A brief discussion on the use of montage techniques in movies

Montage is a foreign term, originally an architectural term, meaning assembly and composition. In movies, montage is the combination of different shots, commonly known as editing. Through montage, shots can also be given a different meaning than if they existed alone.

For non-professional viewers, they may not be able to tell that montage is used somewhere, but during the immersive viewing, they are unknowingly affected by montage. In this article, let’s talk about the common montage techniques in movies.

? Editing montage

?Some people may be confused. Montage originally means editing, so what does editing montage mean? In fact, this is a method of cutting out certain frames of an originally coherent action to achieve special effects.

?In "Young You", it has been used very well.

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?Such a long downhill slope is unfolded in three sections through the editing montage effect, so that the actors do not have to roll down such a long step to the bottom at once, which is both satisfying and satisfying. Authenticity also protects the actors to a certain extent.

?It is also used more obviously in Blood Diamond, that is, the famous hand-chopping scene. Many people will be curious, this scene can actually pass the review?

?But if you watch carefully frame by frame, you can see that the soldier is raising the knife and dropping it. The next shot is of the poor man's severed limb being removed. There is no bloody scene in the middle.

? Cross-montage

? Refers to the technique of editing together stories that happened in the same area at different times. For a master of non-linear narrative like Christopher Nolan, this technique is most commonly used in his works, such as "Memento". And it's also used cleverly in one of my favorite films, "The Rainmaker."

While the two "lawyers" were eating in the restaurant, they were discussing how to start their own business after running away. But the director simply edited together what their studio would look like in the future. As for the dubbing, it was still the conversation they had while eating.

Of course, watching a movie is not about reading comprehension. If you have to explain the purpose of this scene, I think it is to speed up the pace of the movie and avoid a lengthy plot.

Parallel montage ?

?This montage technique is to cross-edit together stories that happened in different places in the same time and space. The effect is actually very obvious, making the plot more compact and the rhythm of the film more exciting.

?For example, in many police and criminal films, the actions of the police and the actions of the bad guys are edited together, which is a relatively common application.

? We still have to talk about Nolan. As for his "Inception", it frequently switches between surface dreams and deep dreams. To be honest, I don’t know whether to call it a parallel montage. , or the plot requires it.

? Reverse montage

To put it bluntly, it is a combination of flashbacks and interludes.

Using reverse montage, the sequence of events is disrupted, but the time and space relationship still needs to be explained clearly, and the narrative should still conform to logical relationships. The review and reasoning of events are structured in this way.

For a master like Nolan, "Memento" uses inverted montage throughout, but whether it is logical or not is a matter of opinion. Perhaps the masters’ movies don’t necessarily need to be understood, as long as they are comfortable to watch.

?Metaphor montage

?This technique often highlights certain similar characteristics between different things to arouse the audience's association, understand the director's meaning and appreciate the emotion of the event color.

?Metaphoric montage is a noteworthy technique, because many movie details are buried in metaphors. I don’t know if readers have ever encountered the following situation: after reading a movie review on Douban, I realized that I had missed many details. In fact, these film critics have grasped the key points that the director wants to express. Of course, there are times when they over-interpret it.

? If you want to give an example, for example, in "Young You", the weather changes from sunny to cloudy, and then from cloudy to sunny again, which is a relatively good metaphor. Of course, there is also the urn that appears throughout "Captain of China", but I don't see the need to reappear.

In "The Party at Southern Station", the battle between police and criminals in the zoo can also be a metaphor for the tragedy that is about to happen through the animals' frenzy.

?There are many other applications of montage techniques, so this article will not give examples one by one. There are also expression techniques such as symbolism, realism, and blank space in the movie. If you can taste it carefully, you can definitely feel the director's intention from it.

?In fact, in order to make a film, the hard work that the director and screenwriter put in behind the scenes is unimaginable. Often, in many excellent films, good intentions are ignored because the audience's understanding is insufficient. Reading this article may help people who like movies enjoy movies more easily.

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