We all know that any film or television program is composed of a sequence of shots arranged in a certain order. These shots can be sustained so that the audience can see from the film that they fuse into a complete unity, because the development and change of the camera to obey a certain law, the former people through hundreds of years of efforts to sum up the rules of this picture editing called montage theory.

I. Definition of Montage

Montage, originally a technical term in French architecture, meant to treat, install, and eventually form a montage of different materials, according to a general design, but in Russia it was developed as a combination of scenes in a film. Montage was basically a theory developed by the Russian director, and then extended by the American father of film Eriksson Eriksson Eriksson. Platts views the juxtaposition of two shots as meaning greater than the significance of a single shot, and even views film as the art of juxtaposing the lens with the lens. When we describe a subject, we can put together a series of related or unrelated shots to produce a dark metaphor. For example, we put mothers cooking, washing clothes, taking children, and even fathers reading newspapers together to create a "feeling of being busy mother". Chinese film theorists define the term as: "Montage is a technique by which a lens is logically and rhythmically connected in accordance with the development of the plot and the law of the viewer's observation of things, so that the audience can obtain a clear and vivid impression or feeling from which they can correctly understand the development of a thing." In a nutshell, montage means dividing and combining pictures according to a certain purpose, including the combination relationship between picture and sound, sound and sound. It is an important means in the creation of film and television arts. It can be seen that montage is the rule for assembling the camera pictures and is a rhetorical device in the film and television symbol system.

II. Classification of montages

Montage can be divided into three basic types: narrative montage, performance montage and rational montage. The former is narrative means, and the latter two are mainly used to express meaning. On the basis of this, we can also divide the montage into two basic types: narrative montage, performance montage and rational montage.

1. Narrative montage

Narrative montage, a montage pioneered by American film master Griffiths and others, is the most commonly used narrative method in film and television, characterized by accounting plot, showing events as the main thrust, according to the plot development of the time flow, causality to cut the combination of shots, scenes and paragraphs, so as to guide the audience to understand the plot.

For example, the following shots are combined:

1)The host reads at the table, hears a knock on the door and looks back;

2)the guest knocks at the door;

3)the host stands up and walks to the door to open the door;

4)the host and the guest shake hands and greet each other.

This natural and coherent sequence of shots as the plot develops is the manifestation of the narrative montage.

Narrative montages include the following specific techniques:

1) Parallel montage This montage often occurs in different time and space (or at the same time remote) two or two parallel to the plot line on the performance of the first narrative and unity in a complete structure. Griffiths, Hitchcock are extremely good at the use of this montage master. Parallel montage is widely used, first of all, because it manages the plot, the process can be abridged in order to generalize the focus, save space, expand the film's information, and strengthen the film's rhythm ; Second, because this technique is a few clues flat performance, each other, form a contrast, easy to produce a strong effect of artistic infection. For example, during the wedding filming process, the use of parallel montage to carry out the picture of the cut performance of men and women at home for marriage tension prepared scene, giving people a feeling that both sides are eager to get married. Another example is the use of parallel montages in the war film The War of the South and the North in order to create intense tension between the two armies fighting for the main peak.

The parallel montage can also constitute a change in the structure of the picture through the intersection of two sets of images. Through this change in structure, the two sets of shots, which are not directly related to each other, interact with each other and reinforce each other, producing a common effect.

Parallel clips can also be joined together by two scenes that are about to come together for a strong climax, enhancing tension and preparing for more conflict.

2)Cross montage, also known as alternating montage, it will take place at the same time in different regions of the two or several love nodes rapidly and frequently alternating splice together, one of the clues often affect the development of other clues, the clues interdependent, and finally converge together. This editing technique is extremely easy to cause suspense, resulting in intense atmosphere, to strengthen the sharp conflict, is a powerful way to master the audience's emotions, thrillers, horror films and war films commonly used to cause chase and thrilling scenes. For example, the "Civil War" in the crossing of the Dasha River a section of our army and the enemy troops rushed to the Dasha River and the guerrillas bombed dam with three exciting clues, the performance of alternating battle clues.

