Ooooh we need a Montage!!!!

So...Montage assignment done and dusted thanks to the help of my wonderful friend Asha Gill and her driving skills. I had a sort of epiphany during this project. (Like the moment in the Hollywood action flick where the hero realises he can save the world using the Moon's gravitational pull and a paperclip!)

There was a point when I was deciding the style I wanted to edit the piece in when it hit me exactly what montage was. I had been confusing it with simple time compression. Montage is similar to collage in the sense that it involves different shots interlaced in a way that changes the meaning of the imagery, the pace and even makes the mundane interesting. In many respects it lies very close to editing.

I wanted to turn someone parking their car into a fun little sequence. To achieve this I used several different techniques. The first was to edit my imagery to the beat of the music I was using. the piece I chose eventually was 'Thick Ear' by my favorite artist 'bent'. The piece is light hearted and consist mainly of tinkling piano and crisp snare drums so it was ideal for the mood I wanted to create. In regards to the style of the edit, there are lots of edits on the beat in which the car suddenly changes position. There are also points in which the footage is flipped upside down to add a quirky aspect to the montage.

One of my cats added a fun unexpected break to the shots of the car as he playfully roles on the pavement next to the car. I decided to intersect the montage with clips of him and it seems to add a strange tranquility to the piece. However, he also manages to change the mood as in one section it looks like he is being run over.

Below is the montage in question. What do you think?



I'm happy with my montage. It reflects the sort of projects I enjoy making, quirky, good music and full of interest. I have also enjoyed experimenting with the idea of montage. I had difficulty grasping the concept of montage, but rather than let this put me off, I expect I will experiment with montage in future projects to try and improve my understanding of it and it's place in film media.

Incidently, montage was parodied in the 2004 puppet action flick 'Team America: World Police' 'Montage' song .