Blog 3

     Soviet Cinema primarily focuses on ideas and signs. The Soviet editing theory came about in the 1920s and was developed by Kuleshov , Vertov, Pudovkin, and Eisenstein. They each contributed different but are famously known for it. Soviet montage is the focus and understanding of creating cinema using certain editing techniques.  

                First there was Lev Kuleshov who was the found of the Moscow Film School in 1919. He is known for his experiment now known as the Kuleshov Effect, which was conducted with the assistance of his student V.I. Pudovkin. It’s three series of cut images that are presented to 3 separate audiences. In each series there is a shot of an expressionless man. However, with each series there is a different image the man is reacting too. For the first audience it was a baby and his mother, the second a woman in a bikini, and I believe the third was a coffin. Different images equal different opinions. What is chosen and cut tells a story.The student, V.I. Pudovkin, wrote a book in 1958 entitled “Film technique and Film Acting.”   Pudovkin believes in certain foundations of Kuleshov but he has developed some of his own. He believes that film is not shut but it is built. He believes film is a dead object until it is presented in a synthesis with other images. 

Then Vertov who is known for Man with a Movie Camera strays differently from the others. He focuses less on emotion and more on the cuts. He doesn’t create the emotion but he lets the cuts create their own emotion. The cuts in this film are fast, sharp, and provide a lot of information.

Then there is Sergi Eisenstein who was also a film student of Kuleshov. He believes cinema equals language of visual symbols which are often 2 juxtaposed images that create a third symbol of meaning. All four men brought very unique talents and opinions. They butted heads on montage and editing overall on the right way to put something together. Eisenstein fought with Pudovkin about collision for example. There isn’t really a right way when it comes to editing but there are many different ways to make it look good.