“Montage is a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information. The term has been used in various contexts. It was introduced to cinema primarily by Eisenstein and early Soviet directors used it as a synonym for creative editing. In France the word “montage” simply denotes cutting. The term “montage sequence” has been used primarily by British and American studios, which refers to the common technique as outlined in this article. The montage sequence is usually used to suggest the passage of time…”- WIKIPEDIA
I’ve written before about Montage vs. Series Of Shots, when and when not to use each, what it looks like on the page, etc. There was a question in one of my classes about montage so I decided to scour Drew’s Script-O-Rama for some pro examples. Good Reader, if you have a question about montage, this post is for you. Let’s check these out…
Here’s a concise one from Milk, done in still photographs….
INT. VARIOUS SAN FRANCISCO BARS – PHOTO MONTAGE
A STILL PHOTO MONTAGE: Jim, Dick, Scott and Danny get bar
owners throughout San Francisco to unscrew their Coors taps,
throw out their Coors stock, put on “Boycott Coors” buttons
and tape up “Dump Coors” posters.
HARVEY MILK (V.O.)
I got “my people” to get Coors out
of all the Gay Bars. 30 million
bottles worth in San Francisco
alone. Coors beer immediately fell
from number 1. They caved. One week
later, union man Allan Baird hired
the first ever openly gay union
boys to drive Teamsters trucks…
We weren’t just a group of pansies
anymore. We had a neighborhood. We
had the unions. And for the first
time, we had a little bit of power.
Remember, montages play out over a longer period of time. A Series of shots is Professor Pauly looking out a third floor Columbia College window to see his car getting towed, bolting out the door, hitting the elevator button to no effect, bolting down the stairwell and out the door, racing to the car to find the tow truck pulling away toward a Rahm Emanuel money farm, aka the tow yard.
Montage is Professor Pauly in his wheat-colored suit passing English summer with Keira Knightley circa 1822. A full summer goes by in five shots. It can be done in a single paragraph like the one above, or in multiple scenes spread out on the script, like this classic one from The Graduate, the whole summer passing in a series of Mrs. Robinson booty calls…
62 EXT. BRADDOCK BACKYARD AND POOL AREA – DAY
The midsummer sun beats down on the Braddock swimming pool
and on Ben who lies on a rubber raft in the middle of the
pool. Ben wears dark glasses, is deeply tanned, and holds
a beer can in one hand.
65 CLOSE SHOT – BEN
SOUND of the back door CLOSING. Ben opens his eyes and
moves his head slightly.
66 WHAT HE SEES
Mr. Braddock is passionately stoking a barbeque fire. Mrs.
Braddock is going toward him from the house, carrying some
ominously large thing wrapped in tinfoil.
67 SHOT – BEN
He rolls off the raft and swims to the end of the pool. He
climbs out, walks to the back door, takes his shirt from a
chair and starts to put it on as he opens the back door and
goes through.
68 INT. SPECIAL SET – TAFT HOTEL ROOM
Ben has just shut the door to the bathroom behind him. He
is wearing his shirt, buttoned, and no trousers.
PAN WITH BEN as he walks across the room past Mrs. Robinson
who is standing in front of the bureau taking off her brace-
let and watch. He moves to a chair and sits.
He picks up a cigarette from an ashtray on a table next
to the chair. Mrs. Robinson moves in to Ben, kneels in
front of him and starts to unbutton his shirt.
75 INT. TAFT HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
CLOSEUP Ben watching. PULL BACK and we are in the Taft
Hotel Room. Ben is sitting on the bed, leaning against
the headboard, watching the television set which is on a
stand facing the bed.
SOUND of the HUM of the test pattern.
SOUND of CLOTHING being put on and a PURSE being snapped
closed. Mrs. Robinson, now fully dressed and carrying
her purse, passes through again and, without looking at
Ben, goes to the door of the hotel room, opens it and
exits.
78 EXT. BRADDOCK BACKYARD AND POOL AREA – DAY
We see Mrs. Braddock in the kitchen. Ben comes through
the back door, moves to the pool and dives in. The raft
floats in the center of the pool.
