montaging is a technique where you create a sequence of short quick shots or still images and it is used famously in a lot of movies and in the filmmaking industry. The word itself derives from the French word ‘monter’ which means to assemble.
when studying and researching montages you will see a lot of reference to the Soviet cinema in the 1920s along with Eisenstein, a Russian filmmaker as well as Dziga Vertov. ‘‘The essence of cinema,’’ Eisenstein wrote, ‘‘does not lie in the images, but in the relation between the images!’’ (Aumont 1987: 146). Many mentions and credit the development of visual photomontage and how they helped shape montage as we know it to be. Even though they weren’t the official creators of the technique they definitely brought it to the forefront As a film theorist Eisenstein stated that there are 5 styles of montage them being Metric, Rhythmic, Tonal, Over tonal and Intellectual. Not too long after montage as it was known had died down fortunately it was rescued by filmmakers during the 60’s and 70’s.
Montage as we know it as today has gone through various new levels of development in order for it to be the finessed art it is to this day. One form of video montage that is widely known and used is ‘The sports training montage’. This was a form of explanatory montage which would depict a person or persons preforming variety of sports or physical activities often accompanied by a fitting soundtrack. This form of montage had originated in American cinema but has since influenced many other countries and the filming styles seen worldwide. This technique has influenced works such as the film sequences of martial arts films from East Asia, and since has been widened to a category which would include any type of activity.
My personal favourite film montage sequence is from 2000’s movie ‘Requin for a Dream’ where film cowriter and director the Darren Aronofsky contributes to filmography by creating a beautifully chaos montage that was brilliantly constructed. This scene for me has just enough chaos to fully engage you but not enough to be distasteful. The specific scene is a montage that depicts the character indulging in drugs and the psychedelic affects. This perfectly aligns and helps progress the film as it gives the audience a more personal and immersive experience that makes you understand the character more.