Pudovkin, V. (trans Montagu, I.) 1954 Film Technique and Film Acting. Vision, London, pp.38-50
4 thoughts on “Pudovkin, V. (trans Montagu, I.) 1954 Film Technique and Film Acting. Vision, London, pp.38-50”
I focused on pages 38-50 in this book Film Technique and Film Acting by Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin which begins with the heading, “Methods of Treatment of the Material” and then divides it into four sub headings: “Editing of the Scene”, “Editing of the Sequence”, “Editing of the Scenario” and “Editing as an Instrument of Impression”. By breaking it up into sub-headings, the author allows the readers to have a clear understanding of each step of editing. Pudovkin speaks about the shot in detail, the perfect camera angles and how to make the footage go from “seperate pieces” (page 43) to a sequence that the audience members will enjoy watching.
Editing of the scene
This chapter basically analyses the basic steps of editing a film.
A scene is made up by separate pieces. In these pieces, there are some long shots, there are some close up shots. Close up shots are made to make the audience not miss the details. Then the film is simply a collection of different scenes. The connected actions make the separate scenes assemble into sequence. The way to connect scene and sequence is called editing. After that there is reels. The reels are usually equal in length, from 900 to 1200 on average. Reels make up picture, around 6500 to 7500 feet. Film usually contains six to eight reels. The average length of a piece is 6 to 10 feet, and a reel includes from 100 to 150 pieces. ‘The continuity of the separate sequences when joined together depends not merely upon the simple transference of attention from one place to another, but is conditioned by the development of the action forming the foundation of the scenario’. There is always a moment of great tension to be found at the end of the film. The different parts that make up a film are scenario, sequence and scene. Editing is the way to connect them and make them a film.
This chapter lists plenty of experiments and examples to investigate the steps of editing a film. There are scenario, sequence, reel and lastly film. The process of connecting different part of a film is very well and systematically discussed. The examples are very detailed with great lecture. They can be used as learning resources for editing lesson.
This resource gives me general understanding on editing a film. It provides the most basic and necessary information. This will create a foundation for my further research on montage as a way of editing and the connection it has with other editing approaches.
In the parts of this book that I read, Pudovkin appears slightly preoccupied with gender roles in his examples and descriptions. While it appears in keeping with the views of the time, this is slightly at odds with what some of his peers write in their film literature (e.g. Dmytryk and Murch). While I took a lot away from this work, apart from this point on gender there was little specifically relevant to my review.
This passage stresses the importance of creating interesting action within a sequence. It places emphasis on translating one’s imagination to moving images on the screen, without a novelist’s tools of written description. Pudovkin explains instead that the filmmaker must carefully choose their action and construct a sequence that best represents the ideas that must be expressed. Pudovkin also places particular emphasis on the importance of cinematography and uses the Griffith method of creating tension and action as an example for the perfect ‘scenarist’; the creator of the scene in a moving image.
The passage is useful in describing the level of detail and thought process that is needed in planning and executing a sequence for the highest and most coherent level of storytelling. Pudovkin filches examples from multiple films, including Saturday Night¸ and juxtaposes them to highlight effective and arbitrary methods for creating action. Pudovkin’s own example for a scene scenario is also highly useful and is vivid in its use of technique and explanation of shooting, framing and cuts to create action and interest in a sequence. Furthermore, his frequent attribution of the Griffith method to filmic examples gives a sense of clarity to his arguments and aforementioned theory for creating action with the footage available.
When considering cinematography and especially creating action in the shot, this passage is highly relevant. Though it does not necessarily place a large amount of emphasis on the cut, its explanation of the contents of the shot provides a comprehensive guide to methods that a filmmaker can employ to create cohesive action in a sequence. The point that Pudovkin asserts, in that the filmmaker is first and foremost a ‘scenarist’, is interesting as it shows a unique understanding of the responsibility that the filmmaker has to communicate ideas through a visual medium, and is tangibly relevant to the study of film and the moving image.
I focused on pages 38-50 in this book Film Technique and Film Acting by Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin which begins with the heading, “Methods of Treatment of the Material” and then divides it into four sub headings: “Editing of the Scene”, “Editing of the Sequence”, “Editing of the Scenario” and “Editing as an Instrument of Impression”. By breaking it up into sub-headings, the author allows the readers to have a clear understanding of each step of editing. Pudovkin speaks about the shot in detail, the perfect camera angles and how to make the footage go from “seperate pieces” (page 43) to a sequence that the audience members will enjoy watching.
Editing of the scene
This chapter basically analyses the basic steps of editing a film.
A scene is made up by separate pieces. In these pieces, there are some long shots, there are some close up shots. Close up shots are made to make the audience not miss the details. Then the film is simply a collection of different scenes. The connected actions make the separate scenes assemble into sequence. The way to connect scene and sequence is called editing. After that there is reels. The reels are usually equal in length, from 900 to 1200 on average. Reels make up picture, around 6500 to 7500 feet. Film usually contains six to eight reels. The average length of a piece is 6 to 10 feet, and a reel includes from 100 to 150 pieces. ‘The continuity of the separate sequences when joined together depends not merely upon the simple transference of attention from one place to another, but is conditioned by the development of the action forming the foundation of the scenario’. There is always a moment of great tension to be found at the end of the film. The different parts that make up a film are scenario, sequence and scene. Editing is the way to connect them and make them a film.
This chapter lists plenty of experiments and examples to investigate the steps of editing a film. There are scenario, sequence, reel and lastly film. The process of connecting different part of a film is very well and systematically discussed. The examples are very detailed with great lecture. They can be used as learning resources for editing lesson.
This resource gives me general understanding on editing a film. It provides the most basic and necessary information. This will create a foundation for my further research on montage as a way of editing and the connection it has with other editing approaches.
In the parts of this book that I read, Pudovkin appears slightly preoccupied with gender roles in his examples and descriptions. While it appears in keeping with the views of the time, this is slightly at odds with what some of his peers write in their film literature (e.g. Dmytryk and Murch). While I took a lot away from this work, apart from this point on gender there was little specifically relevant to my review.
This passage stresses the importance of creating interesting action within a sequence. It places emphasis on translating one’s imagination to moving images on the screen, without a novelist’s tools of written description. Pudovkin explains instead that the filmmaker must carefully choose their action and construct a sequence that best represents the ideas that must be expressed. Pudovkin also places particular emphasis on the importance of cinematography and uses the Griffith method of creating tension and action as an example for the perfect ‘scenarist’; the creator of the scene in a moving image.
The passage is useful in describing the level of detail and thought process that is needed in planning and executing a sequence for the highest and most coherent level of storytelling. Pudovkin filches examples from multiple films, including Saturday Night¸ and juxtaposes them to highlight effective and arbitrary methods for creating action. Pudovkin’s own example for a scene scenario is also highly useful and is vivid in its use of technique and explanation of shooting, framing and cuts to create action and interest in a sequence. Furthermore, his frequent attribution of the Griffith method to filmic examples gives a sense of clarity to his arguments and aforementioned theory for creating action with the footage available.
When considering cinematography and especially creating action in the shot, this passage is highly relevant. Though it does not necessarily place a large amount of emphasis on the cut, its explanation of the contents of the shot provides a comprehensive guide to methods that a filmmaker can employ to create cohesive action in a sequence. The point that Pudovkin asserts, in that the filmmaker is first and foremost a ‘scenarist’, is interesting as it shows a unique understanding of the responsibility that the filmmaker has to communicate ideas through a visual medium, and is tangibly relevant to the study of film and the moving image.