79 SHOT – UNDERWATER
Ben swims toward us the length of the pool.
80 SHOT – AT THE WATERLINE
Ben surfaces and, in one movememt, pulls himself up on
the raft and –
81 INT. TAFT HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
– lands on top of Mrs. Robinson on the bed. He stays
on top of her for a moment.
MR. BRADDOCK’S VOICE
Ben – what are you doing?
Ben turns toward us and looks.
82 EXT. BRADDOCK BACKYARD AND POOL AREA – DAY
SHOT – POV OF BEN ON RAFT
Mr. Braddock standing by the side of the pool. The
sun is behind him.
BEN’S VOICE
Well – I would say that I’m
just drifting.
Apologies for the trimming but it goes on another page or so. This isn’t traditional in that it has sluglines and I don’t recommend the endless camera direction for your spec script– still, this is a classic sequence, juxtaposing pool and bed, putting us right into poor Benjamin’s head. Now that I think about it–Poor Benjamin? Is it just me… The older I get, the hotter Mrs. Robinson gets!
Here’s the full sequence in video:
Montages can be expansive like the one above, but also a single paragraph and still do the job, like this one from The Incredible Hulk…
MONTAGE: BANNER EXTRACTING A CHEMICAL FROM HIS FLOWERS
Over many hours, Banner works. Methodically and painstakingly
extracting tiny amounts of juice from his precious flowers, mixing
it carefully with chemicals from self-labeled bottles and mixing
it all in an assortment of glasses doubling as homemade test
tubes; cooking it down over a small gas flame. Referring to BLUE’s
NOTES on his computer.
Here’s another one from Blow, also done in still photos. The montage can be formatted as part of the slugline in parenthesis at the end, or on the edge in caps, like here…
MONTAGE – GEORGE AND DIEGO TAKING OVER THE WORLD
The following images are overlaid with snow falling and money
dropping through frame. CLOSE SHOTS of George and Diego on
the phone, wheeling and dealing, hands counting cash, and
lines being drawn off mirrors. The effect is surreal and
dreamy.
INT. WAREHOUSE – DAY
A duffel bag is unzipped, revealing bricks and bricks of
cocaine. Each marked with a “P.” A knife punctures one of
the bricks. A mound of white powder is brought up to a man’s
nose. It’s George who samples, and then it is sampled by the
man he is doing business with. The shot widens TO REVEAL all
the participants and dozens and dozens of duffel bags. A
handshake seals the deal.
STILL PHOTOS
Handshake after handshake after handshake.
INT. MIAMI HOUSE – NIGHT
George and Diego counting cash. It’s everywhere. All over
the floor, in two-foot stacks.
MORE STILL PHOTOS
Various transactions completed.
INT. MIAMI HOUSE – NIGHT
George and Diego count. It’s ridiculous how much money there
is. The stacks are now waist high and spill into other
rooms.
I leave you with this last one, beautifully written, from Blade Runner, the killing of Rachael…
We never see the killing, and, of course, don’t need to. Good Reader, let’s hope we can write one that will outlive us like this!
EXT. WOODS (MONTAGE) – DAY 123
Deckard and Rachael walking. The land lays white and
hushed before them.
Down an aisle of maples and beeches. The frosty light
slanting through the clean, hard limbs.
The crisp, blue-white snow underfoot melted through in
spots exposing soggy patches of rich brown earth.
Rachael stops and faces him. Her lips are parted, her
warm breath turning the cold air to vapor. Looking
lithe and fragile by these barren-rooted trees, she
stands in the crisp white snow looking at Deckard.
Nothing in her retreats, even now her eyes insist on
knowing.
EXT. WOODS – DAY 124
Deckard walking over the snow. Alone. He walks slowly,
mechanically through the cold, unaffected by it. His
gaunt face, empty of expression except for the tears
running down his pale cheeks.
But for the SQUEAK of his wet shoes over the crusted
snow, there is no sound. And Deckard recedes into the
silence of the freezing white landscape.
