A day in 60 seconds Montage project

Objectives
• Define the term montage
• Explain why montage may be
used (its purposes)
• Generate ideas for own
montage sequence
What is a montage?
• A quick succession of sounds
and images designed to
condense a lot of material
into a brief amount of screen
time
The original montage
• In the 1920s, Russian film-makers were
experimenting with juxtaposition – the idea that
audiences would connect two unrelated shots to
create meaning. See Kuleshov effect top right
• This led to early experiments with montage such
as the Odessa Steps sequence in Battleship
Potemkin.
• Today we would probably call this cross-cutting
• Battleship Potemkin. 1925. [film] Directed by S.
Eisenstein.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMWMq4
AEyjU
The training montage
• The training montage
prepares the protagonist
for a challenge
• It's often the transition
between Act 2 and 3
• Rocky. 1976. [film]
Directed by J. Avildsen.
• https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=_YYmfM2Tf
UA
The rise to
power montage
• Montage can be used for exposition –
telling the story in a visual way, often
with a voiceover from one of the
characters
• In this example the pictures alone
wouldn't give us enough information,
but the voiceover on its own would have
less of an impact
• Goodfellas. 1990. [film] Directed by M.
Scorsese. Check out the baptism sequence in Coppola's Godfather
as well. This starts by cross-cutting between the baptism
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhX and gangsters tooling up, and builds pace to a final
89LiOGbI montage. Or the Mrs Robinson scene in Wolf of Wall
Street...
 • What the previous examples
have in common is that they
compress time
• Here's another example; in
this case, it tells us a
character's backstory
• Up. 2009. [film] Directed by
P. Docter and B. Peterson.
• https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=F2bk_9T482g

The life story montage

 • Edgar Wright's Cornetto trilogy provides a

The master of montage: range of ways of using montage

• A signature feature is his use of sound

Edgar Wright
effects (Foley) to enhance the actions
• Here are a few examples:
Character development – Hot Fuzz
intro
 https
://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=7Lqd-UwZmJ4
Exposition (and telling a joke) – "the
plan" sequence in Shaun of the Dead
 https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=MeJzHSxRq40
Compressing time (and enhancing
meaning) – moving to Sandford in Hot
Fuzz
 https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=e8dFK5nI1YA
Visual gag - World's End tap water
scene
 https
://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=UhsqHk8J58M
Classic lock and load montage – Hot
Fuzz final fight, from 1'47" in this
scene
 https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=5bukRKiYc08
Why should we use
montage?
• Edgar Wright's creative use of montage gave his
early films a particular visual style but they do not
require fancy kit
• The Cornetto films were shot on relatively
tight budgets so he relied on simple camera/editing
techniques to tell his story
• This is great inspiration for student film-makers!

• Elliot Jackson – 90 Seconds Round a Curtain Ring

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULFGosjlXeQ
Your montage
• You are going to create a
montage of an average day, in 60
seconds
• Here's an example:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=7TKZRc2Cn00
Where do I start?
• Create a mind map of things that
happen in a normal day in your life
• It helps if you divide your day into
sections e.g.
• Morning routine
• Getting to college
• The day at college
• Going home
• Evening routine
• Think about how you can
transition from one of these
sections to another.
Camera and editing
techniques to consider
• Compression of time using jump cuts –
we used this in The Long Wait
• In-camera transitions
• Whip pans from one scene to another
• Visual match cuts – using colour, shape
or framing
 • You need more footage than you think, so

Some dos and don'ts generate lots of ideas/activities

• Think sequences: even brushing your
teeth can be broken down into lots of
different shots. 
• Close ups/extreme close ups are your
friend.
• This is NOT a timelapse of your day. We
don't want to see sequences of footage
sped up.
• Choose your music carefully. Something
with a definite beat gives you a
rhythm and shows you where to cut.
Slower music slows the pace.
• Editing well takes time. Shoot early
enough that you can spend time on it, or
shoot/edit in sections.
• The first edit won't be the best. So if you
edit at home, bring us a work in progress
for feedback – not a finished piece.
Your schedule

• Focus on planning the "day in college" section

so that you can start shooting on Wednesday

• You can take cameras home but please book

48 hours in advance

• We would like to see at least two sections of

your montage shot and edited by the end of
Weds next week

• The final deadline is Fri November 5th