- Montage Theory -

Some Notes on Methods / Levels of Montage

These notes are based on the writings of Sergei Eseinstein, one of the great filmmakers of the twentieth century and part of the influential Russian Formalist school of film theory. This short summarization should help when thinking about the collision of images.

• Metric Montage - this is the running time of the shot or each of the shots. see it
• Rhythmic Montage - this combines elements of the first concept / since it is about rhythm, the combination or collision of two shots or the "rhythm" of the shots. How the movement in one shot affects the movement in the next shot. Here, movement takes precedence over length. see it
• Tonal Montage - this is the dominant emotional tone. How the images produce a desired emotional affect on the viewer through similar or different images. see it
• Overtonal Montage - this takes the previous three elements to produce the overall affect or emotinal pull. How the viewer feels after watching the film. see it
• Intellectual Montage - this is the conscious creation of new ideas when two shots or images are cut together to form a new idea or object. see it

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