In an article in the New York Times (“The condemned art of Soviet filmmakers”, published on 13th October 2011), journalist Dave Kehr states that “for a time in the mid-to-late 1920s, the art of the cinema meant only one thing to the serious-minded film critics of America and Europe: Soviet-style montage, or the art of cutting shots together in a way that would produce ideas and emotions beyond those expressed in the images” (Kehr 2011, p.6). This opening paragraph effectively sums up the integral role some Soviet filmmakers played in the development of cinema and in particular the art of editing. In this essay I will elaborate on three of the Soviet era’s most prominent contributors: Lev Kuleshov, Vsevold Pudovkin and Sergei Eisenstein, elaborating on the role they played within the development of modern day cinema and in specific their contribution to the technique of editing. Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov was born on January 13th, 1899 in Moscow, Soviet Union (known today as Russia). Kuleshov started his career in the arts at the young age of 15, attending the Moscow School of Paintin, Architecture and Sculpture and went on to become a set designer for director Evgeni Bauer at Alzexandr Khazonkov’s film studio in Moscow. In 1917 when Kuleshov was 18, a director called Yevgeni Bauer died while directing the film Za schastem and Kuleshov was offered the opportunity to take over the responsibility of directing the film. This would be the start of his directorial career. Kuleshov was to learn a lot from Bauer’s approach to filmmaking (referred to as “the Bauer method”) which implied that the director was to have complete control over every aspect of the film (including, but not limited to, costume & styling, lighting and set design) wh...
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...ch film editing was practiced, immortalising both their developed techniques as well as their legacy and till this day Kuleshov’s “Kuleshov Experiment”, Pudovkin’s “5 editing techniques” and Eisenstein’s “Methods of Montage” is deeply revered and studied by both professional and aspiring filmmakers around the world.
Works Cited
Eisenstein, S. M. 1949, “Film Form: A Dialectic Approach to Film Form, Harcourt Brace and Company, U.S. The Battleship Potemkin 1925, motion picture, Goskino, Soviet Union. Kehr, D. 2011, “The condemned art of Soviet filmmakers”, New York Times, 13 October 2011, p.6) Kuleshov, L.V. 1922, “Americanism”, Kino-Fot, No.1, p.14-15 Taylor, R. & Christie, I. 1988, Factory: Soviet Cinema In Documents 1896 – 1939, Routledge, Oxon. Van Sijl, J 2005, Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions, Michael Wiese Productions, California.
Braudy, Leo and Marshall Cohen, eds. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, Fifth Edition. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.
Lisa Cholodenko grew up in Los Angeles and she began her film careers working as an assistant editor; however, she then moved to New York and earned an MFA in screenwriting and direction at the Columbia University School of arts. At Columbia University School of Arts, Cholodenko filmed her first short movie Dinner Party. Besides being a director, Lisa Cholodenko also was a film professor at Columbia University, an advisor and is currently on the Board of Governs of Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science. It was surprising to be able to find out how active Cholodenko is in the film industry and in the university she attended. This portrays how committed Cholodenko is to creating successful movies and to be a part of others film victory.
BIBLIOGRAPHY An Introduction to Film Studies Jill Nelmes (ed.) Routledge 1996 Anatomy of Film Bernard H. Dick St. Martins Press 1998 Key Concepts in Cinema Studies Susan Hayward Routledge 1996 Teach Yourself Film Studies Warren Buckland Hodder & Stoughton 1998 Interpreting the Moving Image Noel Carroll Cambridge University Press 1998 The Cinema Book Pam Cook (ed.) BFI 1985 FILMOGRAPHY All That Heaven Allows Dir. Douglas Sirk Universal 1955 Being There Dir. Hal Ashby 1979
Classic film noir originated after World War II. This is the time where post World War II pessimism, anxiety, and suspicion was taking the world by storm. Many films that were released in the U.S. Between 1939s and 1940s were considered propaganda films that were designed for entertainment during the Depression and World War II. During the 1930s many German and Europeans immigrated to the U.S. and helped the American film industry with powerf...
During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that, examining post classical at which time the relationship between them will become evident. It is my intention to reference films from both movements and also published texts relative to the subject matter. In order to illustrate the structures involved I will be writing about the subjects of genre and genre transformation, the representation of gender, postmodernism and the relationship between style, form and content.
