1. Soviet Montage

2. What is the Soviet Montage
In the years between the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin, filmmakers in the Soviet Union invented a new language of film: one that still inspires filmmakers today. Geniuses like Dziga Vertov and Sergei contrast images to get ideas across, and how the rhythm and pace of editing, and the use of music, could stir emotions. This type of editing was used in many propaganda films as it could give a lot of information in a short amount of time and could be very powerful in portraying a message. It started in 1917 after the Russian revolution and came about by the Kuleshov experiment. It started in because then there was a sort supply of film so film makers began to experiment and saw that the audience  reacted to the same shot differently depending on the images shown before.

3. When was it first used
The editing style of a “montage” was first used by Eisenstein who created propaganda with this style of editing to get people to support the revolution. The most famous montage sequence of all is the Odessa Steps scene from Battleship Potemkin, where protesting citizens are mowed down by Tsarist troops. This sequence uses a whole range of montage techniques: punchy, graphic images; dramatic cuts from wide shots to extreme close-ups; and a sense of movement that’s conveyed by the editing, how the camera moves, and dramatic horizontal and diagonal compositions. It also uses ‘stretch time’:  the headlong rush down the steps  would probably only take a minute in reality, but on film it takes over seven minutes.

4. The effect it has
A montage can have a much stronger effect on an audience due to it being at a faster pace, powerful music that goes with the clips and the fact that so much information is given to you in a small amount of time. This is why it is used in propaganda over history including by Hitler. It is able to manipulate the audiences’ views on something in a short amount of time. Due to the clips also being accompanied by a powerful song it also makes it often more memorable.

5. The use of montages in the modern era
Montages are still often used in modern films and adverts to show a progression of something over time in a small amount of time. Here are some examples:

6. Adverts from the past 10 year using the soviet montage effect
These all use the soviet montage because it uses music and images in an order to portray a message and make the viewer feel a certain way about their product.