montage

A composite work, particularly an artwork, created by assembling or putting together other elements such as pieces of music, pictures, texts, videos, etc.

Near-synonyms: collage, bricolage

Examples of montage are seen in many modern films, and it is not a device which is physically difficult to use. The difficulty lies in the proper conception of the complete montage, for the cameraman must so completely visualize the finished result that he can proceed to assemble the various units without, at any time, seeing them as a whole until the film is processed.

The art or process of doing this.

Near-synonyms: collage, bricolage

There was a period in our cinema when montage was proclaimed as being 'everything'. We are now coming to the end of a period where montage has been regarded as 'nothing'. Since we consider montage to be neither 'nothing' nor 'everything', we now think it necessary to recall that montage is as essential a component of film-making as all the other affective elements of cinematography. […] The fact is that the makers of a number of films in recent years have so thoroughly 'parted company' with montage that they even forgot the basic aim and function, inseparable from its cognitive role, which every work of art sets for itself: the function of providing a coherent, consistent exposition of the work's theme, plot, action and events, and their progression both within each sequence and within the film as a whole.

A sequence of brief clips, often set to music, used to compress a long event or series of events into a short scene.

THE MYTH: Training montages are inspiring, harmless fun. At some point in any sports movie, the grossly unqualified underdog will start training to the sound of some inspirational rock song.

Unfortunately, nothing much happens in the rest of the episode either. It gets to the point where a montage is devoted to establishing Sam's monotony at Oldtown.

To combine into, or depict as, a montage.

The Keartons and our staff had out-montaged [Vsevolod] Pudovkin. The result viewed to-day may be somewhat out of date—though I'm not sure—but of one thing I am certain—that it is as fine an example as I know of a maximum effect of cinematic movement achieved by patience in editing.

The two background photographs shown in Fig. 2 were selected from the office files of Blakeslee-Lane Studios and then montaged together by copying onto a negative.