Telling a Story Through Innovative Editing

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Out of the three films watched in class so far, Man with a Movie Camera (1929) stands out with its experimental and creative editing. Editing is expected to be fluid and unaware to the audience, while also creating and enhancing the storyline. Dziga Vertov uses montage editing by having quick cuts and short scenes while juxtaposing various people and objects through the short and rapid scenes to tell the story of day in the life of someone living in the Soviet Union. Montage editing implies that the objects are related or meaningful by being juxtaposed with one another. One sequence in particular was when Vertov displayed the different angled close-ups of the woman lying in bed, but then interrupted the scene with shots of homeless people sleeping in public places around the city and then cut between to the two. This made the audience infer that there was a connection between the woman and the homeless people, possibly to portray an aspect of the different lifestyles from people of different classes. The editing alone creates this assumption.

Man with a Movie Camera goes against the traditional movie making features by not using actors, a script, dialogue, or a blatant storyline. Vertov relies on the editing to tell his story and express his ideologies. He edits shots of people working, showing emotions, and machines and gears which can be interpreted in various way. I interpret that as people are supposed to come and work together to make sure things are working and running well. Another aspect could be how the people in the Soviet Union are adapting and responding to industrialization. The concepts are presented through his editing for the audience to interpret however they want without having actors present the ideas or deliberately state the opinions of the director.

The film was released only four years after Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. (1924) and there is a great difference between the two films’ editing styles. Sherlock Jr. uses longer scenes with still camera angles which create a slow tempo and does not present as much ambiguous juxtaposition. Man with a Movie Camera uses shorter scenes with more experimental camera angles and shots which create a faster tempo, and uses the juxtaposition of the objects presented in the scenes to express the ideas of the film. This is also a very different style from Singing in the Rain, which uses a similar style to Sherlock Jr. with the longer shots and not as quick-paced editing. Man with a Movie Camera is innovative by using editing styles that stand out from the rest in ways that are still impressive today. In the beginning of the film, it states how it is an “experiment” and a successful one at that. It has had a great influence on editing in the film industry and the concept of montage editing. By breaking from the usual archetypes of filming making by even showing the editing process emphasizes how instrumental it was to forming the film in order to create an impact. The audience was left to interpret the juxtaposed images for themselves to decipher what Vertov was attempting to express through his film.

23 thoughts on “Telling a Story Through Innovative Editing”

  1. Your post was very well established and made me look at “Man with a Movie Camera” in a more detailed manner. I agree with what you’ve said about the editing, and in this film it was a large part of what created the connections. The specific scene you discussed about the women laying in bed and then the quick change to homeless people laying in the streets is similar to many other split scenes that occur throughout the film. Dziga does that often throughout the film, where he takes a certain shot and then follows it with a contrasting shot of what’s just been shown. I think you do a good job of picking up on the use of montage editing and the ways it effects “Man with a Movie Camera”.

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  2. I’m impressed that you chose to right your blog on “Man with a Movie Camera.” I had such a challenge focusing and relating to that film. I agree with your point that montage editing has had a huge influence on the film industry. I also liked that you pointed out the contrast in the shots. Im curious as to what message you think that created on the film overall? Was he trying to have a message? or was it just purely to show life in the 1920s?

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