Notes on Eisenstein's Methods of Montage - Part Two - The Rhythmic

Rhythmic Montage: Shot length is dictated by visual elements such as movement and composition.

Taken from the Planet Doc series Land of the Dragons, this series of shots shows us the courting rituals of the Fiddler Crab.

There is a visual continuity throughout the scene. The colours of the crabs and their environment give us a background of browns and yellows with flashes of brilliant red and orange from the male crabs’ claws. Although portrayed with temporal continuity, I suspect that this is actually a montage of many different shots over an extended period of time. As one crab looks very much like another, only the narrator’s contribution and some directorial decisions tie the shots into a story.

https://youtu.be/gXceF_kx2h0?t=2m7s

The twitching movements of the crabs lends a tempo to the transitions (hard cuts), an example of rhythmic montage. Most shots are not cut on action but in the spaces between. A suitably rhythmic electronic soundtrack is also employed to accentuate this twitching rhythm.

Shot 1	Eye level mid shot. The female crab quickly feeds herself
Shot 2	High angle, long shot. Two males have approached and wave their claws for attention. Two waves to the rear, three waves to the fore before the cut to close up.
Shot 3	High angle mid shot. Starting with a metallic hit on the soundtrack, the shot features the bright orange claw in the centre third. If that weren’t a strong enough image, the orange object in the background also points us down along the claw. Two waves before the cut to a reverse angle.
Shot 4	Reverse angle eye level mid shot. Starting with another metallic hit. A rival appears. Composed in reverse, in opposition. This crab’s claws are on opposite sides though giving a compositional continuity, the bright orange shapes appear consistent. In this shot though, the claw has moved further up the screen perhaps portraying dominance. Two waves back before a cut to a high angle long shot.
Shot 5	High angle long shot. The brightly coloured males leave the shot, one remaining (bottom centre of screen) before moving off screen left. The soundtrack, an electronic rhythm (high hat?) reflects the skittering movements of the crabs’ legs. As he is about to leave shot, there is a cut on action
Shot 6	Eye level tracking shot. The electronic rhythm continues. The crab remains in motion, moving screen left as the camera tracks. Visual continuity is maintained, the bright orange claw remaining screen left. The crab is now facing away from us however. His claw has swapped sides. He approaches a female and is spurned. Cut to extreme close up.
Shot 7	Eye level extreme close up. The crab’s eyes are in sharp focus, his claw remains at screen left as he looks out for another mate. Two waves and the sound is cut four beats before the next shot. Our crab is deflated.
Shot 8	Eye level medium close up. Soundtrack is a higher pitched, cleaner electronic rhythm. Very similar to shot 1, we see the female alone having escaped our protagonist’s advances. She moves off screen left followed by another male. Pointedly, this opponent’s claw is presented from the reverse side as he steals the girl.