3)Duplicate montage It is equivalent to the literary way of recounting or repetition, in this montage structure, with a certain meaning of the lens repeated at critical moments to achieve the characters, deepen the theme of the purpose. For example, "warship wave will be gold" in the pincer nose glasses and the red flag of the revolution that have been repeated in the film, so that the structure of the film more complete use of the students to switch to the performance of the head of blue film in the performance of confidence.

4)Continuous montage this montage is not as parallel montage or cross montage as many clues to develop, but along a single plot clues, in accordance with the logical sequence of events, rhythmically continuous narrative. This kind of story naturally smooth, simple and smooth, but due to the lack of time and space and scene transformation, can not directly show the plot occurred at the same time, it is difficult to highlight the plot lines between each other side of the interlaceration, it is too easy to use a long, so that a montage, a montage, a montage of the interlaconic interlaceration, a montage is not easy to use.

2. performance montage

Performance montage performance montage is based on the lens as a pair, through the connected lens in the form or content of mutual contrast, impact, thus producing a single shot itself does not have a rich meaning, to express a certain emotion or thought. Its purpose is to stimulate the public's associations, enlightening the audience's thinking.

For example, the following A, B, C three shots, connected in different order, there will be different content and meaning.

A, a man was laughing;

B, a pistol pointed straight;

C, the same man had a look of horror on his face.

These three close-up shots, the audience what kind of impression?

If the use of A-B-C sequence connection, will make the audience feel that into a coward, timid. Now, the camera remains the same, we just need to change the above sequence of shots,

Will come to the opposite conclusion.

C, a person's face with a look of horror;

B, a pistol pointed to;

A, the same people laughing.

Connected in this order of C-B-A, the man's face became frightened because a pistol was pointed at him. But when he thought about it, and thought nothing remarkable, he smiled -- in the presence of death. So he struck the audience as a brave man. So, changing the order of the shots in a scene without having to change the order of each shot.

In this way, changing the order of the shots in a scene, without having to change each shot itself, completely changes the meaning of a scene and comes to the opposite conclusion, receiving a completely different effect.

This coherent organization arrangement is the use of film art unique montage means, that is, we talk about the structure of the film. From the above example, we can see the importance of this arrangement and combination of structure, it is an important means to organize materials together to express the thinking of the film. At the same time, due to the combination of different arrangements, also produce positive, negative, deep, money, weak and other effects of art.

Soviet film master Eisenstein believes that A plus B is not a simple combination of A and B, but a brand-new content and concept for C. He makes it clear:

" The fact that the logarithm of two montage lenses is not the sum of two numbers, but more like the product of two numbers -- a fact that is true before and still true today -- is more like the product of two numbers than the sum of two numbers in that the result of the alignment is qualitatively (or, if one wishes to use the academic expression of numbers, permanently distinguishable from the individual components of the dimensions).The woman -- this is a picture, the mourning attire on the woman -- this is also a picture; both images can be expressed in kind; and the ' widow ' resulting from the alignment of the two images is no longer something that can be expressed in kind, but a new representation, a new concept, a new image.”

Thus, the use of montage techniques can make the lens of the convergence of a new meaning, which greatly enriched the expressive power of film art, thus enhancing the appeal of film art.

We can also draw a great deal of inspiration from a phenomenon in physics: it is well known that the two substances, carbon and diamond, are the same in terms of their molecular composition.

But one is surprisingly brittle, the other incredibly hard, and why, as scientists have shown, is due to differences in molecular alignment (character structure)

The fact that the same material, because of its different arrangement, could produce such diametrically opposite results is really thought-provoking. Three identical images, with only one person's picture upside down, have a completely different effect. He fully explained the meaning and function of Mentage, as well as the importance of lens combination to represent the content of ideas.

Performance montages include the following specific techniques:

1)Lyric montage is a way of expressing thoughts and emotions that transcend the plot while ensuring the coherence of the narrative and the description. Jean Mitteri points out that it is meant to be both a narrative and a picturesque rendering, with more emphasis on the latter. Significant events are broken down into a series of close-ups or features that capture the essence of things from different sides and angles, rendering features. The most common, most accessible, lyrical montage is often followed by a narrative scene that appropriately cuts into the empty shots that symbolize emotional emotion. For example, in the Soviet film "Country Teacher," Varvara and Martynov fall in love, and Martynov asks tentatively if she is waiting for him forever. She replies affectionately, "Forever!" and then cuts right into two of the lyrical characters.

2)The psychological montage is an important means of psychological description of the characters, it through the screen camera or sound painting combined with the machine, the image vividly shows the inner world of the characters, often used to show the character's dreams, memories, flashbacks, hallucinations, reverie, thinking and other spiritual activities. This montage is characterized by the fragmentary nature of the picture and sound image, the incoherence of the narration and the jump of the rhythm, and the strong subjectivity of the people in the play. For example, the television feature film Blue Heart Middle School students military training evening singing "Green Flower in the Army" from the scene during the same period from the sound guide to introduce some moving mental effect into the original soundtrack.

3) metaphorical montage through the lens or scene of the parallel analogy, implicit and figurative expression of the creator of a certain meaning. This approach is often different things between some similar features pop out in order to arouse public associations, understand the director's moral and appreciate the emotional color of the event. For example, Pudovkin in the "Mother" a scene of the workers demonstrations and the spring ice river together with the emotional expression of intense metaphoroscary, but should be careful combination of intense metaphoroscope of the use of metaphorodoscope of metaphorism, but the powerful metaphorodoscope of the use of the powerful metaphorodoscope of metaphora powerful metaphorical metaphor.

4)contrast montage similar literature in contrast to the description, that is, through the lens or scene between the content (such as poverty and wealth, suffering and joy, life and death, noble and humble, victory and defeat, etc.) or form (such as the size of the scene, cold and warm color, sound strength, movement and so on) a strong contrast, in order to express the creator of some kind of meaning or strengthen the performance of the moral content and moral expression.

III. The function and function of montage

Before we talked about so many kinds of montage classification, so, montage in film and television creation function and role have those?

1.It is possible to select and omit, generalize and concentrate. By dividing and combining the lens, it is possible to select the most important and essential aspects of the things to be represented and omit and delete the complicated and redundant parts in order to achieve a high degree of generalization and concentration.

2.is to guide the attention of the audience, stimulate the imagination of the audience. As each camera only shows a certain content, followed by a certain sequence of shots, will standardize and guide the audience's emotions and psychology, stimulate the audience's associations, enlighten the audience's thinking.

3.Montage method is used to cut, organize, process and transform the time and space of real life to create a rich and varied narrative style and artistic conception, making it a unique time and space of film and television.

4.is able to form a different rhythm. Film and television in the visual rhythm, auditory rhythm and other units together to reflect the law of development in the film to achieve rich and varied rhythm, vivid nature, harmony and unity, produce a strong artistic appeal and complete sound combined with the screen image, and the role of the audience psychology, so that it produced a chorus.

5. to create suspense. Through the changes in the sequence and speed of the lens combination, to strengthen the plot tension, stimulate the audience's expectations, resulting in a tense dramatic effect.

6.is to create emotions. Through the accumulation of the camera, so that the audience's emotions are rising.

7.is the creation of ideas. Through the lens of logical association, the formation of conceptual meaning, the image of abstract concepts or metaphor.

The use of screen montage group, from simple facts to create ideas, metaphors, rhythms, emotions, which is the film and television full of charm. With the development of film and television art, the use of "montage effect" has been far from the "1 + 1 ＞ 2" of the two pictures, but there are more diversified performance.