All were Bolshevik partisans who equated montage with truth and Hollywood continuity with bourgeoisie escapism. Which returns us to Kuleshov and filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein and Dziga Vertovas, Russians who invented the art of montage during the Revolution. They were also in true time as opposed to montages that condense time (e.g., Jane (Katherine Heigl) modeling bridesmaid dresses for Kevin (James Marsden) in “27 Dresses” ), or montages that stretch time (e.g., the slow motion shootout in the train station of “The Untouchables” ). Hitchcock’s creations were continuity montages, meaning that they primarily advanced the story rather than illustrate a concept, social condition, dream or state of mind. Cut to a close-up of Abrogast’s face being slashed by a knife, the equivalent of “brass.” Hitchcock likened its composition to symphonic “orchestration” which begins with a waste shot of Abrogast slowly mounting the stairs, action likable to “violin tremolos.” Tremolos turn frenetic with a cut to an overhead shot of a woman rushing toward Abrogast with a raised knife. In the second “Psycho” montage, private detective Arbogast (Martin Balsam) is murdered. But the scene is classic because of the artistic insight that made Hitchcock the “Master of Suspense”: an audience can be frightened more by what it imagines than what it sees. Hitchcock composed the montage partly to avert Production Code censorship of nudity and violence. This montage consists of 78 shots that span 48 seconds. The first is the famous scene in which Marion (Janet Leigh) is knifed to death in a shower. Hitchcock cites two examples of different montages contained in his horror film “Psycho” 1960. Replace the shot of a girl and baby with one of a girl in a bikini, and the audience sees a dirty old man. Result: the audience sees a kindly old man. In an interview, Hitchcock offered the example of a close-up of a squinting old man juxtaposed to a shot of a woman with a baby juxtaposed to a close-up of the old man smiling. His pure cinema consisted of three shots-close-up, POV, reaction (close-up). For instance, the Kuleshov effect is often employed to create a visual euphemism for violence, e.g., in “Blood and Wine” (1996), we see Jason (Stephen Dorff) about to stab a beached shark, followed by a flock of seagulls taking flight.ĭirector Alfred Hitchcock labeled the Kuleshov effect “pure cinema” and regarded it as one of three types of montages. Not that the Kuleshov effect is limited to POV-reaction shot juxtaposition. Subjects nevertheless answered sadness for the juxtaposition with the dead girl, hunger for the juxtaposition with soup, and lust for the juxtaposition with the woman on the divan.ĭiscovery of the “Kuleshov effect” would establish the POV (point of view) shot and reaction shot as essential elements of filmmaking. In fact, Mosjoukin’s close-ups were the same shot and his face expressionless. Subjects were asked to describe the man’s state of mind in each close-up. Subjects of the “Kuleshov Experiment” were shown a short film that included three close-ups of actor Ivan Mosjoukin followed each time by a different shot-a girl in a coffin, a bowl of soup, and a woman lying on a divan. The potential of juxtaposing close-ups with other shots would be objectively demonstrated in 1921 by a young Russian filmmaker named Lev Kuleshov. Juxtaposition, film editing’s next major advancement, would make close-ups a staple of narration. We had faces,” proclaims silent film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) in Billy Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard” (1950). In 1911, the Hollywood fan magazines Photoplay and Motion Picture Magazine were first published and by 1916 their combined circulations approached a half million. From close-ups arose audience emotional attachments that transformed actors into movie stars. Moviegoers marveled at faces so large and attractive. This emotional power DeMille tapped by being the first to regularly shoot close-ups of his actors. DeMille would be among the first filmmakers to recognize motion pictures are unique in the degree that they appeal to emotion. Most filmed action as if shooting a play or a sporting event. History: The first filmmakers needed time to understand their new medium and realize the value of film editing. A montage can be a juxtaposition of two shots, but commonly refers to the juxtaposition of multiple shots to depict an event often in stretched or condensed time. Definitions: Juxtaposition is the film editing technique of combining of two or more shots to evoke an idea or state of mind.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |