Man with a Movie Camera Montage Collage

I recently watched Man with a Movie Camera, and then reviewed 3 consecutive shots roughly every 13 minutes so that I can get a better understanding of how the clips were edited and how the Soviet Montage styles were used.

You can check out my completed Man with a Movie Camera Montage Collage on my project overview post here.

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Set 1: 00:12:25:11

In the first clip, the action and motion is slow, fluid, and in an upward direction, from the bottom to the op of the screen. The second clip mimics this slow, upward motion. The third clip comes with a sudden shock, as it's framed exactly like the second clip (essentially it is the second clip), but many small figures suddenly appear. The figures continue the slow, directional movement, but it comes from the rear of the image, towards the viewer. The images, when placed together in this order, provide an increasing pulling feeling, making the third clip feel more "pull" than if it were shown in solidarity.

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Set 2: 00:24:20:02

At first glance, I found more things contrasting in these three clips, but the more I review the images, the more little nuances I find to be similar. For instance, the women in the first and third clips turn around, which is a motion repeated in the second clip. This leads me to feel that the women's actions are something they do over and over each day for their work, just as a record spins round and round to do its work. The contrast in the speed of the movement in the clips actually made me feel like the women were in a hurry, although their clips alone don't give me that feeling.

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Set 3: 00:33:44:06

When this set of images is viewed in succession, I get the eerie feeling that something negative will happen to the man, or that the lady in the last clip is having negative feelings towards men. Conceptually, it's very intriguing. First, sharpening a blade to help take care of a man. Then using that sharp blade to care, not hurt, the man. Then the final clip shows a similar sharpening action, but with an object (an axe) which is most definitely not used for the care and well-being of a person. Because the man's face being shaved was sandwiched in between these conflicting sharpening images, I naturally correlated both sharpening images with those tools being brought to human skin contact. In the case of the axe, I immediately thought of murder -- that's the only way I've been exposed to an axe and human skin having contact. Alone, the third image doesn't conjure up feelings of death, but it tells a different story when it's placed after the first two clips.

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Set 4: 00:43:07:04

 The first clip shows a girl, delicately combing her hair, and seeming to enjoy it. The second clip feels upbeat, after viewing the girl. The leave in the trees are blowing, and reminding me of the girl's hair. The tone then changes in the third picture to show how people are polluting the air. Reviewing the clips together, in succession, gives the feeling of how people are destroying an otherwise peaceful situation in nature. This is enhanced by the contrast in the images of the girl and the smoke pollution. On the other hand, the billows of smoke in the air seem as natural and as flowing as the ocean and the wind through tree leaves, so I wind up with conflicted feelings towards the third clip.

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Set 5: 00:54:30:06

At first glance, the first two clips seem to be more correlated with each other, as they are both shots of nature, with a similar horizontal movement across the frame. However, viewing them in conjunction with the third image definitely stirs up different feelings. The tone begins peaceful with the first clip, it gets a little darker with the second clip as shown through the more frantic movement of the leaves in the wind. The third clip deviates from nature shots, showing contrasting images of man-made brick and cement buildings. However, the more hectic energy that was building up with the first two clips if carried through to the third clip, the jolting camera movements conflicting with the otherwise smooth feeling created by the water and the wind in the first two clips.

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Set 6: 01:05:01:24

The first clip shows a train, moving mostly from the bottom to the top of the screen, in the central portion of the picture. The second clip mimics this motion, but from a farther viewing distance. The second clip also uses two train-like vehicles, which travel in opposite directions. It also includes many walking people. Both of these aspects unify the second image with the third, which is of a door opening, with the motion moving from the top to the bottom of the screen. The back and forth movement of the objects on the screen is a definite contrast, but it also a unifying factor.  In each of the clips, people traveling is the overall viewing takeaway.

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Have you seen Man with a Movie Camera? If so, share your thoughts in the comments below.

If you haven't seen this film, check out my project overview post here. It includes an embedded video of Man with a Movie Camera.