...s appeared not so much to matter as the fact that he developed new techniques, devised camera approaches and sought always to bring out the potential of a still developing form. That he forgot--or overlooked--to bring the Marxist message to one of his films two years ago brought him that fatal kiss of all--the accusation from the authoritative Soviet magazine, Culture and Life, that his productions had been short on the prescribed Soviet requirement of art and interpretation of history” ("Sergei Eisenstein is Dead in Moscow”, New York Times, 1948) . In film, Eisenstein was known for his development of the montage sequence, his unusual juxtapositions, and his life-like imagery. In life he was known for his propaganda and belief in the plight of the working class. Eisenstein left an inevitable mark on his community, his time, the shape of a sub-culture, and his art.
Throughout history, the film industry has seen many directing styles and techniques. The early part of the 20th century saw a factory style of film production, but as the years went by, director's began to employ new and untried techniques in their pictures. One such technique which these director's implemented was a new approach to the use of the camera and camera angles. "Casablanca," an Academy Award winning film of 1942 saw director Michael Curtiz manipulate the camera in ways others had not. He uses the close-up, point-of- view, and creative shot motivation methods in his film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, to create an American cinema classic.
According to historians like Neil Burch, the primitive period of the film industry, at the turn of the 20th century was making films that appealed to their audiences due to the simple story. A non-fiction narrative, single shots a burgeoning sense
However, in stark contrast to The General, other films were being made around the world that did not follow a simple Hollywood structure, but rather were more experimental with what a movie could be. Man With a Movie Camera (1929), a very ahead of its time, utilized a completely different style of filmmaking that resonated strongly with the ideals of the Soviet Union. Thus, Man With a Movie Camera sought out to make the everyday people of the Soviet Union the stars of the film. This idea was completely revolutionary as well, and almost by necessity, introduced a new style of editing to fit the story—or rather the documentation—that director Dziga Vertov was trying to tell.
Stanley, Robert H. The Movie Idiom: Film as a Popular Art Form. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 2011. Print
PŁAŻEWSKI, Jerzy; TABERY, Karel. Dějiny filmu : 1895-2005. Vyd. 1. Praha : Academia, 2009. s.79.
Art has been always seen as a form to express self emotions and ideas; an artist creates an idea and shapes it by culturally known objects and forms to send encrypted message. Through the times both, ideas and materials used, separates art in to different periods and movements. In late 40’s and late 50’s two art and culture movements emerged, one from another. The first one, Lettrism, was under the aspiration to rewrite all human knowledge. From it another movement, Situationism, appeared. It was an anti-art movement which sought for Cultural Revolution. Both of these movements belong to wide and difficulty defined movement of experiment, a movement whose field is endless. Many different people create experimental films because of the variety of reasons. Some wishes to express their viewpoints which are unconventional. But most of them have an enthusiasm for medium itself. They yearn to explore what prospects the medium has and wishes to open new opportunities to create and to explore, as well as to educate. Experimental filmmaker, differently from mainstream filmmakers, wishes to step out from the orthodox notions. The overall appreciation is not the aim that the experimental filmmakers would seek for. Experimenters usually work on the film alone or with a small group, without the big budget. They intend to challenge the traditional ideas. And with intention to do so Lettrism tries to narrow the distance between the poetry and people’s lives, while Situationism tries to transform world into one that would exist in constant state of newness. Both of these avant-garde movements root from similar sources and have similar foundations. Nonetheless, they have different intentions for the art and culture world and these movements...
The development of editing - Editing - actor, film, voice, cinema, scene, story. 2014. The development of editing - Editing - actor, film, voice, cinema, scene, story. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Editing-THE-DEVELOPMENT-OF-EDITING.html#ixzz2sNiIEQqt. [Accessed 10 February 2014].
Film editing by definition is part of the creative postproduction process of filmmaking. In today’s modern world, film has made use of advanced digital technology to help with the editing. The editor or editors are usually given a complete compilation of all the footage. These various separate shots that can be regarded as ‘ raw’ footage. Their task is to create a finished motion picture through combining and selecting shots and putting them into a coherent sequence of events. Whenever we are viewing a film it is extremely difficult to consciously perceive all the editing that has been undertaken. Every single time there is a change from one image to another, this is an edit. For editors, it could be a possible annoyance or perhaps a blessing that critics and the audience never specifically point out the editor’s contribution. However it must be noted that film editors aren’t the only ones that will contribute to a films editing.
In the year 1917 film censorship was abolished. Because of this, people like Eisenstein, Vertov, Dovzhenko and Pudovkin were allowed to flourish. These men had benefited from the State Film School which was established in 1919 by Narkompros. This freeing of the restraints on film allowed people like Eisenstein to analyse film in a scientific and psychological manner, despite the medium being only a few decades old and still in its extreme infancy, and use his conclusions to his advantage in films like Strike (1925) and his most famous film Battleship P...