rather than producing feature films

Students of the Moscow Film School focused on developing the theory of film by re-editing imported films like Intolerance into hundreds of possible combinations

Constructivism is an art movement focused on industrial assemblage of discrete materials rather than painterly composition

Kuleshov studied not just separate shots but the entire construction and organization of shots to create a film's impact

Kuleshov's idea of creative geography shows how editing can make viewers perceive a fictional contiguity between spaces

Kuleshov aimed to remake and reconstruct material through editing rather than manipulate or distort footage

Kuleshov invoked language metaphors, referring to editing as assembling an alphabet to create meaning from inarticulate material

The Kuleshov effect shows editing can change an actor's performance by altering the audience's perception of their expressions

Eisenstein believes montage should create new conceptual meanings, not just follow the logic of theater and painting

Eisenstein sees editing as yielding concepts from the combination of two concrete images, like words in a language

Eisenstein believes juxtaposing two concrete images can create new, conceptual meanings through their metaphorical interaction

Epstein and Balázs see language as a constraint cinema escapes, but Eisenstein seeks to emulate language's creative power through editing

Kuleshov effect shows facial expressions derive meaning from editing context, not inherent emotional qualities

Voiceover narration is another layer of context that can guide interpretations of images through the Kuleshov effect

Soviet Montage Theory sees new meanings emerge from clashes between carefully edited shots rather than reality in front of the camera

Transcripts

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